Niche-based mechanisms operating within extreme habitats: a case study of subterranean amphipod communities

Fišer, Cene; Blejec, Andrej; Trontelj, Peter

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0125

Cited by 58 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Species adapted to the subterranean environment often encounter each other. This co‐occurrence of two or more, often closely related, species has been commonly observed at different spatial scales, even within the same compartment of a single cave (Fišer et al , Trontelj et al , Vergnon et al ). In such a resource‐limited environment, co‐occurring conspecific and heterospecific individuals are likely to compete for resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Niches within a niche: ecological differentiation of subterranean amphipods across Europe's interstitial waters

et al. 2019

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Species that successfully colonized subterranean environments are subject to two opposing selection processes. Stringent abiotic factors select for convergent adaptations, such as loss of eyes and pigments, while interspecific competition drives between‐species divergence. Subterranean species can resolve opposing selection by adaptation to physically different microhabitats. Yet, species frequently co‐occur in physically homogeneous subterranean habitats, like interstitial. These co‐occurrences in such a narrow ecological context can be explained either by equalizing mechanisms, in which neither of the co‐occurring species has a competitive advantage, or by more complex niche models that include species’ differentiation along a trophic niche axis. We tested these hypotheses using the amphipod genus Niphargus. We analysed Europe‐wide co‐occurrence records of Niphargus species from interstitial habitats, split into six independent large‐scale regions. Firstly, we addressed whether species’ pairwise co‐occurrences are random using a probabilistic model. Secondly, we tested whether species cluster into distinct functional–morphological groups and whether ecologically or phylogenetically distinct species are more likely to co‐occur. We found that 68% of species co‐occurrences were not different from random expectation, indicating that most species had access to most sites within each region. The remaining 32% co‐occurred either significantly more or less often than expected by chance. Cluster analysis of functional morphological characters showed that interstitial species belong to two feeding types, micro‐ and macrofeeders, likely representing two peaks of the interstitial adaptive landscape, and hinting that niche divergence, as a mechanism allowing coexistence, is favoured. Finally, we found that the number of co‐occurrences increases with increasing differentiation of functional morphology, but not phylogenetic differences. We conclude that ecological differentiation may be important in shaping such interstitial communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Niches within a niche: ecological differentiation of subterranean amphipods across Europe's interstitial waters

et al. 2019

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“…Despite their potential utility as models to study these topics, subterranean organisms, including spiders, have only rarely been used as models for the study and definition of the ecological niche (see, e.g., Fišer et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological niche of a specialized subterranean spider

Mammola

Isaia

2016

Invertebrate Biology

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Hypogean habitats offer unique opportunities for ecological studies because they are characterized by low abundance and diversity of organisms, they receive low energy inputs, they are relatively stable from a climatic point of view, and they are quite easily modeled. However, given the harsh conditions of the working environment and difficulty of access, very few studies have investigated in detail the ecology of subterranean species directly in the field. In this study, we describe the ecological niche of the subterranean spider Troglohyphantes vignai (Araneae, Linyphiidae). We monitored the population of T. vignai in a disused graphite mine in the Western Italian Alps over 1 year, and recorded the main biotic and abiotic parameters characterizing each sampling plot (i.e., temperature, humidity, prey availability, illuminance, and structural complexity). The ecological niche of T. vignai was modeled through polynomial generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) and illustrated graphically by means of three‐dimensional plots and GIS techniques. The environmental range in which the probability of presence of T. vignai was higher was consistent with a trade‐off between climatic stability and food availability. Neither temporal nor spatial variation of the niche of T. vignai was detected through the year. The methodology used here may be easily adapted to other hypogean sites, paving the way to a novel understanding of niche partitioning in subterranean ecosystems.

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“…Here, we found that the richness of groundwater crustaceans increased monotonically with habitat heterogeneity as represented by the number and relative proportion of distinct habitat types with characteristic flow conditions (permeability) and pore size. Trontelj et al () found clear evidence of divergent morphological adaptations among closely related species of amphipods that use different cave microhabitats with distinct flow velocity (but see also Fišer et al ). A similar process of divergent selection may in part account for a positive richness–habitat heterogeneity relationship at a continental scale, because it allows more species to co‐exist in regions characterized by a high diversity of aquifers in unconsolidated sediments and consolidated rock (Cornu et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐causality and spatial non‐stationarity in the determinants of groundwater crustacean diversity in Europe

et al. 2014

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International audienceThe recognition of multi-causality and spatial non-stationarity in the determinants of large-scale biodiversity patterns requires to consider the role of multiple mechanisms, their interactions, and how these mechanisms vary in strength relative to each other across geographical space. Here, we challenge the view that historical climate stability primarily drives European patterns of groundwater crustacean diversity by testing also the role of spatial heterogeneity and productive energy. First, we predicted that the three mechanisms would be equally important at continental scale when analyzed separately, but that the importance of historical climate variability would weaken in joint analyses due to co-variation with the two other mechanisms. Second, we predicted that the three mechanisms would exhibit predictable latitudinal changes in their relative strength. To test these predictions, we selected predictors representing each mechanism and analyzed separately and jointly their effects and interactions using global regression models. We further mapped the independent and overlapping effects of mechanisms across Europe using partial geographically weighted regressions. When analyzed separately, the three mechanisms explained the same amount of variation in species richness, but in the joint analysis, the influence of historical climate stability became hidden in the variation shared with the other mechanisms. Topographic heterogeneity interacted synergistically with actual evapotranspiration and habitat heterogeneity on species richness. Spatial non-stationarity in the independent and overlapping effects of the three mechanisms was the most plausible expla- nation for the hump-shaped latitudinal pattern of crustacean species richness. Productive energy and spatial heterogeneity were important predictors at mid and southern latitudes, whereas historical climate stability overlapped with the two other mechanisms in northern Europe and productive energy in southern Europe. Multi-causality and spatial non-stationarity provide a broader perspective of groundwater biodiversity determinants that revives the importance of spatial heterogeneity and the strong dependence of subterranean communities on food supply from the surface

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Niche-based mechanisms operating within extreme habitats: a case study of subterranean amphipod communities

Cited by 58 publications

References 28 publications

Niches within a niche: ecological differentiation of subterranean amphipods across Europe's interstitial waters

Niches within a niche: ecological differentiation of subterranean amphipods across Europe's interstitial waters

The ecological niche of a specialized subterranean spider

Multi‐causality and spatial non‐stationarity in the determinants of groundwater crustacean diversity in Europe

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