Large-scale assessment of commensalistic-mutualistic associations between African birds and herbivorous mammals using internet photos.

ABSTRACT: Birds sitting or feeding on live large African herbivorous mammals are a visible, yet quite neglected, type of commensalistic-mutualistic association. Here, we investigate general patterns in such relationships at large spatial and taxonomic scales. To obtain large-scale data, an extensive internet-based search for photos was carried out on Google Images. To characterize patterns of the structural organization of commensalistic-mutualistic associations between African birds and herbivorous mammals, we used a network analysis approach. We then employed phylogenetically-informed comparative analysis to explore whether features of bird visitation of mammals, i.e., their mean number, mass and species richness per mammal species, are shaped by a combination of host mammal (body mass and herd si

SUBMITTER: Mikula P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5863707 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature