scholarly journals Potential geographic distribution and ecological niche of the insect order Megaloptera: the case of the neartic-neotropical transition zone

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Alejandro Álvarez ◽  
Miguel Alejandro Rivas-Soto
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
New World ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Insect Order ◽  
Potential Geographic Distribution

The Megaloptera are an interesting, but relatively poorly studied group of insects. Among the new world Megaloptera, it is not known the effect of the neartic-neotropical transition zone on their biogeographic distribution. Here we present potential geographic distributions based on ecological niche models of the species of Megaloptera from North America that occurred in the transition zone. Results suggested that the geographic range of Corydalinae (dobsonflies) in the transition zone is associated to mountainous formations and that most species favour for warm climates with higher precipitation rates. Climate types tend to be important for species that show narrow geographic ranges, but precipitation tends to be the most important variable to explain species dispersion. In addition, Chauliodinae (fishflies) and Sialidae (alderflies) may have no relation with the transition zone. Overall, our models support the dispersion of dobsonflies from the neotropics to North America and explain the two endemisms in Mexico as the result of the formation of the transition zone.

scholarly journals Potential geographic distribution of the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894) (Diptera: Culicidae) in current and future conditions for Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. e0008212
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Echeverry-Cárdenas ◽  
Carolina López-Castañeda ◽  
Juan D. Carvajal-Castro ◽  
Oscar Alexander Aguirre-Obando
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Aedes Albopictus ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Niche Modelling ◽  
Continental Extension ◽  
Bioclimatic Variables ◽  
Valle Del Cauca ◽  
Potential Geographic Distribution

In Colombia, little is known on the distribution of the Asian mosquito Aedes albopictus, main vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Asia and Oceania. Therefore, this work sought to estimate its current and future potential geographic distribution under the Representative Concentration Paths (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5 emission scenarios by 2050 and 2070, using ecological niche models. For this, predictions were made in MaxEnt, employing occurrences of A. albopictus from their native area and South America and bioclimatic variables of these places. We found that, from their invasion of Colombia to the most recent years, A. albopictus is present in 47% of the country, in peri-urban (20%), rural (23%), and urban (57%) areas between 0 and 1800 m, with Antioquia and Valle del Cauca being the departments with most of the records. Our ecological niche modelling for the currently suggests that A. albopictus is distributed in 96% of the Colombian continental surface up to 3000 m (p < 0.001) putting at risk at least 48 million of people that could be infected by the arboviruses that this species transmits. Additionally, by 2050 and 2070, under RCP 2.6 scenario, its distribution could cover to nearly 90% of continental extension up to 3100 m (≈55 million of people at risk), while under RCP 8.5 scenario, it could decrease below 60% of continental extension, but expand upward to 3200 m (< 38 million of people at risk). These results suggest that, currently in Colombia, A. albopictus is found throughout the country and climate change could diminish eventually its area of distribution, but increase its altitudinal range. In Colombia, surveillance and vector control programs must focus their attention on this vector to avoid complications in the national public health setting.

Random subset feature selection for ecological niche models of wildfire activity in Western North America

2018 ◽  
Vol 383 ◽  
pp. 52-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Tracy ◽  
Antonio Trabucco ◽  
A. Michelle Lawing ◽  
J. Tomasz Giermakowski ◽  
Maria Tchakerian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feature Selection ◽  
North America ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Random Subset ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Niche Models

Using ecological niche modeling for quantitative biogeographic analysis: a case study of Miocene and Pliocene Equinae in the Great Plains

Paleobiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin Clare Maguire ◽  
Alycia L. Stigall
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Speciation Rates

