Trophic resource partitioning drives fine-scale coexistence in cryptic bat species
dc.contributor.author | Novella-Fernandez, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Ibañez, C | |
dc.contributor.author | Juste, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Clare, EL | |
dc.contributor.author | Doncaster, CP | |
dc.contributor.author | Razgour, O | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-10-23T08:05:43Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-11-11 | |
dc.description.abstract | Understanding the processes that enable species coexistence has important implications for assessing how ecological systems will respond to global change. Morphology and functional similarity increase the potential for competition, and therefore, co-occurring morphologically similar but genetically unique species are a good model system for testing coexistence mechanisms. We used DNA metabarcoding and High Throughput Sequencing to characterise for the first time the trophic ecology of two recently-described cryptic bat species with parapatric ranges, Myotis escalerai and Myotis crypticus. We collected faecal samples from allopatric and sympatric regions and from syntopic and allotopic locations within the sympatric region to describe the diets both taxonomically and functionally and compare prey consumption with prey availability. The two bat species had highly similar diets characterised by high arthropod diversity, particularly Lepidoptera, Diptera and Araneae, and a high proportion of prey that is not volant at night, which points to extensive use of gleaning. Diet overlap at the prey-item level was lower in syntopic populations, supporting trophic shift under fine-scale co-occurrence. Furthermore, the diet of M. escalerai had a marginally lower proportion of not nocturnally volant prey in syntopic populations, suggesting that the shift in diet may be driven by a change in foraging mode. Our findings suggest that fine-scale coexistence mechanisms can have implications for maintaining broad-scale diversity patterns. This study highlights the importance of including both allopatric and sympatric populations and choosing meaningful spatial scales for detecting ecological patterns. We conclude that a combination of high taxonomic resolution with a functional approach helps identify patterns of niche shift. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published online 11 November 2020 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1002/ece3.7004 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | NE/M018660/2 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/123347 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Wiley / European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) / Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | |
dc.subject | Bats | en_GB |
dc.subject | cryptic species | en_GB |
dc.subject | DNA Metabarcoding | en_GB |
dc.subject | Interspecific competition | en_GB |
dc.subject | Molecular diet analysis | en_GB |
dc.subject | Myotis nattereri species complex | en_GB |
dc.subject | Species coexistence | en_GB |
dc.subject | Trophic partitioning | en_GB |
dc.title | Trophic resource partitioning drives fine-scale coexistence in cryptic bat species | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2020-10-23T08:05:43Z | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 2045-7758 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Ecology and Evolution | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2020-10-20 | |
exeter.funder | ::Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) | en_GB |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2020-10-20 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2020-10-22T15:15:26Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2020-11-26T11:56:54Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.