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Coexisting generalist scavengers occupy different feeding niches

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Abstract

Generalist scavengers are perceived to exhibit broad feeding niches, and therefore, it is predicted that coexisting generalist scavengers should exhibit extensive food niche overlap. However, ecological theory suggests that no two species can coexist while using the same limited resources in the same manner because competitive differences between the species will result in one species being outcompeted. Thus, some differentiation of the diets of coexisting generalist scavengers must exist in order to avoid competitive exclusion. In this study, I analyzed the feeding niches of two species of coexisting generalist scavengers (hermit crabs; Clibanarius digueti and Paguristes perrieri) to determine whether the species overlap in their: (1) preferred food items and (2) past diets. Food choice experiments conducted in the field showed that the species’ preferences for the food items offered largely overlapped. However, gut content and stable isotope analyses of collected specimens revealed significant differences in the past diets of the species. These analyses suggest that C. digueti consumes more photosynthetic materials than P. perrieri. The results suggest that the species differentiate their diets despite both feeding opportunistically on carrion and detritus washed into the intertidal zone by the tides.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by funds granted to M. Tran by Michigan State University. Fieldwork and specimen collections were approved by the appropriate permitting agencies of the government of Mexico. Thanks to R. Hill for assistance with the planning and execution of this project. Thanks to R. Hill, G. Mittelbach, N. Ostrom, W. Li, and P. Ostrom for providing critical comments on this manuscript, to P. Ostrom and H. Gandhi for assistance with stable isotope analyses, and to C. Orlic and J. Sanchez-Avilla for assistance acquiring research permits. Thanks to E. Blake-Dyke and the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico) for assistance with fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Mark V. Tran

  2. Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Mark V. Tran

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  1. Mark V. Tran
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Correspondence to Mark V. Tran.

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Communicated by F. Bulleri.

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Tran, M.V. Coexisting generalist scavengers occupy different feeding niches. Mar Biol 161, 2589–2596 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2530-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2530-7

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