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Strategies animals use to find and consume food in the face of conflicting forces such as competition and predation are central questions in the fields of ecological theory and management. Whereas theoretical models abound, proper empirical tests of these theories are less abundant. In studying the relationship between food abundance, predation risk, and competition there exists an array of confounding factors, which need to be accounted for by manipulating some aspect of the system. I used a guild of spring migratory ducks as a model system and manipulated food abundance in areas differing in presumed risk to assess the relative effects of food abundance, predation risk, competition, and life history characteristics on foraging strategies used by ducks. Using a randomized block design, I established a pair of 0.4 ha plots (block) in emergent, open water, and forested wetlands in the Wabash River Floodplain in eastern Illinois. I randomly selected one plot within each block to supplement with 2000 kg/ha of corn (Zea mays), creating an area of very high duck food abundance next to a control area with no added food. I conducted instantaneous focal animal samples and used video recorders to estimate the proportion of time mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged teal (Anas discors), wood duck (Aix sponsa), ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), and lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) devoted to feeding, identify the specific behaviors used, and estimate feeding stint lengths and frequencies. I used these metrics as an index of risk that ducks were willing to engage in for a known food reward. I predicted that species with a faster life history strategy, factors that increase perceived predation risk (cover, water depth, group size), and increase energetic demand (due to nesting or temperature), would elicit more risk-taking behaviors in ducks. This would be realized by an increase in the proportion of time spent feeding, longer feeding durations, and deeper feeding behaviors in treatment plots compared with control plots. Consistent with my life history prediction, species with a faster life history strategy were willing to engage in more risky behavior (feeding more) for a greater food reward (food treatment). Mallards, lesser scaup, and wood ducks exhibited risk-taking behavior consistent with perceived predation risk. Mallards devoted more time to feeding and used longer feeding stints when in areas with less cover. Alternatively, lesser scaup devoted more time to feeding when in areas of more cover. Wood ducks devoted more time to feeding in treatment plots, when in shallow areas, and larger flocks. When blue-winged teal fed on the surface (eyes above water), they devoted more overall time to feeding indicating that surface feeding is less risky than deeper feeding. Wood ducks and lesser scaup exhibited behavior consistent with an increase in energetic demand as observed by an increase in the proportion of time devoted to feeding later in the spring. I also examined how food abundance influenced aspects of ducks' foraging niches. I found that dabbling ducks used a greater variety of behaviors (behavior niche breadth) when in treatment plots compared to control plots and also shifted to slightly deeper feeding behaviors in treatment plots. This greater breadth when food was more abundant was due to individuals of the same species diverging from one another, rather than each individual using a broader array of behaviors. Overall, I found substantial variability among and within species in how they manage risk while foraging, although this was partially explained by life history theory, and what types of conditions they perceive as risky. I document the importance of taking the state of the forager (life history, perceived risk, energetic demand) into account when examining patterns of risk-taking.

