TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial segregation of the endemic versus non-endemic hummingbird on Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile
T2 - the effect of competitor abundance but not resources or habitat
AU - Vizentin-Bugoni, Jeferson
AU - Sonne, Jesper
AU - Hodum, Peter
AU - Hagen, Erin
AU - Cordeiro, Juliana
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - Competitive pressure from invasive species tends to have a particularly strong impact on remote islands, and knowledge of such phenomena can be crucial to the conservation of endemic biodiversity. Of the two hummingbird species inhabiting Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile, one (Green-backed Firecrown, Sephanoides sephaniodes) has a wide mainland distribution while the other (Juan Fernández Firecrown, Sephanoides fernandensis) is endemic and critically endangered. Even though habitat degradation and predation by exotic mammal species are known to pose major threats, little attention has been given to the influence of interspecific competition for floral nectar resources. In this study, we investigated the existence of interspecific competition by testing for spatial segregation of the two species using point counts dispersed within their suitable habitats. We additionally considered the influence of habitat type and flower abundance, which could also cause spatial segregation between the species. We found a negative association between the point count abundance of the two hummingbirds species, which remained consistent when accounting for the role of habitat type and flower abundance. Together, this could be an indication of interspecific competition in which individuals of S. fernandensis may benefit from aggregation by sharing the individual costs of chasing the vastly more abundant S. sephaniodes.
AB - Competitive pressure from invasive species tends to have a particularly strong impact on remote islands, and knowledge of such phenomena can be crucial to the conservation of endemic biodiversity. Of the two hummingbird species inhabiting Robinson Crusoe Island, Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile, one (Green-backed Firecrown, Sephanoides sephaniodes) has a wide mainland distribution while the other (Juan Fernández Firecrown, Sephanoides fernandensis) is endemic and critically endangered. Even though habitat degradation and predation by exotic mammal species are known to pose major threats, little attention has been given to the influence of interspecific competition for floral nectar resources. In this study, we investigated the existence of interspecific competition by testing for spatial segregation of the two species using point counts dispersed within their suitable habitats. We additionally considered the influence of habitat type and flower abundance, which could also cause spatial segregation between the species. We found a negative association between the point count abundance of the two hummingbirds species, which remained consistent when accounting for the role of habitat type and flower abundance. Together, this could be an indication of interspecific competition in which individuals of S. fernandensis may benefit from aggregation by sharing the individual costs of chasing the vastly more abundant S. sephaniodes.
KW - Competition
KW - Juan Fernández Archipelago
KW - Oceanic archipelago
KW - Sephanoides fernandensis
KW - Sephanoides sephaniodes
KW - Trochilidae
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021185293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10336-017-1431-1
DO - 10.1007/s10336-017-1431-1
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85021185293
SN - 2193-7192
VL - 158
SP - 793
EP - 798
JO - Journal of Ornithology
JF - Journal of Ornithology
IS - 3
ER -