Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship

Abstract Positive ecological relationships, such as facilitation, are an important force in community organization. The effects of facilitative relationships can be strong enough to cause changes in the distributions of species and in many cases have evolved as a response to predation pressure, howe...

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Autores principales:	Wray Gabel, Peter Frederick, Jabi Zabala
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1979ce0afacd4bfeadd82110aee4e947
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1979ce0afacd4bfeadd82110aee4e9472021-12-02T15:23:05ZAlligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship10.1038/s41598-020-80185-52045-2322https://doaj.org/article/1979ce0afacd4bfeadd82110aee4e9472021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80185-5https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Positive ecological relationships, such as facilitation, are an important force in community organization. The effects of facilitative relationships can be strong enough to cause changes in the distributions of species and in many cases have evolved as a response to predation pressure, however, very little is known about this potential trend in vertebrate facilitative relationships. Predation is an important selective pressure that may strongly influence breeding site selection by nesting birds. The American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) facilitates a safer nesting location for wading birds (Ciconiiformes and Pelecaniformes) by deterring mammalian nest predators from breeding sites. However, alligators do not occur throughout the breeding range of most wading birds, and it is unclear whether alligator presence affects colony site selection. We predicted that nesting wading birds change colony site preferences when alligators are not present to serve as nest protectors. Within the northern fringe of alligator distribution we compared colony characteristics in locations where alligator presence was either likely or unlikely while controlling for availability of habitat. Wading birds preferred islands that were farther from the mainland and farther from landmasses > 5 ha when alligator presence was unlikely compared to when alligators were likely. These findings indicate that wading birds are seeking nesting locations that are less accessible to mammalian predators when alligators are not present, and that this requirement is relaxed when alligators are present. This study illustrates how a landscape-scale difference between realized and fundamental niche can result from a facilitative relationship in vertebrates.Wray GabelPeter FrederickJabi ZabalaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Wray Gabel Peter Frederick Jabi Zabala Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
description	Abstract Positive ecological relationships, such as facilitation, are an important force in community organization. The effects of facilitative relationships can be strong enough to cause changes in the distributions of species and in many cases have evolved as a response to predation pressure, however, very little is known about this potential trend in vertebrate facilitative relationships. Predation is an important selective pressure that may strongly influence breeding site selection by nesting birds. The American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) facilitates a safer nesting location for wading birds (Ciconiiformes and Pelecaniformes) by deterring mammalian nest predators from breeding sites. However, alligators do not occur throughout the breeding range of most wading birds, and it is unclear whether alligator presence affects colony site selection. We predicted that nesting wading birds change colony site preferences when alligators are not present to serve as nest protectors. Within the northern fringe of alligator distribution we compared colony characteristics in locations where alligator presence was either likely or unlikely while controlling for availability of habitat. Wading birds preferred islands that were farther from the mainland and farther from landmasses > 5 ha when alligator presence was unlikely compared to when alligators were likely. These findings indicate that wading birds are seeking nesting locations that are less accessible to mammalian predators when alligators are not present, and that this requirement is relaxed when alligators are present. This study illustrates how a landscape-scale difference between realized and fundamental niche can result from a facilitative relationship in vertebrates.
format	article
author	Wray Gabel Peter Frederick Jabi Zabala
author_facet	Wray Gabel Peter Frederick Jabi Zabala
author_sort	Wray Gabel
title	Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
title_short	Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
title_full	Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
title_fullStr	Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
title_full_unstemmed	Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
title_sort	alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1979ce0afacd4bfeadd82110aee4e947
work_keys_str_mv	AT wraygabel alligatorpresenceinfluencescolonysiteselectionoflongleggedwadingbirdsthroughlargescalefacilitativenestprotectorrelationship AT peterfrederick alligatorpresenceinfluencescolonysiteselectionoflongleggedwadingbirdsthroughlargescalefacilitativenestprotectorrelationship AT jabizabala alligatorpresenceinfluencescolonysiteselectionoflongleggedwadingbirdsthroughlargescalefacilitativenestprotectorrelationship
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Alligator presence influences colony site selection of long-legged wading birds through large scale facilitative nest protector relationship

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