Intertidal populations of the sea urchin Parechinus angulosus were examined at seven sites along the south and east coasts of South Africa. At the five southerly sites, P. angulosus occurred in allopatry, while, at the two northerly sites, it occurred in sympatry with several species of Indopacific sea urchins. At the five southerly sites, there was a significant correlation of number of sea urchins per pool with the surface area of the overhang in that pool. This relationship broke down for P. angulosus at the two northerly sites, where there was a significant correlation between these two factors for Stomopneustes variolaris. The density of populations of P. angulosus at the two northerly sites, although not significantly different from all five southerly sites, were considerably lower. There was a significant difference between the mean size of populations at the seven sites. Although no direct evidence is available, a competitive interaction between these two species is proposed to explain the observed patterns of microhabitat utilization and densities. Two series of manipulative experiments were conducted at Kowie Point, where P. angulosus occurs in sympatry, The first, involved urchin removals from three experimental sites. The percentage cover of four functional algal groups was monitored in three experimental and three unaltered control sites over a three month period in spring (Sept. - Dec.) 1993. Two 100 point 0,25m² random point quadrats were thrown at each of the six sites at approximately monthly intervals over the experimental period. Since initial cover of algae varied at the six sites, ANOVA's of the change in percentage cover of four functional algal groups were used to determine treatment effects. No treatment effects were identified for any of the four functional algal groups. There was a strong negative correlation between the percentage cover of foliose algae and encrusting coralline algae, suggesting the possibility of a competitive relationship between them. The second, involved the experimental manipulation of microhabitat availability. The blocking of overhangs, by means of cement filled bags, resulted in an approximate 50% decrease in the total number of urchins in the two experimental pools, and the two control pools without overhangs. However, in the control pool with overhangs there was a slight increase in the number of urchins over the same period. Clearly, the presence of suitable shelters, is a prerequisite for the maintenance of dense intertidal population of P. angulosus. It is proposed that, due to the exposed nature of the South African coast, intertidal populations of P.angulosus are restricted to inhabiting suitable shelters from which they emerge to feed on passing drift algae. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of current ecological literature.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2016-05-04T19:47:04Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Helen Rosa da Silva - 2015.pdf: 1580503 bytes, checksum: b52d04d79b983417cb07f98a43ae918d (MD5) license_rdf: 19874 bytes, checksum: 38cb62ef53e6f513db2fb7e337df6485 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-05-05T13:09:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Helen Rosa da Silva - 2015.pdf: 1580503 bytes, checksum: b52d04d79b983417cb07f98a43ae918d (MD5) license_rdf: 19874 bytes, checksum: 38cb62ef53e6f513db2fb7e337df6485 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-05T13:09:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Helen Rosa da Silva - 2015.pdf: 1580503 bytes, checksum: b52d04d79b983417cb07f98a43ae918d (MD5) license_rdf: 19874 bytes, checksum: 38cb62ef53e6f513db2fb7e337df6485 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Understanding how species are distributed across space and what determines where they live is one of the oldest goals in Ecology. The concept of niche is very closely related to this goal. In fact, environmental variables are frequently used to predict the potential distribution of species. Niche amplitude is an important concept which helps us to understand which part of the available environmental space each species occupies, and how much of their niches overlap. Here we used a measure of niche amplitude based on the minimum and maximum tolerances of terrestrial vertebrates (except reptiles) for each variable related to climate. We calculated a single measure of niche amplitude for each species by considering together all chosen environmental variables. We used this number to first investigate the presence of latitudinal gradient in niche amplitude across the study area, which comprised the whole terrestrial globe. There is a significant correlation between niche amplitude and latitude for Old World birds. Second we tried to identify some phylogenetic structure in niche amplitude for birds. For this goal, we calculated the pair-wise niche overlap, and then compared the degree of overlap with pair-wise phylogenetic distances. We found no relationship between niche overlap and phylogenetic distance. We conclude that the absence of phylogenetic signal in niche overlap is due to the high dispersion capability of birds in general. If species have a high geographic range, they consequently have high niche amplitude, and therefore high overlap rates. Finally, we found a clear tendency of positive local spatial autocorrelation in mean niche overlap, as neighbor cells tend to show similar rates of niche overlap between species. / Compreender os fatores que determinam a distribuição das espécies no espaço geográfico é uma das questões mais importantes em ecologia. O conceito de nicho é fortemente relacionado a essa questão. Não por acaso, variáveis ambientais são comumente usadas para inferir a distribuição potencial de espécies. Amplitude de nicho é uma medida importante que nos possibilita saber que proporção do espaço ambiental cada espécie ocupa. Assim, podemos também identificar que proporção do espaço ocupado por cada espécie, seu nicho, é sobreposta pelo nicho das espécies coexistentes. No presente trabalho utilizamos uma medida de amplitude de nicho específica baseada na soma das tolerâncias para cada variável climática utilizada. Utilizamos essa medida para investigar, primeiramente, a presença de estrutura espacial, especificamente gradiente latitudinal, na amplitude de nicho de vertebrados terrestres (exceto répteis), numa escala global. Apenas aves do Velho Mundo apresentaram amplitude de nicho negativamente associada à latitude. Posteriormente, investigamos a presença de estrutura filogenética na amplitude de nicho em Aves, baseados na hipótese de conservação de nicho. Para esse objetivo calculamos a sobreposição de nicho par-a-par e então correlacionamos essa medida com as distâncias filogenéticas. Não houve correlação entre proximidade filogenética e sobreposição de nicho. Tal resultado pode estar relacionado à grande capacidade de dispersão de aves. Se a área de ocupação geográfica é ampla, a amplitude das tolerâncias é em geral alta e consequentemente a sobreposição média entre diferentes espécies. Finalmente houve forte indício de autocorrelação espacial positiva na sobreposição média por célula entre células próximas, indicando que áreas próximas tendem a apresentar espécies com taxas semelhantes de sobreposição de nicho.

