RT Journal Article
T1 The division of food space among mammalian species on biomes
A1 Gamboa Jurado-Centurión, Sara
A1 Galván, Sofía
A1 Sobral, Mar
A1 Hernández Fernández, Manuel
A1 Varela, Sara
AB Understanding how species’ ecological partitioning functions across biomes is fun- damental to macroecology and conservation biology. Here, we examine the global distribution of dietary strategies in terrestrial mammals, focusing on how biome spe- cialization modulates trophic diversity and structure at a broad geographical scale. Using species-level data from over 3600 terrestrial mammal species, we constructed a multivariate dietary space and quantified the area, redundancy, dispersion, uniqueness, and turnover of trophic strategies across ten major biomes. Species were classified as biome specialists, moderate generalists, or extreme generalists based on their biome breadth. By analysing biome specialists and generalists separately, we show that biome specialists tend to exhibit more constrained and compositionally distinct dietary niches in less productive biomes, while generalists, particularly moderate generalists, dominate functional space occupancy in all biomes, even the harsher ones such as tundra and taiga. This highlights how environmental constraints and ecological roles shape trophic strategies at a global scale. Notably, extreme generalists tended to exhibit more carnivorous or insectivorous diets, suggesting a strategy based on mobile preda- tion or opportunism rather than a highly diversified omnivory. Despite these general patterns, highly productive biomes supported the greatest diversity of dietary strate- gies, with higher functional redundancy and niche packing. Nestedness and turnover analyses revealed that biome specialists diets are often subsets of generalists diets, but with significant compositional shifts across biomes. These findings underscore the dual role of biome generalists as both functional stabilizers and potential limiters of eco- logical diversity, and highlight the vulnerability of specialist species to global change. Our study offers a mechanistic framework for understanding how dietary strategies interact with environmental filtering, and for identifying functional risks in changing ecosystems.
PB Wiley
SN 0906-7590
YR 2025
FD 2025-05-29
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/124622
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/124622
LA eng
NO Gamboa, S., Galván, S., Sobral, M., Hernández Fernández, M., & Varela, S. (2025). The division of food space among mammalian species on biomes. Ecography, 2025(10):e07660.
NO European Research Council
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
NO Ministerio de Universidades
NO Xunta de Galicia
NO Universidade de Vigo
DS Docta Complutense
RD 12 may 2026