Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Food niche differentiation in two syntopic sunbird species: a case study from the Cameroon Mountains

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Ornithology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Closely related bird species can coexist in areas of range overlap due to differentiation of their ecological niches. If coexisting species have similar habitat requirements, separation of food niches presumably plays a crucial role. Theoretically, two possible food niche separation scenarios are possible: (1) use of different food resources or (2) temporal differences in feeding activity. We examined these mechanisms by investigating the feeding habits of two short-billed sunbirds (Cinnyris reichenowi and C. bouvieri) coexisting locally in the Bamenda Highlands, NW Cameroon. Daily feeding activity in both species showed a similar pattern, with two peaks (0800–0900 hours and 1500–1600 hours, respectively) and a prominent decrease in activity between 1100 and 1400 hours. However, the studied species clearly differed in their exploitation of plant resources. C. bouvieri mostly visited Lobelia columnaris, while C. reichenowi regularly visited three plant species, namely, Hypericum revolutum, Hypoestes aristata and Impatiens sakerana, with the most time spent at the second species. Such resource partitioning was probably caused by interspecific aggressive behaviour, since C. bouvieri actively repelled C. reichenowi from Lobelia columnaris plants, forcing C. reichenowi to feed on other plant species.

Zusammenfassung

Nahe verwandte Vogelarten können in Gegenden, in denen sich ihre Vorkommen überschneiden, aufgrund einer Differenzierung ihrer ökologischen Nischen koexistieren. Falls koexistente Arten ähnliche Ansprüche an den Lebensraum aufweisen, kommt einer Trennung der Nahrungsnischen höchst wahrscheinlich die Schlüsselrolle zu. Theoretisch sind zwei mögliche Szenarien der Nahrungsnischentrennung denkbar: (1) die Nutzung unterschiedlicher Nahrungsressourcen, oder (2) zeitliche Unterschiede in der Nahrungsaufnahme-Aktivität. Wir erforschten diese Mechanismen indem wir die Ernährungsgewohnheiten zweier kurzschnäbliger Nektarvogelarten (Cinnyris reichenowi and C. bouvieri), die im Bamenda Hochland, Nordwestkamerun lokal gemeinsam vorkommen, untersuchten. Die tägliche Nahrungsaufnahme-Aktivität folgte bei beiden Arten einem ähnlichen Muster mit zwei Gipfeln (zwischen 08:00–09:00 bzw. 15:00–16:00 Uhr) und einem deutlichen Aktivitätsabfall zwischen 11:00 und 14:00 Uhr. Die beiden untersuchten Arten unterschieden sich aber klar in der Ausnutzung der Pflanzenressourcen. C. bouvieri besuchte überwiegend Lobelia columnaris, wohingegen C. reichenowi drei Pflanzenarten regelmäßig besuchte: Hypericum revolutum, Hypoestes aristata und Impatiens sakerana, dabei verbrachte sie an der zweiten Art die meiste Zeit. Diese Art der Ressourcenaufteilung hatte ihre Ursache wahrscheinlich in interspezifischem Aggressionsverhalten, da C. bouvieri und C. reichenowi aktiv von Pflanzen der Art Lobelia columnaris vertrieb und C. reichenowi dadurch zwang an anderen Pflanzenarten zu fressen.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahamczyk S, Kessler M (2010) Hummingbird diversity, food niche characters, and assemblage composition along a latitudinal precipitation gradient in the Bolivian lowlands. J Ornithol 151(3):615–625

    Google Scholar 

  • Alatalo RV, Moreno J (1987) Body size, interspecific interactions, and use of foraging sites in tits (Paridae). Ecology 68(6):1773–1777

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alatalo RV, Gustafsson L, Lindén M, Lundberg A (1985) Interspecific competition and niche shifts in tits and the Goldcrest: an experiment. J Anim Ecol 54:977–984

    Google Scholar 

  • Arizmendi MC (1990) Hummingbirds and their floral resources in a tropical dry forest in Mexico. Biotropica 22(2):72–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartoš M, Janeček Š, Riegert J, Patáčová E, Padyšáková E, Altman J, Tropek R (2009) Nectar properties of plant with different degrees of specialization. In: BES Annu Meet 2009. University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