La leishmaniose est endémique dans plus de 98 pays avec une prévalence totale de 12 millions de cas. L’incidence annuelle de la leishmaniose viscérale est estimée à 0,3 million de cas, tandis que la leishmaniose cutanée et muco-cutanée affecte un million de personnes par année. La leishmaniose cutanée est un sérieux problème de santé publique en Tunisie, avec des milliers de cas répertoriés chaque année. Depuis sa première émergence en 1982 à Kairouan, la maladie s’est propagée vers le centre et le sud du pays. Cependant, la surveillance de la maladie est limitée à la déclaration de nombre de cas par district et les études tentant d’élucider la dynamique spatio-temporelle de la maladie sont basées uniquement sur l’analyse de séries temporaires de l’incidence de la maladie. Dans le contexte méditerranéen, la distribution des phlébotomes, vecteurs de la leishmaniose, n’a cessé de changer. Durant la dernière décade, les vecteurs de la leishmaniose ont gagné des zones géographiques plus au nord. En effet, les phlébotomes jadis présents à des latitudes au-dessous de 45° N ont été répertoriés à des latitudes au-dessus de 50° N. Des études récentes ont montré la présence de phlébotomes dans diverses régions de l’Allemagne et de la Belgique. En Europe centrale, des cas autochtones de leishmaniose sont en train d’être enregistrés dans des régions traditionnellement considérées comme non endémiques. L’objectif de ce travail, dans un premier temps, est de i) prédire la répartition géographique de cas de leishmaniose cutanée et de son principal vecteur P. papatasi, en Tunisie. ii) déterminer l’importance des facteurs environnementaux qui influencent la distribution du vecteur et de la maladie en utilisant la modélisation de la niche écologique. Par la suite, nous avons essayé de i) prédire la distribution actuelle de six phlébotomes vecteurs de la leishmaniose dans le Bassin Méditerranéen. ii) estimer le changement de la distribution géographique de ces vecteurs sous différents scénarios de changement climatique. Pour prédire la distribution géographique de P. papatasi et des cas de maladies en Tunisie la modélisation de la niche écologique a été réalisée en utilisant le modèle MaxEnt. Nous avons collecté 24 variables environnementales décrivant la topographie, l’utilisation du sol, et le climat en tant que variables explicatives. Une étude sur le terrain a été réalisée afin de déterminer les points de présence de P. papatasi et des cas de leishmaniose cutanée servant de variables d’entrées au modèle. Le modèle MaxEnt a montré une bonne performance de prédiction de la répartition du vecteur et de cas de maladie avec une aire au-dessous de la courbe ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) supérieure à 0,95 et un coefficient Kappa maximal supérieur à 0,7. De plus, la population sous le risque de leishmaniose cutanée a été évaluée en se basant sur la densité de population par district et la répartition du vecteur de la maladie prédite par le modèle. Afin, d’étudier l’effet du changement climatique sur la réparation des différents vecteurs de la leishmaniose dans le bassin méditerranéen, des points de présence des différents vecteurs ont été collectés à partir de la littérature scientifique entre 2006 et 2012. De plus, une série de variables climatiques décrivant la température et la précipitation pour les années 2020, 2050 et 2080 sous deux différents scénarios de changement climatique ont été obtenues à partir de la base de données mondiale WorldClim. Un modèle consensus a été dérivé à partir de six modèles individuels en se basant sur trois approches de modélisation différentes (régression, apprentissage automatique et classification). La performance du modèle consensus a été généralement