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Relative abundance of Parablennius pilicornis (blue) and Parablennius marmoreus (pink) across the following four sampled reefs in South Brazil: Galés Island, Arvoredo Island, Xavier Island and Pântano do Sul (Data from the years 2016–2020). Temperature range expressed as the frequency of temperature below 16 °C during the austral winter in Santa Catarina Coast
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Species’ niche depends on several ecological and evolutionary factors. Phylogenetically close species may present niche conservatism, retaining their ancestral ecological characteristics. Alternatively, in a situation of limited resources, species can differentiate themselves through changes in their ecological and morphological characteristics to...
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A new record for Dynastes maya from Puebla State is provided.
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... Our results provide the first habitat description for R. spinosissima which is linked to lentic environments (Figures 3 and 4). congener fishes with overlapping microhabitats has been described (Canterle et al., 2022). Often, the spatial overlap is accompanied by environmental niche divergence. ...
Rocio is a small genus of Neotropical freshwater fishes that is distributed in Atlantic drainages of northern Middle America. Two species of Rocio , R. spinosissima and R . octofasciata, exhibit sympatry in the Río Dulce basin in eastern Guatemala. Rocio spinosissima is endemic to the Río Dulce basin, while R . octofasciata has a larger geographic range that includes this area. Our goal was to explore the ecological and morphological variation shown by these two closely related species and determine their differences. A combination of field work, analysis of museum specimens, and ecological niche modelling helped to better understand the differences in habitat and environmental characteristics, along with the body shape variation. Local‐scale environmental data suggest that both species inhabit lentic environments, with R . spinosissima using narrower and low canopy‐covered habitats and R . octofasciata inhabiting areas with a larger range of environmental characteristics. Ecological Niche Models indicated that land cover, soil, precipitation, and temperature largely define the distribution of both species. Body shape differs between species, with R . spinosissima exhibiting a rounder and deeper body while R . octofasciata is more elongated. Specimens of R . octofasciata across its distribution also show variation in head shape, mouth position, fin, and caudal peduncle characteristics, possibly as a response to trophic strategies that reduce competition. Similarities in their environments and morphologies allow us to identify broadly overlapping niches in the two species of Rocio , while the fine scale differences documented between species will have conservation implications for the endemic R . spinosissima .
... Niche overlap not only solely based on dietary preference, other biotic and abiotic variables including the population growth and survival are also considered (Hutchinson 1957). This niche overlapping pertinent to utilization of same resources or conditions by two or more species (Abrams 1980;Canterle et al. 2022). Considering to it, the benthic meso predators' prawn, crab, tripod, featherback and the eel were identi ed as the more niche overlapping groups in Chilika. ...
... Apparently, their high energy turnover facilitates the high energy demand ow in the highly diverse lagoon system. Similarly, the coexistence of crypto benthic species has also been suggested by (Munday 2004;Canterle et al. 2022) in coastal reef environments. ...
Tropical ecosystems show tortuous trophic interaction/network for the ease flow of energy or matter among its components. Being one of the fundamental principles of ecology, the trophic interaction narrates the overview of feeding strategies, food habits of inhabitants or feeding patterns, food items of predators, and the ecological roles of the organisms in a particular ecosystem in terms of the prey-predator relationship. Ecological concepts like “keystone species”, “niche overlap” and “electivity or selection of diet” are part of it. In this investigation, the feeding interaction of the Chilika lagoon ecosystem has been appraised. Chilika lagoon is a well-known tropical ecosystem having a complex food network system of various flora and fauna including more than 200 species of finfish and shellfish. In this study, the “keystone species of the Chilika lagoon ecosystem”, “niche overlap pattern” and the “electivity” through the mass balanced ecopath model were investigated. In the keystone analysis, three keystone indices (KS 1, KS 2 and KS 3 ) were applied and the groups like Irrawaddy dolphin, croakers and perches were identified as keystone species by more than two keystone indices. Based on the niche overlap study, 108 pairs were identified. Groups like prawns and crabs were found as the most niche overlapping group among all the organisms and contributed about 13 and 11 number pairs among the 108 niche sharing pairs. Similarly, the electivity of the ecological groups was analysed, and interestingly, almost all groups were showing negative index values for detritus and macrophytes. Benthic groups like prawns and crabs play a crucial ecological role in the food web dynamics of Chilika lagoon. This study will be helpful to understand the complex interaction among different trophic groups of Chilika.
... Macroevolutionary models of functional trait evolution that include biotic interaction parameters are yielding valuable inferences in other clades, such as sig-natures of character displacement (e.g., Drury et al. 2018b;Brennan et al. 2021). Model fish populations provide classic examples of character displacement (stickleback, e.g., Schluter and McPhail 1992;Schluter 2003;perch, e.g., Svanbäck and Eklöv 2003; whitefish, e.g., Amundsen et al. 2004), and evidence has also been reported within some reef fish populations (e.g., Limbourn et al. 2007; but see Canterle et al. 2022). At macroevolutionary scales, patterns of morphological divergence among parrotfish (Choat et al. 2012) and cleaner fish species (Baliga and Mehta 2019) hint at the effects of character displacement. ...
Biotic interactions govern the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. As environmental conditions change, reef-associated fish populations can persist by tracking their preferred niche or adapting to new conditions. Biotic interactions will affect how these responses proceed and whether they are successful. Yet, our understanding of these effects is currently limited. Ecological and evolutionary theories make explicit predictions about the effects of biotic interactions, but many remain untested. Here we argue that large-scale functional trait datasets enable us to investigate how biotic interactions have shaped the assembly of contemporary reef fish communities and the evolution of species within them; thus, improving our ability to predict future changes. Importantly, the effects of biotic interactions on these processes have occurred simultaneously within dynamic environments. Functional traits provide a means to integrate the effects of both ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as a way to overcome some of the challenges of studying biotic interactions. Moreover, functional trait data can enhance predictive modelling of future reef fish distributions and evolvability. We hope that our vision for an integrative approach, focused on quantifying functionally relevant traits and how they mediate biotic interactions in different environmental contexts, will catalyze new research on the future of reef fishes in a changing environment.
