Temporal-spatial segregation among hummingbirds foraging on honeydew in a temperate forest in Mexico  

作　　者：Carlos LARA Vanessa MARTINEZ-GARCIA Raul ORTIZ-PULIDO Jessica BRAVO-CADENA Salvador LORANCA Alex CORDOBA-AGUILAR 

机构地区：[1]Laboratorio de Ecologfa de la Conducta, Centro Tlaxcala de Biologfa de la Conducta, UAT-UNAM, Km 1.5 carretera Tlaxcala- Puebla s/n, Colonia Xicohtencatl, Apdo. Postal 262, Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala 90070, Mexico [2]Laboratorio de Ecologfa de Poblaciones. Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas. Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico [3]Departamento de Quimica y Biologia. Universidad de las Ameficas-Puebla. Cholula, Puebla, Mexico [4]Departamento de Ecologfa Evolutiva. lnstituto de Ecologfa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2011年第1期56-62,共7页动物学报（英文版）

摘　　要：Spatial and temporal variation in interactions between hummingbirds and plants have often been examined, and hummingbirds and insects are known to indirectly interact in networks of nectar plants. In a highland temperate forest in Hidalgo, Mexico some oak trees were heavily infested by honeydew-producing insects （family Margarodidae, tribe Xylococcini, genus Strigmacoccus） and the honeydew was consumed by hummingbirds. Here using survival analysis we investigate how the honey- dew produced by dense populations of these margarodids is temporally and spatially partitioned by hummingbirds. We also measured the availability and quality of honeydew exudates, and then we recorded the time until a bird visited and used such re- sources. Four hummingbird species consumed this resource （Atthis eloisa, Hylocharis leucotis, Colibri thalassinus and Eugenes fulgens）. Data from 294 hours of observation on seven focal trees suggested temporal and spatial segregation among visiting birds according to body size and territorial behavior during the most honeydew-limited time. Hummingbird species differed in the dally times they foraged, as well as in the location where honeydew-producing insects were visited on the trees. Temporal and spatial segregation among hummingbird species is interpreted as an adaptation to reduce the risk of aggressive encounters. This may facilitate multispecies coexistence and allow these birds to exploit honeydew more effectively

关 键 词：HONEYDEW HUMMINGBIRDS Mexico NECTARIVORY Niche partitioning 

分 类 号：S718.51[农业科学—林学] Q959.7[生物学—动物学]