bonne pour les espèces analysées avec une spécificité allant de 81 % à 96,5 % est une sensibilité allant de 88 % à 100 %. L’étude a confirmé l’hypothèse de la large propagation géographique des vecteurs de la leishmaniose sous un scénario de changement climatique. Toutes les espèces étudiées sont supposées gagner des nouvelles zones géographiques actuellement non favorables à la survie du vecteur. / Abstract : Leishmaniasis is endemic in 98 countries with an estimated global prevalence of 12 million cases. The yearly incidence of visceral leishmaniasis is estimated to be 0.3 million cases, while cutaneous leishmaniasis affects approximately one million people each year. In Tunisia, cutaneous leishmaniasis is still a serious health problem with thousands of cases reported every year. Since its first emergence as an epidemic in Kairouan in 1982, the disease has spread in several parts of the country. Control of cutaneous leishmaniasis is mainly based on surveillance of incident cases and treatment and studies carried out to elucidate the spatio-temporal dynamics of the disease are based only on time series analysis of the incidence. The geographical distribution of sandflies during the last decades has shifted northward from latitudes below 45○N in south Europe to latitudes just above 50○N. Recent studies show that some phlebotomine sandflies were recorded in several parts of Germany and Belgium. In Central Europe, some autochthone leishmaniasis cases are being recorded in region traditionally regarded as leishmaniasis-free countries. The objective of this work, in a first step is to i) predict the geographical distribution of cutaneous leishmaniasis and P. papatasi the main vector of the disease in Tunisia. ii) Assess the importance of environmental factors influencing the vector and disease distribution using ecological niche modeling. In a second step we attempted to i) predict the actual distribution of six leishmaniasis vectors in the Mediterranean basin. ii) predict the change in the geographical distribution of these vectors under different climate change scenarios. The MaxEnt model was used to predict the distribution of P. papatasi and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases. 24 environmental variables describing topography, land use and climate were collected. A filed survey was conducted to collect P. papatasi and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases occurrence points. MaxEnt showed a good performance for the prediction of the vector and the disease cases with an area under the ROC curve higher than 0.95 and a maximal Kappa coefficient higher than 0.7. Furthermore, population under the risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis was assessed based on population density by district and vector distribution predicted by the model. To elucidate the effect of climate change on the distribution of various leishmaniasis vectors in the Mediterranean basin, occurrence points of the studied species were collected from scientific literature between 2006 and 2012. Moreover, series of climatic variable describing temperature and precipitation for 2020, 2050 and 2080 under two climate change scenarios were obtained from the global climate database WorldClim. A consensus model was derived from six individual model based on three modeling techniques (statistical regression, machine learning and classification). The consensus model presented a good performance with a specificity varying from 81% to 96.5% and a sensitivity varying from 88% to 100%. The study confirmed the hypothesis of large spread of leishmaniasis vectors under climate change scenario. All studied species are supposed to invade new areas, actually not favourable to the vectors survival.

