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Trait-environment relationships differ between mixed-species flocking and nonflocking bird assemblages
Qiang Zhang1, Marcel Holyoak2, Eben Goodale3
1Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangdong Academy of Science, Guangzhou, 510260, China.
Ecology
|June 22, 2020
Summary
Flocking forest birds show greater resilience to environmental changes than nonflocking birds, as their traits are less affected by elevation. Mixed-species flocks buffer habitat filtering, promoting species coexistence.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Avian Ecology
Background:
- Community assembly is shaped by biotic and abiotic factors influencing species' functional traits.
- The role of traits in niche differentiation for closely related species in heterogeneous environments, especially within mixed-species flocks, remains unclear.
- Mixed-species flocks involve complex interactions, including competition and facilitation, which can impact community structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how functional traits influence niche dimensions and community structure in flocking versus nonflocking bird assemblages along an elevational gradient.
- To disentangle deterministic and stochastic processes structuring these assemblages.
- To assess trait-environment relationships in different social systems.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 6-year forest bird counts and environmental variable measurements along an elevational gradient in China.
- Compared phylogenetic and functional structure, and community-weighted mean trait values (CWM) between flocking and nonflocking assemblages.
- Analyzed elevational variations in trait-environment relationships using correlation and ordination.
Main Results:
- Nonflocking assemblages exhibited strong shifts in community structure with elevation, indicating significant environmental filtering and clear trait-environment associations (e.g., morphology, foraging).
- Flocking assemblages demonstrated greater resilience to elevational changes, with more consistent community membership and fewer trait-environment associations.
- Traits associated with flocking (small body size, broad habitat specificity) were consistently linked to flocking assemblages across the gradient.
Conclusions:
- Trait-environment relationships significantly differ between flocking and nonflocking bird assemblages.
- Mixed-species flocks may enhance community resilience to environmental change by buffering habitat filtering and facilitating species interactions.
- Flocking systems offer a valuable model for studying the coexistence of closely related species and the interplay of competition and facilitation.
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