Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Plant richness and vegetation structure drive the topology of plant-herbivore networks in Neotropical savannas","authors":"Érica Vanessa Duraes de Freitas ,&nbsp;Leandro Maracahipes ,&nbsp;Walter Santos de Araújo","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103961","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Plants and phytophagous insects make up the highest terrestrial diversity on the planet, forming complex interspecific interaction networks. Interaction networks are an important tool to understand how ecological interactions shape plant-herbivore assemblages. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that the plant species richness and vegetation structure (vegetation cover and vegetation height) (i) drive the richness and abundance of herbivorous insects and (ii) determines topological patterns (connectance, specialization and modularity) of plant-herbivore networks. We sampled ten different areas in the Neotropical savannas to assess those hypotheses and constructed plant-herbivore interaction matrices using species composition data. Plant-herbivore interaction networks comprised 298 plants of 60 species, 421 insects distributed in 96 morphospecies, and totalizing 218 interactions. We found that plant species richness positively influenced the species richness of herbivorous insects, whereas average vegetation height negatively affected the species richness of herbivorous insects. The abundance of herbivorous insects was negatively affected by plant species richness, and by vegetation height. Species richness and structure of plant communities also significantly affected network topological parameters. Network connectance was negatively influenced by plant richness and positively affected by vegetation cover. Besides, plant species richness positively influenced network modularity, whereas vegetation height negatively affected network modularity. However, the plant community diversity and vegetation structure did not affect network specialization. Our results show that both plant community diversity and vegetation structure in Neotropical savannas drive the structure of plant-herbivore interaction networks. Considering the current high rates of removal of native vegetation in Brazilian savannas, our findings indicate that the preserving this ecosystem is crucial for maintaining ecosystem services through plant-herbivore interaction networks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103961"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49838712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How many seeds can birds disperse?: Determining the pattern of seed deposition by frugivorous birds","authors":"Kyohsuke Ohkawara ,&nbsp;Kazuya Kimura ,&nbsp;Fumio Satoh","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103958","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Frugivorous birds are the primary seed dispersers for fleshy-fruited plants through defecation. In general, small-sized species disperse seeds across short distances from parental plants. However, multiple seeds or seeds of different plant species are frequently mixed in the fecal mass, because birds are prone to eat multiple fruits of a few plant species during foraging. This suggests birds deposit seeds as clumps in the field, causing inter- and intraspecific competition. However, the exact number of dispersed seeds for each defecation is very hard to estimate in field. It may also vary according to several variables, such as body size of birds and number of seeds per fruit. To clarify seed deposition patterns, we captured small frugivorous birds and collected the feces and regurgitations. The number of seeds excreted in fecal samples was investigated. From 2003 to 2019, a total number of 21518 seeds from 60 plant species were collected from 2214 birds of 17 species. Average number of seeds included in the fecal sample was 9.7 ± SD 18.4 (range: 1–340). The frequency of the number of excreted seeds was not normally distributed and the mode value was one in all cases and for five main dispersers. In most cases (64.8–74.5%), birds excreted a single seed. Furthermore, the effects of morphological traits of birds and plants on number of excreted seeds were analyzed using GLMM. The body mass of birds had a positive effect on the number of excreted seeds. However, fruit and seed weight exhibited negative effects, suggesting the number of excreted seeds is smaller when smaller birds eat larger fruits bearing larger seeds. The seed deposition pattern based on excretion of a single seed may avoid seed and seedling aggregation at local sites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103958"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49895126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spillover of avian seed dispersers between secondary forests and degraded areas in a tropical island","authors":"Rodrigo Béllo Carvalho ,&nbsp;Kaizer J.F. Alves ,&nbsp;Marco A. Pizo","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103959","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Seed arrival to degraded areas often represents a limiting factor to forest regeneration, but seed-dispersing birds able to move into such areas may help to overcome such constraint. As the number of degraded areas prone to regeneration is increasing in the tropics, it is important to know which bird species and associated traits make such spillover movements. We studied the interactions between frugivorous birds and eight plant species in contiguous degraded and secondary forest areas in a Brazilian land-bridge island, evaluating the potential of avian cross-habitat spillover to disperse seeds to degraded areas and thus contribute to their vegetation recovery. We recorded 21 and 17 bird species removing fruits in degraded areas and