Les insectes phytophages forment un groupe d’organismes très diversifié et la plupart sont considérés comme spécialistes. Les patrons de spécialisation des insectes vis à vis de leurs plantes hôtes dépendent en partie de leur capacité à interagir avec les plantes (niche fondamentale) et aux facteurs environnementaux modulant ces interactions et aboutissant aux observations en milieu naturel (niche réalisée). La spécialisation fondamentale est déterminée par l'évolution conjointe de deux traits : la performance des larves et la préférence des femelles. Pour comprendre cette spécialisation, nous avons étudié une communauté de huit espèces de mouches des fruits (Diptera : Tephritidae) présentes à La Réunion. Dans un premier temps, nous avons déterminé la niche réalisée de chaque espèce et montré que ces niches étaient structurées par la phylogénie des plantes avec D. demmerezi, D. ciliatus et Z. cucurbitae spécialistes des Cucurbitaceae, N. cyanescensspécialiste des Solanaceae et C. catoirii, C. capitata et C. quilicii généralistes attaquant des plantes de différentes familles. Après l'invasion de B. zonata en 2000, C. capitata et C. quilicii ont subi une réduction de leur gamme d'hôtes. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons déterminé la niche fondamentale de ces espèces (sauf D. ciliatus). Nous avons évalué les préférences des femelles en mesurant la fécondité de chacune d’entre elles sur une gamme de 29 fruits, puis nous avons testé l'existence d'une corrélation entre la préférence des femelles et la performance des larves (mother knows best hypothesis). Nous avons montré une corrélation positive chez spécialistes des Cucurbitaceae qui pondent sur les plantes pour lesquelles les larves survivent le mieux contrairement aux généralistes pondant et survivant sur une large gamme d'hôtes mais sans corrélation entre ces deux traits.Enfin, la sélection de l'hôte par les femelles se faisant principalement grâce aux composés organiques volatils (COVs) émis par les fruits, nous avons montré que les fruits infestés par les généralistes ont pour point commun l'émission de COVs responsables de la maturation des fruits. Au contraire, les fruits de plusieurs Solanaceae émettent des COVs spécifiques suggérant la détection de ceux-ci par les femelles de N. cyanescens. Les Cucurbitaceae émettent des COVs abondants peu présents dans les autres familles suggérant une détection d'un mélange spécifique de ces COVs par les Tephritidae spécialistes des Cucurbitaceae. / Phytophagous insects are a very diverse group of organisms and most of them are considered as specialized. Patterns of specialization regarding their host plants depend on their ability to interact with their hosts (fundamental niche) and on environmental factors which modulate these interactions leading to observed patterns in the field (realized niche). Fundamental specialization is determined by the joint evolution of two traits: larval performance and female preference. To understand this specialization, we studied a community of eight fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae) present in La Réunion.First, we determined the realized niche of each species and showed that they were structured by plant phylogeny with D. demmerezi, D. ciliatus and Z. cucurbitae as Cucurbitaceae specialists, N. cyanescens as Solanaceae specialist and C. catoirii, C. capitata et C. quilicii as generalists feeding on plants belonging to different families. After the invasion of B. zonata in 2000, C. capitata et C. quilicii were subjected to a decrease of their host range.Then, we determined the fundamental niche of these species (except D. ciliatus). We assessed female preferences by measuring their fecundity on 29 fruits, then we tested the presence of a correlation between female preference and larval performance (mother knows best hypothesis). We showed a positive correlation for Cucurbitaceae specialists laying eggs on plants where larvae survive the best, at the opposite of generalist species laying eggs and surviving on many hosts without any correlation between these two traits.Finally, host selection by females being mostly done thanks to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by fruits, we showed that fruits infested by generalist species have common VOCs responsible for fruit maturation. On the contrary, the fruits of several Solanaceae emit specific VOCs suggesting their detection by N. cyanescens females. Cucurbitaceae species emit abundant VOCs rarely present in other families suggesting a detection of a specific blend of these VOCS by Cucurbitaceae specialists.

