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Journal articles on the topic 'Environmental niche'
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Cooper, Natalie, Rob P. Freckleton, and Walter Jetz. "Phylogenetic conservatism of environmental niches in mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278, no. 1716 (January 5, 2011): 2384–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2207.
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Phylogenetic niche conservatism is the pattern where close relatives occupy similar niches, whereas distant relatives are more dissimilar. We suggest that niche conservatism will vary across clades in relation to their characteristics. Specifically, we investigate how conservatism of environmental niches varies among mammals according to their latitude, range size, body size and specialization. We use the Brownian rate parameter, σ 2 , to measure the rate of evolution in key variables related to the ecological niche and define the more conserved group as the one with the slower rate of evolution. We find that tropical, small-ranged and specialized mammals have more conserved thermal niches than temperate, large-ranged or generalized mammals. Partitioning niche conservatism into its spatial and phylogenetic components, we find that spatial effects on niche variables are generally greater than phylogenetic effects. This suggests that recent evolution and dispersal have more influence on species' niches than more distant evolutionary events. These results have implications for our understanding of the role of niche conservatism in species richness patterns and for gauging the potential for species to adapt to global change.
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Figueiredo, Giovanna Corrêa e., Karina Bohrer do Amaral, and Marcos César de Oliveira Santos. "Cetaceans along the southeastern Brazilian coast: occurrence, distribution and niche inference at local scale." PeerJ 8 (October 5, 2020): e10000. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10000.
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It is deemed important to understand cetacean occurrence and distribution to comprehend their ecological roles. The geographical occurrence of species’ niche can be used to better describe their potential distribution. The niche can be defined using environmental variables. Those variables are considered static and not affected by biological activities. The present study goal was to assess the occurrence and distribution of cetaceans along the southeastern Brazilian coast, as well as to define the fundamental and realized niche of each species and to investigate niche overlap at local scale. The environmental requirements for each species were also investigated throughout statistical tests. Sighting data were obtained through oceanographic surveys conducted between 2012 and 2015. The environmental variables available on MARSPEC and the software NicheA were used for the ecological niche modeling. A total of twelve cetacean species were identified and the potential distribution areas of the six commonest ones were defined. Even though the species presented different environmental preferences, most of them had partial overlap among niches and potential distribution areas. The environmental heterogeneity of the study area might support the co-occurrence of different species with different environmental requirements.
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Litsios, Glenn, Loïc Pellissier, Félix Forest, Christian Lexer, Peter B. Pearman, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, and Nicolas Salamin. "Trophic specialization influences the rate of environmental niche evolution in damselfishes (Pomacentridae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1743 (June 20, 2012): 3662–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1140.
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The rate of environmental niche evolution describes the capability of species to explore the available environmental space and is known to vary among species owing to lineage-specific factors. Trophic specialization is a main force driving species evolution and is responsible for classical examples of adaptive radiations in fishes. We investigate the effect of trophic specialization on the rate of environmental niche evolution in the damselfish, Pomacentridae, which is an important family of tropical reef fishes. First, phylogenetic niche conservatism is not detected in the family using a standard test of phylogenetic signal, and we demonstrate that the environmental niches of damselfishes that differ in trophic specialization are not equivalent while they still overlap at their mean values. Second, we estimate the relative rates of niche evolution on the phylogenetic tree and show the heterogeneity among rates of environmental niche evolution of the three trophic groups. We suggest that behavioural characteristics related to trophic specialization can constrain the evolution of the environmental niche and lead to conserved niches in specialist lineages. Our results show the extent of influence of several traits on the evolution of the environmental niche and shed new light on the evolution of damselfishes, which is a key lineage in current efforts to conserve biodiversity in coral reefs.
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Ramírez-Albores, Jorge E., Gustavo Bizama, Ramiro O. Bustamante, and Ernesto I. Badano. "Niche conservatism in a plant with long invasion history: the case of the Peruvian peppertree (Schinus molle, Anacardiaceae) in Mexico." Plant Ecology and Evolution 153, no. 1 (March 26, 2020): 3–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1562.
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Background and aim – Invasive plants should only colonize habitats meeting the environmental conditions included in their native niches. However, if they invade habitats with novel environmental conditions, this can induce shifts in their niches. This may occur in plants with long invasion histories because they interacted with the environmental conditions of invaded regions over long periods of time. We focused on this issue and evaluated whether the niche of the oldest plant invader reported in Mexico, the Peruvian peppertree, is still conserved after almost 500 years of invasion history. Methods – We compared climatic niches of the species between the native and invaded region. We later used species distribution models (SDM) to visualize the geographical expression of both niches in Mexico. Results – The invasive niche of the Peruvian peppertree is fully nested within the native niche. Although this suggests that the niche is conserved, this also indicates that a large fraction of the native niche is empty in the invaded region. The SDM from the native region indicated that Mexico contains habitats meeting the conditions included in this empty fraction of the native niche and, thus, this invasion should continue expanding. Nevertheless, the SDM calibrated with data from the invaded region indicated that peppertrees have colonized all suitable habitats indicated by its invasive niche and, thus, their populations should no longer expand. Conclusion – Our results suggests that the niche of the Peruvian peppertree is partially conserved in Mexico. This may have occurred because individuals introduced into Mexico constituted a small, nonrepresentative sample of the full niche of the species.
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Warren, Dan L., Richard E. Glor, and Michael Turelli. "ENVIRONMENTAL NICHE EQUIVALENCY VERSUS CONSERVATISM: QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO NICHE EVOLUTION." Evolution 62, no. 11 (November 2008): 2868–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00482.x.
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Pagel, Jörn, Martina Treurnicht, William J. Bond, Tineke Kraaij, Henning Nottebrock, AnneLise Schutte-Vlok, Jeanne Tonnabel, Karen J. Esler, and Frank M. Schurr. "Mismatches between demographic niches and geographic distributions are strongest in poorly dispersed and highly persistent plant species." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 7 (February 6, 2020): 3663–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908684117.
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The ecological niche of a species describes the variation in population growth rates along environmental gradients that drives geographic range dynamics. Niches are thus central for understanding and forecasting species’ geographic distributions. However, theory predicts that migration limitation, source–sink dynamics, and time-lagged local extinction can cause mismatches between niches and geographic distributions. It is still unclear how relevant these niche–distribution mismatches are for biodiversity dynamics and how they depend on species life-history traits. This is mainly due to a lack of the comprehensive, range-wide demographic data needed to directly infer ecological niches for multiple species. Here we quantify niches from extensive demographic measurements along environmental gradients across the geographic ranges of 26 plant species (Proteaceae; South Africa). We then test whether life history explains variation in species’ niches and niche–distribution mismatches. Niches are generally wider for species with high seed dispersal or persistence abilities. Life-history traits also explain the considerable interspecific variation in niche–distribution mismatches: poorer dispersers are absent from larger parts of their potential geographic ranges, whereas species with higher persistence ability more frequently occupy environments outside their ecological niche. Our study thus identifies major demographic and functional determinants of species’ niches and geographic distributions. It highlights that the inference of ecological niches from geographical distributions is most problematic for poorly dispersed and highly persistent species. We conclude that the direct quantification of ecological niches from demographic responses to environmental variation is a crucial step toward a better predictive understanding of biodiversity dynamics under environmental change.
