Individual asymmetric competition responses across multidimensional niches may enable coexistence of closely related species

Many studies have focused on niche differentiation at the population level to explain the coexistence of similar species. However, information on how individual-level processes across multidimensional niches shape community dynamics and species coexistence, especially for nocturnal, small, and highly mobile animals, is limited.
In this study, we employed a combination of metabarcoding and GPS tracking technologies to investigate the coexistence mechanisms between two sympatric bat species, Hipposideros armiger and H. pratti, by analyzing individual niche responses to competition across temporal, spatial, and dietary dimensions.
Results showed that (1) traditional population-level analysis revealed no significant niche partitioning along single dimensions. However, (2) individual-level analyses uncovered sophisticated coexistence mechanisms through asymmetry responses to interspecific competition via temporal and dietary dimensions within limited habitat ranges. (3) This asymmetry r..., , , # Individual asymmetric competition responses across multidimensional niches may enable coexistence of closely related species

Dataset DOI: [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86r1](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86r1)

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset supported a study on the coexistence strategies of Hipposideros armiger and H. pratti in Xiaonanhai Town, Nanzheng District, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, China, from July to August 2022. This study used GPS logers and fecal DNA-metabarcoding to monitor population and individual niche differentiation across multiple dimensions (temporal, feeding, and spatial) of 17 adult individuals caught in fish holes to investigate their behavioral responses in the face of interspecific and intrspecific competition. The data capture the contribution of individual niche plasticity and competitive asymmetry to species coexistence, It suggested that stable coexistence between H. arabica and H. patelli is maintained thr...,