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Scale-dependent foraging tradeoff allows competitive coexistence

Bolin, Arvid LU ; Smith, Henrik G. LU ; Lonsdorf, Eric V. and Olsson, Ola LU orcid (2018) In Oikos 127(11). p.1575-1585
Abstract

In spatially heterogeneous environments, coexistence between competing species can be facilitated by spatially mediated tradeoffs. In this paper we develop a mechanistic model to investigate under which circumstances interspecific differences in the tradeoff between foraging efficiency and travel costs can allow two central place foraging species to coexist in spite of considerable overlap in resource use. One species (Flyer) has a high basal metabolic rate, but a low relative cost of travelling such that it can use patches at a greater distance from its central place while the minimum patch quality it can economically use is high. The other species (Forager), by contrast, has a lower basal metabolic rate, but higher relative cost of... (More)

In spatially heterogeneous environments, coexistence between competing species can be facilitated by spatially mediated tradeoffs. In this paper we develop a mechanistic model to investigate under which circumstances interspecific differences in the tradeoff between foraging efficiency and travel costs can allow two central place foraging species to coexist in spite of considerable overlap in resource use. One species (Flyer) has a high basal metabolic rate, but a low relative cost of travelling such that it can use patches at a greater distance from its central place while the minimum patch quality it can economically use is high. The other species (Forager), by contrast, has a lower basal metabolic rate, but higher relative cost of travelling, and can therefore be a more efficient forager and able to use foraging patches of low quality, as long as they are not too far from the nest. We demonstrate that the coexistence of these two species critically depends on landscape composition and structure, with the Flyer outcompeting the Forager in structurally simple, coarse-grained, landscapes with abundant high-quality forage and the Forager outcompeting the Flyer in fine-grained highly diverse landscapes. Coexistence between the two species is possible when the landscape is structurally and compositionally complex, fine-grained, and has both high and low quality forage. Our results demonstrate that exploitative competition between two contrasting life histories can produce very different community dynamics depending on landscape composition and structure.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
central place foraging, coexistence, pollination
in
Oikos
volume
127
issue
11
pages
11 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85055873862
ISSN
0030-1299
DOI
10.1111/oik.05072
project
LInking farmland Biodiversity to Ecosystem seRvices for effective
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ea9b1cd4-25bf-4e07-bb9f-2c234a295b57
date added to LUP
2018-11-14 14:00:01
date last changed
2024-05-14 18:26:03
@article{ea9b1cd4-25bf-4e07-bb9f-2c234a295b57,
  abstract     = {{<p>In spatially heterogeneous environments, coexistence between competing species can be facilitated by spatially mediated tradeoffs. In this paper we develop a mechanistic model to investigate under which circumstances interspecific differences in the tradeoff between foraging efficiency and travel costs can allow two central place foraging species to coexist in spite of considerable overlap in resource use. One species (Flyer) has a high basal metabolic rate, but a low relative cost of travelling such that it can use patches at a greater distance from its central place while the minimum patch quality it can economically use is high. The other species (Forager), by contrast, has a lower basal metabolic rate, but higher relative cost of travelling, and can therefore be a more efficient forager and able to use foraging patches of low quality, as long as they are not too far from the nest. We demonstrate that the coexistence of these two species critically depends on landscape composition and structure, with the Flyer outcompeting the Forager in structurally simple, coarse-grained, landscapes with abundant high-quality forage and the Forager outcompeting the Flyer in fine-grained highly diverse landscapes. Coexistence between the two species is possible when the landscape is structurally and compositionally complex, fine-grained, and has both high and low quality forage. Our results demonstrate that exploitative competition between two contrasting life histories can produce very different community dynamics depending on landscape composition and structure.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bolin, Arvid and Smith, Henrik G. and Lonsdorf, Eric V. and Olsson, Ola}},
  issn         = {{0030-1299}},
  keywords     = {{central place foraging; coexistence; pollination}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{11}},
  pages        = {{1575--1585}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Oikos}},
  title        = {{Scale-dependent foraging tradeoff allows competitive coexistence}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/oik.05072}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/oik.05072}},
  volume       = {{127}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}