secondary forests, respectively. Avian communities dispersing seeds in both habitats are dominated by habitat generalist species. Visitation and fruit removal rates did not differ between the two habitats. Avian cross-habitat spillovers were more frequent from secondary forests to degraded areas than the reverse. A few bird species (<em>Dacnis cayana</em>, <em>Elaenia flavogaster</em>, and <em>Turdus</em> spp.) stood out in the spillover between habitats due to their generalist habitat occupancy and capacity for foraging in disturbed areas. We likewise identified the plants that most attracted birds (including an exotic palm, <em>Livistona chinensis</em>) so as to pinpoint the plant species that may occasionally be the focus of management actions to enhance the arrival of seeds to degraded areas. We conclude that the spillover dynamics reported herein shed some light on how tropical forest regeneration could benefit from native species’ spatial behaviour, offering a biological alternative to overcome practical issues, such as seed limitation in degraded environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103959"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49838713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"More is not always better: Impact of nutrient-addition on floral traits important for buzz pollination","authors":"Upasana Sengupta,&nbsp;Shivani Krishna","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103957","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nutrient addition can affect plant fitness by altering resource allocation to reproduction or modifying floral traits. Alterations in floral attributes, particularly in species that exhibit specialization in specific ecological niches, can disrupt or augment the dynamics of interactions between plants and their pollinators. However, very little is known about how soil enrichment affects the floral characteristics and pollen release dynamics of buzz pollinated plants. Our study analyzed the effects of nutrient enrichment on the reproductive traits of a buzz pollinated plant species. Under greenhouse conditions, we established a phosphorus-rich nutrient gradient to investigate the impact of such enrichment on tomato plants (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em>). Our study focused on: i) flowering patterns, ii) flower morphology, iii) pollen release from anthers, and iv) pollen quantity and quality (protein concentration). Plants were grown in low, intermediate, and high nutrient conditions, and various functional traits that are essential for buzz pollination were examined. Adding nutrients improved the display of flowers. Morphometric traits important for pollinator attraction and interaction, such as floral diameter, anther-tube width, and petal width, showed an increase in the high nutrient condition. The pollen quality and quantity were found to be unaltered; however, flowers originating from intermediate and high nutrient conditions exhibited reduced pollen release upon buzzing despite possessing ample pollen reserves. Our findings suggest that the positive effects of nutrient addition on floral traits are limited to a narrow range of concentrations. Higher concentrations can diminish these effects and impact the accessibility of pollen, as well as the reproductive performance of plants. In conclusion, based on our results, we predict that changing land use scenarios leading to nutrient accumulation may have significant consequences for plant-pollinator interactions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103957"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49876252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Abiotic factors similarly shape the distribution of fruit, seed and leaf traits in tropical fleshy-fruited tree communities","authors":"Diana Carolina Acosta-Rojas ,&nbsp;Maciej K. Barczyk ,&nbsp;Carlos Iván Espinosa ,&nbsp;Nina Farwig ,&nbsp;Jürgen Homeier ,&nbsp;Yvonne Tiede ,&nbsp;Boris A. Tinoco ,&nbsp;Andre Velescu ,&nbsp;Wolfgang Wilcke ,&nbsp;Eike Lena Neuschulz ,&nbsp;Matthias Schleuning","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103953","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The distribution of plant traits is related to abiotic and biotic factors, but it is unknown whether different types of plant traits respond similarly to these factors. We simultaneously studied seed, fruit and leaf traits and their associations with abiotic and biotic factors for tree communities in the tropical mountains of southern Ecuador. We measured seed, fruit, and leaf traits on 18–33 fleshy-fruited plant species and recorded the abundance for these species on nine 1-ha forest plots located at 1000, 2000, and 3000 m a.s.l. On the same plots, we recorded abiotic (soil C/N ratio, mean temperature, and annual rainfall) and biotic factors (avian fruit removal and foliar herbivory) potentially relevant for the measured traits. We conducted principal component and RLQ analyses to test for trait-environment covariation, controlling for phylogenetic relatedness and spatial autocorrelation. We identified a trade-off between (i) seed number and seed size and between (ii) the production of few costly (nitrogen-rich) vs. many cheap (carbon-rich) fruits. Likewise, leaf trait variation was primarily associated with (i) the leaf economics spectrum and (ii) leaf size. Controlling for phylogenetic and spatial covariation, seed, fruit and leaf traits were associated with abiotic and, to a lesser extent, with biotic factors. Fruit and leaf traits linked to production costs were mainly related to soil C/N ratios, whereas traits associated with the size of seeds, fruits, and leaves were related to rainfall. Our study suggests that associations between seed, fruit and leaf traits and the abiotic environment follow similar principles in tropical tree