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Abiotic niche partitioning among congeneric species in an Atlantic forest fragment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

Thais A. Vitoriano Dantas Open the ORCID record for Thais A. Vitoriano Dantas [Opens in a new window] ,
Anderson Dantas Open the ORCID record for Anderson Dantas [Opens in a new window] ,
Jackson dos Santos Silva Open the ORCID record for Jackson dos Santos Silva [Opens in a new window]  and
José Domingos Ribeiro-Neto Open the ORCID record for José Domingos Ribeiro-Neto [Opens in a new window]
Thais A. Vitoriano Dantas*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil
Anderson Dantas
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil
Jackson dos Santos Silva
Affiliation:
Departamento de Fitotecnia e Ciências Ambientais, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil
José Domingos Ribeiro-Neto
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Departamento de Fitotecnia e Ciências Ambientais, Centro de Ciências Agrarias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil
*
Corresponding author: Thais A. Vitoriano Dantas; Email: thaisvitorianodantas@gmail.com
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Abstract

Understanding the processes that allow phylogenetically related plant species coexist is important to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that structure biological communities. In this study, we investigated how the species Erythroxylum simonis, Erythroxylum pauferrense and Erythroxylum citrifolium share ecological niche dimensions according to the abiotic characteristics of their environments of occurrence. To this end, in ten pre-established plots in an Atlantic Forest remnant in northeastern Brazil, we carried out a population survey of the three species and characterised their abiotic niche by measuring light availability, humidity and the physical–chemical properties of the soil. We used generalised linear models to test whether abiotic variables influence species abundance. Our results indicate that the three species coexist along the different environmental gradients, with some level of niche overlap. The species E. simonis is the best competitor, showing generalist behaviour and the highest abundance in all environmental gradients. We emphasise that the adult populations of the species have adapted to various environmental and ecological challenges. Thus, the results reported are influenced by their ability to perform well in terms of physiology, growth and survival in their early-life stages.

Keywords

Erythroxylumniche overlapcommunity structureenvironmental conditionscoexistence
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 41 , 2025 , e1
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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