  • Borrow N, Demey R (2001) Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown M, Downs CT, Johnson SD (2008) Sugar preferences of nectar feeding birds—a comparison of experimental techniques. J Avian Biol 39:479–483

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown M, Downs CT, Johnson SD (2010) Concentration-dependent sugar preferences of the Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa). Auk 127(1):151–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Burd M (1994) A probabilistic analysis of pollinator behaviour and seed production in Lobelia deckenii. Ecology 75(6):1635–1646

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter FLM, MacMillen RE (1976) A threshold model for feeding territoriality and a test with a Hawaiian honey creeper. Science 194:639–642

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheek M, Onana JM, Pollard BJ (2000) The plants of Mount Oku and the Ilim Ridge, Cameroon. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheke RA, Mann CF, Allen R (2001) A guide to the sunbirds, flowerpeckers, spiderhunters and sugarbirds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs CT, Wellmann AE, Brown M (2010) Diel variations in plasma glucose concentrations of Malachite Sunbirds Nectarinia famosa. J Ornithol 151:235–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinsinger P (1976) Organization of a tropical guild of nectarivorous birds. Ecol Monogr 46:257–291

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinsinger P (1978) Ecological interactions between plants and hummingbirds in a succesional tropical community. Ecol Monogr 48:269–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinsinger P, Swarm LA, Wolfe JA (1985) Nectar-feeding birds on Trinidad and Tobago: comparison of diverse and depauperate guilds. Ecol Monogr 55(1):1–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH, Muchhala N (2008) Nectar-feeding bird and bat niches in two worlds: pantropical comparisons of vertebrate pollination systems. J Biogeogr 35:764–780

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry CH, Keith S, Urban EK (2000) The birds of Africa, vol 6. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Geerts S, Pauw A (2009a) Hyper-specialization for long-billed bird pollination in a guild of South African plants: the Malachite Sunbird pollination syndrome. S Afr J Bot 75(4):699–706

    Google Scholar 

  • Geerts S, Pauw A (2009b) African sunbirds hover to pollinate an invasive hummingbird-pollinated plant. Oikos 118:573–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill FB, Wolf LL (1975) Economics of feeding territoriality in the Golden-winged Sunbird. Ecology 56:333–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill FB, Wolf LL (1977) Nonrandom foraging by sunbirds in a patchy environment. Ecology 58:1284–1296

    Google Scholar 

  • Hixon MA, Carpenter FL, Paton DC (1983) Territory area, flower density, and time budgeting in hummingbirds—an experimental and theoretical analysis. Am Nat 122(3):366–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Huey RB, Pianka ER (1981) Ecological consequences of foraging mode. Ecology 62(4):991–999

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay KM, Schemske DW (2003) Pollinator assemblages and visitation rates for 11 species of neotropical Costus (Costaceae). Biotropica 35(2):198–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Lara C, Lumbreras K, Gonzales M (2009) Niche partitioning among hummingbirds foraging on Pentestemon roseus (Plantaginaceae) in Central Mexico. Ornitol Neotrop 20(1):81–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Lott DF, Lott DY (1991) Bronzy sunbirds Nectarinia kilimensis relax territoriality in response to internal changes. Orn Scand 22:303–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Moermond TC (1979) Habitat constraints on the behavior, morphology, and community structure of Anolis lizards. Ecology 60(1):152–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolson SW, Fleming PA (2003) Nectar as a food for birds: the physiological consequences of drinking dilute sugar solutions. Plant Syst Evol 238:139–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Orians GH, Willson MF (1964) Interspecific territories in birds. Ecology 45:736–745

