Evolution of ecological structure of anole communities in tropical rain forests from north-western South America

Autor: Rafael A. Moreno-Arias, Paul Bloor, Martha L. Calderón-Espinosa
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 190:298-313
ISSN: 1096-3642
0024-4082
DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa006
Popis: The coexistence of several anoles in the same place is attributed to differential partitioning of resources. Although several mainland and island communities show a similar structure, differences in life-history traits, absence of niche complementarity, higher food supply and higher numbers of predators in mainland environments support the idea that predation, rather than competition, is a more important structuring force in mainland than in island anole communities. To analyse the pattern of ecological structure in mainland anole communities, we studied communities in three tropical rain forests of north-western South America to obtain data about the use of resources on three niche axes [spatial, thermal and morphological (as a proxy of diet)] for 17 species of anoles. We analysed the patterns of niche overlap for each axis and found that overlap on the dietary axis was less than the overlap on the other axes, indicating that species using similar spatial or thermal resources diverge strongly in their diet. In addition, we identified a niche complementarity among niche axes, suggesting that intraspecific competition is also an important process in those communities. Finally, this study revealed a similar ecological structure in different communities of mainland rain-forest anoles, which share seven ecomorphs, suggesting ecological adaptation and convergence in mainland anoles.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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