A model for character displacement based on competition between species

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
M. G. Bulmer

When two closely-related species have a partially-overlapping geographical range, it sometimes happens that populations of the two species are very similar in the non-overlapping parts of the range where only one species is present, but that they diverge and are easily distinguishable in the area of overlap where both species occur together. This phenomenon is known as character displacement. One of the best known examples occurs in two species of Rock Nuthatches (Sitta neumayer and S. tephronota) in their area of overlap in Iran (Vaurie (1951)). A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is that it is due to competition between the two species. The purpose of this paper is to construct a model for character displacement based on this idea. A full account of this work will be published elsewhere (Bulmer (1973)).

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
M. G. Bulmer

When two closely-related species have a partially-overlapping geographical range, it sometimes happens that populations of the two species are very similar in the non-overlapping parts of the range where only one species is present, but that they diverge and are easily distinguishable in the area of overlap where both species occur together. This phenomenon is known as character displacement. One of the best known examples occurs in two species of Rock Nuthatches (Sitta neumayer and S. tephronota) in their area of overlap in Iran (Vaurie (1951)). A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is that it is due to competition between the two species. The purpose of this paper is to construct a model for character displacement based on this idea. A full account of this work will be published elsewhere (Bulmer (1973)).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Park ◽  
Ian K. Breckheimer ◽  
Aaron M. Ellison ◽  
Goia M. Lyra ◽  
Charles C. Davis

AbstractInteractions between species can influence access to resources and successful reproduction. One possible outcome of such interactions is reproductive character displacement. Here, the similarity of reproductive traits – such as flowering time – among close relatives growing in sympatry differ more so than when growing apart. However, evidence for the overall prevalence and direction of this phenomenon, or the stability of such differences under environmental change, remains untested across large taxonomic and spatial scales. We apply data from tens of thousands of herbarium specimens to examine character displacement in flowering time across 110 animal-pollinated angiosperm species in the eastern USA. We demonstrate that the degree and direction of phenological displacement among co-occurring closely related species pairs varies tremendously. Overall, flowering time displacement in sympatry is not common. However, displacement is generally greater among species pairs that flower close in time, regardless of direction. We additionally identify that future climate change may alter the nature of phenological displacement among many of these species pairs. On average, flowering times of closely related species were predicted to shift further apart by the mid-21st century, which may have significant future consequences for species interactions and gene flow.


1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
NA Campbell ◽  
JM Dearn

Morphological variation between and within the closely related species Praxibuius sp.. Kosciuscola cognatus and K. usiratus has been examined along three independent altitudinal transects, by a multivariate statistical approach. The analyses, which were restricted to males. show that there is complete morphological separation between the three species. Moreover. there are species-specific patterns of character correlation which are consistent and relatively invariant within species, and do not exhibit altitudinal variation. The results suggest that there exist both distinct invariant species-specific character patterns and variable character patterns showing intraspecific variation. It is concluded that speciation in these grasshoppers could have involved genetic changes quite distinct from those involved in local intraspecific adaptation. Two further results are: first. evidence has been obtained for character displacement between Kosciuscola cognaius and Praxibulus sp. in an area of extensive sympatry: second. populations of K. cognatus along one transect, with a karyotype intermediate between typical K. cognatus and X usiiatus, show a parallel change in morphology towards that characteristic of K. usiiatus.


1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. J. Klaver ◽  
Wolfgang Böhme

AbstractIn this paper all material of Chamaeleo quadricornis, present in museum collections, has been studied. Using morphological and geographical characteristics two subspecies are recognized, one of which is new: Chamaeleo quadricornis gracilior ssp. n. The history of the species has been reconstructed, using schemes of the orographic profile of West Cameroon, which furnishes a historical interpretation for the new subspecies. The closely related species C. eisentrauti and C. montium have also been discussed in this context. The assumed phylogenetic affinities are represented in a phylogram. This leads us to the following hypotheses: - in the Tchabal Mbabo mountains, which have hardly been explored faunistically, there probably lives a chameleon, that resembles C. quadricornis. - the differentiation in characteristics between C. montium and the sympatric C. eisentrauti and C. q. quadricornis (both being mutually allopatric) on the one hand and the allopatric C. q. gracilior ssp. n. on the other hand can be explained by "character displacement".


2005 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred. N. Poeser ◽  
Michael Kempkes ◽  
Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker

The taxonomy of the common guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859, is reviewed and the closely related Campoma guppy, P. wingei n. sp., is described. Formerly, the common guppy was not judged to be closely related to any other species of Poecilia, but the new species is the second species to be allocated in the subgenus Acanthophacelus Eigenmann, 1907. The recognition of P. wingei results from observed character displacement, i.e., on the interaction between two closely related species in a shared environment. In addition to differences in coloration, behaviour also indicates specific differences. The area in which P. wingei occurs, the Campoma region at the base of the Paría Peninsula in Venezuela, hints to an origin of the subgenus Acanthophacelus prior to the uplift of the Cordilleras, i.e., the eastern orogenesis of the Andes. Moreover, an explanation is offered for aberrant molecular data in Trinidadian guppies.


2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-294
Author(s):  
Christian Deschodt ◽  
Adrian Davis ◽  
Clarke Scholtz

AbstractIn this paper we describe new dung beetle taxa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) and discuss others previously described from arid south-western Africa. Descriptions are provided for a new monotypic genus (Versicorpus Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz gen.n.) and three new species, Versicorpus erongoensis Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz sp.n., Namakwanus endroedyi Deschodt, Davis and Scholtz, sp.n., and Scarabaeus (Kheper) kalaharicus Davis, Deschodt and Scholtz, sp.n. The type material of Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus) hottentorum Péringuey is examined and spelling errors on the labels are discussed. Inconsistencies between the published type locality, type locality labels, and the known geographical range are also discussed. The recently described Kheper namibicus Krajcik 2006 is synonymised with Scarabaeus (Kheper) cupreus (Castelnau 1840). Distribution records are provided for the new species described here while some closely related species are discussed.


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