    Google Scholar 

  • Procházka P, Reif J, Hořák D, Klvaňa P, Lee RW, Yohannes E (2010) Using stable isotopes to trace resource acquisition and trophic position in four Afrotropical birds with different dietary requirements. Ostrich 81:273–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Reif J, Hořák D, Sedláček O, Riegert J, Pešata M, Hrázský Z, Janeček Š, Storch D (2006) Unusual abundance-range size relationship in an Afromontane bird community: the effect of geographic isolation? J Biogeogr 33:1959–1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Reif J, Sedláček O, Hořák D, Riegert J, Pešata M, Hrázský Z, Janeček Š (2007) Habitat preferences of birds in a montane forest mosaic in the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon. Ostrich 78(1):31–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Riegert J, Pešata M, Reif J, Hořák D, Sedláček O, Hrázský Z, Janeček Š, Brom J, Bartoš M, Bystřická D (2007) Distribution and abundance of nectar resources in the territories of two sunbird species in Bamenda Highlands, North-West Cameroon. Ostrich 78(2):322–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1965) The evolution of bill size differences among sympatric congeneric species of birds. Evolution 19:169–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedláček O, Reif J, Hořák D, Riegert J, Pešata M, Klvaňa P (2007) The birds of a montane forest mosaic in Big Babanki area, Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon. Malimbus 29:89–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Snow BK, Snow DW (1972) Feeding niches of hummingbirds in a Trinidad valley. J Anim Ecol 41(2):471–485

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiles FG (1975) Ecology, flowering phenology, and hummingbird pollination of some Costa Rican Heliconia species. Ecology 56:285–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Symes CT, Nicolson SW (2008) Production of copious dilute nectar in the bird-pollinated African succulent Aloe marlothii (Asphodelaceae). S Afr J Bot 74:598–605

    Google Scholar 

  • Symes CT, Nicolson SW, McKechnie AE (2008) Response of avian nectarivores to the flowering of Aloe marlothii: a nectar oasis during dry South African winters. J Ornithol 149:13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Temeles EJ, Muir AB, Slutsky EB, Vitousek MN (2004) Effect of food reductions on territorial behavior of purple-throated caribs. Condor 106:691–695

    Google Scholar 

  • Temeles EJ, Goldman RS, Kudla AU (2005) Foraging and territory economics of sexually dimorphic Purple-throated Caribs (Eulampis jugularis) on three Heliconia morphs. Auk 122(1):187–204

    Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak CJF, Šmilauer P (1998) CANOCO release 4. Reference manual and user’s guide to Canoco for windows: software for canonical community ordination. Microcomputer Power, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Tokeshi M (1999) Species coexistence: ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Blackwell Science, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Trombulak SC (1990) Assessment of territory value by a tropical hummingbird (Amazilia saucerottei). Biotropica 22(1):9–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf LL (1975) Energy intake and expenditures in a nectar-feeding sunbird. Ecology 56:92–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Young TP (1982) Bird visitation, seed-set, and germination rates in two species on Mount Kenya. Ecology 63:1983–1986

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Guillaume Dzikouk and Nono Gonwouo Legrand for enabling us to perform the research in the Bamenda-Banso Highlands. The project was authorized by the Ministry of Research and Innovation, Yaoundé, Cameroon under Research Permits No. 023 and 118. The study was performed with the kind permission of the Ndawara-Belo ranch. We thank the entire Kedjom-Keku community in general and Ernest Vunan Amohlon in particular for their kind reception in Big Babanki village. We wish to thank the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MSM 6007665801, MSM 6007665806, LC 06073, AVOZ60050516), Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia (GAJU 136/2010/P), Grant Agency of The Czech Republic (GA ČR P505/11/1617) and Grant Agency of the Czech Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IAA601410709, KJB601110703) for financial support. Finally, we thank Dr. Keith Edwards for the English language corrections.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Jan Riegert & Drahomíra Fainová

  2. Department of Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614, Poznań, Poland

    Marcin Antczak

  3. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Sedláček & David Hořák

  4. Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University, Benatska 2, 128 01, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Jiří Reif

  5. Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Michal Pešata

Authors
  1. Jan Riegert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Drahomíra Fainová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marcin Antczak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ondřej Sedláček
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. David Hořák
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jiří Reif
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Michal Pešata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan Riegert.

Additional information

Communicated by T. Friedl.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Riegert, J., Fainová, D., Antczak, M. et al. Food niche differentiation in two syntopic sunbird species: a case study from the Cameroon Mountains. J Ornithol 152, 819–825 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0650-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0650-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation