Niche overlap and foraging ecology of island Petroica species | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

摘要

We investigated foraging niche overlap in two allopatric and two sympatric island populations of Petroica species. We predicted that sympatric populations (Black Robins, Chatham Island Tits) would have narrower foraging niches than the allopatric populations (South Island Robins, Snares Tits), and that the foraging patterns of the allopatric populations would tend to be intermediate between the sympatric populations. These predictions were not supported. Rather, the two robins and two tits foraged in ways very similar to each other, and in ways suggesting that "robin" and "tit" foraging styles are a conservative feature in the evolution of this group.