Individual environmental niches in mobile organisms
| Autor: | Walter Jetz, Ben S. Carlson, Martin Wikelski, Shay Rotics, Ran Nathan |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Carlson, Ben S [0000-0002-8892-0420], Wikelski, Martin [0000-0002-9790-7025], Jetz, Walter [0000-0002-1971-7277], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Carlson, Ben S. [0000-0002-8892-0420] |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Nested Pattern Behavioural ecology Ecology (disciplines) Science High variability Niche General Physics and Astronomy Biology Breeding 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article Birds Environmental space Homing Behavior ddc:570 Specialization (functional) Animals Ecosystem Ecological niche Multidisciplinary Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology fungi food and beverages General Chemistry 631/158/856 Biogeography 631/158/852 Animal Migration Seasons |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications Nature Communications, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Individual variation is increasingly recognized as a central component of ecological processes, but its role in structuring environmental niche associations remains largely unknown. Species’ responses to environmental conditions are ultimately determined by the niches of single individuals, yet environmental associations are typically captured only at the level of species. Here, we develop scenarios for how individual variation may combine to define the compound environmental niche of populations, use extensive movement data to document individual environmental niche variation, test associated hypotheses of niche configuration, and examine the consistency of individual niches over time. For 45 individual white storks (Ciconia ciconia; 116 individual-year combinations), we uncover high variability in individual environmental associations, consistency of individual niches over time, and moderate to strong niche specialization. Within populations, environmental niches follow a nested pattern, with individuals arranged along a specialist-to-generalist gradient. These results reject common assumptions of individual niche equivalency among conspecifics, as well as the separation of individual niches into disparate parts of environmental space. These findings underscore the need for a more thorough consideration of individualistic environmental responses in global change research. Understanding how individual niches vary can inform ecology and conservation. A study of 45 GPS-tracked white storks across three breeding populations reveals that individual environmental niches are nested, arranged along a specialist-generalist gradient that is highly consistent over time. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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