Spatial distribution and ecological niches of non-breeding planktivorous petrels
Navarro, J.; Cardador, L.; Brown, R.; Phillips, R.A. (2015). Spatial distribution and ecological niches of non-breeding planktivorous petrels. NPG Scientific Reports 5: 12164. https://hdl.handle.net/10.1038/srep12164
In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, meer
|   |
| Auteurs | | Top |
- Navarro, J.
- Cardador, L.
- Brown, R.
- Phillips, R.A.
|
|
|
| Abstract |
According to niche theory, mechanisms exist that allow co-existence of organisms that would otherwise compete for the same prey and other resources. How seabirds cope with potential competition during the non-breeding period is poorly documented, particularly for small species. Here we investigate for the first time the potential role of spatial, environmental (habitat) and trophic (isotopic) segregation as niche-partitioning mechanisms during the non-breeding season for four species of highly abundant, zooplanktivorous seabird that breed sympatrically in the Southern Ocean. Spatial segregation was found to be the main partitioning mechanism; even for the two sibling species of diving petrel, which spent the non-breeding period in overlapping areas, there was evidence from distribution and stable isotope ratios for differences in habitat use and diving depth. |
|
