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Guo Q, Lu X, Xie C, Zhang J, Xu X, Qian Y, Luo X, Duan Y. Trophic Niche Differentiation in Two Sympatric Nuthatch Species ( Sitta yunnanensis and Sitta nagaensis). Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1146. [PMID: 38672294 PMCID: PMC11047393 DOI: 10.3390/ani14081146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Sympatric closely related species may experience interspecific trophic competition due to ecological similarity; they may isolate in terms of diet or habitat use as a strategy to avoid competition. The body tissues of consumers contain stable isotope signatures information that can be applied to infer their dietary information. In this study, δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes were analyzed to determine the dietary information and trophic niches of sympatric coexisting Sitta yunnanensis and Sitta nagaensis. The results showed that the food sources of S. yunnanensis and S. nagaensis were from six orders, including Orthoptera, and the cumulative contribution rate was 99.97%, with the two species eating similar diets but at different rates. The larger δ13C of S. yunnanensis indicates that it had a wider range of habitats for feeding, while the difference in δ15N values was not significant (p > 0.05), indicating that both species feed on similar nutrient levels. As determined by Bayesian ellipses, the isotopic niches of S. yunnanensis and S. nagaensis were differentiated; the isotopic niche width of S. yunnanensis is 2.69‱2, which was larger than that of S. nagaensis (0.73‱2), indicates that differentiation between the two species in diet or habitat use reduced competition. Trophic niche differentiation and differences in foraging proportions may be the principal resource allocation mechanisms behind S. yunnanensis and S. nagaensis coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Guo
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (Q.G.); (X.L.); (J.Z.)
- College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (C.X.); (Y.Q.)
| | - Xi Lu
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (Q.G.); (X.L.); (J.Z.)
- Key Laboratory for Conserving Wildlife with Small Populations in Yunnan, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Chongxin Xie
- College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (C.X.); (Y.Q.)
| | - Jiansong Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (Q.G.); (X.L.); (J.Z.)
- Key Laboratory for Conserving Wildlife with Small Populations in Yunnan, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Xianyin Xu
- Administration of Zixi Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve, Chuxiong 675008, China
| | - Yuhan Qian
- College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (C.X.); (Y.Q.)
| | - Xu Luo
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (Q.G.); (X.L.); (J.Z.)
| | - Yubao Duan
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (Q.G.); (X.L.); (J.Z.)
- College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China; (C.X.); (Y.Q.)
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Tsutaya T, Ogawa NO, Nomura T, Shimizu M, Ohkouchi N, Kuze N. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic offsets between diet and hair/feces in captive orangutans. Primates 2021; 62:945-954. [PMID: 34415484 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-021-00940-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Estimating stable isotopic offset values is crucial for dietary reconstructions. Although research into stable isotope ecology of wild nonhuman primates is increasing overall, only a minority of studies involve laboratory experiments. This study is the first to report the carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic offset values in hair and feces of orangutans. During an experiment lasting 1 week, the weight of each consumed food item was recorded for each of six captive Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) individuals. The food, hair, and fecal samples were collected for a few days, and their stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured using an elemental analyzer/isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Subsamples of feces were treated with ethanol during the preservation process. Monte Carlo analyses showed that the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the carbon and nitrogen offset values between hair and diet were +0.9‰ to +3.9‰ and +2.3‰ to +4.5‰, respectively. The 95% CIs of the carbon and nitrogen offset values between feces and diet were -3.7‰ to -0.9‰ and +0.3‰ to +2.7‰, respectively. The effect of ethanol treatment on the stable isotope ratios of feces was unclear and inconclusive. The computed offset values of hair in captive orangutans are similar to those reported in other nonhuman primates, although those of feces showed greater interspecies variations. The offset values estimated in this study contribute to isotopic studies into the feeding ecology of free-ranging orangutans who are critically endangered in most wild settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Tsutaya
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan. .,Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Biogeochemistry Research Center, Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Natsushima 2-15, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan.
| | - Nanako O Ogawa
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Biogeochemistry Research Center, Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Natsushima 2-15, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Toshiya Nomura
- Tama Zoological Park, Hodokubo 7-1-1, Hino, Tokyo, 191-0042, Japan
| | - Mika Shimizu
- Tama Zoological Park, Hodokubo 7-1-1, Hino, Tokyo, 191-0042, Japan.,Present address: Ikimonosha, Maya 714, Akaiwa, Okayama, 709-0825, Japan
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Biogeochemistry Research Center, Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization, Natsushima 2-15, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Noko Kuze
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Amakubo 4-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0005, Japan
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