Living apart-together: Microhabitat differentiation of cryptic nematode species in a saltmarsh habitat

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 9; p. e0204750
• Main Authors: Guden, Rodgee Mae, Vafeiadou, Anna-Maria, De Meester, Nele, Derycke, Sofie, Moens, Tom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 27.09.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Algae; Animals; Biodiversity; Biogeography; Biology and Life Sciences; Coexistence; Competition; Cryptic species; Differentiation; Distribution; Earth Sciences; Ecological niches; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Environmental aspects; Environmental health; Estuaries; Estuarine environments; Fucus; Fucus - classification; Fucus - physiology; Habitat utilization; Habitats; Health aspects; Laboratories; Marine biology; Marshes; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbiomes; Microenvironments; Microhabitats; Natural environment; Netherlands; Niches; Partitioning; Pollutants; Resource partitioning; Rhabditoidea - classification; Rhabditoidea - physiology; Ribosomal DNA; Roundworms; Sampling; Species composition; Thalli; Tips; Ulva - classification; Ulva - physiology; Wetlands; Netherlands; Belgium

Coexistence of highly similar species is at odds with ecological theory of competition; coexistence, then, requires stabilizing mechanisms such as differences in ecological niche. In the bacterivore nematode Litoditis marina species complex, which occurs associated with macro-algae, four cryptic lin...