|
|
Niche Partitioning in Tropical Birds
Petruf, Miroslav ; Sedláček, Ondřej (advisor) ; Exnerová, Alice (referee)
in English Niche partitioning is a process that allows species to coexist by minimizing competition. Niches get narrow with growing habitat heterogeneity, which is evident in tightly packed tropical communities. Closely related species exhibit a high niche overlap, which intensifies competition for resources in their sympatry. Such birds avoid competitive exclusion by foraging using different methods or in different strata. Character displacement makes sympatric species diverge in foraging niches as well as in morphology, allowing specialized species to access private resources. Tropical birds in seasonal environments tend to occupy different niches in the wet and in the dry season, based on the availability of resources in their preferred habitats. Resource subdivision in sympatric members of an ecological guild usually depends on body-size- determined dominance. Territoriality may depend on the costs and benefits of defending resources, which may change seasonally. Dominance statuses vary within populations of the same species, too, promoting intra-specific niche partitioning. Within-species differences in foraging can also be the result of sexual dimorphism or differences in reproductive roles. Moreover, intra-specific differences in foraging may also explain the partial migration of some...
|
guest ::
