Habitat use of co-occurring burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) in southeastern Ontario, Canada

The coexistence of closely related species plays an important role in
shaping local diversity. However, competition for shared resources can
limit the ability of species to coexist. Many species avoid the costs of
coexistence by diverging in habitat use, known as habitat partitioning. We
examine patterns of habitat use in seven co-occurring species of burying
beetles (genus Nicrophorus Fabricius, 1775), testing the hypothesis that
Nicrophorus species partition resources by occupying distinct habitats. We
surveyed Nicrophorus abundance and 54 habitat characteristics at 100
random sites spanning an environmentally diverse region of southeastern
Ontario, Canada. We found that three species occupied distinct habitat
types consistent with habitat partitioning. Specifically, Nicrophorus
pustulatus Herschel, 1807, Nicrophorus hebes Kirby, 1837, and Nicrophorus
marginatus Fabricius, 1801 appear to be specialists for forest canopy,
wetlands, and open fields, respectively. In contrast, Nicrophorus
orbicollis Say, 1825, Nicrophorus sayi Laporte, 1840, and Nicrophorus
tomentosus Weber, 1801 appear to be generalists with wide breadths of
habitat use. We were unable to identify the habitat associations of
Nicrophorus defodiens Mannerheim, 1846. Our findings are consistent with
habitat acting as an important resource axis along which some Nicrophorus
species partition; however, divergence along other resource axes (e.g.,
temporal partitioning) also appears important for Nicrophorus coexistence.