Testing the niche variation hypothesis with a measure of body condition

Oikos ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 732-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana J. R. Lafferty ◽  
Jerrold L. Belant ◽  
Donald L. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis

scholarly journals A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore

2020 ◽  
Vol 89 (12) ◽  
pp. 2825-2839
Author(s):  
Brett R. Jesmer ◽  
Matthew J. Kauffman ◽  
Melanie A. Murphy ◽  
Jacob R. Goheen
Keyword(s):  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis

Grasshopper Mandibles and the Niche Variation Hypothesis

Evolution ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis

scholarly journals How to Become a Generalist Species? Individual Niche Variation Across Habitat Transformation Gradients

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Liang ◽  
Shengnan Yang ◽  
Emilio Pagani-Núñez ◽  
Chao He ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Type ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Niche Width ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Niche Expansion ◽  
Habitat Transformation ◽  
Niche Dynamics ◽  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis

Species in transformed habitats, frequently labeled as environmental generalists, tend to show broader niches than species in natural habitats. However, how population niche expansion translates into changes in the niches of individual organisms remains unclear, particularly in the context of habitat transformation. Niche expansion could be a product of individuals having broader niches, greater distances among individuals’ niches, or a combination of both processes. This would challenge the traditional conceptions on niche dynamics, which emphasize the role played by individual specialization (IS). Here, using stable isotopes, we computed total niche width (TNW), its within- and between-individual components (WIC and BIC), and IS (the ratio WIC/TNW), in 13 populations of 6 bird species and 8 populations of 3 frog species in natural and transformed habitats. We confirmed that species had broader niche width in transformed than in natural habitats, yet population niche expansion across habitats was mainly a product of increased distance between individuals. Within each habitat type, increases in TNW were linked to increases in WIC for all habitat types, while relationships between TNW and BIC were found in transformed but not in natural habitats. Hence, both increased individual niche width and increased distance among individuals were apparent within habitats, particularly in transformed ones, where increases in WIC dominated. Neither across or within habitats was niche expansion associated with increasing IS. Therefore, our results overturn traditional conceptions associated with the niche variation hypothesis and illustrate that niche expansion is not invariably associated with increased IS, because the distance between individual’s niches (BIC) can increase, as well as the breadth of those niches (WIC).

Upscaling the niche variation hypothesis from the intra- to the inter-specific level

Oecologia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 179 (3) ◽  
pp. 835-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie Bison ◽  
Sébastien Ibanez ◽  
Claire Redjadj ◽  
Frédéric Boyer ◽  
Eric Coissac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Level ◽  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis

Genetic variation and conservation of stream fishes: influence of ecology, life history, and water quality

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1822-1836 ◽  
Author(s):  
M R Heithaus ◽  
R H Laushman
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Life History ◽  
Genetic Erosion ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Pollution Tolerance ◽  
Niche Variation ◽  
Niche Variation Hypothesis ◽  
Etheostoma Blennioides ◽  
Etheostoma Caeruleum

Three stream-dwelling fish species were used to investigate effects of ecology, life history, and water quality on genetic variation. We sampled Etheostoma caeruleum, E. blennioides, and Campostoma anomalum from six streams of varying water quality. Allozyme electrophoresis revealed that the most ecologically specialized species, E. caeruleum, was the least variable (P = 68.4%, Hobs = 1.2%). Etheostoma blennioides was intermediate in specialization and variation (P = 77.8%, Hobs = 7.8%), and the least specialized species, C. anomalum, had the most variation (P = 90.0%, Hobs = 12.1%). This pattern conforms to Willis' niche-variation hypothesis and Selander and Kaufman's adaptation model. Differences in ecology, life history, and amount of genetic variation are responsible for differences in how variation is apportioned within and among populations and within and among rivers. Populations in the river with the worst water quality (Huron River) had the lowest within-population variation for each species; therefore, genetic variation may be a useful indicator of water quality. Lower genetic variation may result from selection associated with specific loci, e.g., PGM-2, in stoneroller minnows. However, indirect effects on population size probably contributed to the erosion of genetic variation. Ecology, life history, and pollution tolerance data combine as predictors of species' risk of genetic erosion.

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