Trpasličí plži na slatiništích - proč je dobré být malý
| Title in English | Why is great to be small |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Vesmír |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Ecology |
| Keywords | Fen snails; body sizes; limiting similarity; nestedness |
| Description | We discuss the ecology of land snails in fens and refer to our study with Brandon Schamp, a botanist from Canada, in which we investigated whether coexisting snail species in 145 treeless fen communities in the Western Carpathian Mountains differed more in size than would be expected by chance under limiting similarity theory. Contrary to expectations, coexisting snail species were significantly more similar with respect to body size. Specifically, smaller snail species were over-represented in fen communities in general, and this effect was accentuated in increasingly calcareous fens. Our findings support suggestion that traits related strongly to environmental conditions are more likely to be convergent, as small snail species have an advantage in tolerating freezing conditions over winter when refuges are limited. |
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