scholarly journals The evolution of climatic niches in squamate reptiles

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1858) ◽  
pp. 20170268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcio R. Pie ◽  
Leonardo L. F. Campos ◽  
Andreas L. S. Meyer ◽  
Andressa Duran
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Rate Heterogeneity ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Climatic Niche ◽  
Squamate Reptiles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Niche Dynamics ◽  
Niche Variation ◽  
Climatic Information

Despite the remarkable diversity found in squamate reptiles, most of their species tend to be found in warm/dry environments, suggesting that climatic requirements played a crucial role in their diversification, yet little is known about the evolution of their climatic niches. In this study, we integrate climatic information associated with the geographical distribution of 1882 squamate species and their phylogenetic relationships to investigate the tempo and mode of climatic niche evolution in squamates, both over time and among lineages. We found that changes in climatic niche dynamics were pronounced over their recent squamate evolutionary history, and we identified extensive evidence for rate heterogeneity in squamate climatic niche evolution. Most rate shifts involved accelerations, particularly over the past 50 Myr. Most squamates occupy similar regions of the climatic niche space, with only a few lineages diversifying into colder and humid climatic conditions. The changes from arid to mesic conditions in some regions of the globe may have provided opportunities for climatic niche evolution, although most lineages tended to remain near their ancestral niche. Variation in rates of climatic niche evolution seems common, particularly in response to the availability of new climatic conditions over evolutionary time.

scholarly journals Niche-tracking migrants and niche-switching residents: evolution of climatic niches in New World warblers (Parulidae)

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1824) ◽  
pp. 20152458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Gómez ◽  
Elkin A. Tenorio ◽  
Paola Montoya ◽  
Carlos Daniel Cadena
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Migratory Behaviour ◽  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Climatic Niche ◽  
Niche Dynamics ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
The Tropics

Differences in life-history traits between tropical and temperate lineages are often attributed to differences in their climatic niche dynamics. For example, the more frequent appearance of migratory behaviour in temperate-breeding species than in species originally breeding in the tropics is believed to have resulted partly from tropical climatic stability and niche conservatism constraining tropical species from shifting their ranges. However, little is known about the patterns and processes underlying climatic niche evolution in migrant and resident animals. We evaluated the evolution of overlap in climatic niches between seasons and its relationship to migratory behaviour in the Parulidae, a family of New World passerine birds. We used ordination methods to measure seasonal niche overlap and niche breadth of 54 resident and 49 migrant species and used phylogenetic comparative methods to assess patterns of climatic niche evolution. We found that despite travelling thousands of kilometres, migrants tracked climatic conditions across the year to a greater extent than tropical residents. Migrant species had wider niches than resident species, although residents as a group occupied a wider climatic space and niches of migrants and residents overlapped extensively. Neither breeding latitude nor migratory distance explained variation among species in climatic niche overlap between seasons. Our findings support the notion that tropical species have narrower niches than temperate-breeders, but does not necessarily constrain their ability to shift or expand their geographical ranges and become migratory. Overall, the tropics may have been historically less likely to experience the suite of components that generate strong selection pressures for the evolution of migratory behaviour.

scholarly journals Climatic niche evolution is not slower in threatened species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Rolland ◽  
T. Jonathan Davies ◽  
Daniele Silvestro ◽  
Nicolas Salamin ◽  
Dolph Schluter
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Extinction Probability ◽  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rates Of Evolution

Abstract Background: Understanding why species go extinct has become a major goal of evolutionary biology. Recent studies have suggested that both species traits and rates of evolution might predict extinction probability in a changing world. Here, we tested whether species conservation status correlates with recent rates of niche evolution within their lineages across 11,465 species of terrestrial vertebrates.Results: We find no consistent association between rates of niche evolution and current IUCN status in birds, mammals, amphibians and squamates. Our results suggest that rates of niche evolution estimated over evolutionary time are a poor predictor of species extinction probability at present time.Conclusions: Our results are consistent with previous studies showing that past rates of evolution are unrelated to how species will adapt to climate change in the future. This mismatch might be explained by the different time scales involved, difficulties in accurately estimating evolutionary rates and extinction risks, or simply the fact that the selective pressures affecting biodiversity are different today than in the past.

