| Titre |
Isotopic niche structure of a mammalian herbivore assemblage from a West African savanna: Body mass and seasonality effect |
| Auteurs |
DJAGOUN CHABI A.M.S. [1],
CODRON D [2],
SEALY J. [3],
SINSIN Brice A. [4],
|
| Journal: |
Mammalian Biology |
| Catégorie Journal: |
Internationale |
| Impact factor: |
1.429 |
| Volume Journal: |
81 |
| DOI: |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2016.09.001 |
| Resume |
Understanding the mechanisms of species coexistence within local assemblages can play a crucial role in
conservation
of
a species. There is little understanding of how large mammalian bovid species from West
Africa
partition diet resources, and to what extent they may vary their diet and habitat selection seasonally
in
order to coexist. Here we studied an assemblage of eleven bovid species in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve,
West
Africa and used faecal stable isotopes of carbon (
13
C) and nitrogen (
15
N) to test the impact of body
mass
diet partitioning at a seasonal scale. We found a significant positive relationship between isotopic
niche
similarity and body size similarity both in dry (p < 0.001) and wet (p < 0.001) season. Partitioning of
carbon
isotope niches is at least partly due to interactions amongst species rather than historical effects.
Our
findings also show numerous patterns in resource partitioning amongst the 11 bovid species studied,
suggesting
that different species used dietary resources in contrasting ways. In practice, actual resource
competition
between bovid species is difficult to demonstrate, but there exists much overlap in diet along
the
stable carbon isotope axis for most of the studied species. However we conclude that in our study
area,
especially in the wet season, niche breadth and diet overlap remain large. Abundant resources and
low
herbivore densities mean there is no need for herbivores to specialize, because they do not have to
compete
overscarceresources. |
| Mots clés |
Diet, breadth, Body, mass, Browser, Grazer, Competition, Coexisting |
| Pages |
644 - 650 |
| Fichier |
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