Competition among bird species at the University of Michigan Biological Station.

Abstract

We investigated the degree of competition among nine bird species at UMBS. Competition among species often depends on niche overlap. Since members of the same species are most likely to have completely overlapping niches, one hypothesis is that intraspecific competition will be greater than interspecific competition. Another hypothesis is that species with greater niche overlaps will engage in higher levels of interspecific competition than those species with less niche overlap. Our data indicate that interspecific competition is more frequent and more intense among birds while feeding at a feeder than intraspecific competition. No correlation exists between the degree of resource overlap of two species and the frequency and intensity of competition.