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. 2023 Mar 21;13(3):e9930.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.9930. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Sharing is living: The role of habitat heterogeneity in the coexistence of closely related species

Fábio H C Sanches  1   2 , Fernando R De Grande  1   2 , Tânia M Costa  2   3   4 , Rodrigo E Barreto  4   5
Affiliations

Sharing is living: The role of habitat heterogeneity in the coexistence of closely related species

Fábio H C Sanches et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

In biologically diverse ecosystems, an essential process to support competing species to coexist is ecological differentiation. Habitat heterogeneity is, hence, important in establishing species abundance and richness, favoring the coexistence of species due to habitat partition. In this context, shading and species thermal tolerance can be good factors to elucidate the role of habitat heterogeneity in the habitat partition among closely related species. Herein, we study shading effects in microhabitat selection, behavior, and physiological limitation on two species of fiddler crabs (Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis). Indeed, shading conditions influenced fiddler crabs species proportion over time, with L. leptodactyla more associated with nonshaded/warmer areas while the L. uruguayensis to shaded/cooler ones. They also adjusted their behavior differently from each other to deal with thermal stress. Finally, we have demonstrated that these effects are related to species' physiological limitations. We conclude that biologically diverse ecosystems, such as intertidal regions from estuaries (e.g., mudflats and mangroves), support the coexistence between closely related species by reducing competition due to habitat partition.

Keywords: behavioral ecology; fiddler crab; habitat partition; heat stress; spatial distribution; sunlight shading; thermoregulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Experimental shading structures covered by four different levels of shading: (a) 0% of light absorption (nonshaded control group); (b) 20% of light absorption; (c) 50% of light absorption; and (d) 80% of light absorption.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Leptuca leptodactyla proportion throughout time concerning the shading gradient treatments. Dots are the proportion from each experimental structure identity, while lines are the binomial logistic regression, and shaded areas represent the confidence interval of 95%. Note: All percentage values in the text are related to the mean ± SE from the L. leptodactyla proportion under each experimental structure. Nevertheless, data were analyzed with a GLMM with a binomial distribution. Thus, the lines drawn herein had different values from the mean since they are related to the binomial logistic regression.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Mean ± SE for the sediment organic matter content under the shading treatments. The asterisk denotes statistical differences in comparison with the control group (p < .05).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Time spent outside the burrow of males Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis concerning the sediment surface temperature. Dots are the time from each crab identity, while lines and shaded areas represent model polynomial (x 2) predictions ± SE.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Mean ± SE of further traveled distance for Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis. The asterisk denotes statistical differences between species (p < .05).
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Water loss throughout time concerning the different temperatures of both species Leptuca leptodactyla and Leptuca uruguayensis. Dots are the water percentage from each crab identity, while lines and shaded areas represent model linear predictions ± SE.
FIGURE A1
FIGURE A1
Overview of the study site where we observed the shading effect on species microhabitat selection.
FIGURE A2
FIGURE A2
Leptuca leptodactyla raw number throughout time concerning the shading gradient treatments. Dots are the number of crabs from each experimental structure identity, while lines and shaded areas represent the linear regression ± SE.
FIGURE A3
FIGURE A3
Leptuca uruguayensis raw number throughout time concerning the shading gradient treatments. Dots are the number of crabs from each experimental structure identity, while lines and shaded areas represent the linear regression ± SE.
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