Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin
Niche theory predicts that closely related and ecologically similar species with overlapping distribution ranges can coexist through resource partitioning that limits interspecific competition. However, studies examining the mechanisms promoting coexistence of top predators at a large geographical s...
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Oxford Academic : Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, : China Zoological Society
2024
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1029219 https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae001 |
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ftunivmilanoair:oai:air.unimi.it:2434/1029219 2024-05-12T08:03:19+00:00 Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin Samuele Ramellini Emanuele Crepet Stefano Lapadula Andrea Romano S. Ramellini E. Crepet S. Lapadula A. Romano 2024 https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1029219 https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae001 eng eng Oxford Academic : Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, : China Zoological Society info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001159798200001 firstpage:1 lastpage:10 numberofpages:10 journal:CURRENT ZOOLOGY https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1029219 doi:10.1093/cz/zoae001 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess diet foraging guild interspecific competition Mediterranean Basin sympatry trophic niche partitioning Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia Settore BIO/05 - Zoologia info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2024 ftunivmilanoair https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae001 2024-04-17T14:20:02Z Niche theory predicts that closely related and ecologically similar species with overlapping distribution ranges can coexist through resource partitioning that limits interspecific competition. However, studies examining the mechanisms promoting coexistence of top predators at a large geographical scale are still scant. Here, we describe the foraging ecology of 3 sympatric owl species (Northern long-eared owl [Asio otus], Tawny owl [Strix aluco], Eurasian eagle owl [Bubo bubo]) in the Mediterranean Basin. We review 160 studies reporting diet information (212,236 vertebrate preys) and investigate among-species differences in diet metrics (diversity, evenness, prey size, and proportion of mammals) and their variation along geographical and environmental gradients. Moreover, we test whether diet metrics differ in presence or absence of the other predators. All the 3 species mainly rely on small mammals, but they significantly differ in diet metrics. The smallest predator (i.e., long-eared owl) shows a higher level of specialism on small mammals (highest proportion but lowest diversity of mammals in the diet) compared to the larger ones. In addition, mean prey size significantly increases with predator body size (long-eared owl < tawny owl < eagle owl). Finally, interspecific competition results in an increase of diet diversity and evenness in the long-eared owl, and species' diet also varies in response to environmental factors. The 3 species thus segregate along several dietary niche axes over a large spatial scale and according to both morphological characteristics (i.e., body size) and environmental variables. Such dietary niche segregation may adaptively buffer interspecific competition costs, ultimately allowing coexistence. Article in Journal/Newspaper eurasian eagle-owl The University of Milan: Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (AIR) Current Zoology |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Milan: Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (AIR) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmilanoair |
language |
English |
topic |
diet foraging guild interspecific competition Mediterranean Basin sympatry trophic niche partitioning Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia Settore BIO/05 - Zoologia |
spellingShingle |
diet foraging guild interspecific competition Mediterranean Basin sympatry trophic niche partitioning Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia Settore BIO/05 - Zoologia Samuele Ramellini Emanuele Crepet Stefano Lapadula Andrea Romano Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
topic_facet |
diet foraging guild interspecific competition Mediterranean Basin sympatry trophic niche partitioning Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia Settore BIO/05 - Zoologia |
description |
Niche theory predicts that closely related and ecologically similar species with overlapping distribution ranges can coexist through resource partitioning that limits interspecific competition. However, studies examining the mechanisms promoting coexistence of top predators at a large geographical scale are still scant. Here, we describe the foraging ecology of 3 sympatric owl species (Northern long-eared owl [Asio otus], Tawny owl [Strix aluco], Eurasian eagle owl [Bubo bubo]) in the Mediterranean Basin. We review 160 studies reporting diet information (212,236 vertebrate preys) and investigate among-species differences in diet metrics (diversity, evenness, prey size, and proportion of mammals) and their variation along geographical and environmental gradients. Moreover, we test whether diet metrics differ in presence or absence of the other predators. All the 3 species mainly rely on small mammals, but they significantly differ in diet metrics. The smallest predator (i.e., long-eared owl) shows a higher level of specialism on small mammals (highest proportion but lowest diversity of mammals in the diet) compared to the larger ones. In addition, mean prey size significantly increases with predator body size (long-eared owl < tawny owl < eagle owl). Finally, interspecific competition results in an increase of diet diversity and evenness in the long-eared owl, and species' diet also varies in response to environmental factors. The 3 species thus segregate along several dietary niche axes over a large spatial scale and according to both morphological characteristics (i.e., body size) and environmental variables. Such dietary niche segregation may adaptively buffer interspecific competition costs, ultimately allowing coexistence. |
author2 |
S. Ramellini E. Crepet S. Lapadula A. Romano |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Samuele Ramellini Emanuele Crepet Stefano Lapadula Andrea Romano |
author_facet |
Samuele Ramellini Emanuele Crepet Stefano Lapadula Andrea Romano |
author_sort |
Samuele Ramellini |
title |
Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
title_short |
Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
title_full |
Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
title_fullStr |
Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the Mediterranean Basin |
title_sort |
trophic niche segregation in a guild of top predators within the mediterranean basin |
publisher |
Oxford Academic : Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, : China Zoological Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1029219 https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae001 |
genre |
eurasian eagle-owl |
genre_facet |
eurasian eagle-owl |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001159798200001 firstpage:1 lastpage:10 numberofpages:10 journal:CURRENT ZOOLOGY https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1029219 doi:10.1093/cz/zoae001 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae001 |
container_title |
Current Zoology |
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1798845430271836160 |