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Shenbrot, G., and B. Kryštufek. "Relation between the habitat niche breadth and the geographic range size: A case study on palearctic voles (Mammalia: Rodentia: Arvicolinae)." Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology, no. 1 (May 18, 2021): 79–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.35885/1684-7318-2021-1-79-88.
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Habitat niche breadth for Palearctic Arvicolinae species was estimated at both local (α- niche) and global (the entire geographic range, γ-niche) scales using occurrence records of species and environmental (climate, topography, and vegetation) data. Niche breadth was estimated in the space of the first two principal components of environmental variables using kernel smoothing of the densities of species occurrence points. The breadth of α-niches was estimated for a set of random points inside the geographic range in a series of buffers of increasing size around these points. Within each buffer, we calculated the overlap between the distribution of environment values for the kernel smoothed densities of species occurrence points and the distribution of environment values in the background environment. The α-niche breadth was calculated as the slope of the linear regression of the niche breadth for buffers of different size by the ln area of these buffers with a zero intercept. The γ-niche breadth was calculated as the overlap between the distributions of environmental values for the kernel smoothed densities of species occurrence points over the whole geographic range and the distribution of environmental values in the background environment and also approximated by linear regression of the species’ average α-niche to the geographic range area of this species. The results demonstrated that the geographic range size was significantly related with the α- and γ-niche breadth. The γ-niche breadth was significantly positively correlated with the α-niche breadth. Finally, the differences between the γ-niche breadth values that were directly estimated and extrapolated from the α-niche breadth (Δ) values were positively correlated with the geographic range size. Thus, we conclude that the species occupy larger geographic ranges because they have broader niches. Our estimations of the γ-niche breadth increase with the geographic range size not due to a parallel increase of the environmental diversity (spatial autocorrelation in the environment).
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Acanski, Jelena, Marija Milicic, Laura Likov, Dubravka Milic, Snezana Radenkovic, and Ante Vujic. "Environmental niche divergence of species from Merodon ruficornis group (Diptera: Syrphidae)." Archives of Biological Sciences 69, no. 2 (2017): 247–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/abs160303095a.
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In this paper we analyzed environmental differentiation of closely related species from the Merodon ruficornis group. By applying principal component analysis (PCA) and environmental niche modelling (ENM)-based techniques, we estimated the level of niche divergence of closely related species. Our results indicate that ecology has an important role in the diversification process in related species from the M. ruficornis group. Distribution patterns of all analyzed species are mainly affected by the limiting effects of the temperature of the coldest quarter and month, as well as by the precipitation of the wettest and driest quarters. Our results demonstrated that among all related species, with the exception of M. ovaloides, overall or partial divergence in environmental space is present. Importantly, the results indicate that the environmental niches of all endemic species are restricted to smaller parts of the environmental space. In the case of niche overlap, the niches of endemic species are placed along the border of the realized niche of the widespread related species. For species in which distribution is not limited by geographical barriers, environmental preferences could be considered as limiting factors for further expansion, as in the case of M. alexandri, a lowland species with very strict climatic adaptations. Knowledge about the environmental factors that might influence the diversification process can provide an explanation for the high diversity in other Merodon species groups.
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Walker, Richard. "“Niche Selection” and the Evolution of Complex Behavior in a Changing Environment—A Simulation." Artificial Life 5, no. 3 (July 1999): 271–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/106454699568782.
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One of the key problems in theoretical biology is the identification of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of complexity. This paper suggests that some difficulties in current models could be avoided by taking account of “niche selection” as proposed by Waddington [21] and subsequent authors [2]. Computer simulations, in which an evolving population of artificial organisms “selects” the niche(s) that maximize their fitness, are compared with a Control Model in which “Niche Selection” is absent. In the simulations the Niche Selection Model consistently produced a greater number of “fit” organisms than the Control Model; although the Niche Selection Model tended, in general, to produce organisms occupying simple niches, it was nonetheless more effective than the Control Model in producing well-adapted organisms inhabiting complex niches. It is shown that the production of these organisms is critically dependent on the rate of environmental change: Slow change leads to fit but undifferentiated populations, dominated by organisms occupying simple niches; differentiated populations, including well-adapted organisms living in complex niches, require rates of environmental change lying just beyond a mathematically well-defined critical value. In simulation “Niche Selection,” unlike conventional “Natural Selection,” provides a permanent selective bias in favor of simplicity. This tendency is counterbalanced by statistical forces favoring shifts from rare “simple niches” to commoner niches of greater complexity. Fit organisms inhabiting complex niches only emerge in conditions where the rate of environmental change is high enough to avoid the concentration of the population in very simple niches, but slow enough to permit step-by-step adaptation to niches of gradually increasing complexity. This result appears to be robust to changes in simulation parameters and assumptions, and leads to interesting conjectures about the real world behavior of biological organisms (and other complex adaptive systems). It is suggested that some of these conjectures might be relatively easy to test.
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Bar-Massada, Avi. "Complex relationships between species niches and environmental heterogeneity affect species co-occurrence patterns in modelled and real communities." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282, no. 1813 (August 22, 2015): 20150927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0927.
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Species co-occurrence analysis is commonly used to assess how interspecific interactions dictate community assembly. Non-random co-occurrences, however, may also emerge from niche differences as well as environmental heterogeneity. The relationships between species co-occurrence patterns, environmental heterogeneity and species niches are not fully understood, due to complex interactions among them. To analyse the relationships among these patterns and processes, I developed synthetic community models and analysed a large dataset of tree species across the conterminous United States. Niche overlap and environmental heterogeneity had significant and contrasting effects on species co-occurrence patterns, in both modelled and real communities. Niche breadth, in turn, affected the effect sizes of both variables on species co-occurrence patterns. The effect of niche breadth on the relationship between co-occurrence and niche overlap was markedly consistent between modelled and real communities, while its effect on the relationship between co-occurrence and environmental heterogeneity was mostly consistent between real and modelled data. The results of this analysis highlight the complex and interactive effects of species niche overlap, niche breadth and environmental heterogeneity on species co-occurrence patterns. Therefore, inferring ecological processes from co-occurrence patterns without accounting for these fundamental characteristics of species and environments may lead to biased conclusions.
