| Title: | Ecological traits and the spatial structure of competitive coexistence among carnivores |
| Author(s): | Monterroso P; Diaz-Ruiz F; Lukacs PM; Alves PC; Ferreras P; |
| Address: | "CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigacao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairao, Rua Padre Armando Quinta 7, Vairao, 3385-661, Portugal. Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, Ciudad Real, 12071, Spain. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Malaga, Avda. Cervantes 2, Malaga, 29071, Spain. Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre S/N, Edificio FC4, Porto, 4169-007, Portugal" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1939-9170 (Electronic) 0012-9658 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Competition is a widespread interaction among carnivores, ultimately manifested through one or more dimensions of the species' ecological niche. One of the most explicit manifestations of competitive interactions regards spatial displacement. Its interpretation under a theoretical context provides an important tool to deepen our understanding of biological systems and communities, but also for wildlife management and conservation. We used Bayesian multispecies occupancy models on camera-trapping data from multiple sites in Southwestern Europe (SWE) to investigate competitive interactions within a carnivore guild, and to evaluate how species' ecological traits are shaping coexistence patterns. Seventeen out of 26 pairwise interactions departed from a hypothesis of independent occurrence, with spatial association being twice as frequent as avoidance. Association behaviors were only detected among mesocarnivores, while avoidance mainly involved mesocarnivores avoiding the apex predator (n = 4) and mesocarnivore-only interactions (n = 2). Body mass ratios, defined as the dominant over the subordinate species body mass, revealed an important negative effect ( beta; = - 0.38; CI95 = - 0.81 to - 0.06 ) on co-occurrence probability, and support that spatially explicit competitive interactions are mostly expressed by larger species able to dominate over smaller ones, with a threshold in body mass ratios of ~4, above which local-scale intraguild coexistence is unlikely. We found a weak relationship between pairwise trophic niche overlap and the probability of coexistence ( beta; = - 0.19; CI95 = - 0.58 to 0.21 ), suggesting that competition for feeding resources may not be a key driver of competition, at least at the scale of our analysis. Despite local-scale avoidance, regional-scale coexistence appears to be maintained by the spatial structuring of the competitive environment. We provide evidence that SWE ecosystems consist of spatially structured competitive environments, and propose that coexistence among near-sized species is likely achieved through the interplay of 'facultative' and 'behavioral' character displacements. Factors influencing carnivore coexistence likely include context-dependent density and trait-mediated effects, which should be carefully considered for a sound understanding of the mechanisms regulating these communities" |
| Keywords: | Animals Bayes Theorem *Carnivora *Ecosystem Europe Phenotype carnivores coexistence competition ecological traits occupancy modeling species interactions; |
| Notes: | "MedlineMonterroso, Pedro Diaz-Ruiz, Francisco Lukacs, Paul M Alves, Paulo C Ferreras, Pablo eng OAPN 352/2011/Organismo Autonomo de Parques Nacionales/International FJCI-2015-24949/Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion/International POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821/European Regional Development Fund/International CGL2009-10741/Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion/International SFRH/BD/37795/2007/Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia/International UID/BIA/50027/2013/FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology/International POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821/FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology/International FJCI-2015-24949/Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness/International Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2020/04/26 Ecology. 2020 Aug; 101(8):e03059. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3059. Epub 2020 Jun 9" |