The subfamily Equinae in the Great Plains region of North America underwent a dramatic radiation and subsequent decline as climate changed from warm and humid in the middle Miocene to cooler and more arid conditions during the late Miocene. Here we use ecological niche modeling (ENM), specifically the GARP (Genetic Algorithm using Rule-set Prediction) modeling system, to reconstruct the geographic distribution of individual species during two time slices from the middle Miocene through early Pliocene. This method combines known species occurrence points with environmental parameters inferred from sedimentological variables to model each species' fundamental niche. The geographic range of each species is then predicted to occupy the geographic area within the study region wherever the set of environmental parameters that constrain the fundamental niche occurs. We analyze changes in the predicted distributions of individual species between time slices in relation to Miocene/Pliocene climate change. Specifically, we examine and compare distribution patterns for two time slices that span the period from the mid-Miocene (Barstovian) Climatic Optimum into the early Pliocene (Blancan) to determine whether habitat fragmentation led to speciation within the clade and whether species survival was related to geographic range size. Patchy geographic distributions were more common in the middle Miocene when speciation rates were high. During the late Miocene, when speciation rates were lower, continuous geographic ranges were more common. Equid species tracked their preferred habitat within the Great Plains region as well as regionally throughout North America. Species with larger predicted ranges preferentially survived the initial cooling event better than species with small geographic ranges. As climate continued to deteriorate in the late Miocene, however, range size became irrelevant to survival, and extinction rates increased for species of all range sizes. This is the first use of ENM and GARP in the continental fossil record. This powerful quantitative biogeographic method offers great promise for studies of other taxa and geologic intervals.

scholarly journals A new genus of horse from Pleistocene North America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Heintzman ◽  
Grant D. Zazula ◽  
Ross D.E. MacPhee ◽  
Eric Scott ◽  
James A. Cahill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
New World ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Crown Group ◽  
Limb Bones ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene

AbstractThe extinct “New World stilt-legged”, or NWSL, equids constitute a perplexing group of Pleistocene horses endemic to North America. Their slender distal limb bones resemble those of Asiatic asses, such as the Persian onager. Previous palaeogenetic studies, however, have suggested a closer relationship to caballine horses than to Asiatic asses. Here, we report complete mitochondrial and partial nuclear genomes from NWSL equids from across their geographic range. Although multiple NWSL equid species have been named, our palaeogenomic and morphometric analyses support the idea that there was only a single species of middle to late Pleistocene NWSL equid, and demonstrate that it falls outside of crown group Equus. We therefore propose a new genus, Haringtonhippus, for the sole species H. francisci. Our combined genomic and phenomic approach to resolving the systematics of extinct megafauna will allow for an improved understanding of the full extent of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Risk of Leishmaniasis in North America: Predictions from Ecological Niche Models of Vector and Reservoir Species

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila González ◽  
Ophelia Wang ◽  
Stavana E. Strutz ◽  
Constantino González-Salazar ◽  
Víctor Sánchez-Cordero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Reservoir Species ◽  
Niche Models

The northernmost occurrence of Prognathodon (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Western Interior Seaway of North America

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1111-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Konishi
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
North America ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Western Interior Seaway ◽  
Marginal Tooth ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Evolutionary Success ◽  
Marine Reptile ◽  
New Discovery

The marine reptile Prognathodon (Squamata: Mosasauridae), a mosasaurine mosasaur exhibiting a characteristically robust skull and dentition, lived during the last two ages of the Late Cretaceous. Fossilized remains of animals assigned to this genus are so far known from North America, Europe, Africa, and New Zealand, indicating their wide geographic ranges and presumed ecological and evolutionary success. Assignable to Prognathodon, a newly discovered partial marginal tooth from Dorothy, Alberta, Canada (51°15′48″N), extends the geographic range of the genus by 190 km northward in the Northern Hemisphere. Coupled with the New Zealand record of this mosasaur, the new discovery indicates that Prognathodon likely ranged anywhere from 60°N to 60°S paleolatitude, and these reptiles may even have been occasional inhabitants of the polar regions.

