Abstract Intra and interspecific competition for nectar play an important role in hummingbird communities. Larger sized species usually exclude smaller species from the rich floral resources. However, it has been recently postulated that the competitive advantages of a large body size decline as the evolutionary distance between the contending species increases. In this study, we analyzed dominance hierarchy dynamics in a hummingbird assemblage in central Mexico. By monitoring hummingbird territories established in three plant species through 1 year, we assessed the effects of energy within territories and the territory owners identity in the frequency of inter and intraspecific encounters. We also evaluated if these factors affect the dominance of larger species when they compete against smaller distantly related contenders. Our results show that their frequency of intraspecific encounters was related with the identity of the territory’s owner. On the contrary, the frequency of interspecific encounters was related with both the territory and the identity of the territory’s owner. We did not find a significant difference between the number of encounters dominated by larger and smaller species and their contenders. However, the increase in genetic distance between contenders was positively associated with a higher frequency of encounters dominated by small hummingbirds. Our results showed that the ecological factors and evolutionary relationships among contenders play important roles in the dominance hierarchy dynamics.

中文翻译：

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蜂鸟组合中影响优势层次动态的因素

摘要 花蜜的种内和种间竞争在蜂鸟群落中起着重要作用。较大的物种通常会将较小的物种排除在丰富的花卉资源之外。然而，最近有人假设，随着竞争物种之间进化距离的增加，大体型的竞争优势会下降。在这项研究中，我们分析了墨西哥中部蜂鸟组合的优势等级动态。通过在 1 年内监测在三种植物物种中建立的蜂鸟领地，我们评估了领地内能量的影响以及领地所有者身份对种间和种内相遇频率的影响。我们还评估了这些因素是否会影响较大物种与较小的远亲竞争者竞争时的优势地位。我们的结果表明，它们的种内遭遇频率与领地所有者的身份有关。相反，种间相遇的频率与领土和领土所有者的身份有关。我们没有发现由较大和较小物种及其竞争者主导的遭遇数量之间存在显着差异。然而，竞争者之间遗传距离的增加与由小型蜂鸟主导的更高频率的遭遇呈正相关。我们的结果表明，竞争者之间的生态因素和进化关系在优势等级动态中起着重要作用。种间相遇的频率与领土和领土所有者的身份有关。我们没有发现由较大和较小物种及其竞争者主导的遭遇数量之间存在显着差异。然而，竞争者之间遗传距离的增加与由小型蜂鸟主导的更高频率的遭遇呈正相关。我们的结果表明，竞争者之间的生态因素和进化关系在优势等级动态中起着重要作用。种间相遇的频率与领土和领土所有者的身份有关。我们没有发现由较大和较小物种及其竞争者主导的遭遇数量之间存在显着差异。然而，竞争者之间遗传距离的增加与由小型蜂鸟主导的更高频率的遭遇呈正相关。我们的结果表明，竞争者之间的生态因素和进化关系在优势等级动态中起着重要作用。竞争者之间遗传距离的增加与小型蜂鸟主导的更高频率的遭遇呈正相关。我们的结果表明，竞争者之间的生态因素和进化关系在优势等级动态中起着重要作用。竞争者之间遗传距离的增加与小型蜂鸟主导的更高频率的遭遇呈正相关。我们的结果表明，竞争者之间的生态因素和进化关系在优势等级动态中起着重要作用。