Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density
For decades, ecologists have debated the importance of biotic interactions (e.g., competition) and abiotic factors in regulating populations. Competition can influence patterns of distribution, abundance, and resource use in many systems but remains difficult to measure. We quantified competition be...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5752000 2023-05-15T18:03:32+02:00 Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density Eckrich, Carolyn A. Flaherty, Elizabeth A. Ben-David, Merav 2018-01-03 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752000/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29298313 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752000/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29298313 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 © 2018 Eckrich et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Research Article Text 2018 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 2018-01-14T01:16:21Z For decades, ecologists have debated the importance of biotic interactions (e.g., competition) and abiotic factors in regulating populations. Competition can influence patterns of distribution, abundance, and resource use in many systems but remains difficult to measure. We quantified competition between two sympatric small mammals, Keen’s mice (Peromyscus keeni) and dusky shrews (Sorex monticolus), in four habitat types on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. We related shrew density to that of mice using standardized regression models while accounting for habitat variables in each year from 2010–2012, during which mice populations peaked (2011) and then crashed (2012). Additionally, we measured dietary overlap and segregation using stable isotope analysis and kernel utilization densities and estimated the change in whole community energy consumption among years. We observed an increase in densities of dusky shrews after mice populations crashed in 2012 as expected under competitive release. In addition, competition coefficients revealed that the influence of Keen’s mice was dependent on their density. Also in 2012, shrew diets shifted, indicating that they were able to exploit resources previously used by mice. Nonetheless, increases in shrew numbers only partially compensated for the community energy consumption because, as insectivores, they are unlikely to utilize all food types consumed by their competitors. In pre-commercially thinned stands, which exhibit higher diversity of resources compared to other habitat types, shrew populations were less affected by changes in mice densities. These spatially and temporally variable interactions between unlikely competitors, observed in a relatively simple, high-latitude island ecosystem, highlight the difficulty in assessing the role of biotic factors in structuring communities. Text Prince of Wales Island Alaska PubMed Central (PMC) Prince of Wales Island ENVELOPE(-99.001,-99.001,72.668,72.668) PLOS ONE 13 1 e0189471 |
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Research Article Eckrich, Carolyn A. Flaherty, Elizabeth A. Ben-David, Merav Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
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Research Article |
description |
For decades, ecologists have debated the importance of biotic interactions (e.g., competition) and abiotic factors in regulating populations. Competition can influence patterns of distribution, abundance, and resource use in many systems but remains difficult to measure. We quantified competition between two sympatric small mammals, Keen’s mice (Peromyscus keeni) and dusky shrews (Sorex monticolus), in four habitat types on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. We related shrew density to that of mice using standardized regression models while accounting for habitat variables in each year from 2010–2012, during which mice populations peaked (2011) and then crashed (2012). Additionally, we measured dietary overlap and segregation using stable isotope analysis and kernel utilization densities and estimated the change in whole community energy consumption among years. We observed an increase in densities of dusky shrews after mice populations crashed in 2012 as expected under competitive release. In addition, competition coefficients revealed that the influence of Keen’s mice was dependent on their density. Also in 2012, shrew diets shifted, indicating that they were able to exploit resources previously used by mice. Nonetheless, increases in shrew numbers only partially compensated for the community energy consumption because, as insectivores, they are unlikely to utilize all food types consumed by their competitors. In pre-commercially thinned stands, which exhibit higher diversity of resources compared to other habitat types, shrew populations were less affected by changes in mice densities. These spatially and temporally variable interactions between unlikely competitors, observed in a relatively simple, high-latitude island ecosystem, highlight the difficulty in assessing the role of biotic factors in structuring communities. |
format |
Text |
author |
Eckrich, Carolyn A. Flaherty, Elizabeth A. Ben-David, Merav |
author_facet |
Eckrich, Carolyn A. Flaherty, Elizabeth A. Ben-David, Merav |
author_sort |
Eckrich, Carolyn A. |
title |
Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
title_short |
Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
title_full |
Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
title_fullStr |
Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
title_full_unstemmed |
Functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
title_sort |
functional and numerical responses of shrews to competition vary with mouse density |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752000/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29298313 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-99.001,-99.001,72.668,72.668) |
geographic |
Prince of Wales Island |
geographic_facet |
Prince of Wales Island |
genre |
Prince of Wales Island Alaska |
genre_facet |
Prince of Wales Island Alaska |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752000/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29298313 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 |
op_rights |
© 2018 Eckrich et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
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CC-BY |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189471 |
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PLOS ONE |
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13 |
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