Talk:Niche microdifferentiation

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Hello all, this is another student of the Evergreen State College campus. Here is some things I'm thinking of putting on and/or working with. Possibly in relation to the definition (maybe just working definition) section: “Organism not only is a passive inductor selected by nature, but also is an active ‘engineer’ that modifies its environments” (p. 107). – Hui, Li, and Yue

Modification of environments = ecosystem engineering

“The trait that altars the environment in a manner that is favorable to growth tends to be reinforced and this positive feedback can further, to a certain extent, modify the selection pressure on itself” (p. 108, originally from Jorgensen 1997) – Hui, et al.

From Wang: “Grinnell (1917) introduced the term niche as the ultimate distributional unit of a species and afterwards he made its meaning clearer, that is the ultimate distributional unit of one ‘species or subspecies’ “ (p. 280).

Functional niche and place niche Karsenfarmer (talk) 23:36, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi everyone, I come in peace from a class at the Evergreen State College called "Language and Species." We'll be updating this article as part of a quarter project. SelenaFaller (talk) 02:37, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

It looks like we might be the only ones here for the time being. I will be working on some of this later this afternoon. I will post anything I find here for you all to peruse before I actually add it to the article. More to come.Melynn23 (talk) 18:40, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

I think we should start by looking at the definition on the page. I don't think it's correct. I consulted both the main Wikipage on differentiation and my husband's biology textbook and I think it may mean:

- small-scale differentiation between competing species or - the beginning of differentiation between competing populations of the same species, which may or may not lead later on to speciation (the single species splitting into two) Any thoughts or ideas to add? If not, I'll figure out the exact citations and edit the definition on the page.Melynn23 (talk) 18:10, 4 March 2012 (UTC)

-This is Emily (L&S) ^^ I agree with this above... I think it's small-scale (micro) differentiation that leads to the creation of sub-species. I was also looking at the definitions of micro and macro-evolution >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microevolution — Preceding unsigned comment added by 09.wild (talk • contribs) 20:52, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey Im another Evergreener working on this page. A species of lizard (urosaurus ornatus) has two types of males born to the species. Depending on amount of progesterone present at birth some males develop an orange color and an ability to change into a nomadic lifestyle when conditions get dry and hot. The blue orange version does not change habits at the extreme. This may allow some of the species to search for females to further its genetic territory while some males stay around to sustain its own population of origin if conditions improve during the extreme conditions. This example of space partitioning keeps their population stable when resources are scarce and confines them to an abundant region when resources are plentiful where competing species reside on the fringes. Is this niche differentiation or micro niche differentiation. phejos28 the source is: ^ Roughgarden, Joan (2004). Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-520-24073-1.Borrowed source from wikipedia page on the tree lizard.

I'm planning on adding a short description of the post-industrial melanism of Peppered Moths in England. There are already articles about this phenomenon and the moths themselves, which we can link to, but it's a really good example of microdifferentiation because it's an example of two varieties of the same species fitting into different niches. Oh and Joey, that sounds good to me. I'm looking for more specific examples, so more to come! SelenaFaller (talk) 22:44, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

I'm having trouble finding sources. I went to JSTOR and EBSCO, but searching for just "niche micro differentiation" tends to only get things on niche differentiation. Any suggestions for what else to search for? I didn't want to be too specific since I'm just looking for more of a definition and such. Allisonzoe (talk) 06:08, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Could ecotypes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotype) be a way in which niche microdifferentiation occurs? As I understand it the current example implies genotypic and phenotypic differentiation. As far as I know ecotype variation exists intraspecies, but is considered a precursor to speciation. So one could imagine that a single moth species which is geographically distributed over areas with both white bark and moss covered trees would begin to differentiate ecotypically. The basic definition is vague, simply using the word "animal" rather than "species" so it is hard for me to tell if ecotype differentiation is an appropriate mode of niche microdifferentiation. If others agree with Melynn23, this would be relevant. Kawikikiki (talk) 18:08, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Does it make sense that the qualifier "necessarily" would be appropriate in "It simply means that an advantage for one animal in one area is not (necessarily) an advantage for another animal in a different location" ? Kawikikiki (talk) 18:14, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

I think the qualifier is relevant, "always" could be an alternative. And for Kawikikiki I do think that ecotypes can be incorporated into this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.16.124.195 (talk) 16:48, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

According to current wikipedia data "The term niche differentiation (synonymous with niche segregation, niche separation and niche partitioning), as it applies to the field of ecology, refers to the process by which natural selection drives competing species into different patterns of resource use or different niches."(from niche differentiation page So naturally "niche microdifferentiation" is the means an individual species uses to partition itself into a subspecies that occupies a resource to further its adaptation that in time will separate the species into its own species separate from its ancestor. Still looking for good definitions but this is the best one I could come up with. Supporting links are in dire need. phejos28 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Phejos28 (talk • contribs) 19:40, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

I have been operating under the assumption that niche microdifferentiation applies to niche differentiation of subspecies rather than of separate species. I think all we need for the definition is a credible source stating that. SelenaFaller (talk) 21:39, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

This isn't a definition... but there's a little bit of info in this paper in chapter 4 (pg 87 last paragraph) >> http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mBfmYNihbWYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA85&dq=define+micro-differentiation&ots=89FEpQ-F_P&sig=fC3C_pn_GTGWiM_oX-RwI8Icczc#v=onepage&q&f=false — Preceding unsigned comment added by 09.wild (talk • contribs) 21:08, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

I've found a couple of articles that don't specifically talk about niche microdifferentiation, but definitely have some emphasis on niches. Thus far they aren't helping too much. This is what I have in my mind so far, but I have no legitimate sources to back it up: the same species lives in different niches, separation of niches most likely because of environment (geographical land forms, distance, etc.). A species may survive in one niche, while the same species will dwindle in another, reasons for this being food availability, competition, and habitat diversity. Here is an article about habitat diversity and niches: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecocom.2011.06.004 Allisonzoe (talk) 06:36, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Joe here. I found a page on through E Journal that shows examples of Microdifferentiation between humans and the diversity of the Iberian Peninsula. I am still figuring out how to cite stay tuned. I am adding categories for input on the article Page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Phejos28 (talk • contribs) 16:43, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey Folks, I'm having a heckuva a lot of trouble finding reliable sources. I think the discussion we have going here is great, but we've got to get something up on the main page since this is due tonight. I'm still working on finding reliable source material for a combined definition from the discussion above but so far...nothing. I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to a little bit worried.Melynn23 (talk) 17:23, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

Added example for plants and mentioned ecotypes. Joe I like that definition you gave, couldn't we use that and the source would be the larger niche differentiation article. It is a logical extension, or is an outside source necessary?Kawikikiki (talk) 21:45, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

A population of Drosophila melanogaste (common fruit fly or vinegar fly) found inside a wine cellar has a greater alcohol tolerance than a population found outside the wine cellar. This shows micro-differentiation, as each population of this species has adapted to its ecological niche. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 09.wild (talk • contribs) 00:37, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Melynn, Rick said we have until the end of next week to finish.Allisonzoe (talk) 23:30, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

I looked up the person Rick mentioned yesterday (Luigi Cavalli-Sforza) and it wasn't much help. Would it be reasonable to say that niche microdifferentiation is a way to create an ecotype? Could that be part of the definition? Allisonzoe (talk) 04:38, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

I added an example about cumin. I hope it's okay. I also added half a sentence to the definition and made a few grammatical and spelling corrections. Allisonzoe (talk) 23:15, 17 March 2012 (UTC)