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Srivastava, Vivek, Wanwan Liang, Melody A. Keena, Amanda D. Roe, Richard C. Hamelin, and Verena C. Griess. "Assessing Niche Shifts and Conservatism by Comparing the Native and Post-Invasion Niches of Major Forest Invasive Species." Insects 11, no. 8 (July 29, 2020): 479. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11080479.
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Invasive species experience biotic and abiotic conditions that may (or may not) resemble their native environment. We explored the methodology of determining climatic niches and compared the native and post-invasion niches of four invasive forest pests to determine if these species experienced shifts or changes in their new climatic niches. We used environmental principle components analysis (PCA-env) method to quantify climatic niche shifts, expansions, and temporal changes. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of variable selection in the delineation and comparison of niche space. We found that variable selection influenced the delineation and overlap of each niche, whereas the subset of climatic variables selected from the first two PCA-env axes explained more variance in environmental conditions than the complete set of climatic variables for all four species. Most focal species showed climatic niche shifts in their invasive range and had not yet fully occupied the available niche within the invaded range. Our species varied the proportion of niche overlap between the native and invasive ranges. By comparing native and invasive niches, we can help predict a species’ potential range expansion and invasion potential. Our results can guide monitoring and help inform management of these and other invasive species.
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Terradas, Jaume, Josep Peñuelas, and Francisco Lloret. "The Fluctuation Niche in Plants." International Journal of Ecology 2009 (2009): 1–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/959702.
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Classical approaches to niche in coexisting plants have undervalued temporal fluctuations. We propose that fluctuation niche is an important dimension of the total niche and interacts with habitat and life-history niches to provide a better understanding of the multidimensional niche space where ecological interactions occur. To scale a fluctuation niche, it is necessary to relate environmental constrictions or species performance not only to the absolute values of the usual environmental and ecophysiological variables but also to their variances or other measures of variability. We use Mediterranean plant communities as examples, because they present characteristic large seasonal and interannual fluctuations in water and nutrient availabilities, along an episodic-constant gradient, and because the plant responses include a number of syndromes coupled to this gradient.
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Johnston, T. A., A. D. Ehrman, G. L. Hamilton, B. K. Nugent, P. A. Cott, and J. M. Gunn. "Plenty of room at the bottom: niche variation and segregation in large-bodied benthivores of boreal lakes." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 76, no. 8 (August 2019): 1411–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2018-0180.
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Realized trophic niches of aquatic consumers are expected to reflect the particular abiotic and biotic conditions of the ecosystems they occupy. We examined patterns in the position, size, and shape of trophic niches of two common benthivorous fishes, white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), across boreal lakes using a stable isotope approach. In sympatry, white sucker niche positions reflected greater benthic reliance (higher δ13C) and lower trophic elevation (lower δ15N) compared with lake whitefish, and white sucker niche sizes (dispersion in δ13C–δ15N space) were also larger. Niche sizes of both species increased with maximum depth of lakes. Separation of trophic niche positions of the two species increased with increasing water clarity, but their niche sizes did not increase with increasing separation in their niche positions. White sucker occupied a niche position with slightly greater pelagic reliance and trophic elevation and had smaller trophic niches in the absence than in the presence of lake whitefish. Trophic niches of these benthivores appear to be shaped by both environmental factors and interspecific interactions.
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Hiller, Anna E., Michelle S. Koo, Kari R. Goodman, Kerry L. Shaw, Patrick M. O’Grady, and Rosemary G. Gillespie. "Niche conservatism predominates in adaptive radiation: comparing the diversification of Hawaiian arthropods using ecological niche modelling." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 127, no. 2 (April 9, 2019): 479–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz023.
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Abstract The role of the environmental niche in fostering ecological divergence during adaptive radiation remains enigmatic. In this study, we examine the interplay between environmental niche divergence and conservatism in the context of adaptive radiation on oceanic islands, by characterizing the niche breadth of four Hawaiian arthropod radiations: Tetragnatha spiders (Tetragnathidae Latreille, 1804), Laupala crickets (Gryllidae Otte, 1994), a clade of Drosophila flies (Drosophilidae Fallén, 1823) and Nesosydne planthoppers (Delphacidae Kirkaldy, 1907). We assembled occurrence datasets for the four lineages, modelled their distributions and quantified niche overlap. All four groups occupy the islands in distinct ways, highlighting the contrasting axes of diversification for different lineages. Laupala and Nesosydne have opposite environmental niche extents (broad and narrow, respectively), whereas Tetragnatha and Drosophila share relatively intermediate tolerances. Temperature constrains the distributions of all four radiations. Tests of phylogenetic signal suggest that, for Tetragnatha and Drosophila, closely related species exhibit similar environmental niches; thus, diversification is associated with niche conservatism. Sister species comparisons also show that populations often retain similar environmental tolerances, although exceptions do occur. Results imply that diversification does not occur through ecological speciation; instead, adaptive radiation occurs largely within a single environment.
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Brame, Hannah-Maria R., and Alycia L. Stigall. "Controls on niche stability in geologic time: congruent responses to biotic and abiotic environmental changes among Cincinnatian (Late Ordovician) marine invertebrates." Paleobiology 40, no. 1 (2014): 70–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1666/13035.
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The set of environmental conditions under which a taxon can survive and maintain viable populations, known as the ecological niche, is a fundamental determinant of a taxon's distribution. Because of the central importance of ecological niches, they have been assumed to remain relatively stable during intervals of morphological stasis. However, the assumption of niche stability has rarely been tested directly with fossil data spanning multiple temporal intervals. Thus, the conditions under which this assumption is likely to be accurate are not well understood. In this study, we use ecological niche modeling (ENM) to reconstruct the ecological niche for 11 genera of marine benthos (crinoids, trilobites, molluscs, bryozoans, and corals) from the Type Cincinnatian Series (Late Ordovician, Katian Stage) across nine temporal intervals spanning approximately three million years. This interval includes both abiotic environmental change (gradual sea-level fall) and biotic change (rapid pulses of the Richmondian Invasion), thus allowing the relative effect of different environmental perturbations to be constrained. A previous symmetrical analysis of niche stability of brachiopod species recovered an increase in niche evolution following the Richmondian Invasion. Herein we test the generality of the brachiopod pattern within the community. Niche stability was evaluated in geographic space, ecological space, and niche parameter space. Niche stability varied through time; during the Pre-Invasion interval, taxa exhibited niche stability during gradual shallowing of sea level in the basin, whereas niche evolution became more common during the Richmondian Invasion. Taxa adjusted to the increased competition by altering aspects of their niche. Notably, surviving taxa contracted their niche into a subset of their previous niche parameters. This represents an adaptive response to increased competition for resources with the newly established invader taxa, and it was employed most successfully by generalist taxa. Patterns of niche evolution were congruent between clades, among feeding styles, and across taxonomic levels.
