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Microhabitat specialization of tropical rain-forest canopy trees in the Sovi Basin, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands
- Source :
- Journal of Tropical Ecology. 27:491-501
- Publication Year :
- 2011
- Publisher :
- Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2011.
-
Abstract
- Island biotas often have lower species diversity and less intense competition has been hypothesized as a result. This should result in lower habitat specificity compared with mainland habitats due to larger realized niches. We investigate microhabitat associations of canopy trees with regard to differences in topography on an oceanic island (Viti Levu, Fiji) using twenty 10 × 60-m plots. We find high tree-species diversity (112 species with dbh ≥ 10 cm in a total of 1.08 ha) and high endemism (c. 60%), compared with other islands in Western Polynesia. Our sample plots aggregate into three distinct groups that are mostly defined by micro-topography: (1) ridges and steep slopes (well-drained sites), (2) moderate slopes and ridge flats (moderate drainage), and (3) flats (poor drainage). Associations with microhabitat are found for more than 50% of the 41 most common species but only one species is apparently restricted to a single habitat. These findings are similar to other rain forests and demonstrate considerable niche differentiation among island rain-forest tree species.
- Subjects :
- Ecological niche
species diversity
Ecology
media_common.quotation_subject
Niche differentiation
islands
Species diversity
Sovi Basin
Rainforest
Competition (biology)
Pacific
Geography
topography
Habitat
Common species
Fiji
rain forest
Endemism
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
habitat differentiation
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14697831 and 02664674
- Volume :
- 27
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Tropical Ecology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....eaff2c278c2f0ba5f910c71f2bf46bc1