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Theory holds that sympatric large mammalian herbivores (LMH) must partition food resources to coexist, and

LMH are traditionally categorized along a spectrum from grass-eating grazers to non-grass-eating

browsers. Yet it has never been clear how well LMH within these broad functional groups partition the

enormous local plant species diversity. By sequencing plant DNA from LMH fecal (poop) samples,

researchers analyzed the diets of an African LMH assemblage in Kenya. Consider the multivariate plot below

(Fig. 4A from Kartzinel et al. 2015) showing how LMH species differ with respect to diet, based on the

observed variation in plant species DNA found in each fecal sample. In NMDS plots, each point represents a

multidimensional sample (in this case, diet composition of a given animal) and the relative distance between

points is indicative of the degree of dissimilarity between two samples. Points that are far apart are less

similar (i.e., more dissimilar) to each other than are points that are close together.

A

NMDS2

-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

NMDS1

Plains zebra

Grevy's zebra

Buffalo

Cattle

A Elephant

A Impala

Dik-Dik

Fig. 4A. Niche partitioning within and among feeding guilds. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS)

ordination of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity values of diet samples from individuals representing all seven

LMH species (pseudo F6,285 = 59.0, P ≤ 0.0001). Symbols distinguish "grazers" (circles), "mixed

feeders" (triangles), and "browsers" (squares).

What is/are the independent variable(s) in this analysis?

species identity (e.g., zebra, buffalo, elephant, etc.)

O feeding guild (functional group defined as species that eat similar things)

both A and B

O diet composition (as measured by plant DNA in animal fecal samples)

O diet composition (as measured by field observations of feeding animals)

Fig: 1


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What is/are the response/dependent variable(s) in this experiment? O number of larvae, pupae, and adult bumble bees O biomass of larvae, pupae, and adult bumble bees O both A and B OOO O exposure to fungicide O species of flowering plant


Environmental Impacts of Deforestation Using your own words, write a short descriptive essay that defines and explains selected environmental impacts of deforestation.


What does the color of each bar in panel 1A represent? O bee life stage (larvae, pupae, or adult) O number or biomass of bees O exposure to fungicide O species of flowering plant O nothing


What does the shape of each point in panel 4A represent? O the species identity of an individual animal the feeding guild to which an individual animal belongs the geographic area from which an individual sample was collected the overall (dis)similarly of diet composition of an individual animal, relative to the diets of other individuals nothing: there is no variation in that parameter


What does the relative location of each point in panel 4A represent? O the species identity of an individual animal O the feeding guild to which an individual animal belongs the geographic area from which an individual sample was collected the overall (dis)similarly of diet composition of an individual animal, relative to the diets of other individuals nothing; there is no variation in that parameter


These data_____ the idea that LMH diversity may be more tightly linked to local plant diversity than is currently recognized. O prove O are consistent with O disprove O are inconsistent with O are not relevant to


The observed. suggest(s) that each species of LMH had a distinctive diet that differed from that of other species. O clustering of points of the same color and separation of points of different colors O clustering of points of the same shape and separation of points of different shapes O both A and B O intermediate location of points representing mixed feeders all of the above O


Theory holds that sympatric large mammalian herbivores (LMH) must partition food resources to coexist, and LMH are traditionally categorized along a spectrum from grass-eating grazers to non-grass-eating browsers. Yet it has never been clear how well LMH within these broad functional groups partition the enormous local plant species diversity. By sequencing plant DNA from LMH fecal (poop) samples, researchers analyzed the diets of an African LMH assemblage in Kenya. Consider the multivariate plot below (Fig. 4A from Kartzinel et al. 2015) showing how LMH species differ with respect to diet, based on the observed variation in plant species DNA found in each fecal sample. In NMDS plots, each point represents a multidimensional sample (in this case, diet composition of a given animal) and the relative distance between points is indicative of the degree of dissimilarity between two samples. Points that are far apart are less similar (i.e., more dissimilar) to each other than are points that are close together. A NMDS2 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 NMDS1 Plains zebra Grevy's zebra Buffalo Cattle A Elephant A Impala Dik-Dik Fig. 4A. Niche partitioning within and among feeding guilds. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) ordination of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity values of diet samples from individuals representing all seven LMH species (pseudo F6,285 = 59.0, P ≤ 0.0001). Symbols distinguish "grazers" (circles), "mixed feeders" (triangles), and "browsers" (squares). What is/are the independent variable(s) in this analysis? species identity (e.g., zebra, buffalo, elephant, etc.) O feeding guild (functional group defined as species that eat similar things) both A and B O diet composition (as measured by plant DNA in animal fecal samples) O diet composition (as measured by field observations of feeding animals)


What is/are the control group(s) in this analysis? grazers mixed feeders O browsers guilds as this is not a manipulative experiment, there is no obvious control group


What does the color of each point in panel 4A represent? the species identity of an individual animal the feeding guild to which an individual animal belongs the geographic area from which an individual sample was collected the overall (dis)similarly of diet composition of an individual animal, relative to the diets of other individuals nothing: there is no variation in that parameter