How do similarities in spatial distributions and interspecific associations affect the coexistence of Quercus species in the Baotianman National Nature Reserve, Henan, China

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 8; no. 5; pp. 2580 - 2593
• Main Authors: Yuan, Zhiliang, Wei, Boliang, Chen, Yun, Jia, Hongru, Wei, Qingning, Ye, Yongzhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Analogies; Biodiversity; Coexistence; competition; congeneric species; Herbivores; Interspecific; interspecific association; niche theory; Original Research; Pattern analysis; Poisson density functions; Quercus; Resource utilization; Spatial analysis; Spatial distribution; spatial pattern; Species diversity; China; competition; coexistence; interspecific association; congeneric species; niche theory; spatial pattern
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3863

Congeneric species often have similar ecological characteristics and use similar resources. These similarities may make it easier for them to co‐occur in a similar habitat but may also lead to strong competitions that limit their coexistence. Hence, how do similarities in congeneric species affect their coexistence exactly? This study mainly used spatial point pattern analysis in two 1 hm2 plots in the Baotianman National Nature Reserve, Henan, China, to compare the similarities in spatial distributions and interspecific associations of Quercus species. Results revealed that Quercus species were all aggregated under the complete spatial randomness null model, and aggregations were weaker under the heterogeneous Poisson process null model in each plot. The interspecific associations of Quercus species to non‐Quercus species were very similar in Plot 1. However, they can be either positive or negative in different plots between the co‐occurring Quercus species. The spatial distributions of congeneric species, interspecific associations with non‐Quercus species, neighborhood richness around species, and species diversity were all different between the two plots. We found that congeneric species did have some similarities, and the closely related congeneric species can positive or negative associate with each other in different plots. The co‐occurring congeneric species may have different survival strategies in different habitats. On the one hand, competition among congenerics may lead to differentiation in resource utilization. On the other hand, their similar interspecific associations can strengthen their competitive ability and promote local exclusion to noncongeneric species to obtain more living space. Our results provide new knowledge for us to better understand the coexistence mechanisms of species. The manuscript focuses on how the similarities in Quercus species affect their coexistence mechanism. We found congeneric species did have some similarities, and the closely related congeneric species can positively or negatively associate with each other in different plots. Although the similarity in the use of resources may lead to competition, similar competition to noncongeneric species can provide an opportunity for congeneric species to strengthen their competitive ability and promote their coexistence.