Interspecific Competition and the Foraging Behavior of Plain-Brown Woodcreepers

Ecology ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin O. Willis
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Briggs ◽  
Berry J. Brosi

AbstractInterspecific interactions (e.g. competition) can dynamically shape individual and species-level resource use within communities. Understanding how interspecific competition between pollinators species shapes resource use is of particular interest because pollinator foraging behavior (“floral fidelity”) is directly linked to plant reproductive function through the movement of conspecific pollen. Through targeted species removals, this study aims to gain a predictive understanding of how interspecific competition can influence pollinator foraging behavior. We explore how traits—specifically pollinator tongue length, known to dictate pollinator resource partitioning—influence behavioral plasticity and drive dynamic interspecific interactions. Our results demonstrate that bee species vary in their floral fidelity and that tongue length explains a large part of this variation. Bees with shorter tongues move between plant species (floral infidelity) more often than bees with longer tongues. We did not find significant variation in the response of bee species to a reduction in interspecific competition, but rather saw a guild-wide reduction in floral fidelity in response to the removal of the dominant bee species Finally, our results suggest that tongue length of the most abundant bee species, a site-level attribute, explains much of the site-to-site variation in pollinator foraging behavior. In particular, we found that as the tongue length of the most abundant bee in the site increases, the site level foraging fidelity decreases. With global pollinator populations on the decline, novel interactions between plants and pollinators are likely to occur. Exploring how the competitive landscape shapes foraging plasticity will help us generalize to other plant pollinator systems and begin to better predict the functional implications of competitive interactions.


The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 996-1009
Author(s):  
Joel A. Schmutz ◽  
Karen K. Laing

Abstract Broods of geese spend time feeding according to availability and quality of food plants, subject to inherent foraging and digestive constraints. We studied behavioral patterns of broods of Emperor Geese (Chen canagica) on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, and examined how feeding and alert behavior varied in relation to habitat and goose density. During 1994–1996, time spent feeding by Emperor Goose goslings and adult females was positively related to multispecies goose densities near observation blinds, and not to just Emperor Goose density. Similarly, body mass of Emperor Goose goslings was more strongly related (negatively) to multispecies goose densities than intraspecific densities. A grazing experiment in 1995 indicated that most above ground primary production by Carex subspathacea, a preferred food plant, was consumed by grazing geese. Those results demonstrate that interspecific competition for food occurred, with greatest support for goslings whose behavioral repertoire is limited primarily to feeding, digesting, and resting. Although the more abundant Cackling Canada Geese (Branta canadensis minima) differed from Emperor Geese in their preferred use of habitats during brooding rearing (Schmutz 2001), the two species occurred in equal abundance in habitats preferred by Emperor Goose broods. Thus, Cackling Canada Geese were a numerically significant competitor with Emperor Geese. Comparing these results to an earlier study, time spent feeding by goslings, adult females, and adult males were greater during 1993–1996 than during 1985–1986. During the interval between those studies, densities of Cackling Canada Geese increased two to three times whereas Emperor Goose numbers remained approximately stable, which implies that interspecific competition affected foraging behavior over a long time period. These density-dependent changes in foraging behavior and body mass indicate that interspecific competition affects nutrient acquisition and gosling growth, which has a demonstrated effect (Schmutz 1993) on juvenile survival of Emperor Geese. Management of Emperor Geese should consider interspecific relations and densities of all goose species occurring on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska.


2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Ferretti ◽  
Sandro Lovari ◽  
Philip A Stephens

Ecography ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Clark ◽  
Thomas G. Wolcott ◽  
Donna L. Wolcott ◽  
Anson H. Hines

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wilke ◽  
Benjamin Scheibehenne ◽  
Rui Mata ◽  
Peter M. Todd ◽  
H. Clark Barrett

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