Lunghi Enrico, Corti Claudia, Biaggini Marta, Zhao Yahui, Cianferoni Fabio
Key Laboratory of the Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Division of Molecular Biology, Institut Ruđer Bošković, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Aug 29;12(17):2221. doi: 10.3390/ani12172221.
The trophic niche of a species is one of the fundamental traits of species biology. The ideal trophic niche of a species is realized in the absence of interspecific competition, targeting the most profitable and easy-to-handle food resources. However, when a competitor is present, species adopt different strategies to reduce competition and promote coexistence. In this study, we assessed the potential mechanisms that allow the coexistence of two generalist salamanders: the Italian cave salamander () and the fire salamander (). We surveyed, in April 2021, a forested area of Emilia-Romagna (Italy) during rainy nights. Analyzing the stomach contents of the captured individuals, we obtained information on the trophic niche of these two sympatric populations. Comparing our results with those of previous studies, we found that the two species did not modify their trophic niche, but that alternative mechanisms allowed their coexistence. Specifically, different prey preferences and predator metabolisms were likely the major factors allowing reduced competition between these two generalist predators.
一个物种的营养生态位是物种生物学的基本特征之一。在没有种间竞争的情况下，一个物种的理想营养生态位得以实现，其目标是最有利可图且易于获取的食物资源。然而，当存在竞争者时，物种会采取不同策略来减少竞争并促进共存。在本研究中，我们评估了两种广食性蝾螈共存的潜在机制：意大利洞穴蝾螈（ ）和火蝾螈（ ）。2021年4月，我们在雨夜对意大利艾米利亚 - 罗马涅的一片森林区域进行了调查。通过分析捕获个体的胃内容物，我们获得了这两个同域分布种群营养生态位的信息。将我们的结果与先前研究的结果进行比较，我们发现这两个物种并未改变它们的营养生态位，而是其他机制使其得以共存。具体而言，不同的猎物偏好和捕食者代谢可能是这两种广食性捕食者之间竞争减少的主要因素。
