Natural stable isotope ratios and fatty acid profiles of estuarine tidal flat nematodes reveal very limited niche overlap among co-occurring species.

ABSTRACT: The high local-scale species diversity of marine meiofauna, and of nematodes in particular, has puzzled ecologists for decades. Both pronounced niche differentiation and neutral dynamics have been suggested as mechanisms underlying that high diversity. Differential resource use is the most plausible basis for niche differentiation, yet the vast majority of studies demonstrating that this is prominent in marine nematodes are based on laboratory experiments on single species or highly simplified assemblages. Only a small number of studies have investigated resource differentiation under natural conditions. Here we use natural stable-isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen, as well as fatty-acid profiles, to assess differential resource use and trophic structure in nine abundant estuarine tidal

SUBMITTER: Wu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6791341 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature