Herbivore Niche Differentiation and the Intensification of Competition in African Savannahs

• Applicant: Faysal Bibi, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2015 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 282995372

In Africa today, savannah environments exhibit high herbivore diversity and narrow niche partitioning, reflected in a fine gradation of feeding preferences and body sizes. This is particularly true during the dry season, when resources are low and dietary overlap is at a minimum. This project seeks to trace the evolution of niche partitioning among savannah antelopes (Bovidae) in the Pliocene and Pleistocene fossil record of eastern Africa. Many studies of the African Neogene record have focused on correlations between evolution and global climate change, but this study aims to quantify the intensity of competitive biotic interactions through time. This is done through a trait-based approach, whereby herbivore dietary trait diversity is expected to increase over time as clades became more specialized. This would have occurred in response to increased dietary competition, perhaps as a result of decreasing resources caused by long-term environmental change. In order to test this idea, the project will develop a large morphological trait database, construct a phylogenetic framework using both molecular and morphological data, and study many new and unpublished fossil assemblages from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants