Interspecific competition in birds / Andre A Dhondt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dhondt, André A.

Series:

Oxford avian biology series ; v. 2.

Oxford avian biology series ; v. 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Birds.

Physical Description:

xii, 282 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Summary:

Provides a current, critical review of the importance of interspecific competition, considering the evolutionary effects of interspecific competition, its importance in structuring communities, and influence on the traits of individual species.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Introduction

1.1 The study of biotic interactions in nature

1.2 Criticism as to the importance of interspecific competition

1.3 Tits to the rescue

1.4 The paradox of competition as illustrated by Kluijver and Lack

1.5 The conflict on the importance of interspecific competition in North America

1.6 Conclusions

2 Definitions, models, and how to measure the existence of interspecific competition

2.1 Definitions: effects on individuals or populations?

2.2 Models and equations: logistic, theta logistic, and Lotka-Volterra

2.3 Conclusions

2.4 The structure of the rest of the book

3 Space as a limiting resource

3.1 Introduction

3.2 The Buffer Hypothesis was developed from studies of tit populations and is probably generally important

3.3 Winter social organization determines when space is limiting

3.4 Interspecific territoriality

3.5 Conclusions

4 Food as a limiting resource

4.1 Introduction

4.2 The classical case of beech mast: correlation is not causation

4.3 Experimental evidence that food does actually influence winter survival or the size of the following breeding population

4.4 Behavioural responses to winter cold and predation risk: costs and benefits of flocking

4.5 Individual responses to managing body fat reserves in the context of food availability and predator presence

4.6 Pre-breeding food supplementation effects on reproduction

4.7 Food manipulations during the breeding season

4.8 Predation by birds and other taxa can reduce food availability and thus have indirect effects

4.9 Food supplementation experiments as a conservation tool

4.10 Conclusions

5 Nest sites as a limiting resource

5.1 Are nest sites limiting in cup-nesting species?

5.2 Are cavities limiting for cavity nesters?.

5.3 Are cavities in natural forests superabundant?

5.4 Studies of nest web communities

5.5 Conclusions

6 The effect of intraspecific competition on population processes

6.1 Intraspecific competition seems to be generally important in birds

6.2 Case studies show variation in what processes are affected by density-dependence

6.3 Density-dependence in introduced populations

6.4 Mechanisms resulting in density-dependence: the importance of habitat heterogeneity

6.5 Density-dependence in titmice

6.6 Conclusion

7 Studies of foraging niches and food

7.1 The early studies of foraging behaviour emphasized differences between species

7.2 In the 1970s observational arguments were used to document the existence of interspecific competition. These arguments only convinced the believers

7.3 Field and cage experiments provided conclusive evidence as to the effect of interspecific interactions on the foraging niches used

7.4 Measures of fitness-related traits are needed, however, to prove the existence of interspecific competition

7.5 The story of the coal tit on Gotland: alternative explanations can be right

7.6 Altitudinal replacement of closely related species

7.7 Seasonal variation in niche overlap

7.8 Effects of migrants on residents

7.9 Conclusions

8 Field experiments to test the existence and effects of interspecific competition

8.1 Effect of manipulation of cavities available on reproductive or foraging success of presumed competitors (Table 8.1)

8.2 Effect of resource manipulation on population size of presumed competitors: effects on single species (Table 8.2)

8.3 Studies of communities of cavity nesters: experiments in which natural cavities were blocked or nest-boxes added generated a diversity of results (Table 8.3).

8.4 Interactions between cavity and open nesters: does adding nest-boxes influence the density of open-nesting species? (Table 8.4)

8.5 Effects of direct removals on habitat use and population size of subordinate species (Table 8.5)

8.6 Competitive interactions between birds and species of a different class

8.7 Competition between burrow-nesting seabirds can have a severe impact on numbers: application of our understanding of interspecific competition for conservation (Table 8.9)

8.8 Heterospecific aggression and interspecific territories

8.9 Heterospecific attraction

8.10 Conclusions

9 Long-term experiments on competition between great and blue tit

9.1 Interspecific competition in tits: the origin of the idea

9.2 Is winter competition between great and blue tit for roosting sites only, for food only, or for both resources?

9.3 Experimental manipulations to vary the intensity of intra- and of interspecific competition

9.4 Effects of intra- and interspecific competition on blue tit density and demographic variables

9.5 Effect of intra- and interspecific competition on great tit density and demographic variables

9.6 How similar are the results of experimental and correlational studies?

9.7 Density and dispersal

9.8 What have we learned about competition between blue and great tit?

9.9 Concluding comments

10 Evolutionary effects of interspecific competition

10.1 Ecological character release and the Niche Variation Hypothesis

10.2 Testing the criteria for ecological character release

10.3 How rapidly can interspecific competition cause evolutionary changes in morphology? Observational data

10.4 How rapidly can interspecific competition cause evolutionary changes in morphology? Experimental data on selection pressures and evolutionary change.

10.5 Community composition and interspecific competition

10.6 Interspecific competition and life-history traits

10.7 Conclusions

11 Concluding thoughts

Appendix 1-Common and scientific names of bird species mentioned in the text

Appendix 2-Common and scientific names of other species mentioned in the text

Appendix 3-Detailed results of analyses summarized in Chapter 9. All pertain to the Ghent and Antwerp study sites in Belgium

References

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0191625299

9780191625299

OCLC:

769344031