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Sahu, Nirmal Chandra, and Bibhudatta Nayak. "Niche diversification in environmental/ecological economics." Ecological Economics 11, no. 1 (September 1994): 9–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0921-8009(94)90045-0.
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Klapper, Isaac, Jack Dockery, and Hal Smith. "Niche Partitioning Along an Environmental Gradient." SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 74, no. 5 (January 2014): 1511–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1137/14095786x.
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Sillero, Neftalí, Elena Argaña, Cátia Matos, Marc Franch, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou, and Miguel A. Carretero. "Local Segregation of Realised Niches in Lizards." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 9, no. 12 (December 21, 2020): 764. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9120764.
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Species can occupy different realised niches when sharing the space with other congeneric species or when living in allopatry. Ecological niche models are powerful tools to analyse species niches and their changes over time and space. Analysing how species’ realised niches shift is paramount in ecology. Here, we examine the ecological realised niche of three species of wall lizards in six study areas: three areas where each species occurs alone; and three areas where they occur together in pairs. We compared the species’ realised niches and how they vary depending on species’ coexistence, by quantifying niche overlap between pairs of species or populations with the R package ecospat. For this, we considered three environmental variables (temperature, humidity, and wind speed) recorded at each lizard re-sighting location. Realised niches were very similar when comparing syntopic species occurring in the same study area. However, realised niches differed when comparing conspecific populations across areas. In each of the three areas of syntopy, the less abundant species shift its realised niche. Our study demonstrates that sympatry may shift species’ realised niche.
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Austin, M. P., A. O. Nicholls, and C. R. Margules. "Measurement of the Realized Qualitative Niche: Environmental Niches of Five Eucalyptus Species." Ecological Monographs 60, no. 2 (June 1990): 161–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1943043.
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Liu, Chunlong, Christian Wolter, Weiwei Xian, and Jonathan M. Jeschke. "Most invasive species largely conserve their climatic niche." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 38 (September 3, 2020): 23643–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004289117.
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The ecological niche is a key concept for elucidating patterns of species distributions and developing strategies for conserving biodiversity. However, recent times are seeing a widespread debate whether species niches are conserved across space and time (niche conservatism hypothesis). Biological invasions represent a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis in a short time frame at the global scale. We synthesized empirical findings for 434 invasive species from 86 studies to assess whether invasive species conserve their climatic niche between native and introduced ranges. Although the niche conservatism hypothesis was rejected in most studies, highly contrasting conclusions for the same species between and within studies suggest that the dichotomous conclusions of these studies were sensitive to techniques, assessment criteria, or author preferences. We performed a consistent quantitative analysis of the dynamics between native and introduced climatic niches reported by previous studies. Our results show there is very limited niche expansion between native and introduced ranges, and introduced niches occupy a position similar to native niches in the environmental space. These findings support the niche conservatism hypothesis overall. In particular, introduced niches were narrower for terrestrial animals, species introduced more recently, or species with more native occurrences. Niche similarity was lower for aquatic species, species introduced only intentionally or more recently, or species with fewer introduced occurrences. Climatic niche conservatism for invasive species not only increases our confidence in transferring ecological niche models to new ranges but also supports the use of niche models for forecasting species responses to changing climates.
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Evans, Alexandra, and Hans Jacquemyn. "Impact of mating system on range size and niche breadth in Epipactis (Orchidaceae)." Annals of Botany 126, no. 7 (July 29, 2020): 1203–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa142.
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Abstract Background and Aims The geographical distribution of plant species is linked fundamentally not only to environmental variables, but also to key traits that affect the dispersal, establishment and evolutionary potential of a species. One of the key plant traits that can be expected to affect standing genetic variation, speed of adaptation and the capacity to colonize and establish in new habitats, and therefore niche breadth and range size, is the plant mating system. However, the precise role of the mating system in shaping range size and niche breadth of plant species remains unclear, and different studies have provided contrasting results. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that range size and niche breadth differed with mating system in the orchid genus Epipactis. Methods We modelled the ecological niches of 14 Epipactis species in Europe using occurrence records and environmental satellite data in Maxent. Niche breadth and niche overlap in both geographic and environmental space were calculated from the resulting habitat suitability maps using ENMTools, and geographic range was estimated using α-hull range definition. Habitat suitability, environmental variable contributions and niche metrics were compared among species with different mating systems. Key Results We did not detect significant differences in niche breadth, occurrence probability or geographical range between autogamous and allogamous Epipactis species, although autogamous species demonstrated notably low variation in niche parameters. We also found no significant differences in niche overlap between species with the same mating system or different mating systems. For all Epipactis species, occurrence was strongly associated with land cover, particularly broad-leafed and coniferous forests, and with limestone bedrock. Conclusions These results suggest that the mating system does not necessarily contribute to niche breadth and differentiation, and that other factors (e.g. mycorrhizal specificity) may be more important drivers of range size and niche breadth in Epipactis and orchids in general.
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Yañez, Carlos, Gerardo Martín, Luis Osorio-Olvera, Jazmín Escobar-Luján, Sandra Castaño-Quintero, Xavier Chiappa-Carrara, and Enrique Martínez-Meyer. "The Abundant Niche-centroid Hypothesis: Key Points About Unfilled Niches and the Potential Use of Supraspecfic Modeling Units." Biodiversity Informatics 15, no. 3 (November 13, 2020): 92–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/bi.v15i2.13218.
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Correlative estimates of fundamental niches are gaining momentum as an alternative to predict species’ abundances, particularly via the abundant niche-centroid hypothesis (an expected inverse relationship between species’ abundance variation across its range and the distance to the geometric centroid of its multidimensional ecological niche). The main goal of this review is to recapitulate what has been done, where we are now, and where should we move towards in regards to this hypothesis. Despite evidence in support of the abundance-distance to niche centroid relationship, its usefulness has been highly debated, although with little consideration of the underlying theory regarding the circumstances that might break down the relationship. We address some key points about the conditions needed to test the hypothesis in correlative studies, specifically in relation to nichecharacterization and configurations of the Biotic-Abiotic-Mobility (BAM) framework to illustrate the problem of unfilled niches. Using a created supraspecific modeling unit, we show that species for which only a portion of their fundamental niche is represented in their area of historical accessibility (M)—i.e., when the environmental equilibrium condition is violated—it is impossible to characterize their true niche centroid. Therefore, we strongly recommend to analyze this assumption prior toassess the abundant niche-centroid hypothesis. Finally, we discuss the potential of using modeling units above the species level for cases in which environmental conditions associated with species’ occurrences may not be sufficient to fully characterize their fundamental niches.
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Pahad, Govan, Claudine Montgelard, and Bettine Jansen van Vuuren. "Phylogeography and niche modelling: reciprocal enlightenment." Mammalia 84, no. 1 (December 18, 2019): 10–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2018-0191.
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Abstract Phylogeography examines the spatial genetic structure of species. Environmental niche modelling (or ecological niche modelling; ENM) examines the environmental limits of a species’ ecological niche. These two fields have great potential to be used together. ENM can shed light on how phylogeographical patterns develop and help identify possible drivers of spatial structure that need to be further investigated. Specifically, ENM can be used to test for niche differentiation among clades, identify factors limiting individual clades and identify barriers and contact zones. It can also be used to test hypotheses regarding the effects of historical and future climate change on spatial genetic patterns by projecting niches using palaeoclimate or future climate data. Conversely, phylogeographical information can populate ENM with within-species genetic diversity. Where adaptive variation exists among clades within a species, modelling their niches separately can improve predictions of historical distribution patterns and future responses to climate change. Awareness of patterns of genetic diversity in niche modelling can also alert conservationists to the potential loss of genetically diverse areas in a species’ range. Here, we provide a simplistic overview of both fields, and focus on their potential for integration, encouraging researchers on both sides to take advantage of the opportunities available.
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Litsios, Glenn, Anna Kostikova, and Nicolas Salamin. "Host specialist clownfishes are environmental niche generalists." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1795 (November 22, 2014): 20133220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.3220.
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Why generalist and specialist species coexist in nature is a question that has interested evolutionary biologists for a long time. While the coexistence of specialists and generalists exploiting resources on a single ecological dimension has been theoretically and empirically explored, biological systems with multiple resource dimensions (e.g. trophic, ecological) are less well understood. Yet, such systems may provide an alternative to the classical theory of stable evolutionary coexistence of generalist and specialist species on a single resource dimension. We explore such systems and the potential trade-offs between different resource dimensions in clownfishes. All species of this iconic clade are obligate mutualists with sea anemones yet show interspecific variation in anemone host specificity. Moreover, clownfishes developed variable environmental specialization across their distribution. In this study, we test for the existence of a relationship between host-specificity (number of anemones associated with a clownfish species) and environmental-specificity (expressed as the size of the ecological niche breadth across climatic gradients). We find a negative correlation between host range and environmental specificities in temperature, salinity and pH, probably indicating a trade-off between both types of specialization forcing species to specialize only in a single direction. Trade-offs in a multi-dimensional resource space could be a novel way of explaining the coexistence of generalist and specialists.
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Liu, Dandan, Anmin Huang, Dewei Yang, Jianyi Lin, and Jiahui Liu. "Niche-Driven Socio-Environmental Linkages and Regional Sustainable Development." Sustainability 13, no. 3 (January 27, 2021): 1331. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13031331.
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The changes in niche roles and functions caused by competition for survival resources have implications in various domains, with natural science and social science standing out. Currently, expanding the ecological niche concept and its practical interpretation in the fields of social ecology, geography and sustainable science is becoming a crucial challenge. This paper is based on niche theory to observe niche evolution and resulting socio-ecological effects of 1186 towns in 19 prefecture cities in Yangtze River delta. The results indicate that: Towns around the Taihu Lake displayed obvious spatial agglomeration, which was leading the development of the entire region. The town niche shows obvious characteristics of north-south differences and hierarchy distribution. The niche coordination degree of Jiangsu Province was higher than that of Zhejiang Province. The higher the subsystem coordination degree, the better the town development. Towns with poor ecological conditions are often subject to competition, while towns with better ecological conditions often benefit from cooperative development. The niche separation and collaboration could enhance niche competition of towns and cities in the region. The proposed framework can facilitate interdisciplinary exchanges among geography, sociology, landscape ecology and regional planning and provide insights for understanding regional co-opetition relationship and regional sustainable development.
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VanDerWal, Jeremy, Luke P. Shoo, Christopher N. Johnson, and Stephen E. Williams. "Abundance and the Environmental Niche: Environmental Suitability Estimated from Niche Models Predicts the Upper Limit of Local Abundance." American Naturalist 174, no. 2 (August 2009): 282–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/600087.
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Olthoff, Adriana E., Carolina Martínez-Ruiz, and Josu G. Alday. "Niche Characterization of Shrub Functional Groups along an Atlantic-Mediterranean Gradient." Forests 12, no. 8 (July 24, 2021): 982. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12080982.
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The identification of the factors controlling the understory species distribution and abundance is essential to understand the ecology and dynamics of natural forests and their management response. We assess the relationships between environmental gradients and shrub functional groups distribution patterns and niche characteristics in a transitional area between the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean biogeographic regions in Northern Spain. Here, 772 plots from the 3rd Spanish National Forest Inventory were used. Shrub functional groups respond to the same complex environmental gradients as trees, i.e., the north-south climatic gradient and a slope gradient. Unimodal response curves of shrub functional groups and families dominate along both gradients, providing evidence of successful functional turnover. Similar to tree species, the niche location of functionally related shrubs is close. Functional groups occupying environments with sharp contrast or transitional environments have the broadest niches, whereas those specialized functional groups occupying localized habitats showed the narrowest niches. The knowledge of shrub species distributions and niche characteristics along complex environmental gradients will improve our ability to discuss potential conservation management goals or threats due to land-use changes and future climate change.
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Pesch, Udo, Anne-Lorène Vernay, Ellen van Bueren, and Sofie Pandis Iverot. "Niche entrepreneurs in urban systems integration: On the role of individuals in niche formation." Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 49, no. 8 (April 19, 2017): 1922–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0308518x17705383.
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In many sustainable urban innovation projects, the efforts, endurance and enthusiasm of individuals at key positions are considered a crucial factor for success. This article studies the role of individual agency in sociotechnical niches by using Kingdon’s agenda-setting model. Although strategic niche management is commonly used to study processes of urban innovation, the process of niche formation and the role of individual agency has been understudied. We will introduce the notion of the ‘niche entrepreneur’ as an actor who, analogous to Kingdon’s policy entrepreneur, connects the elements that are needed to develop a successful niche that allows learning for sustainability transitions. We will study the process of niche formation and the role of individual entrepreneurship therein, and identify the strategies that have been used by individuals to create a successful niche. This will be done for three cases in urban systems integration: the development of Eva Lanxmeer, a residential district in a drinking water retention area in Culemborg, the Netherlands; the transformation of the waste management practices of Lille Métropole Urban Community, France; and the development of the urban district Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden. Our findings show that for the successful formation of niches, it is necessary to create ambitious, but clear goals and matching concrete operational plans; niche entrepreneurs may play the role of project champions that contribute significantly to the operationalization, monitoring and the effectuation of the original goals of the project; the strategies of niche entrepreneurs emphasize the building of coalitions and the securing of space for learning.
