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AimBiotic interactions are key to understanding the ecology of species and communities. As such, integrating biotic interactions into ecological niche modelling methods has been a central topic of research for the last decade. Yet, the role of biotic interactions remains overlooked. Mutualistic systems constitute perfect study cases for analysing the effect of biotic interactions on species niches and communities’ composition.LocationIndo-Pacific OceanTime periodCurrentMajor taxa studiedClownfish-sea anemone mutualistic systemMethodsWe integrate mutualistic interactions into a niche quantification framework to analyse the effect of biotic interactions in the estimation of species niches, and competition patterns among clownfish communities.ResultsImplementing biotic interactions in ecological niche modelling can improve the reliability of niche estimations, especially in specialist species. Additionally, resource partitioning decreases niche overlap among clownfishes allowing coexistence in species-rich habitats.Main conclusionsWe provide a framework to estimate the effects of species interactions and demonstrate the importance of including biotic interaction to improve the estimation of species’ ecological niches. Finally, we show how resource partitioning regulates competition and provides the ecological basis to explain why clownfishes have different sets of associations with sea anemones. The variety of mutualistic strategies serves to ecosystem sustainability, reducing the effect of saturation by species richness and competitive exclusion. Competition avoidance through resource partitioning may be the primary mechanism that shapes clownfish communities across the Indo-Pacific. These findings strongly support the importance of biotic interactions in shaping communities. Future studies could use the proposed analytical framework to serve multiple conservation purposes. |