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Conflict

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vally Koubi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
General Effect ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Level Of Economic Development

The link between climate change and conflict has been discussed intensively in academic literature during the past decade. This review aims to provide a clearer picture of what the research community currently has to say with regard to this nexus. It finds that the literature has not detected a robust and general effect linking climate to conflict onset. Substantial agreement exists that climatic changes contribute to conflict under some conditions and through certain pathways. In particular, the literature shows that climatic conditions breed conflict in fertile grounds: in regions dependent on agriculture and in combination and interaction with other socioeconomic and political factors such as a low level of economic development and political marginalization. Future research should continue to investigate how climatic changes interact with and/or are conditioned by socioeconomic, political, and demographic settings to cause conflict and uncover the causal mechanisms that link these two phenomena.

scholarly journals Tree Change in Nemoral Spruce Forests of the Central Forest Reserve

2021 ◽  
pp. 459-476
Author(s):  
M. Yu. Pukinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Spruce Forests ◽  
The Past ◽  
Broad Leaved Forest ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Leaved Forest

The paper discusses changes in forest-forming species in the nemoral spruce forests of the Central Forest Reserve (Tver Region, the Russian Federation). A comparison is made of the characterization of vegetation in the reserve spruce forests, carried out during the first survey of the reserve by Ya. Ya. Alekseev in 1931 (Alekseev, 1935) with the descriptions of vegetation made by the author from 2011 to 2019. It is shown that the coverage of nemoral herbs in the spruce forests of the reserve has increased over the past 90 years. In addition, three types of broadleaf trees (Tilia cordata Mill., Acer platanoides L. and Ulmus scabra Mill.) have greatly increased their abundance in the stand, most notably the linden. In recent decades, the decay of nemoral spruce forests has been taking place in the Central Forest Reserve. The birch-aspenspruce stand is not replenished with spruce renewal but is replaced by linden-maple forests. The vitality of spruce undergrowth is deteriorating. After the decay of a spruce forest, a change of the tree dominants occurs on 74% of the trial plots and the stand continues with a spruce forest on 26%. The largest part of the reserve's nemoral spruce forests arose after major disturbances 100–150 years ago (on the site of burned-out areas, hurricane windblows and cuttings). Old nemoral spruce forests were formed during the period when severe frosts prevented linden and maple from entering the stand. Currently, the coincidence of climate warming with the aging of the spruce stand and the removal of anthropogenic influence contributed to the release of maple and linden from the undergrowth into the stand and change to a spruce-deciduous forest. Under the prevailing climatic conditions, a return to the spruce forest is possible in the event of a burning out or when the climate becomes cold. The nemoral spruce forest is an ecotone type and, depending on conditions, becomes a spruce or broad-leaved forest.

scholarly journals A Control Theory Approach to Optimal Irrigation Scheduling in the Oklahoma Panhandle

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Harris ◽  
Harry P. Mapp
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
The Past

Climatic conditions in semiarid regions like the Oklahoma Panhandle result in wide fluctuations in rainfall, dryland crop yields, and returns to agricultural producers in the area. Irrigated crop production increases peracre yields and significantly reduces fluctuations in yields and net returns.Irrigated production of food and fiber in the Oklahoma Panhandle has developed rapidly during the past three decades, increasing from 11,500 to 385,900 acres since 1950 (Schwab). The primary source of irrigation water in the area is the Ogallala Formation, an aquifer underlying much of the Great Plains region. Until the past couple of years, the presence of relatively low cost natural gas led producers to expand irrigated production and apply high levels of water to crops irrigated in the area.