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Lavergne, Sébastien, Margaret E. K. Evans, Ian J. Burfield, Frederic Jiguet, and Wilfried Thuiller. "Are species' responses to global change predicted by past niche evolution?" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 368, no. 1610 (January 19, 2013): 20120091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0091.
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Predicting how and when adaptive evolution might rescue species from global change, and integrating this process into tools of biodiversity forecasting, has now become an urgent task. Here, we explored whether recent population trends of species can be explained by their past rate of niche evolution, which can be inferred from increasingly available phylogenetic and niche data. We examined the assemblage of 409 European bird species for which estimates of demographic trends between 1970 and 2000 are available, along with a species-level phylogeny and data on climatic, habitat and trophic niches. We found that species' proneness to demographic decline is associated with slow evolution of the habitat niche in the past, in addition to certain current-day life-history and ecological traits. A similar result was found at a higher taxonomic level, where families prone to decline have had a history of slower evolution of climatic and habitat niches. Our results support the view that niche conservatism can prevent some species from coping with environmental change. Thus, linking patterns of past niche evolution and contemporary species dynamics for large species samples may provide insights into how niche evolution may rescue certain lineages in the face of global change.
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Antell, Gwen S., Isabel S. Fenton, Paul J. Valdes, and Erin E. Saupe. "Thermal niches of planktonic foraminifera are static throughout glacial–interglacial climate change." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 18 (April 26, 2021): e2017105118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2017105118.
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Abiotic niche lability reduces extinction risk by allowing species to adapt to changing environmental conditions in situ. In contrast, species with static niches must keep pace with the velocity of climate change as they track suitable habitat. The rate and frequency of niche lability have been studied on human timescales (months to decades) and geological timescales (millions of years), but lability on intermediate timescales (millennia) remains largely uninvestigated. Here, we quantified abiotic niche lability at 8-ka resolution across the last 700 ka of glacial–interglacial climate fluctuations, using the exceptionally well-known fossil record of planktonic foraminifera coupled with Atmosphere–Ocean Global Climate Model reconstructions of paleoclimate. We tracked foraminiferal niches through time along the univariate axis of mean annual temperature, measured both at the sea surface and at species’ depth habitats. Species’ temperature preferences were uncoupled from the global temperature regime, undermining a hypothesis of local adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, intraspecific niches were equally similar through time, regardless of climate change magnitude on short timescales (8 ka) and across contrasts of glacial and interglacial extremes. Evolutionary trait models fitted to time series of occupied temperature values supported widespread niche stasis above randomly wandering or directional change. Ecotype explained little variation in species-level differences in niche lability after accounting for evolutionary relatedness. Together, these results suggest that warming and ocean acidification over the next hundreds to thousands of years could redistribute and reduce populations of foraminifera and other calcifying plankton, which are primary components of marine food webs and biogeochemical cycles.
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Sîrbu, Ioan, Ana Maria Benedek, and Monica Sîrbu. "Variation partitioning in double-constrained multivariate analyses: linking communities, environment, space, functional traits, and ecological niches." Oecologia 197, no. 1 (August 11, 2021): 43–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-05006-6.
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AbstractConstrained multivariate analysis is a common tool for linking ecological communities to environment. The follow-up is the development of the double-constrained correspondence analysis (dc-CA), integrating traits as species-related predictors. Further, methods have been proposed to integrate information on phylogenetic relationships and space variability. We expand this framework, proposing a dc-CA-based algorithm for decomposing variation in community structure and testing the simple and conditional effects of four sets of predictors: environment characteristics and space configuration as predictors related to sites, while traits and niche (dis)similarities as species-related predictors. In our approach, ecological niches differ from traits in that the latter are distinguished by and characterize the individual level, while niches are measured on the species level, and when compared, they are characteristics of communities and should be used as separate predictors. The novelties of this approach are the introduction of new niche parameters, niche dissimilarities, synthetic niche-based diversity which we related to environmental features, the development of an algorithm for the full variation decomposition and testing of the community–environment–niche–traits–space (CENTS) space by dc-CAs with and without covariates, and new types of diagrams for the results. Applying these methods to a dataset on freshwater mollusks, we learned that niche predictors may be as important as traits in explaining community structure and are not redundant, overweighting the environmental and spatial predictors. Our algorithm opens new pathways for developing integrative methods linking life, environment, and other predictors, both in theoretical and practical applications, including assessment of human impact on habitats and ecological systems.
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Namyatova, Anna A. "Climatic niche comparison between closely related trans-Palearctic species of the genus Orthocephalus (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae)." PeerJ 8 (December 15, 2020): e10517. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10517.
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Previously climatic niche modelling had been studied for only a few trans-Palearctic species. It is unclear whether and to what extent those niches are different, and which climatic variables influence such a wide distribution. Here, environmental niche modelling is performed based on the Worldclim variables using Maxent for eight species of the genus Orthocephalus (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae). This group belongs to one of the largest insect families and it is distributed across Palearctic. Orthocephalus bivittatus, O. brevis, O. saltator and O. vittipennis are distributed across Europe and Asia; O. coriaceus, O. fulvipes, O. funestus, O. proserpinae have more limited distribution. Niche comparison using ENMTools was also undertaken to compare the niches of these species, and to test whether the niches of closely related species with trans-Palearctic distributions are more similar to each other, than to other congeners. It has been found that climatic niche models of all trans-Palearctic species under study are similar but are not identical to each other. This has been supported by niche geographic projections, climatic variables contributing to the models and variable ranges. Climatic niche models of all the trans-Palearctic Orthocephalus species are also very similar to two species having more restricted distribution (O. coriaceus, O. funestus). Results of this study suggest that trans-Palearctic distributions can have different geographic ranges and be shaped by different climatic factors.
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CLYDESDALE, GREG. "THRESHOLDS, NICHES AND INERTIA: ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE STEAMSHIP INDUSTRY." Journal of Enterprising Culture 20, no. 04 (December 2012): 379–404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0218495812500161.
