title: The Role of Competition in Structuring Primate Communities under Different Productivity Regimes in the Amazon.
abstract: The factors responsible for the formation of Amazonian primate communities are not well understood. Here we investigated the influence of interspecific competition in the assembly of these communities, specifically whether they follow an assembly rule known as "favored states". According to this rule, interspecific competition influences final species composition, resulting in functional groups that are equally represented in the community. We compiled presence-absence data for primate species at 39 Amazonian sites in Brazil, contrasting two regions with distinct productivity regimes: the eutrophic Juruá River basin and the oligotrophic Negro River basin. We tested two hypotheses: that interspecific competition is a mechanism that influences the structure of Amazonian primate communities, and that competition has had a greater influence on the structure of primate communities in regions with low productivity, where resources are more limited. We used null models to test the statistical significance of the results, and found a non-random pattern compatible with the favored states rule in the two regions. Our findings suggest that interspecific competition is an important force driving primate community assembly regardless of productivity regimes.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Monteiro de Almeida
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Míriam Plaza
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Life Science, Salford University, Salford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jean Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Boubli
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo Viveiros
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Grelle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D011323:Primates / Q000502:physiology*