Ligorio Marquez Formation and Climatic Niche Evolution of Nothofagus

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 84-85
Author(s):  
Luis Felipe Hinojosa ◽  
Francisca Campano ◽  
Francy Carvajal ◽  
Mirta Quattrochio ◽  
María Fernanda Pérez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Climatic Niche

The first potential fossil record of a dibamid reptile (Squamata: Dibamidae): a new taxon from the early Oligocene of Central Mongolia

2019 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 782-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrej Čerňanský
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Central Mongolia ◽  
Squamate Reptiles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Fossil Material

Abstract Dibamid reptiles have a known current distribution on two continents (Asia and North America). Although this clade represents an early-diverging group in the Squamata and thus should have a long evolutionary history, no fossil record of these peculiar burrowing squamate reptiles has been documented so far. The fossil material described here comes from the early Oligocene of the Valley of Lakes in Central Mongolia. This material consists of jaws and is placed in the clade Dibamidae on the basis of its morphology, which is further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. In spite of the fragmentary nature of this material, it thus forms the first, but putative, fossil evidence of this clade. If correctly interpreted, this material demonstrates the occurrence of Dibamidae in East Asia in the Palaeogene, indicating its distribution in higher latitudes than today. The preserved elements possess a unique combination of character states, and a new taxon name is therefore erected: Hoeckosaurus mongoliensis sp. nov. The dentary of Hoeckosaurus exhibits some characters of the two extant dibamid taxa. However, the open Meckel’s groove, together with other characters, show that this group was morphologically much more diverse in the past.

Climatic Niche Evolution in the Arremon brunneinucha Complex (Aves: Passerellidae) in a Mesoamerican Landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
Israel Moreno-Contreras ◽  
Luis A. Sánchez-González ◽  
María del Coro Arizmendi ◽  
David A. Prieto-Torres ◽  
Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza
Keyword(s):  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Climatic Niche

scholarly journals How dry was the Younger Dryas? Evidence from a coupled <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H–<i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O biomarker paleohygrometer applied to the Gemündener Maar sediments, Western Eifel, Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 713-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Hepp ◽  
Lorenz Wüthrich ◽  
Tobias Bromm ◽  
Marcel Bliedtner ◽  
Imke Kathrin Schäfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Climate

Abstract. Causes of the Late Glacial to Early Holocene transition phase and particularly the Younger Dryas period, i.e. the major last cold spell in central Europe during the Late Glacial, are considered to be keys for understanding rapid natural climate change in the past. The sediments from maar lakes in the Eifel, Germany, have turned out to be valuable archives for recording such paleoenvironmental changes. For this study, we investigated a Late Glacial to Early Holocene sediment core that was retrieved from the Gemündener Maar in the Western Eifel, Germany. We analysed the hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotope composition of leaf-wax-derived lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes C27 and C29) and a hemicellulose-derived sugar biomarker (arabinose), respectively. Both δ2Hn-alkane and δ18Osugar are suggested to reflect mainly leaf water of vegetation growing in the catchment of the Gemündener Maar. Leaf water reflects δ2H and δ18O of precipitation (primarily temperature-dependent) modified by evapotranspirative enrichment of leaf water due to transpiration. Based on the notion that the evapotranspirative enrichment depends primarily on relative humidity (RH), we apply a previously introduced “coupled δ2Hn-alkane–δ18Osugar paleohygrometer approach” to reconstruct the deuterium excess of leaf water and in turn Late Glacial–Early Holocene RH changes from our Gemündener Maar record. Our results do not provide evidence for overall markedly dry climatic conditions having prevailed during the Younger Dryas. Rather, a two-phasing of the Younger Dryas is supported, with moderate wet conditions at the Allerød level during the first half and drier conditions during the second half of the Younger Dryas. Moreover, our results suggest that the amplitude of RH changes during the Early Holocene was more pronounced than during the Younger Dryas. This included the occurrence of a “Preboreal Humid Phase”. One possible explanation for this unexpected finding could be that solar activity is a hitherto underestimated driver of central European RH changes in the past.

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