Niche partitioning between sympatric wild canids: the case of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in north-eastern Italy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Two coexisting species with similar ecological requirements avoid or reduce competition by changing the extent of their use of a given resource. Numerous coexistence mechanisms have been proposed, but species interactions can also be aggressive; thus, generally a subordinate species modifies its realized niche to limit the probability of direct encounters with the dominant species. We studied niche partitioning between two sympatric wild canids in north-eastern Italy: the golden jackal and the red fox, which, based on competition theories, have a high potential for competition. We considered four main niche dimensions: space, habitat, time, and diet.

Results

We investigated three study areas monitoring target species populations from March 2017 to November 2018 us

SUBMITTER: Torretta E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8218446 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature