Relative Frequency of Vacant Niches in Various Groups of Animals and Plants
Available evidence suggests that vacant niches are more common in some groups than in others. Using SES values (standardized effect sizes) for various groups, which can be used as approximate predictors of the filling of niche space, Gotelli and Rohde (2002) have shown that SES values are high for large and vagile species or for those which occur in large population densities, and that they are low for animal species which occur in small population densities and/or are of small body size and have little vagility. In other words, more vacant niches can be expected for the latter.
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