Species Diversity and Ecological Release in Caribbean Land Bird Faunas

Cox, George W.; Ricklefs, Robert E.

doi:10.2307/3543330

Cited by 133 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

105

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…First, most islands harbor relatively few species of birds compared to continental areas with similar environments. Thus, at present, habitats in the Lesser Antilles are relatively less "saturated" ecologically (Ricklefs and Cox 1978;Cox and Ricklefs 1977;Terborgh et al 1978;Terborgh and Faaborg 1980;Travis and Ricklefs 1983) and morphologically (Travis and Ricklefs 1983) than in continental regions, possibly leaving room for increased diversity. Historical analysis of colonization times suggests that the avifauna of the Lesser Antilles is well below an archipelago-wide equilibrium number of species .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Causes of Evolutionary Radiations in Archipelagoes: Passerine Birds in the Lesser Antilles

Ricklefs

Bermingham

2007

The American Naturalist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

TO investigate why some lineages undergo evolutionary radiation, we compare the passerine avifaunas of the Hawaiian and Galapagos archipelagoes, which have supported well-known radiations of birds, with those of the Lesser Antilles, which have not. We focus on four steps required for the buildup of diversity through allopatric speciation and secondary sympatry: genetic divergence in isolation, persistence of island populations, recolonization of source islands, and ecological compatibility in secondary sympatry. Analysis of genetic divergence among island populations in the Lesser Antilles reveals evidence of both prolonged independent evolution and reexpansion of differentiated island populations through the archipelago but little evidence of secondary sympatry of divergent genetic lineages. Archipelagoes with high rates of colonization from continental or nearby large-island sources might fail to promote evolutionary radiations because colonists fill ecological space and constrain diversification through competition. However, morphological analysis demonstrated similar divergence between allopatric populations in species in Hawaii, Galapagos, and the Lesser Antilles, although the rate of divergence between secondarily sympatric species evidently is more rapid in Hawaii and the Galapagos. Alternatively, endemic buildup of diversity might be facilitated by the relative absence of pathogens in Hawaii and Galapagos that otherwise could prevent the secondary sympatry of populations owing to disease-mediated competition.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Causes of Evolutionary Radiations in Archipelagoes: Passerine Birds in the Lesser Antilles

Ricklefs

Bermingham

2007

The American Naturalist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The combined densities of local populations appear to be constrained by the availability of resources. For example, in island compared with continental avifaunas, lower species richness is compensated by higher individual population densities (4,5,37). Decades of experimentation in ecology, including "natural experiments" involving ecological release on islands, have further demonstrated the strength of interspecific competition in limiting populations (38)(39)(40).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although ecologists broadly embrace this concept of community (1, 2), they are not agreed on the integrity of communities as ecological entities or the scale on which communities can be perceived (3). Interactions between populations in local assemblages are evident through natural (4,5) and experimental (2,6) manipulations, but dispersal of individuals across space also connects and integrates assemblage dynamics within the larger region. The local presence and relative abundance of species integrate processes of evolutionary diversification and ecological interaction operating at large spatial and temporal scales (7).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying a regional community concept to forest birds of eastern North America

Ricklefs

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The regional community concept embraces the idea that species interactions across large areas shape both the geographic/ecological distributions and the local abundances of populations. Within this framework, I analyzed the distribution and abundance of 79 species of land birds across 142 ca. 10-ha census plots from standardized breeding bird censuses in deciduous and mixed forests of eastern North America. To characterize the regional ecological space, plots were ordinated on the basis of species abundances. Within the regional community defined by these synthetic axes, the distribution and abundance of individual species did not appear to be shaped by competition or to reflect the adaptations of individuals: (i) local abundance and population extent across the ordination axes were unrelated, (ii) pairwise correlation coefficients of species abundances were centered on 0, (iii) average species distribution and abundance were independent of the number of close relatives, and (iv) distribution and abundance exhibited no evolutionary (phylogenetic) conservatism. To explain these seemingly random patterns, I speculate that species are approximately evenly matched competitors over much of the region and that their distributions and relative abundances are determined by the labile coevolutionary outcomes of interactions with specialized pathogens. Thus, despite the appearance that random processes determine patterns in the distribution and abundance of populations in the regional community, it is plausible that speciesspecific deterministic interactions are responsible. Although competition is a dominant force in ecological communities, variation in the distribution and abundance of individual species might instead reflect the outcome of interactions with specialized antagonists, including pathogens.niche | population distribution | community assembly | macroecology | variance in abundance B iological communities comprise large numbers of potentially interacting species. Although ecologists broadly embrace this concept of community (1, 2), they are not agreed on the integrity of communities as ecological entities or the scale on which communities can be perceived (3). Interactions between populations in local assemblages are evident through natural (4, 5) and experimental (2, 6) manipulations, but dispersal of individuals across space also connects and integrates assemblage dynamics within the larger region. The local presence and relative abundance of species integrate processes of evolutionary diversification and ecological interaction operating at large spatial and temporal scales (7). Accordingly, ecological communities make sense only as regional entities. Nonetheless, factors that influence the numbers and distributions of species within the regional community are poorly understood.The distribution and abundance of a species have two components (8). The individual component reflects adaptations to use substrates and exploit resources within the individual's activity space, which is also influenced by its tolera...

show abstract

“…Consequently, island species experience a release in their interaction structure, promoting the exploitation of new interaction possibilities. Indeed, islands have a high proportion of generalist species showing novel and opportunistic interactions 2,6,7 . We term this niche expansion process 'interaction release' (as one aspect of the wider concept 'ecological release' 8 ), that is, island species wire up novel mutualists and prey as a response to mutualist and food shortage, and to reduced predation risk.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird–flower visitation networks in the Galápagos unveil a widespread interaction release

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Owing to food scarcity and to the high densities that vertebrates often reach on islands, typical insect-and seed-eaters widen their feeding niche and interact with a greater fraction of species than their mainland counterparts. This phenomenon, coined here 'interaction release', has been previously reported for single species but never for an entire community. During 4 years, we gathered data on bird-flower visitation on 12 Galápagos islands. We show that all sampled land birds exploit floral resources and act as potential pollinators across the entire archipelago, in all major habitats and all year round. Although species and link composition varies among islands, strong interaction release takes place on all islands, making their bird-flower network highly generalized. Interaction release is crucial to the survival of native birds but simultaneously threatens the unique biodiversity of this archipelago, as the birds also visit invading plants, likely facilitating their integration into pristine native communities.

show abstract

Species Diversity and Ecological Release in Caribbean Land Bird Faunas

Cited by 133 publications

References 12 publications

The Causes of Evolutionary Radiations in Archipelagoes: Passerine Birds in the Lesser Antilles

The Causes of Evolutionary Radiations in Archipelagoes: Passerine Birds in the Lesser Antilles

Applying a regional community concept to forest birds of eastern North America

Bird–flower visitation networks in the Galápagos unveil a widespread interaction release

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About