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Isotopic niche structure of a mammalian herbivore assemblage from a West African savanna: Body mass and seasonality effect

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Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms of species coexistence within local assemblages can play a crucial role in conservation of a species. There is little understanding of how large mammalian bovid species from West Africa partition diet resources, and to what extent they may vary their diet and habitat selection seasonally in order to coexist. Here we studied an assemblage of eleven bovid species in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, West Africa and used faecal stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) to test the impact of body mass diet partitioning at a seasonal scale. We found a significant positive relationship between isotopic niche similarity and body size similarity both in dry (p < 0.001) and wet (p < 0.001) season. Partitioning of carbon isotope niches is at least partly due to interactions amongst species rather than historical effects. Our findings also show numerous patterns in resource partitioning amongst the 11 bovid species studied, suggesting that different species used dietary resources in contrasting ways. In practice, actual resource competition between bovid species is difficult to demonstrate, but there exists much overlap in diet along the stable carbon isotope axis for most of the studied species. However we conclude that in our study area, especially in the wet season, niche breadth and diet overlap remain large. Abundant resources and low herbivore densities mean there is no need for herbivores to specialize, because they do not have to compete over scarce resources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526 LEA-FSA, Cotonou, Benin

    Chabi Adéyèmi Marc Sylvestre Djagoun, Guy A. Mensah & Brice Sinsin

  2. Florisbad Quaternary Research, National Museum, 9301, P.O. Box 266, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Daryl Codron

  3. Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, 9300, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Daryl Codron

  4. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    Chabi Adéyèmi Marc Sylvestre Djagoun & Judith Sealy

  5. National Institute of Agricultural Research of Benin (INRAB), 01 BP2359, Cotonou, Benin

    Guy A. Mensah

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  1. Chabi Adéyèmi Marc Sylvestre Djagoun
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  2. Daryl Codron
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Correspondence to Chabi Adéyèmi Marc Sylvestre Djagoun.

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Djagoun, C.A.M.S., Codron, D., Sealy, J. et al. Isotopic niche structure of a mammalian herbivore assemblage from a West African savanna: Body mass and seasonality effect. Mamm Biol 81, 644–650 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2016.09.001

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