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This paper seeks to increase understanding of the role the environment in the emergence of business opportunities, and how opportunities change as industries evolves. It explores the dynamics of entrepreneurial opportunity in the British steamship industry. It suggests niches are created when environmental thresholds are reached. Entrepreneurs who act before thresholds are reached fail. A complex relationship between inventors, innovators/entrepreneurs and higher order opportunities is revealed illustrating the difficulty of identifying 'higher order opportunities. Over time, variations in environmental forces changed niche size and carrying capacity. Causes of new niche formation were both exogenous and endogenous supporting both Kirzner and Schumpeter. Inertial forces inhibited the ability of existing players to seize opening niches and expanded opportunities for new comers.
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Wellenreuther, Maren, Keith W. Larson, and Erik I. Svensson. "Climatic niche divergence or conservatism? Environmental niches and range limits in ecologically similar damselflies." Ecology 93, no. 6 (June 2012): 1353–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/11-1181.1.
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Le Bourg, B., P. Kuklinski, P. Balazy, G. Lepoint, and LN Michel. "Interactive effects of body size and environmental gradient on the trophic ecology of sea stars in an Antarctic fjord." Marine Ecology Progress Series 674 (September 16, 2021): 189–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13821.
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Antarctic sea stars can occupy different trophic niches and display different trophic levels, but, while the impacts of their body size and environmental features on their trophic niches are potentially important, they are presently understudied. Here we assessed the trophic ecology in relation to the size and habitat of sea stars in a fjord on King George Island (South Shetland Islands) using stable isotope values of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and sulphur (δ34S). The disc radius influenced δ13C and δ15N values, whereas more limited changes in δ13C or δ34S values were related to arm length. Specifically, δ13C and δ15N values were linked to disc radius in generalist species (Diplasterias brandti and Odontaster validus), which could indicate ontogenetic diet shifts, while this relationship occurred less frequently in more specialised species (Bathybiaster loripes, Notasterias bongraini, and Perknaster sladeni). O. validus had a smaller isotopic niche size in the inner than the outer fjord. The niche overlap between D. brandti and O. validus was low in the inner fjord. Low resource availability within the fjord, linked to higher turbidity, could induce trophic niche constriction and interspecific resource segregation. This could represent a mechanism for competition avoidance in a resource-limited system. Conversely, higher resource availability could allow O. validus to expand and share its isotopic niche with D. brandti in the outer fjord with a limited risk of competition. This trophic plasticity will likely influence how O. validus copes with the present and future modification of environmental conditions induced by climate change.
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Karasiewicz, Stéphane, Sylvain Dolédec, and Sébastien Lefebvre. "Within outlying mean indexes: refining the OMI analysis for the realized niche decomposition." PeerJ 5 (May 23, 2017): e3364. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3364.
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The ecological niche concept has regained interest under environmental change (e.g., climate change, eutrophication, and habitat destruction), especially to study the impacts on niche shift and conservatism. Here, we propose the within outlying mean indexes (WitOMI), which refine the outlying mean index (OMI) analysis by using its properties in combination with theK-select analysis species marginality decomposition. The purpose is to decompose the ecological niche into subniches associated with the experimental design, i.e., taking into account temporal and/or spatial subsets. WitOMI emphasize the habitat conditions that contribute (1) to the definition of species’ niches using all available conditions and, at the same time, (2) to the delineation of species’ subniches according to given subsets of dates or sites. The latter aspect allows addressing niche dynamics by highlighting the influence of atypical habitat conditions on species at a given time and/or space. Then, (3) the biological constraint exerted on the species subniche becomes observable within Euclidean space as the difference between the existing fundamental subniche and the realized subniche. We illustrate the decomposition of published OMI analyses, using spatial and temporal examples. The species assemblage’s subniches are comparable to the same environmental gradient, producing a more accurate and precise description of the assemblage niche distribution under environmental change. The WitOMI calculations are available in the open-access R package “subniche.”
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Silvius, John E. "Environmental Stewardship in Plant Collecting: Niche vs. Notch." American Biology Teacher 52, no. 2 (February 1, 1990): 112–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4449049.
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Espindola, Sayra, Juan L. Parra, and Ella Vázquez-Domínguez. "Fundamental niche unfilling and potential invasion risk of the slider turtle Trachemys scripta." PeerJ 7 (October 17, 2019): e7923. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7923.
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Background How species colonize new environments is still a fundamental question in ecology and evolution, assessable by evaluating range characteristics of invasive species. Here we propose a model approach to evaluate environmental conditions and species features to predict niche changes in non-equilibrium contexts. It incorporates potentially range-limiting processes (fundamental niche), hence allowing for better predictions of range shifts, differentiation of analog and non-analog conditions between the native and non-native (invaded) ranges, and identification of environmental conditions not currently available but likely in the future. We apply our approach with the worldwide invasive slider-turtle Trachemys scripta. Methods We estimated the native and non-native realized niches of T. scripta and built its fundamental niche based on key features of the turtle’s temperature physiological tolerance limits and survival-associated factors. We next estimated response functions adjusted to the physiological predictor variables and estimated habitat suitability values, followed by a comprehensive set of analyses and simulations to compare the environmental conditions occupied by T. scripta (at its native and non-native ranges). Results Climatic space analysis showed that the T. scripta’s non-native realized niche is 28.6% greater than the native one. Response curves showed that it does not use its entire range of temperature tolerances (density curves for native: 5.3–23.7 °C and non-native: 1.7–28.4 °C ranges). Whether considering the mean temperature of the warmest or the coldest quarter, it occupies a wider range of temperatures along its non-native distribution. Results of the response curves for worldwide (global) and across Mexico (regional) comparisons showed it occupies analog and non-analog conditions between its native and invaded ranges, exhibiting also unoccupied suitable climatic conditions. Discussion We demonstrate that T. scripta occupies a wider subset of its fundamental niche along its non-native range (within its physiological tolerances), revealing that the species observed niche shift corresponds to a different subset of its fundamental niche (niche unfilling). We also identified suitable environmental conditions, globally and regionally, where the slider turtle could potentially invade. Our approach allows to accurately predict niche changes in novel or non-equilibrium contexts, which can improve our understanding about ecological aspects and geographic range boundaries in current and potential invasions.
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Holland, Steven M., and Andrew Zaffos. "Niche conservatism along an onshore-offshore gradient." Paleobiology 37, no. 2 (2011): 270–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1666/10032.1.
