Linking Niches with Evolutionary Processes

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Niche Conservatism ◽  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
As Species ◽  
Species Pairs

This chapter examines how the process of ecological niche evolution and diversification helps us better understand ecology, biogeography, and biodiversity. It first considers how species respond to changes in the environmental substrate on which the niches are manifested before discussing the concept of niche conservatism as well as tests of conservatism in areas such as species invasions and comparison of the ecological niche requirements of sister–species pairs. It then explores how temporal change in niche dimensions occurs, how it can be studied, and what can be learned. It also describes some of the challenges associated with applications of ecological niche modeling in the realm of evolution and concludes by outlining future directions for research.

Discovering Biodiversity

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Niche Conservatism ◽  
Conceptual Basis ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Species Limits ◽  
As Species ◽  
Unknown Species ◽  
Niche Models

This chapter discusses the conceptual basis of using ecological niche modeling for discovering new elements of biodiversity. More specifically, it examines the use of ecological niche models to guide searches for and discovery of unknown populations of species as well as species limits. It also explains how niche conservatism provides some degree of predictability across related taxa and makes the use of niche models for discovering biodiversity possible. For applications focused on discovery of unknown species, the chapter shows that niche conservatism is necessary if predictions of likely distributional areas are to prove realistic. Finally, it reviews practical considerations that must be taken into account in applications of ecological niche models oriented at discovering biodiversity, along with the caveats and limitations of such applications.

Introduction to Applications

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Nonnative Species ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Niche Models ◽  
Key Questions

This chapter provides an introduction to various applications of correlative approaches used in ecological niche modeling, along with the theoretical principles on which the applications are based. It demonstrates how the methods can be applied to interesting challenges to yield highly useful results, provided that the researcher understands exactly what is being estimated based on which data. It also gives examples of types of model predictions that can yield useful information. Each of the following chapters describes key questions that the niche models address, for example, where unknown populations are likely to be present, or which areas are most susceptible to nonnative species invasions. Practical considerations for implementing each application are also taken into account, and future directions and challenges are discussed.

Species’ Invasions

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ecological Niche Models ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Native And Introduced Ranges ◽  
Niche Models

This chapter discusses the use of ecological niche modeling to study species invasions, and more specifically to identify and understand genuine exceptions to ecological niche equivalency between native and introduced ranges of species. In addition, it examines the degree to which the geographic course of species’ invasions can be anticipated based on scenopoetic variables and biotic interactions. The chapter also reviews practical considerations that must be taken into account when exploring the utility of ecological niche models in understanding species’ invasions, such as using niche conservatism to predict likely changes in the distributional potential of invasive species under scenarios of changing environmental conditions. Finally, it describes caveats and limitations of the approach and outlines future research directions and challenges involved in the application of niche modeling ideas in species invasions.

Conclusions

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Jorge Soberón ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert P. Anderson ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Theory ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Niche Conservatism ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Future Work

This book has described a comprehensive framework for thinking about the geography and ecology of species distributions, arguing that such a framework is critical to further progress in the field of ecological niches and distributions. To develop this framework, traditional concepts in ecology have been radically reworked. In this conclusion, some of the challenges for future work regarding ecological niche modeling are discussed, such as fully integrating the BAM diagram with central concepts of population biology and statistical theory; clarifying the notion of niche conservatism versus niche evolution as regards scenopoetic versus bionomic environmental dimensions; and improving the link between correlational and mechanistic approaches to estimating and understanding ecological niches. The book argues that careful conceptual thinking must be combined with detailed empirical exploration in order to address each of these challenges.

Incipient speciation in the Chihuahuan Desert shrub Berberis trifoliolata under divergent climate scenarios

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.F. Angulo ◽  
L.D. Amarilla ◽  
V. Sosa
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Chihuahuan Desert ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Niche Modeling ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Genetic Isolation ◽  
Niche Evolution ◽  
Incipient Speciation

The discovery of biotic and ecological factors that influence genetic isolation in populations contributes to our understanding of speciation, one of the most important issues in evolutionary biology. In this paper, we ask whether differences in climate preferences are influencing genetic isolation in two assemblages of populations of Berberis trifoliolata Moric., the Northeastern and the Mexican Plateau groups. Agarito, as this species is known, is a remarkable shrub in the arid regions of North America and found mostly in the Chihuahuan Desert. Ecological niche modeling and two tests of niche evolution were carried out. The Ecological Niche Modeling suggests that the potential distribution of the Northeastern group does not predict that of the Mexican Plateau group, and nor does the latter predict the former. Tests of niche evolution indicate a divergent niche between these two groups. Among the most important climate factors detected in the multivariate niche evolution test are mean annual temperature and annual precipitation. We concluded that the two lineages exemplify an incipient speciation process.

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