scholarly journals Habitat use and its implications to functional morphology: niche partitioning and the evolution of locomotory morphology in Lake Tanganyikan cichlids (Perciformes: Cichlidae)

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Colombo ◽  
Adrian Indermaur ◽  
Britta S. Meyer ◽  
Walter Salzburger
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Niche Partitioning

scholarly journals Social survival: humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) use social structure to partition ecological niches within proposed critical habitat

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janie Wray ◽  
Eric Keen ◽  
Éadin N. O’Mahony
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Fjord System ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Niche

ABSTRACTAnimal culture and social bonds are relevant to wildlife conservation because they influence patterns of geography, behavior, and strategies of survival. Numerous examples of socially-driven habitat partitioning and ecological-niche specialization can be found among vertebrates, including toothed whales. But such social-ecological dynamics, described here as ‘social niche partitioning’, are not known among baleen whales, whose societies -- particularly on foraging grounds -- are largely perceived as unstructured and incidental to matters of habitat use and conservation. However, through 16 years of behavioral and photo-identification observations of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding within a fjord system in British Columbia, Canada, we have documented long-term pair bonds (lasting up to 12 years) as well as a complex societal structure, which corresponds closely to persistent patterns in feeding strategy, long-term site fidelity (extended seasonal occupancy and annual rate of return up to 75%), specific geographic preferences within the fjord system, and other forms of habitat use. Randomization tests of network congruency and clustering algorithms were used to test for overlap in patterns of social structure and habitat use, which confirmed the occurrence of social niche partitioning on the feeding grounds of this baleen whale. In addition, we document the extensive practice of group bubble net feeding in Pacific Canada. This coordinated feeding behavior was found to strongly mediate the social structure and habitat use within this humpback whale society. Additionally, during our 2004 – 2019 study, we observed a shift in social network structure in 2010 – 2012, which corresponded with environmental and demographic shifts including a sudden decline in the population’s calving rate. Our findings indicate that the social lives of humpback whales, and perhaps baleen whales generally, are more complex than previously supposed and should be a primary consideration in the assessment of potential impacts to important habitat.

scholarly journals Anuran forelimb muscle tendinous structures and their relationship with locomotor modes and habitat use

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia De Oliveira-Lagôa ◽  
Félix B Cruz ◽  
Débora L Moreno Azócar ◽  
Esteban O Lavilla ◽  
Virginia Abdala
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
External Morphology ◽  
Environmental Pressure ◽  
Habitat Classification ◽  
Internal Morphology ◽  
Evolutionary Studies

Abstract The interaction between organisms and their environment is central in functional morphology. Differences in habitat usage may imply divergent morphology of locomotor systems; thus, detecting which morphological traits are conservative across lineages and which ones vary under environmental pressure is important in evolutionary studies. We studied internal and external morphology in 28 species of Neotropical anurans. Our aim was to determine if internal morphology (muscle and tendons) shows lower phylogenetic signal than external morphology. In addition, we wanted to know if morphology varies in relation to the habitat use and if there are different functional groups. We found differences in the degree of phylogenetic signal on the groups of traits. Interestingly, postaxial regions of the forelimb are evolutionarily more labile than the preaxial regions. Phylomorphospace plots show that arboreal (jumpers and graspers) and swimmer frogs cluster based on length of fingers and the lack of sesamoid, also reflected by the use of habitat. These functional clusters are also related to phylogeny. Sesamoid and flexor plate dimensions together with digit tendons showed to be important to discriminate functional groups as well as use of habitat classification. Our results allow us to identify a “grasping syndrome” in the hand of these frogs, where palmar sesamoid and flexor plate are absent and a third metacarpal with a bony knob are typical. Thus, a lighter skeleton, long fingers and a prensile hand may be key for arboreality.

scholarly journals Social survival: Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) use social structure to partition ecological niches within proposed critical habitat

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0245409
Author(s):  
Janie Wray ◽  
Eric Keen ◽  
Éadin N. O’Mahony
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Fjord System ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Niche

Animal culture and social bonds are relevant to wildlife conservation because they influence patterns of geography, behavior, and strategies of survival. Numerous examples of socially-driven habitat partitioning and ecological-niche specialization can be found among vertebrates, including toothed whales. But such social-ecological dynamics, described here as ‘social niche partitioning’, are not known among baleen whales, whose societies—particularly on foraging grounds—are largely perceived as unstructured and incidental to matters of habitat use and conservation. However, through 16 years of behavioral observations and photo-identifications of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding within a fjord system in the Canadian Pacific (primarily within Gitga’at First Nation waters), we have documented long-term pair bonds (up to 12 years) as well as a complex societal structure, which corresponds closely to persistent patterns in feeding strategy, long-term site fidelity (extended occupancy and annual rate of return up to 75%), specific geographic preferences within the fjord system, and other forms of habitat use. Randomization tests of network congruency and clustering algorithms were used to test for overlap in patterns of social structure and habitat use, which confirmed the occurrence of social niche partitioning on the feeding grounds of this baleen whale species. In addition, we document the extensive practice of group bubble net feeding in Pacific Canada. This coordinated feeding behavior was found to strongly mediate the social structure and habitat use within this humpback whale society. Additionally, during our 2004–2019 study, we observed a shift in social network structure in 2010–2012, which corresponded with environmental and demographic shifts including a sudden decline in the population’s calving rate. Our findings indicate that the social lives of humpback whales, and perhaps baleen whales generally, are more complex than previously supposed and should be a primary consideration in the assessment of potential impacts to important habitat.