communities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103953"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49876251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vertical and altitudinal distribution patterns of hydrophilic saxicolous lichens across French streams","authors":"Clother Coste ,&nbsp;Thierry Lamaze ,&nbsp;Gaël Grenouillet ,&nbsp;Eric Chauvet","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103936","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103936","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We collected 252 samples in 53 French streams at 3 different heights (low-flow channel, upper limit of streambed, and intermediate zone) across a 190–2200 m altitudinal range, from which we identified and determined the abundance of freshwater lichens to test hypotheses of assemblage zonation. A total of 149 lichenic taxa, including 42 hydrophilic species together with 6 environmental parameters (relative height to stream water, altitude, general and specific orientation, slope, and substratum) were recorded. Hydrophilic species richness was relatively homogenous across height categories and altitudinal classes. Using Canonical Correspondence Analyses, we showed that lichen species, particularly hydrophilic ones, were strongly discriminated along gradients of both exposure to stream water and altitude. Consequently, we proposed a new denomination of freshwater lichens based on their affinity with exposure to stream water: (<em>i</em>) hyperhydrophilic (submersion &gt;9 mo/yr; 14 sp.), (<em>ii</em>) mesohydrophilic (15 sp.), and (<em>iii</em>) subhydrophilic (submersion &lt;3 mo/yr; 15 sp.). We also introduced a 2D typology of freshwater lichens relying on both crossed environmental parameters and showing continuous shifts in species assemblage along gradients.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"120 ","pages":"Article 103936"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45849877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effects of seasonal changes on the dynamics of a fig tree's pollination","authors":"J. Jauharlina ,&nbsp;Rupert J. Quinnell ,&nbsp;Hamish G. Robertson ,&nbsp;Stephen G. Compton","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103918","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103918","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fig trees and their pollinating wasps are mutually dependent on each other. Both partners' reproductive success is regulated by the capacity of fig wasps to enter receptive figs at an appropriate time for pollination and oviposition. Oviposition is dependent on successful female pollinator dispersal from one tree to another and although fig wasps are slow flyers and short-lived they can be carried long distances by the wind. The relative importance of local versus long-distance pollinator dispersal is unclear, as is how this may vary with season. In the highly seasonal environment of the Makana Botanical Gardens, Grahamstown, South Africa, we recorded fruiting phenologies of all the trees in a monoecious <em>Ficus burtt-davyi</em> Hutchinson population together with variation in the abundance of its pollinator <em>Elisabethiella baijnathi</em> Wiebes. By comparing captures of fig wasps flying in the air with the numbers that emerged locally, we also examined the independence of the fig tree population, which was separated from the nearest conspecifics by more than 1 km. The abundance of pollinators flying in the air and the number of fig wasps released by figs were correlated with temperature. During winter there were times when no pollinators were released locally; however, they were still caught in the traps, showing that the wasps had dispersed from elsewhere and that the population was not totally independent. These results highlight the ability of fig wasps to disperse between populations and the likely impact of seasonal fluctuations on fig tree gene flow.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"120 ","pages":"Article 103918"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49853363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of the local environmental factors associated to plant-fungi communities on the conservation of Liparis loeselii (L.) Rich. In the French Rhône-Alpes region","authors":"Louise Maris ,&nbsp;Rémi Petrolli ,&nbsp;Marc-André Selosse ,&nbsp;Thomas Legland ,&nbsp;Gilles Pache ,&nbsp;Chantal Griveau ,&nbsp;Franck Torre ,&nbsp;Dominique Lopez-Pinot ,&nbsp;Roger Marciau ,&nbsp;Véronique Bonnet","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103929","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103929","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The fen orchid (<em>Liparis loeselii</em> (L.) Rich., 1817), specific to calcareous wetlands, is threatened by its habitat degradation and disappearance. It is thus categorised as endangered in the Rhône-Alpes red list and is nationally protected in France. Although many studies have been conducted about <em>Liparis loeselii</em> var. <em>ovata</em> ecology in the coastal zone, few have focused on the <em>loeselii</em> variety growing in continental marshes. Now this variety's ecology must be better known in order to determine efficient conservation actions, especially when using ecological restoration in marshes.</p><p>The aim of this study is to characterise ecological factors that explain the state of <em>loeselii</em> variety populations in the French Rhône-Alpes region. The conservation state of 13 wetlands populations were related to plant and fungal communities as well as local environmental factors (e.g. hydrology, soil, management). These relationships were pinpointed by mixed models and multivariate analyses comparing community structures that depend on <em>Liparis loeselii</em> presence and the scale of study.