A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore
Abstract Despite the shared prediction that the width of a population's dietary niche expands as food becomes limiting, the Niche Variation Hypothesis (NVH) and Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) offer contrasting views about how individuals alter diet selection when food is limited. Classical OFT p...
Published in: | Journal of Animal Ecology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 |
id |
crwiley:10.1111/1365-2656.13351 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1111/1365-2656.13351 2024-09-15T17:36:19+00:00 A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore Jesmer, Brett R. Kauffman, Matthew J. Murphy, Melanie A. Goheen, Jacob R. Jackson, Andrew National Science Foundation American Society of Mammalogists National Institute of Food and Agriculture Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado Parks and Wildlife 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Animal Ecology volume 89, issue 12, page 2825-2839 ISSN 0021-8790 1365-2656 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 2024-08-27T04:30:51Z Abstract Despite the shared prediction that the width of a population's dietary niche expands as food becomes limiting, the Niche Variation Hypothesis (NVH) and Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) offer contrasting views about how individuals alter diet selection when food is limited. Classical OFT predicts that dietary preferences do not change as food becomes limiting, so individuals expand their diets as they compensate for a lack of preferred foods. In contrast, the NVH predicts that among‐individual variation in cognition, physiology or morphology create functional trade‐offs in foraging efficiency, thereby causing individuals to specialize on different subsets of food as food becomes limiting. To evaluate (a) the predictions of the NVH and OFT and (b) evidence for physiological and cognitive‐based functional trade‐offs, we used DNA microsatellites and metabarcoding to quantify the diet, microbiome and genetic relatedness (a proxy for social learning) of 218 moose Alces alces across six populations that varied in their degree of food limitation. Consistent with both the NVH and OFT, dietary niche breadth increased with food limitation. Increased diet breadth of individuals—rather than increased diet specialization—was strongly correlated with both food limitation and dietary niche breadth of populations, indicating that moose foraged in accordance with OFT. Diets were not constrained by inheritance of the microbiome or inheritance of diet selection, offering support for the little‐tested hypothesis that functional trade‐offs in food use (or lack thereof) determine whether populations adhere to the predictions of the NVH or OFT. Our results indicate that both the absence of strong functional trade‐offs and the digestive physiology of ruminants provide contexts under which populations should forage in accordance with OFT rather than the NVH. Also, because dietary niche width increased with increased food limitation, OFT and the NVH provide theoretical support for the notion that plant–herbivore interaction networks ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Wiley Online Library Journal of Animal Ecology 89 12 2825 2839 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Despite the shared prediction that the width of a population's dietary niche expands as food becomes limiting, the Niche Variation Hypothesis (NVH) and Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) offer contrasting views about how individuals alter diet selection when food is limited. Classical OFT predicts that dietary preferences do not change as food becomes limiting, so individuals expand their diets as they compensate for a lack of preferred foods. In contrast, the NVH predicts that among‐individual variation in cognition, physiology or morphology create functional trade‐offs in foraging efficiency, thereby causing individuals to specialize on different subsets of food as food becomes limiting. To evaluate (a) the predictions of the NVH and OFT and (b) evidence for physiological and cognitive‐based functional trade‐offs, we used DNA microsatellites and metabarcoding to quantify the diet, microbiome and genetic relatedness (a proxy for social learning) of 218 moose Alces alces across six populations that varied in their degree of food limitation. Consistent with both the NVH and OFT, dietary niche breadth increased with food limitation. Increased diet breadth of individuals—rather than increased diet specialization—was strongly correlated with both food limitation and dietary niche breadth of populations, indicating that moose foraged in accordance with OFT. Diets were not constrained by inheritance of the microbiome or inheritance of diet selection, offering support for the little‐tested hypothesis that functional trade‐offs in food use (or lack thereof) determine whether populations adhere to the predictions of the NVH or OFT. Our results indicate that both the absence of strong functional trade‐offs and the digestive physiology of ruminants provide contexts under which populations should forage in accordance with OFT rather than the NVH. Also, because dietary niche width increased with increased food limitation, OFT and the NVH provide theoretical support for the notion that plant–herbivore interaction networks ... |
author2 |
Jackson, Andrew National Science Foundation American Society of Mammalogists National Institute of Food and Agriculture Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado Parks and Wildlife |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jesmer, Brett R. Kauffman, Matthew J. Murphy, Melanie A. Goheen, Jacob R. |
spellingShingle |
Jesmer, Brett R. Kauffman, Matthew J. Murphy, Melanie A. Goheen, Jacob R. A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
author_facet |
Jesmer, Brett R. Kauffman, Matthew J. Murphy, Melanie A. Goheen, Jacob R. |
author_sort |
Jesmer, Brett R. |
title |
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
title_short |
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
title_full |
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
title_fullStr |
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
title_full_unstemmed |
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
title_sort |
test of the niche variation hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Journal of Animal Ecology volume 89, issue 12, page 2825-2839 ISSN 0021-8790 1365-2656 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13351 |
container_title |
Journal of Animal Ecology |
container_volume |
89 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2825 |
op_container_end_page |
2839 |
_version_ |
1810488685999685632 |