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Ayebare S, Doser JW, Plumptre AJ, Owiunji I, Mugabe H, Zipkin EF. An environmental habitat gradient and within-habitat segregation enable co-existence of ecologically similar bird species. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230467. [PMID: 37583324 PMCID: PMC10427832 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Niche theory predicts that ecologically similar species can coexist through multidimensional niche partitioning. However, owing to the challenges of accounting for both abiotic and biotic processes in ecological niche modelling, the underlying mechanisms that facilitate coexistence of competing species are poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated potential mechanisms underlying the coexistence of ecologically similar bird species in a biodiversity-rich transboundary montane forest in east-central Africa by computing niche overlap indices along an environmental elevation gradient, diet, forest strata, activity patterns and within-habitat segregation across horizontal space. We found strong support for abiotic environmental habitat niche partitioning, with 55% of species pairs having separate elevation niches. For the remaining species pairs that exhibited similar elevation niches, we found that within-habitat segregation across horizontal space and to a lesser extent vertical forest strata provided the most likely mechanisms of species coexistence. Coexistence of ecologically similar species within a highly diverse montane forest was determined primarily by abiotic factors (e.g. environmental elevation gradient) that characterize the Grinnellian niche and secondarily by biotic factors (e.g. vertical and horizontal segregation within habitats) that describe the Eltonian niche. Thus, partitioning across multiple levels of spatial organization is a key mechanism of coexistence in diverse communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ayebare
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Uganda Programme, PO Box 7487, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Jeffrey W. Doser
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Andrew J. Plumptre
- KBA Secretariat, c/o BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
- Conservation Science Group, Zoology Department, Cambridge University, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
| | | | - Hamlet Mugabe
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Uganda Programme, PO Box 7487, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Elise F. Zipkin
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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