Document of bibliographic reference 392629

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Hermit crabs of the genera Calcinus and Clibanarius show no evidence of competitive exclusion at a geographic scale

Abstract

The fundamental ecological niche is determined by individuals’ ability to cope with abiotic conditions; however, biotic interactions (e.g., competition) can also influence species’ distribution ranges, reducing the fundamental niche to the realized niche. Several species of the genera Clibanarius and Calcinus overlap in their distributions. The agonistically dominant Calcinus species inhabits mostly lower intertidal levels, while Clibanarius is more abundant in the abiotically demanding upper strata. Additionally, evidence of microhabitat competitive exclusion shows that the superior competitor, Ca. californiensis, causes the vertical displacement of Cl. albidigitus. However, it is unknown whether competitive exclusion between species of these genera has influenced their distributions at the macroecological scale. We used ecological niche models to compare the distribution and the habitat suitability of species of these genera. We used databases of species occurrences and bioclimatic and geophysical variables to model and map the species’ niches. Species of the two hermit crab genera showed strong overlap in their habitat suitability. Calcinus and Clibanarius species occur in broad sympatry at the regional scale without regions of partial overlap that would indicate competitive exclusion. Therefore, competitive exclusion among species of these genera seems to act only on a microhabitat scale in the most dynamic shoreline areas.

Bibliographic citation

Garcia-Cardenas, E.E.; Ángeles-González, L.E.; Alcaraz, G. (2024). Hermit crabs of the genera Calcinus and Clibanarius show no evidence of competitive exclusion at a geographic scale. Hydrobiologia Online first. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-024-05501-w

Topic

Marine

Is peer reviewed

true