Resource niche partitioning mediates the coexistence of similar species by reducing the chance of competitive encounters. For co-occurring species that share an ephemeral resource, contrasting activity in space and time may facilitate their persistence. Burying beetles (Silphidae: Nicrophorus) depend entirely on small vertebrate carcasses to reproduce. Given the unpredictability of this resource, and its value to congeners and other scavenger species, burying beetles likely endure intense competition to secure a carcass. Here, contrasting spatial and temporal niche patterns are explored as resource allocation strategies among five sympatric species of burying beetles (N. americanus, N. marginatus, N. pustulatus, N. orbicollis, and N. tomentosus). Specifically, the space-use and daily activity patterns are measured, at a fine scale, across species pairs to extrapolate contrasting niche-use patterns within a nicrophorine-rich grassland community in North-Central Oklahoma, USA. The results of this study reveal an important interplay between space-use and daily temporal activity in mediating the scramble competition associated with carrion resources. Where spatial or temporal overlap between burying beetle species is high, direct competition is mediated along an alternative niche dimension. For instance, N. americanus and N. orbicollis, a species dyad thought to be in direct competition, do overlap temporally but were found to have segregated space-use patterns. Our findings provide key insights into the competitive interactions within a necrophilous community and further inform our broader understanding of the spatial and temporal resource dimensions that drive the ecological niche.

中文翻译：

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在一个似生的栖phi群落中的时空生态位分配（鞘翅目：栖ph科（Silphidae Nicrophorus））

资源生态位划分通过减少竞争性相遇的机会来介导相似物种的共存。对于共享短暂资源的共生物种，在空间和时间上进行对比活动可能有助于其持久性。埋葬甲虫（Silphidae：Nicrophorus）完全依靠小型脊椎动物的cas体繁殖。考虑到这种资源的不可预测性及其对同类动物和其他清除物种的价值，埋葬甲虫可能会经受激烈的竞争以确保car体。在这里，对比空间和时间的利基模式探索为中埋甲虫五个域物种资源分配策略（N.美洲，N. marginatus，N. pustulatus，N. orbicollis和N. tomentosus）。具体而言，在美国俄克拉荷马州中北部的一个富含尼古丁碱的草地群落中，对各种物种对进行了精细测量的空间利用和日常活动模式，以推断出不同的利基使用模式。这项研究的结果表明，在调解与腐肉资源有关的争夺竞争中，空间利用与日常时间活动之间存在重要的相互作用。在埋藏的甲虫物种之间的空间或时间重叠较高的地方，直接竞争是沿着替代的生态位维度进行的。例如，N.美洲和N. orbicollis，被认为是直接竞争的二元生物，在时间上确实重叠，但被发现具有分离的空间利用模式。我们的发现为重要社区内的竞争互动提供了重要见解，并进一步推动了我们对驱动生态位的时空资源维度的更广泛理解。