Which Factors Determine Spatial Segregation in the South American Opossums (Didelphis aurita and D. albiventris)? An Ecological Niche Modelling and Geometric Morphometrics Approach

Autor: Carlo Meloro, Renan dos Santos Carvalho, Marcelo de Moraes Weber, Jonas Sponchiado, Nilton C. Cáceres, Geruza Leal Melo, Jamile de Moura Bubadué
Jazyk: angličtina
Předmět:
Male
0106 biological sciences
lcsh:Medicine
Forests
Generalist and specialist species
01 natural sciences
Geographical locations
Didelphis albiventris
Medicine and Health Sciences
Character displacement
Body Size
lcsh:Science
Musculoskeletal System
media_common
Multidisciplinary
Ecology
Geography
biology
Terrestrial Environments
Phylogeography
Biogeography
Sympatric speciation
Female
Ecological Niches
Anatomy
Research Article
Competitive Behavior
Forest Ecology
Imaging Techniques
media_common.quotation_subject
Zoology
Research and Analysis Methods
Models
Biological
010603 evolutionary biology
Ecosystems
Competition (biology)
Didelphis
Genetics
Animals
Skeleton
Ecosystem
Ecological niche
Evolutionary Biology
Population Biology
Morphometry
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
QH
lcsh:R
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Skull
Biology and Life Sciences
South America
biology.organism_classification
Environmental niche modelling
Earth Sciences
Body Constitution
lcsh:Q
Didelphis aurita
People and places
Population Genetics
Zdroj: PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 6, p e0157723 (2016)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Didelphis albiventris and D. aurita are Neotropical marsupials that share a unique evolutionary history and both are largely distributed throughout South America, being primarily allopatric throughout their ranges. In the Araucaria moist forest of Southern Brazil these species are sympatric and they might potentially compete having similar ecology. For this reason, they are ideal biological models to address questions about ecological character displacement and how closely related species might share their geographic space. Little is known about how two morphologically similar species of marsupials may affect each other through competition, if by competitive exclusion and competitive release. We combined ecological niche modeling and geometric morphometrics to explore the possible effects of competition on their distributional ranges and skull morphology. Ecological niche modeling was used to predict their potential distribution and this method enabled us to identify a case of biotic exclusion where the habit generalist D. albiventris is excluded by the presence of the specialist D. aurita. The morphometric analyses show that a degree of shape discrimination occurs between the species, strengthened by allometric differences, which possibly allowed them to occupy marginally different feeding niches supplemented by behavioral shift in contact areas. Overlap in skull morphology is shown between sympatric and allopatric specimens and a significant, but weak, shift in shape occurs only in D. aurita in sympatric areas. This could be a residual evidence of a higher past competition between both species, when contact zones were possibly larger than today. Therefore, the specialist D. aurita acts a biotic barrier to D. albiventris when niche diversity is not available for coexistence. On the other hand, when there is niche diversification (e.g. habitat mosaic), both species are capable to coexist with a minimal competitive effect on the morphology of D. aurita.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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