Isotopes complement morphology: Niche partitioning among greenbuls in the Afrotropical lowland forest
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081766%3A_____%2F24%3A00597881" target="_blank" >RIV/68081766:_____/24:00597881 - isvavai.cz</a>
Alternative codes found
RIV/00216208:11310/24:10489167
Result on the web
<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.13315" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.13315</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aje.13315" target="_blank" >10.1111/aje.13315</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Isotopes complement morphology: Niche partitioning among greenbuls in the Afrotropical lowland forest
Original language description
Biodiversity plays a vital role in ecosystem functioning, so understanding how species coexist is a cornerstone of ecology. However, despite decades of research, our current knowledge is incomplete due to methodological limitations and sampling bias, particularly in the species-rich tropics. In this study, we combined bill and body morphological traits with stable isotopes in feathers to quantify niche differentiation among six co-occurring greenbul taxa, a diverse group of frugivorous and insectivorous passerines with remarkable similarities in body shape, in the lowland rainforests of Mount Cameroon, West-Central Africa. Our results showed that the greenbul's niche space was primarily differentiated by variations in body morphology, with yellow-lored bristlebill Bleda notatus and eastern bearded greenbul Criniger chloronotus occupying ecological niches distinct from the remaining four taxa, while bill morphology indicated substantial overlap between the taxa. In addition, isotopic composition of the feathers revealed a separation of western greenbul Arizelocichla tephrolaema from the other taxa. Our results show that the integration of morphological and isotopic data can provide robust estimates of niche overlaps, providing evidence for the differentiation of ecological roles. This highlights the importance of integrating variable traits to improve our understanding of how animals exploit the multidimensional niche space that enables their coexistence.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10618 - Ecology
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/GA21-17125S" target="_blank" >GA21-17125S: A hazy barrier: Mid-elevation exchange of avian communities on Mt. Cameroon</a><br>
Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2024
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
African Journal of Ecology
ISSN
0141-6707
e-ISSN
1365-2028
Volume of the periodical
62
Issue of the periodical within the volume
3
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
9
Pages from-to
e13315
UT code for WoS article
001296260600001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
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