https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index en-au 5 https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:43673 how ecologists use niche concepts in their writing, aiming at clarifying communication on what is being studied. To assess if modern ecological theories are coherent in their usage of the niche concept, we surveyed a sample of three research areas: ecological niche modeling, coexistence between species and meta-communities. We found that research agendas are segregated when it comes to rhetoric about niches. Ecologists have long tried to achieve a truly unifying biodiversity theory, or at least a universal definition of niche. We, however, move in the opposite direction and suggest that the niche concept should be dismembered into its key components, highlighting which elements of the concept are being addressed and analyzed. Explicitly stating to which niche concept a study is referring may enhance communication among researchers from different backgrounds and perhaps alleviate this century-old dilemma.]]> Tue 27 Sep 2022 15:21:59 AEST ]]> https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:37768 Sphyrna mokarran are the largest member of Sphyrnidae, yet the roles of these large sharks in the food webs of coastal ecosystems are still poorly understood. Here we obtained samples of muscle, liver and vertebrae from large S. mokarran (234–383 cm total length; L_T) caught as by‐catch off eastern Australia and used stable‐isotope analyses of δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C and δ³⁴S to infer their resource use and any associated ontogenetic patterns. The results indicated large S. mokarran are apex predators primarily relying on other sharks and rays for their diet, with a preference for benthic resources such as Australian cownose rays Rhinoperon neglecta during the austral summer. Teleosts, cephalopods and crustaceans were not significant components of S. mokarran diets, though some conspecifics appeared to rely on more diverse resources over the austral summer. Ontogenetic shifts in resource use were detected but trajectories of the increases in trophic level varied among individuals. Most S. mokarran had non‐linear trajectories in ontogenetic resource‐use shifts implying size was not the main explanatory factor. Stable isotope values of δ¹³C and δ³⁴S in muscle suggest S. mokarran span coastal, pelagic and benthic food webs in eastern Australia.]]> Thu 15 Apr 2021 10:37:54 AEST ]]> https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:25700 Sat 24 Mar 2018 07:28:20 AEDT ]]>