Spatial Niche Expansion at Multiple Habitat Scales of a Tropical Freshwater Turtle in the Absence of a Potential Competitor

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationEcolobbyen
cg.contributor.affiliationLagos State Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationInstitute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, Italyen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Calabriaen
cg.contributor.affiliationRivers State University of Science and Technologyen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité de Loméen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité Félix Houphouët-Boignyen
cg.contributor.affiliationManchester Metropolitan Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationCenter for International Forestry Researchen
cg.coverage.countryCôte d'Ivoire
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2CI
cg.coverage.regionWestern Africa
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/d13020055en
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn1424-2818en
cg.issue2en
cg.journalDiversityen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.subject.ciforFOREST MANAGEMENTen
cg.volume13en
dc.contributor.authorPetrozzi, F.en
dc.contributor.authorAjong, S.N.en
dc.contributor.authorPacini, N.en
dc.contributor.authorDendi, D.en
dc.contributor.authorBi, S.G.en
dc.contributor.authorFa, J.E.en
dc.contributor.authorLuiselli, L.en
dc.date.accessioned2021-05-07T06:45:30Zen
dc.date.available2021-05-07T06:45:30Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/113664
dc.titleSpatial Niche Expansion at Multiple Habitat Scales of a Tropical Freshwater Turtle in the Absence of a Potential Competitoren
dcterms.abstractResource partitioning, the division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition, has been observed in freshwater turtle assemblages in several natural systems but has rarely been studied in tropical African ecosystems. Here, we investigate habitat preferences of two congeneric species in the family Pelomedusidae, Pelusios castaneus and P. cupulatta, in riverine/wetland habitats in the southern Ivory Coast (West Africa). Pelusios castaneus is a widespread species across West-central African savannahs and open forests, whereas P. cupulatta is endemic to the Upper Guinean forest region in West Africa. The two species have a similar diet composition (mainly carnivorous) but diverge considerably in body size, P. cupulatta being much larger. We use hand-fishing-nets and fishing funnel traps to record turtles in 18 distinct sites and analyze habitat preferences by species at two spatial scales. At a macro-habitat scale, P. castaneus is captured mainly in marshlands, whereas P. cupulatta is found in both rivers and wetlands. The two species differ significantly in their use of: (i) banks (P. castaneus being found primarily in spots with grassy banks, whereas P. cupulatta is found in spots with forested banks), and (ii) aquatic vegetation (P. cupulatta prefers spots with more abundant aquatic vegetation than P. castaneus), but both species select sites with no or moderate current. Additionally, in sites where P. cupulatta is not found, P. castaneus expands its spatial niche at multiple habitat scales, notably invading waterbodies with forested banks. Our results suggest that these two Pelomedusid turtle species potentially compete in the freshwater habitats in the southern Ivory Coast.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2021-02-01
dcterms.bibliographicCitationPetrozzi, F., Ajong, S.N., Pacini, N., Dendi, D., Bi, S.G., Fa, J.E. and Luiselli, L., 2021. Spatial niche expansion at multiple habitat scales of a tropical freshwater turtle in the absence of a potential competitor. Diversity, 13(2): 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020055en
dcterms.extent55en
dcterms.issued2021-02-01
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherMDPIen
dcterms.subjecthabitat preferencesen
dcterms.subjectfreshwater organismsen
dcterms.subjectecosystemsen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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