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Resource preferences and the emergence of individual niche specialization within populations
Behavioral Ecology ( IF 2.4 ) Pub Date : 2021-06-22 , DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab086
Daniel Sol 1, 2 , Oriol Lapiedra 1 , Cesar González-Lagos 3, 4 , Miquel de Cáceres 1
Affiliation  

Growing evidence that individuals of many generalist animals behave as resource specialists have attracted substantial research interest for its ecological and evolutionary implications. Variation in resource preferences is considered to be critical for developing a general theory of individual specialization. However, it remains to be shown whether diverging preferences can arise among individuals sharing a similar environment, and whether these preferences are sufficiently stable over time to be ecologically relevant. We addressed these issues by means of common garden experiments in feral pigeons (Columba livia), a species known to exhibit among-individual resource specialization in the wild. Food-choice experiments on wild-caught pigeons and their captive-bred cross-fostered descendants showed that short-term variation in food preferences can easily arise within a population, and that this variation may represent a substantial fraction of the population foraging niche. However, the experiments also showed that, rather than being limited by genetic or vertical cultural inheritance, food preferences exhibited high plasticity and tended to converge in the long-term. Although our results challenge the notion that variation in food preferences is a major driver of resource specialization, early differences in preferences could pave the way to specializations when combined with neophobic responses and/or positive feedbacks that reinforce niche conservation.

中文翻译:

资源偏好和群体内个体利基专业化的出现

越来越多的证据表明,许多通才动物的个体表现为资源专家,因其生态和进化意义而吸引了大量研究兴趣。资源偏好的变化被认为对于发展个体专业化的一般理论至关重要。然而,在共享相似环境的个体之间是否会出现不同的偏好,以及这些偏好是否随着时间的推移足够稳定以与生态相关,还有待证明。我们通过野鸽(Columba livia)的常见花园实验解决了这些问题,野鸽是一种已知在野外表现出个体资源专业化的物种。对野生捕获的鸽子及其圈养杂交后代的食物选择实验表明,食物偏好的短期变化很容易在种群中出现,并且这种变化可能代表种群觅食生态位的很大一部分。然而,实验还表明,食物偏好不受遗传或垂直文化遗传的限制,表现出高度的可塑性,并且在长期内趋于趋同。尽管我们的结果挑战了食物偏好的变化是资源专业化的主要驱动力的观点,但当与新恐惧反应和/或加强生态位保护的积极反馈相结合时,偏好的早期差异可能为专业化铺平道路。并且这种变化可能代表了种群觅食生态位的很大一部分。然而,实验还表明,食物偏好不受遗传或垂直文化遗传的限制,表现出高度的可塑性,并且在长期内趋于趋同。尽管我们的结果挑战了食物偏好的变化是资源专业化的主要驱动力的观点,但当与新恐惧反应和/或加强生态位保护的积极反馈相结合时,偏好的早期差异可能为专业化铺平道路。并且这种变化可能代表了种群觅食生态位的很大一部分。然而,实验还表明,食物偏好不受遗传或垂直文化遗传的限制,表现出高度的可塑性,并且在长期内趋于趋同。尽管我们的结果挑战了食物偏好的变化是资源专业化的主要驱动力的观点,但当与新恐惧反应和/或加强生态位保护的积极反馈相结合时,偏好的早期差异可能为专业化铺平道路。
更新日期:2021-06-22
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