Competition is common between closely related species, no less between birds. For tits in temperate forests, competition for food and space is usually stronger during winter, as foraging opportunities are few. Many species with an otherwise broad diet, therefore,  start eating the same available food items and thus increase their overlap in the use of food resources. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether coal tits and marsh tits compete with each other. The observations were made in 10 selected locations with varying types of forests. In the study, 20 entrants and 20 blacks were observed for 5 minutes per individual. Every minute the position of the individual was noted in the tree.The results indicate an asymmetrical competition between the species because marsh tits changed its habitat use and were found lower in trees in the presence of coal tits, whereas coal tits did not change its habitat use in the presence of marsh tits. The movement by the Marsh tits can then reduce competition and give both species a better chance of living together. / Konkurrens är vanligt mellan närbesläktade arter, inte minst mellan fåglar. Konkurrensen om mat och boplatser blir oftast starkare på vinterhalvåret då det är svårare att hitta mat och många arter som annars föredrar olika sorters föda då börjar äta samma sort. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om svartmes och entita konkurrerar med varandra. Observationerna gjordes på 10 utvalda platser med varierande skogstyper. I studien observerades 20 entitor och 20 svartmesar i 5 minuter per individ. Varje minut noterades individens position i trädet. Resultaten visar att det kan förekomma en asymmetrisk konkurrens mellan arterna då entitan flyttade sig nedåt i höjdnivå i närvaro av svartmes, medan svartmes inte ändrade plats i närvaro av entita. Entitans nedflyttning kan då minska konkurrensen och ge båda arter bättre möjlighet till samlevnad.

With close to 2100 species, the flowering plant genus Carex (Cyperaceae; sedges) is an example of an evolutionary radiation. Despite its potential for use as a model taxon in evolutionary studies, the diversification of sedges remains largely unexplored. This thesis realizes the potential of Carex as an evolutionary model group by using it to ask questions about species richness patterns. More specifically, it seeks to determine the relationship, if any, between rates of trait evolution and species richness. This tests the hypothesis that organisms with increased abilities to evolve new traits, speciate more rapidly. Morphological and ecological (habitat and climatic niche) traits are modelled on a nearly complete regional (North America north of Mexico) phylogeny and rates of trait evolution are compared among non-nested sister groups. However, before trait evolution is modelled, this work evaluates the sensitivity of climatic niche estimates to underlying distribution datasets. It tests the agreement of niche estimates derived from the commonly used online repository GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and county-level distributions via BONAP (the Biota of North America Program). Results showed that in the context of phylogenetic comparative analyses, it is not vital to obtain highly accurate climatic niche estimates. The second study found significant positive correlations between the rates of climatic niche, habitat and reproductive morphological evolution and species richness. This result supports the role of high trait lability in generating species richness and more generally, the idea that high trait disparity through evolutionary time leads to species success.

The early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site (GFS) is a biodiverse site with a unique faunal assemblage that represents one of few sites of its age in eastern North America. A community structure analysis of the mammals at GFS was done to characterize species and better understand the paleoenvironment. Data and was gathered from twenty modern communities and five late Neogene sites to compare with GFS. Species from these 26 sites were categorized by body size, locomotor mode, cheek tooth crown height, and diet to characterize niches occupied. Descriptive statistics contrasted proportions of species within categories across communities. Discriminant function analyses (DFA) determined characteristics that best differentiate communities and classified fossil site habitat types. DFA results indicate that the GFS paleoenvironment was a habitat most similar to modern temperate forest regions in the eastern U.S. and China. Characteristics of GFS are dissimilar from other late Neogene sites examined in this study.

With the contribution of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) to ecological processes being increasingly appreciated, its role in defining niche characteristics arises as a topic of interest. I hypothesised that species with a high magnitude of ITV would occupy a larger climate niche breadth than species with little ITV. Trait and occurrence data for 211 angiosperm tree species across Puerto Rico was used to investigate this hypothesis. Multiple indices for climate niche breadth (NB) and intraspecific variation were calculated, after which regression tests were performed to identify and characterise any relationships between NB and ITV. I found consistent positive correlations between niche breadth and intraspecific variation values (a single negative result was present), supporting the hypothesis that ITV of functional traits has a positive influence on climate niche breadth. These results highlight the contribution of ITV to species distribution, though the mechanisms behind this relationship are unclear and present a question for future study.