Coexistence of three sympatric cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.); partitioning of time as an ecological resource

• Main Author: Mylswamy Mahendiran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2016-01-01
• Series: Royal Society Open Science
• Subjects: behaviour; cormorants; diving time; resource partition; sympatric; temporal
• Online Access: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160175

Resource partitioning is well known along food and habitat for reducing competition among sympatric species, yet a study on temporal partitioning as a viable basis for reducing resource competition is not empirically investigated. Here, I attempt to identify the mechanism of temporal partitioning by intra- and interspecific diving analyses of three sympatric cormorant species at different freshwater wetlands around the Delhi region. Diving results indicated that cormorants opted for a shallow diving; consequently, they did not face any physiological stress. Moreover, diving durations were linked with seasons, foraging time and foraging habitats. Intraspecific comparison suggested that cormorants spent a longer time underwater in early hours of the day. Therefore, time spent for dive was higher in the forenoon than late afternoon, and the interspecific analysis also yielded a similar result. When Phalacrocorax niger and Phalacrocorax fuscicollis shared the same foraging habitat, they tended to differ in their foraging time (forenoon/afternoon). However, when P. niger and Phalacrocorax carbo shared the same foraging time, they tended to use different foraging habitats (lentic/lotic) leading to a mechanism of resource partitioning. Thus, sympatric cormorants effectively use time as a resource to exploit the food resources and successful coexistence.