Differential Habitat Use and Niche Partitioning by Pseudomonas Species in Human Homes

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna K. Remold ◽  
Christopher K. Brown ◽  
Justin E. Farris ◽  
Thomas C. Hundley ◽  
Jessica A. Perpich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Pseudomonas Species

Niche partitioning within a population of sea snakes is constrained by ambient thermal homogeneity and small prey size

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 644-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Goiran ◽  
Gregory P Brown ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Prey ◽  
Sea Snakes ◽  
Local Extirpation ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract In many populations of terrestrial snakes, the phenotype of an individual (e.g. body size, sex, colour) affects its habitat use. One cause for that link is gape limitation, which can result in larger snakes eating prey that are found in different habitats. A second factor involves thermoregulatory opportunities, whereby individuals select habitats based upon thermal conditions. These ideas predict minimal intraspecific variation in habitat use in a species that eats small prey and lives in a thermally uniform habitat, such as the sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus, which feeds on tiny fish eggs and lives in inshore coral reefs. To test that prediction, we gathered data on water depths and substrate attributes for 1475 sightings of 128 free-ranging E. annulatus in a bay near Noumea, New Caledonia. Habitat selection varied among individuals, but with a preference for coral-dominated substrates. The body size and reproductive state of a snake affected its detectability in deep water, but overall habitat use was not linked to snake body size, colour morph, sex or pregnancy. A lack of ontogenetic shifts in habitat use allows extreme philopatry in E. annulatus, thereby reducing gene flow among populations and, potentially, delaying recolonization after local extirpation events.

scholarly journals Niche partitioning shaped herbivore macroevolution through the early Mesozoic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh A. Singh ◽  
Armin Elsler ◽  
Thomas L. Stubbs ◽  
Russell Bond ◽  
Emily J. Rayfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
New World ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Early Mesozoic ◽  
Extinction Events

AbstractThe Triassic (252–201 Ma) marks a major punctuation in Earth history, when ecosystems rebuilt themselves following the devastating Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Herbivory evolved independently several times as ecosystems comprising diverse assemblages of therapsids, parareptiles and archosauromorphs rose and fell, leading to a world dominated by dinosaurs. It was assumed that dinosaurs prevailed either through long-term competitive replacement of the incumbent clades or rapidly and opportunistically following one or more extinction events. Here we use functional morphology and ecology to explore herbivore morphospace through the Triassic and Early Jurassic. We identify five main herbivore guilds (ingestion generalists, prehension specialists, durophagous specialists, shearing pulpers, and heavy oral processors), and find that herbivore clades generally avoided competition by almost exclusively occupying different guilds. Major ecosystem remodelling was triggered multiple times by external environmental challenges, and previously dominant herbivores were marginalised by newly emerging forms. Dinosaur dominance was a mix of opportunity following disaster, combined with competitive advantage in their new world.

scholarly journals Niche Partitioning of 5 Sympatric Bornean Ungulates in Response to Spatiotemporal Variation in Fruit Availability and Resulting Implications for Predator-Prey Interactions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rachel Selwyn
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Apex Predator ◽  
Fruit Availability ◽  
Clouded Leopard ◽  
Mast Fruiting ◽  
Freshwater Swamp ◽  
Resource Variability

<p>Borneo’s rainforests are experiencing some of the fastest deforestation rates worldwide and are home to increasingly vulnerable species, most of which remain poorly understood. Bornean rainforests exhibit dramatic fluctuations in fruit and seed availability during mast-fruiting events which can exert considerable influence on frugivore ecology. Comprehensive spatiotemporal assessments of habitat use, resource partitioning, and responses to fruit availability in mast-fruiting rainforests are lacking for most species, including ungulates. The distribution and habitat use of an apex predator, the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), may be largely shaped by the availability of these ungulates. Yet, factors driving the spatial ecology of this elusive felid remain uncertain. I aimed to quantify spatiotemporal habitat use dynamics of these species and consequently inform effective conservation planning. Specifically, I quantified the effects of human activity, forest type, elevation, and mast-induced fluctuations in resources on the habitat use of lesser mousedeer (Tragulus kanchil), greater mousedeer (T. napu), Bornean yellow muntjacs (Muntiacus atherodes), red muntjacs (M. muntjak), and bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. I applied data from an extensive camera trapping study (n = 42,610 trap nights) to a modified single-season occupancy model to evaluate habitat use over space and time. I then applied estimates of occurrence (Ψ) of the five ungulate species to quantify if habitat use of the Sunda clouded leopard was influenced by prey occurrence and thus if this apex predator responded to bottom-up effects of resource variability. The results from the ungulate modelling revealed that forest type was an important predictor of habitat use of all ungulate species, each preferring different forest habitats. Habitat use estimates were highest in peat swamp forests for lesser mousedeer (Ψ = 0.92 ± 0.05), alluvial bench forests for greater mousedeer (Ψ = 0.52 ± 0.08), lowland granite forests for yellow (Ψ = 0.95 ± 0.07) and red muntjacs (Ψ = 0.98 ± 0.09), and freshwater swamp forests for bearded pigs (Ψ = 0.84 ± 0.07). Bearded pigs exhibited a link between variation in fruit availability and habitat use, indicating an ability to respond to resource variability. Occupancy modelling for Sunda clouded leopards revealed forest type, fruit availability, and bearded pig occurrence as the best predictors of habitat use. The highest estimates were associated with lowland granite forests (Ψ = 0.87 ± 0.09). My results reveal a novel pattern of niche partitioning through both food and habitat resources among five sympatric ungulate species and demonstrate that Sunda clouded leopards may use fruiting events as a cue for abundant prey. My research sheds light on important factors influencing habitat use of understudied ungulates and an apex predator and can be used to refine estimates of habitat suitability across a greater landscape to inform conservation practice amidst continually shrinking remnant forests in Indonesian Borneo.</p>

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