Drivers of Interspecific Spatial Segregation in Two Closely‐Related Seabird Species at a Pan‐Atlantic Scale

ABSTRACT Aim Ecologically similar species living in sympatry are expected to segregate to reduce the effects of competition where resources are limiting. Segregation from heterospecifics commonly occurs in space, but it is often unknown whether such segregation has underlying environmental causes. Indeed, species could segregate because of different fundamental environmental requirements (i.e., ‘niche divergence’), because competitive exclusion at sympatric sites can force species to either change the habitat use they would have at allopatric sites (i.e., ‘niche displacement’) or to avoid certain areas, independently of habitat (i.e., ‘spatial avoidance’). Testing these hypotheses requires the comparison between sympatric and allopatric sites. Understanding the competitive mechanisms that underlie patterns of spatial segregation could improve predictions of species responses to environmental change, as competition might exacerbate the effects of environmental change. Location North Atlantic and Arctic. Taxa Common guillemots Uria aalge and Brünnich's guillemots Uria lomvia. Methods Here, we examine support for these explanations for spatial segregation in two closely‐related seabird species, common guillemots ( Uria aalge ) and Brünnich's guillemots ( U. lomvia ). For this, we collated a pan‐Atlantic data set of breeding season foraging tracks from 1046 individuals, collected from 20 colonies (8 sympatric and 12 allopatric). These were analysed with habitat models in a spatially transferable framework to compare habitat preferences between species at sympatric and allopatric sites. Results We found no effect of the distribution of heterospecifics on local habitat preferences of the focal species. We found differences in habitat preferences between species, but these were not sufficient to explain the observed levels of spatial segregation at sympatric sites. Main Conclusions Assuming we did not omit any relevant environmental variables, these results suggest a mix of niche divergence and spatial avoidance produces the observed patterns of spatial segregation.

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Journal
Journal of Biogeography
Published
2024-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.15042
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Avian ecology and behavior
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.38

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article

Drivers of Interspecific Spatial Segregation in Two Closely‐Related Seabird Species at a Pan‐Atlantic Scale

Anne‐Sophie Bonnet‐Lebrun, Sébastien Descamps, Morten Frederiksen, Jason Matthiopoulos et al.
3 citations
Journal of Biogeography
Avian ecology and behavior
1.38
article

Drivers of Interspecific Spatial Segregation in Two Closely‐Related Seabird Species at a Pan‐Atlantic Scale

Anne‐Sophie Bonnet‐Lebrun, Sébastien Descamps, Morten Frederiksen, Jason Matthiopoulos, Mark L. Mallory, Anders Mosbech, Nina Dehnhard, Jannie Fries Linnebjerg, Flemming Ravn Merkel, Sarah Wanless, Grant Gilchrist, Francis Daunt, Kjell Einar Erikstad, Þorkell Lindberg Þórarinsson, Mark Bolton, Tanguy Deville, Norman A. Ratcliffe, Kyle H. Elliott, Svein‐Håkon Lorentsen, Maria I. Bogdanova, Signe Christensen‐Dalsgaard, Allison G. L. Patterson, Rémi Lemaire‐Patin, Ellie Owen, Yann Kolbeinsson, Isabeau Pratte, Hallvard Strøm, Mike Harris, Robert T. Barrett
article en
3 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim Ecologically similar species living in sympatry are expected to segregate to reduce the effects of competition where resources are limiting. Segregation from heterospecifics commonly occurs in space, but it is often unknown whether such segregation has underlying environmental causes. Indeed, species could segregate because of different fundamental environmental requirements (i.e., ‘niche divergence’), because competitive exclusion at sympatric sites can force species to either change the habitat use they would have at allopatric sites (i.e., ‘niche displacement’) or to avoid certain areas, independently of habitat (i.e., ‘spatial avoidance’). Testing these hypotheses requires the comparison between sympatric and allopatric sites. Understanding the competitive mechanisms that underlie patterns of spatial segregation could improve predictions of species responses to environmental change, as competition might exacerbate the effects of environmental change. Location North Atlantic and Arctic. Taxa Common guillemots Uria aalge and Brünnich's guillemots Uria lomvia. Methods Here, we examine support for these explanations for spatial segregation in two closely‐related seabird species, common guillemots ( Uria aalge ) and Brünnich's guillemots ( U. lomvia ). For this, we collated a pan‐Atlantic data set of breeding season foraging tracks from 1046 individuals, collected from 20 colonies (8 sympatric and 12 allopatric). These were analysed with habitat models in a spatially transferable framework to compare habitat preferences between species at sympatric and allopatric sites. Results We found no effect of the distribution of heterospecifics on local habitat preferences of the focal species. We found differences in habitat preferences between species, but these were not sufficient to explain the observed levels of spatial segregation at sympatric sites. Main Conclusions Assuming we did not omit any relevant environmental variables, these results suggest a mix of niche divergence and spatial avoidance produces the observed patterns of spatial segregation.

Journal of BiogeographyVol. 52(2)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), British Antarctic Survey (GB), Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB), National Trust for Scotland (GB), Aarhus University (DK), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (FR), Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble (FR), Grønlands Naturinstitut (GL), Icelandic Tourism Research Centre (IS), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), The FRAM Centre (NO), McGill University (CA), University of Glasgow (GB), Norwegian Polar Institute (NO), Acadia University (CA)
Acadia University, UK Research and Innovation, Sight Research UK, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Norges Forskningsråd, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Miljødirektoratet, Mattilsynet, Klima- og miljødepartementet, Natural Environment Research Council
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Avian ecology and behavior
1.38
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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