| Summary: | Resource partitioning, the division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition, has been observed in freshwater turtle assemblages in several natural systems but has rarely been studied in tropical African ecosystems. Here, we investigate habitat preferences of two congeneric species in the family Pelomedusidae, <i>Pelusios castaneus</i> and <i>P. cupulatta</i>, in riverine/wetland habitats in the southern Ivory Coast (West Africa). <i>Pelusios castaneus</i> is a widespread species across West-central African savannahs and open forests, whereas <i>P. cupulatta</i> is endemic to the Upper Guinean forest region in West Africa. The two species have a similar diet composition (mainly carnivorous) but diverge considerably in body size, <i>P. cupulatta</i> being much larger. We use hand-fishing-nets and fishing funnel traps to record turtles in 18 distinct sites and analyze habitat preferences by species at two spatial scales. At a macro-habitat scale, <i>P. castaneus</i> is captured mainly in marshlands, whereas <i>P. cupulatta</i> is found in both rivers and wetlands. The two species differ significantly in their use of: (i) banks (<i>P. castaneus</i> being found primarily in spots with grassy banks, whereas <i>P. cupulatta</i> is found in spots with forested banks), and (ii) aquatic vegetation (<i>P. cupulatta</i> prefers spots with more abundant aquatic vegetation than <i>P. castaneus</i>), but both species select sites with no or moderate current. Additionally, in sites where <i>P. cupulatta</i> is not found, <i>P. castaneus</i> expands its spatial niche at multiple habitat scales, notably invading waterbodies with forested banks. Our results suggest that these two Pelomedusid turtle species potentially compete in the freshwater habitats in the southern Ivory Coast.
|
|---|
