Functional traits and phylogeny predict vertical foraging in terrestrial mammals and birds

Earth’s ecosystems are characterized by numerous gradients related to the distribution of environmental conditions and resources. Niche theory predicts that animals will evolve traits to exploit changing resource availability and environmental conditions across these gradients. Much work has been done examining how animal traits like body mass and diet change across gradients from regional to global scales. Environmental and resource gradients in the vertical dimension tend to exhibit strong changes over relatively short distances due to the influence of elevation and vegetation. Vegetation structure may be an especially important vertical axis as it contributes to strong gradients in micro- climate, food resources, and predation risk. To investigate interrelationships between the vertical niche and its presumed drivers, we use functional traits, phylogenies, and predation risk to predict the vertical foraging niche for 4,828 mammals and 9,437 birds globally. To provide biogeographic context to the predictive analysis, we use species ranges to map geographic distributions of the vertical foraging niche and relationships between the niche and its presumed drivers. Linking trait databases with species range maps revealed distinct global distributions of vertical foraging niches for mammals and birds. The most important predictors of these niches varied by taxon but there were several systematic relationships. Diet, body mass, and phylogeny were strong predictors of vertical foraging niche across mammal and bird species. Percent fruit in diet exhibited progressively more positive relationships with higher canopy foraging positions. Predation pressure was relatively unimportant in predicting most vertical foraging niches for birds and mammals but displayed a positive trend with arboreal foraging. Geographic hotspots for the importance of fruit in both mammal and bird diets included the Andes-Amazon transition zone, the Amazon Basin, and New Guinea. Our results provide support for the theory of resource driven vertical niche partitioning but also reveal that vertical niches are strongly associated with phylogeny, suggesting niche conservatism in numerous mammal and bird families. Geographic patterns in variable importance values suggest multiple mechanisms behind spatial structure in eco- evolutionary relationships, including latitudinal gradients in vegetation structure and composition, historical patterns of island isolation (in Southeast Asia), and the influence of habitat heterogeneity driven by tectonic processes (in South America).