Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes
Species occurring in sympatry and relying on similar and limited resources may partition resource use to avoid overlap and interspecific competition. Aotearoa, New Zealand hosts an extraordinarily rich marine megafauna, including 50% of the world’s cetacean species. In this study, we used carbon and...
Published in: | Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081179 https://doaj.org/article/afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 2023-08-27T04:11:34+02:00 Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes Katharina J. Peters Sarah J. Bury Bethany Hinton Emma L. Betty Déborah Casano-Bally Guido J. Parra Karen A. Stockin 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081179 https://doaj.org/article/afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/8/1179 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology11081179 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 Biology, Vol 11, Iss 1179, p 1179 (2022) diet dolphins stable isotopes nitrogen carbon feeding ecology Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081179 2023-08-06T00:42:50Z Species occurring in sympatry and relying on similar and limited resources may partition resource use to avoid overlap and interspecific competition. Aotearoa, New Zealand hosts an extraordinarily rich marine megafauna, including 50% of the world’s cetacean species. In this study, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes as ecological tracers to investigate isotopic niche overlap between 21 odontocete (toothed whale) species inhabiting neritic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic waters. Results showed a clear niche separation for the bathypelagic Gray’s beaked whales ( Mesoplodon grayi ) and sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ), but high isotopic niche overlap and potential interspecific competition for neritic and mesopelagic species. For these species, competition could be reduced via temporal or finer-scale spatial segregation or differences in foraging behaviour. This study represents the first insights into the coexistence of odontocetes in a biodiverse hotspot. The data presented here provide a critical baseline to a system already ongoing ecosystem change via ocean warming and subsequent effects on prey abundance and distributions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles New Zealand Biology 11 8 1179 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
diet dolphins stable isotopes nitrogen carbon feeding ecology Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
diet dolphins stable isotopes nitrogen carbon feeding ecology Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Katharina J. Peters Sarah J. Bury Bethany Hinton Emma L. Betty Déborah Casano-Bally Guido J. Parra Karen A. Stockin Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
topic_facet |
diet dolphins stable isotopes nitrogen carbon feeding ecology Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Species occurring in sympatry and relying on similar and limited resources may partition resource use to avoid overlap and interspecific competition. Aotearoa, New Zealand hosts an extraordinarily rich marine megafauna, including 50% of the world’s cetacean species. In this study, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes as ecological tracers to investigate isotopic niche overlap between 21 odontocete (toothed whale) species inhabiting neritic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic waters. Results showed a clear niche separation for the bathypelagic Gray’s beaked whales ( Mesoplodon grayi ) and sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ), but high isotopic niche overlap and potential interspecific competition for neritic and mesopelagic species. For these species, competition could be reduced via temporal or finer-scale spatial segregation or differences in foraging behaviour. This study represents the first insights into the coexistence of odontocetes in a biodiverse hotspot. The data presented here provide a critical baseline to a system already ongoing ecosystem change via ocean warming and subsequent effects on prey abundance and distributions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Katharina J. Peters Sarah J. Bury Bethany Hinton Emma L. Betty Déborah Casano-Bally Guido J. Parra Karen A. Stockin |
author_facet |
Katharina J. Peters Sarah J. Bury Bethany Hinton Emma L. Betty Déborah Casano-Bally Guido J. Parra Karen A. Stockin |
author_sort |
Katharina J. Peters |
title |
Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
title_short |
Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
title_full |
Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
title_fullStr |
Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Too Close for Comfort? Isotopic Niche Segregation in New Zealand’s Odontocetes |
title_sort |
too close for comfort? isotopic niche segregation in new zealand’s odontocetes |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081179 https://doaj.org/article/afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 |
geographic |
New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
New Zealand |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale |
op_source |
Biology, Vol 11, Iss 1179, p 1179 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/8/1179 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology11081179 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/afef573585f2446996e0e9ce4b4a9dd0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11081179 |
container_title |
Biology |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1179 |
_version_ |
1775354473026158592 |