Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species
Abstract Understanding the processes that enable species coexistence has important implications for assessing how ecological systems will respond to global change. Morphology and functional similarity increase the potential for competition, and therefore, co‐occurring morphologically similar but gen...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1fe25ac0bbd14e19a1d8578d5b0b374d 2023-05-15T17:13:47+02:00 Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species Roberto Novella‐Fernandez Carlos Ibañez Javier Juste Elizabeth L. Clare C. Patrick Doncaster Orly Razgour 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/article/1fe25ac0bbd14e19a1d8578d5b0b374d EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/article/1fe25ac0bbd14e19a1d8578d5b0b374d Ecology and Evolution, Vol 10, Iss 24, Pp 14122-14136 (2020) bats cryptic species DNA metabarcoding interspecific competition molecular diet analysis Myotis nattereri species complex Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 2022-12-31T06:40:13Z Abstract Understanding the processes that enable species coexistence has important implications for assessing how ecological systems will respond to global change. Morphology and functional similarity increase the potential for competition, and therefore, co‐occurring morphologically similar but genetically unique species are a good model system for testing coexistence mechanisms. We used DNA metabarcoding and high‐throughput sequencing to characterize for the first time the trophic ecology of two recently described cryptic bat species with parapatric ranges, Myotis escalerai and Myotis crypticus. We collected fecal samples from allopatric and sympatric regions and from syntopic and allotopic locations within the sympatric region to describe the diets both taxonomically and functionally and compare prey consumption with prey availability. The two bat species had highly similar diets characterized by high arthropod diversity, particularly Lepidoptera, Diptera and Araneae, and a high proportion of prey that is not volant at night, which points to extensive use of gleaning. Diet overlap at the prey item level was lower in syntopic populations, supporting trophic shift under fine‐scale co‐occurrence. Furthermore, the diet of M. escalerai had a marginally lower proportion of not nocturnally volant prey in syntopic populations, suggesting that the shift in diet may be driven by a change in foraging mode. Our findings suggest that fine‐scale coexistence mechanisms can have implications for maintaining broad‐scale diversity patterns. This study highlights the importance of including both allopatric and sympatric populations and choosing meaningful spatial scales for detecting ecological patterns. We conclude that a combination of high taxonomic resolution with a functional approach helps identify patterns of niche shift. Article in Journal/Newspaper Myotis nattereri Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecology and Evolution 10 24 14122 14136 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
bats cryptic species DNA metabarcoding interspecific competition molecular diet analysis Myotis nattereri species complex Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
bats cryptic species DNA metabarcoding interspecific competition molecular diet analysis Myotis nattereri species complex Ecology QH540-549.5 Roberto Novella‐Fernandez Carlos Ibañez Javier Juste Elizabeth L. Clare C. Patrick Doncaster Orly Razgour Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
topic_facet |
bats cryptic species DNA metabarcoding interspecific competition molecular diet analysis Myotis nattereri species complex Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Understanding the processes that enable species coexistence has important implications for assessing how ecological systems will respond to global change. Morphology and functional similarity increase the potential for competition, and therefore, co‐occurring morphologically similar but genetically unique species are a good model system for testing coexistence mechanisms. We used DNA metabarcoding and high‐throughput sequencing to characterize for the first time the trophic ecology of two recently described cryptic bat species with parapatric ranges, Myotis escalerai and Myotis crypticus. We collected fecal samples from allopatric and sympatric regions and from syntopic and allotopic locations within the sympatric region to describe the diets both taxonomically and functionally and compare prey consumption with prey availability. The two bat species had highly similar diets characterized by high arthropod diversity, particularly Lepidoptera, Diptera and Araneae, and a high proportion of prey that is not volant at night, which points to extensive use of gleaning. Diet overlap at the prey item level was lower in syntopic populations, supporting trophic shift under fine‐scale co‐occurrence. Furthermore, the diet of M. escalerai had a marginally lower proportion of not nocturnally volant prey in syntopic populations, suggesting that the shift in diet may be driven by a change in foraging mode. Our findings suggest that fine‐scale coexistence mechanisms can have implications for maintaining broad‐scale diversity patterns. This study highlights the importance of including both allopatric and sympatric populations and choosing meaningful spatial scales for detecting ecological patterns. We conclude that a combination of high taxonomic resolution with a functional approach helps identify patterns of niche shift. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Roberto Novella‐Fernandez Carlos Ibañez Javier Juste Elizabeth L. Clare C. Patrick Doncaster Orly Razgour |
author_facet |
Roberto Novella‐Fernandez Carlos Ibañez Javier Juste Elizabeth L. Clare C. Patrick Doncaster Orly Razgour |
author_sort |
Roberto Novella‐Fernandez |
title |
Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
title_short |
Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
title_full |
Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
title_fullStr |
Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
title_sort |
trophic resource partitioning drives fine‐scale coexistence in cryptic bat species |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/article/1fe25ac0bbd14e19a1d8578d5b0b374d |
genre |
Myotis nattereri |
genre_facet |
Myotis nattereri |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 10, Iss 24, Pp 14122-14136 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-7758 2045-7758 doi:10.1002/ece3.7004 https://doaj.org/article/1fe25ac0bbd14e19a1d8578d5b0b374d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7004 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
14122 |
op_container_end_page |
14136 |
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1766070967859150848 |