</p><p>Our results suggest that engineer species are structuring the marsh, creating a hilly micro-topography which is important to <em>L. loeselii</em>, inducing specific plant communities. At the micro-habitat scale, moss bulges are a favourable support to fen orchid development. Furthermore, a constant water supply in wetlands during the season is essential to its growth whereas high temperature explain low occurrence frequency or disappearance of this orchid in some study sites.</p><p>This study highlights the dual negative effects of climate change on <em>Liparis loeselii</em>: increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. These two causes induce a synergistic drop in the water table with strong consequences on the conservation status of Liparis populations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"120 ","pages":"Article 103929"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43033484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Floral nectar and insect flower handling time change over the flowering season: Results from an exploratory study","authors":"M. Barberis ,&nbsp;G. Bogo ,&nbsp;L. Bortolotti ,&nbsp;S. Flaminio ,&nbsp;E. Giordano ,&nbsp;M. Nepi ,&nbsp;M. Galloni","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103937","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103937","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent decades, hundreds of secondary metabolites have been found in floral nectar and many studies have demonstrated that they can play various roles in modulating the behaviour of floral visitors. However, temporal variations in nectar chemistry over extended flowering seasons have never been substantiated. Moreover, the effects of nectar chemicals on insect behaviour are often studied under laboratory conditions, focusing on few insect species under artificial conditions which may influence insect responses. The aim of this exploratory study was to compare nectar chemistry and the durations of pollinator visits in the early and late summer periods of the long-flowering species <em>Echium vulgare</em> L. in natural populations. Nectar samples were collected in the early and late summer periods and insects were observed for a total of 480 min. The biogenic amine octopamine, sugars and the protein to non-protein amino acid ratio increased as the season proceeded. It remains to clarify whether these changes are determined by biotic and abiotic factors or whether the plant expresses some chemical constraint, however it seems likely that changes in nectar chemistry may be the cause of the longer visits by bumblebees to single flowers at the end of the flowering season. Though not conclusive, these results set a baseline for future research and highlight an interesting question. Since long-flowering plants see changing contexts during their bloom period, do they express chemical constraints to regulate their attractiveness?</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"120 ","pages":"Article 103937"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42022423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Habitat and food resource type, rather than sampling date, drive co-occurrence of dung beetle species in a tropical ecosystem mosaic","authors":"N.L. Reis ,&nbsp;K.A. Santos ,&nbsp;L. Vieira ,&nbsp;J. Louzada","doi":"10.1016/j.actao.2023.103956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2023.103956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The species’ coexistence and distribution patterns are fundamental in community ecology research. Niche partitioning is used to evaluate co-occurrence patterns resulting from species interactions. Dung beetle communities are ideal models for understanding ecological patterns and processes. However, their co-occurrence patterns remain poorly understood. We tested if habitat type, sampling date, and food resources could explain the co-occurrence patterns of dung beetles. We expected that habitat would have the most impact on species co-occurrence, followed by food resource and sampling date. We conducted our study during the rainy season of 2012, using baited pitfall traps in a mosaic of four habitats including montane semideciduous forest, cerrado, rupestrian field, and introduced pasture, resulting in 16 sites. We used the Cooccur R package to analyze species co-occurrence probabilities and tested the effects of niche partitioning on species co-occurrence via DistLM analysis. We collected 2.743 individuals, representing 86 dung beetle species. In most co-occurring pairs, species exhibited random associations. Our results supported the hypothesis that habitat and food resources explained dung beetle co-occurrence. Habitat explains 13% of the total variance in co-occurrence patterns, food resources (7%), and sampling date (6%). Overall, our model explained 31% of the variance correspond to the sum of each variable isolated with the values shared between them. Our results suggested that dung beetle species' co-occurrence was stochastic. I.e., non-biotic external factors can also potentially explain the coexistence of species with similar requirements. Food resources were important in co-occurrence. This is consistent with the lottery competition since colonization by species on ephemeral resources is random and by chance. Niche partitioning had little explanatory power for co-occurrence patterns, however, tropical forests have the potential to maintain many positive species associations. Here, the sampling date did not influence the species' co-occurrence, possibly due to stable temperatures and consistent precipitation during the season.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55564,"journal":{"name":"Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 ","pages":"Article 103956"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49895125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}