scholarly journals Predictable invasion dynamics in North American populations of the Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1862) ◽  
pp. 20171157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Ingenloff ◽  
Christopher M. Hensz ◽  
Tashitso Anamza ◽  
Vijay Barve ◽  
Lindsay P. Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
New World ◽  
Niche Modelling ◽  
Invasion Dynamics ◽  
Invasion Front ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Interannual Dynamics ◽  
Predictive Understanding ◽  
World Distribution

Species invasions represent a significant dimension of global change yet the dynamics of invasions remain poorly understood and are considered rather unpredictable. We explored interannual dynamics of the invasion process in the Eurasian collared dove ( Streptopelia decaocto ) and tested whether the advance of the invasion front of the species in North America relates to centrality (versus peripherality) within its estimated fundamental ecological niche. We used ecological niche modelling approaches to estimate the dimensions of the fundamental ecological niche on the Old World distribution of the species, and then transferred that model to the New World as measures of centrality versus peripherality within the niche for the species. Although our hypothesis was that the invasion front would advance faster over more favourable (i.e. more central) conditions, the reverse was the case: the invasion expanded faster in areas presenting less favourable (i.e. more peripheral) conditions for the species as it advanced across North America. This result offers a first view of a predictive approach to the dynamics of species' invasions, and thereby has relevant implications for the management of invasive species, as such a predictive understanding would allow better anticipation of coming steps and advances in the progress of invasions, important to designing and guiding effective remediation and mitigation efforts.

Taxonomic identification errors generate misleading ecological niche model predictions of an invasive hawkweed

Botany ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Ensing ◽  
Chandra E. Moffat ◽  
Jason Pither
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Schematic Model ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Invasion Risk ◽  
Climate Niche ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Taxonomic Uncertainty ◽  
Occurrence Records

Ecological niche models (ENMs) have been proposed and applied as tools for predicting the extent of exotic species invasion risk and for identifying areas at risk of invasion. Despite the acknowledged concern of relying on occurrence records of variable and (or) unknown quality, the effect of taxonomically uncertain occurrence records on ENMs has not been investigated. We first present a schematic model describing how taxonomic uncertainty could yield varying predictions of invasion potential depending on the spatial characteristics of all versus “reliable” occurrence records. We then explore the issue in more detail by way of a case study on the morphologically and taxonomically difficult yellowdevil hawkweed (Pilosella glomerata (Froel.) Fr.), which is invasive in North America. We compared the climate niche properties and ENM predictions of invasion risk by P. glomerata in North America among models based on (i) all available occurrence records and (ii) records that are taxonomically “reliable”. “Total” records yielded niche properties that were significantly more heterogeneous than reliable records, and consequently, the potential invasion range of P. glomerata based on total records was predicted to be substantially larger. Our results provide rare empirical evidence that vetting occurrence records for taxonomic reliability is of critical importance for niche modeling.

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) of Leptoglossus clypealis a new potential global invader: following in the footsteps of Leptoglossus occidentalis?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Leonela Olivera ◽  
Eugenia Minghetti ◽  
Sara I. Montemayor
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Niche Breadth ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Leptoglossus Occidentalis ◽  
Major Pest ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
Niche Models

Abstract The introduction of alien species is one of the main problems in conservation. Many successful invaders cause severe economic and ecological damage. Such is the case of Leptoglossus occidentalis, a phytophagous true bug native to North America, which has become a pest in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Within the genus, another species whose distributional range is expanding toward the east of North America is Leptoglossus clypealis. As climate determines the successful establishment of insects, the identification of climatically suitable areas for invasive species based on ecological niche models (ENMs) offers an excellent opportunity for preventing invasions. In this study, ENMs were built for both species and their native climatic niches were compared. Their niche breath was also measured. The climatic niches of both species are identical and the niche breadth of L. clypealis is broader than that of L. occidentalis. In view of the great ecological resemblance between these two species, we believe that L. clypealis could became a major pest thus it should be carefully monitored. The results of the present worldwide ENMs showed numerous regions with suitable conditions for the establishment of both species. The future ENMs exhibited a retraction in the suitable areas in North America, Europe and Asia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document