The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa

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dc.contributor.authorSchoeman, M Corrieen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJacobs, David Sen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-10T14:50:04Z
dc.date.available2015-11-10T14:50:04Z
dc.date.issued2008en_ZA
dc.description.abstractDeterministic filters such as competition and prey defences should have a strong influence on the community structure of animals such as insectivorous bats that have life histories characterized by low fecundity, low predation risk, long life expectancy, and stable populations. We investigated the relative influence of these two deterministic filters on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. We used null models to simulate the random phenotypic patterns expected in the absence of competition or prey defences and analysed the deviations of the observed phenotypic pattern from these expected random patterns. The phenotypic structure at local scales exhibited non-random patterns consistent with both competition and prey defense hypotheses. There was evidence that competition influenced body size distribution across ensembles. Competition also influenced wing and echolocation patterns in ensembles and in functional foraging groups with high species richness or abundance. At the same time, prey defense filters influenced echolocation patterns in two species-poor ensembles. Non-random patterns remained evident even after we removed the influence of body size from wing morphology and echolocation parameters taking phylogeny into account. However, abiotic filters such as geographic distribution ranges of small and large-bodied species, extinction risk, and the physics of flight and sound probably also interacted with biotic filters at local and/or regional scales to influence the community structure of sympatric bats in southern Africa. Future studies should investigate alternative parameters that define bat community structure such as diet and abundance to better determine the influence of competition and prey defences on the structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSchoeman, M. C., & Jacobs, D. S. (2008). The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14844en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSchoeman, M Corrie, and David S Jacobs "The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa." <i>PLoS One</i> (2008) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14844en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSchoeman, M. C., & Jacobs, D. S. (2008). The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. PLoS One, 3(11), e3715. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003715en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Schoeman, M Corrie AU - Jacobs, David S AB - Deterministic filters such as competition and prey defences should have a strong influence on the community structure of animals such as insectivorous bats that have life histories characterized by low fecundity, low predation risk, long life expectancy, and stable populations. We investigated the relative influence of these two deterministic filters on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. We used null models to simulate the random phenotypic patterns expected in the absence of competition or prey defences and analysed the deviations of the observed phenotypic pattern from these expected random patterns. The phenotypic structure at local scales exhibited non-random patterns consistent with both competition and prey defense hypotheses. There was evidence that competition influenced body size distribution across ensembles. Competition also influenced wing and echolocation patterns in ensembles and in functional foraging groups with high species richness or abundance. At the same time, prey defense filters influenced echolocation patterns in two species-poor ensembles. Non-random patterns remained evident even after we removed the influence of body size from wing morphology and echolocation parameters taking phylogeny into account. However, abiotic filters such as geographic distribution ranges of small and large-bodied species, extinction risk, and the physics of flight and sound probably also interacted with biotic filters at local and/or regional scales to influence the community structure of sympatric bats in southern Africa. Future studies should investigate alternative parameters that define bat community structure such as diet and abundance to better determine the influence of competition and prey defences on the structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. DA - 2008 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0003715 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2008 T1 - The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa TI - The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14844 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14844
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0003715
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSchoeman MC, Jacobs DS. The relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africa. PLoS One. 2008; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14844.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2008 Schoeman, Jacobsen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBatsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherEcholocationen_ZA
dc.subject.otherWingsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPhysiological parametersen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPredationen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForagingen_ZA
dc.titleThe relative influence of competition and prey defenses on the phenotypic structure of insectivorous bat ensembles in southern Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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