Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variability in seed size selection by granivorous passerines: effects of bird size, bird size variability, and ecological plasticity

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The niche variation hypothesis predicts a direct relationship between intraspecific variability in feeding ecology and the variability of the morphological traits related to feeding behaviour. The following study tests this prediction by measuring in captivity the seed size preferences and the morphology of 9–11 individuals of seven specialized granivorous bird species. The average seed size preferences of these birds have previously been shown to be related to components of bill size. The ranges of seed sizes selected were related to the mean bill sizes of birds in a way that paralleled the patterns found when analysing average values. Bill and body size variability were not related, however, to the range of seed preferences after controlling for the significant mean-variance relationship showed by morphological traits. Thus, results do not support the niche variation hypothesis. the significant effect of average bill size on diet variability was consistent with the direct relationship between bird size and ecological plasticity expected on the basis of the shape of the family of functions relating seed size and seed profitability for different-sized birds. These findings suggest morphological mechanisms for ecological plasticity whose generality and evolutionary significance merit further research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Benkman CW (1991) Predation, seed size partitioning and the evolution of body size in seed-eating finches. Evol Ecol 5: 118–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Benkman CW, Pulliam HR (1988) The comparative feeding rates of North American sparrows and finches. Ecology 69: 1195–1199

    Google Scholar 

  • Bock WJ (1966) An approach to the functional analysis of bill shape. Auk 83:10–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson A (1992) Body size, prey handling efficiency and choice of diet in three coniferous forest tits (Paridae). Biol J Linn Soc 46:299–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Carrascal LM, Moreno E, Tellería JL (1990) Ecomorphological relationships in a group of insectivorous birds of temperate forests in winter. Holarct Ecol 13:105–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Díaz M (1990) Interspecific patterns of seed selection among granivorous passerines: effects of seed size, seed nutritive value and bird morphology. Ibis 132:467–476

    Google Scholar 

  • Endler JA (1991) Interactions between predators and prey. In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds), Behavioural ecology: an evolutionary approach, 3rd edn. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 169–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Felsenstein J (1985) Phylogenies and the comparative method. Am Nat 125:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Futuyma DJ, Moreno G (1988) The evolution of ecological specialization. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 19:207–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Garland T Jr, Harvey PH, Ives AR (1992) Procedures for the analysis of comparative data using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Syst Biol 41:18–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Glück EE (1985) Seed preference and energy intake of Goldfinches Carduelis carduelis in the breeding season. Ibis 127:421–429

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosler AG (1987) Pattern and process in the bill morphology of the Great Tit Parus major. Ibis 129:451–476

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant PR (1986) Ecology and evolution of Darwin's finches. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Green RH (1974) Multivariate niche analysis with temporally varying environmental factors. Ecology 55:73–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg R (1990) Ecological plasticity, neophobia, and resource use in birds. Stud Avian Biol 13:431–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Greig-Smith P, Wilson MF (1985) Influences of seed size, nutrient composition and phenolic content on the preferences of bull-finches feeding on ash trees. Oikos 44:47–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey PH, Pagel MD (1991) The comparative method in evolutionary biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hespenheide HA (1975) Prey characteristics and predator niche width. In: Cody ML, Diamond JA (eds) Ecology and evolution of communities. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp 155–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurlbert SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecol Monogr 54:187–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Inman AJ, Lefebvre L, Giraldeau LA (1987) Individual diet differences in feral pigeons: evidence for resource partitioning. Anim Behav 35:1902–1903

    Google Scholar 

  • Kear J (1962) Food selection in finches with special reference to interspecific differences. Proc Zool Soc Lond 138:163–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Martins EP, Garland T Jr (1991) Phylogenetic analyses of the correlated evolution of continuous characters: a simulation study. Evolution 45:534–557

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministerio de Agricultura (1984) Tablas de composición de primeras materias para nutrición animal. Ministerio de Agricultura, Madrid

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse DH (1980) Behavioural mechanisms in ecology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton I (1967) The adaptative radiation and feeding ecology of some British finches. Ibis 109:33–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Osenberg CW, Mittelbach GG (1989) Effects of body size on the predator-prey interaction between pumpkinseed sunfish and gastropods. Ecol Monogr 59:405–432

    Google Scholar 

  • Partridge L (1976) Individual differences in feeding efficiencies and feeding preferences of captive Great Tits. Anim Behav 24:230–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters RH (1983) The ecological implications of body size. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Polis GA (1984) Age structure component of niche width and intraspecific resource partitioning: can age groups function as ecological species? Am Nat 123:541–564

    Google Scholar 

  • Price T (1987) Diet variation in a population of Darwin's finches. Ecology 68:1015–1028

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulliam HR (1985) Foraging efficiency, resource partitioning, and the coexistence of sparrow species. Ecology 66:1829–1836

    Google Scholar 

  • Pyke GH, Pulliam HR, Charnov EL (1977) Optimal foraging: a selective review of theory and tests. Q Rev Biol 52:137–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie ME (1988) Individual variation in the ability of Columbian ground squirrels to select an optimal diet. Evol Ecol 2: 232–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothstein SI (1973) The niche-variation model—is it valid? Am Nat 107:598–620

    Google Scholar 

  • Roughgarden J (1972) Evolution of niche width. Am Nat 106: 683–718

    Google Scholar 

  • Selander RK (1966) Sexual dimorphism and differential niche utilization in birds. Condor 68:113–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherry TW (1990) When are birds dietarily specialized? Distinguishing ecological from evolutionary approaches. Stud Avian Biol 13:337–352

    Google Scholar 

  • Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE (1991) Phylogeny and classification of birds: a study in molecular evolution. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith NM, Sweatman HPA (1976) Feeding habits and morphological variation in Cocos finches. Condor 78:244–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith TB (1987) Bill size polymorphism and intraspecific niche utilization in an African finch. Nature 329:717–719

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry, 2nd edn. Freeman, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Valen L (1965) Morphological variation and width of ecological niche. Am Nat 99:377–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Valen L, Grant PR (1970) Variation and niche width reexamined. Am Nat 104:589–590

    Google Scholar 

  • Wainwright PC (1988) Morphology and ecology: functional basis of feeding constraints in Caribbean labrid fishes. Ecology 69:635–645

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner EE (1974) The fish size, handling time relation in several sunfishes and some implications. J Fish Res Board Can 31:1531–1536

    Google Scholar 

  • West L (1988) Prey selection by the tropical snail Thais melones: a study of interindividual variation. Ecology 69:1839–1854

    Google Scholar 

  • West-Eberhard MJ (1989) Phenotypic plasticity and the origins of diversity. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 20:249–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson MF (1971) Seed selection in some North American finches. Condor 73:415–429

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson MF, Karr JR, Roth RR (1975) Ecological aspects of avian bill-size variation. Wilson Bull 87:32–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DS (1975) The adequacy of body size as a niche difference. Am Nat 109:769–784

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu WT (1975) Tabla de composición de alimentos para uso en América Latina. Interamericana, Méjico

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Animal I (Vertebrados), Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Mario Díaz

Authors
  1. Mario Díaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Díaz, M. Variability in seed size selection by granivorous passerines: effects of bird size, bird size variability, and ecological plasticity. Oecologia 99, 1–6 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317076

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317076

Key words

Search

Navigation