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Niche conservatism is increasingly recognized in diverse modern ecological settings, and it influences many aspects of modern ecosystems, including speciation mechanisms, community structure, and response to climate change. Here, we investigate the stability of niches with benthic marine invertebrates along a Late Ordovician onshore-offshore gradient on the Cincinnati Arch in the eastern United States. Using a Gaussian niche model characterized by peak abundance, preferred environment, and environmental tolerance, with these parameters estimated through weighted averaging and logistic regression, we find evidence of strong niche conservatism in peak abundance and preferred environment, particularly for abundant taxa. This conservatism is maintained in successive depositional sequences and through the nearly 9–10 Myr study interval. Environmental tolerance shows no evidence of conservatism, although numerical simulations suggest that the error rates in estimates of this parameter are so high that they could overwhelm evidence of conservatism. These numerical simulations also indicate that both weighted averaging and logistic regression produce useful estimates of peak abundance and preferred environment, with slightly better results for weighted averaging. This evidence for niche conservatism suggests that long-term shifts of higher taxa of marine invertebrates into deeper water are primarily the result of differential rates of origination and extinction. These results also add to the evidence of long periods of relatively stable ecosystems despite regional environmental perturbations, and they constrain the causes of peaked patterns in occupancy.
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Montiglio, Pierre-Olivier, Caterina Ferrari, and Denis Réale. "Social niche specialization under constraints: personality, social interactions and environmental heterogeneity." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 368, no. 1618 (May 19, 2013): 20120343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0343.
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Several personality traits are mainly expressed in a social context, and others, which are not restricted to a social context, can be affected by the social interactions with conspecifics. In this paper, we focus on the recently proposed hypothesis that social niche specialization (i.e. individuals in a population occupy different social roles) can explain the maintenance of individual differences in personality. We first present ecological and social niche specialization hypotheses. In particular, we show how niche specialization can be quantified and highlight the link between personality differences and social niche specialization. We then review some ecological factors (e.g. competition and environmental heterogeneity) and the social mechanisms (e.g. frequency-dependent, state-dependent and social awareness) that may be associated with the evolution of social niche specialization and personality differences. Finally, we present a conceptual model and methods to quantify the contribution of ecological factors and social mechanisms to the dynamics between personality and social roles. In doing so, we suggest a series of research objectives to help empirical advances in this research area. Throughout this paper, we highlight empirical studies of social niche specialization in mammals, where available.
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Heap, Marshall J. "Verifying the Ability of Environmental Niche Models to Predict Species' Niche Response to Climate Change." International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses 8, no. 1 (2015): 51–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.18848/1835-7156/cgp/v08i01/57871.
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Soley‐Guardia, Mariano, Eliécer E. Gutiérrez, Darla M. Thomas, José Ochoa‐G, Marisol Aguilera, and Robert P. Anderson. "Are we overestimating the niche? Removing marginal localities helps ecological niche models detect environmental barriers." Ecology and Evolution 6, no. 5 (January 28, 2016): 1267–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1900.
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Suárez-Mota, Mario Ernesto, and José Luis Villaseñor. "Ecological niche overlap among species of the genus Zaluzania (Asteraceae) from the dry regions of Mexico." Plant Ecology and Evolution 153, no. 3 (November 23, 2020): 337–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1633.
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Background and aims – The hypothesis of ecological niche conservatism postulates that closely related species share ecologically similar environments; that is, they tend to maintain the characteristics of their fundamental niche over time. The objective of this study is to evaluate the similarity and equivalence of the ecological niches among species of the genus Zaluzania (Asteraceae), characteristic of the Mexican arid and semi-arid regions, to infer their potential niche conservatism. Methods – Based on critically reviewed herbarium occurrence data, potential distribution models for eight species of Zaluzania were generated using the Maxent algorithm. The overlap between potential distribution areas was then evaluated using equivalence and ecological niche parameters implemented in the ENMTools software; for this we quantified the degree of overlap and similarity between the niches using the equivalence (D) and similarity (I) parameters.Key results – The resulting models show that species display areas of high suitability along the Mexican dry regions, as well as overlapping heterogeneous values. All models showed high AUC (Area Under the Curve) values (> 0.8). The D and I values between each pair of species showed low values of overlap.Conclusions – Each species of the genus shows a fundamental niche distinct from their sister species. The genus thus offers an example of niche divergence among species, with each one adapting to different environmental pressures. Our results do not support the hypothesis of niche conservatism in the genus, suggesting that the species evolved in divergent environments.
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Suárez-Mota, Mario Ernesto, and José Luis Villaseñor. "Ecological niche overlap among species of the genus Zaluzania (Asteraceae) from the dry regions of Mexico." Plant Ecology and Evolution 153, no. 3 (November 23, 2020): 337–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1663.
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Background and aims – The hypothesis of ecological niche conservatism postulates that closely related species share ecologically similar environments; that is, they tend to maintain the characteristics of their fundamental niche over time. The objective of this study is to evaluate the similarity and equivalence of the ecological niches among species of the genus Zaluzania (Asteraceae), characteristic of the Mexican arid and semi-arid regions, to infer their potential niche conservatism. Methods – Based on critically reviewed herbarium occurrence data, potential distribution models for eight species of Zaluzania were generated using the Maxent algorithm. The overlap between potential distribution areas was then evaluated using equivalence and ecological niche parameters implemented in the ENMTools software; for this we quantified the degree of overlap and similarity between the niches using the equivalence (D) and similarity (I) parameters.Key results – The resulting models show that species display areas of high suitability along the Mexican dry regions, as well as overlapping heterogeneous values. All models showed high AUC (Area Under the Curve) values (> 0.8). The D and I values between each pair of species showed low values of overlap.Conclusions – Each species of the genus shows a fundamental niche distinct from their sister species. The genus thus offers an example of niche divergence among species, with each one adapting to different environmental pressures. Our results do not support the hypothesis of niche conservatism in the genus, suggesting that the species evolved in divergent environments.
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Liordos, Vasilios, Jukka Jokimäki, Marja-Liisa Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki, Evangelos Valsamidis, and Vasileios J. Kontsiotis. "Niche Analysis and Conservation of Bird Species Using Urban Core Areas." Sustainability 13, no. 11 (June 2, 2021): 6327. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13116327.
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Knowing the ecological requirements of bird species is essential for their successful conservation. We studied the niche characteristics of birds in managed small-sized green spaces in the urban core areas of southern (Kavala, Greece) and northern Europe (Rovaniemi, Finland), during the breeding season, based on a set of 16 environmental variables and using Outlying Mean Index, a multivariate ordination technique. Overall, 26 bird species in Kavala and 15 in Rovaniemi were recorded in more than 5% of the green spaces and were used in detailed analyses. In both areas, bird species occupied different niches of varying marginality and breadth, indicating varying responses to urban environmental conditions. Birds showed high specialization in niche position, with 12 species in Kavala (46.2%) and six species in Rovaniemi (40.0%) having marginal niches. Niche breadth was narrower in Rovaniemi than in Kavala. Species in both communities were more strongly associated either with large green spaces located further away from the city center and having a high vegetation cover (urban adapters; e.g., Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris), Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)) or with green spaces located closer to the city center and having high gray area cover and anthropogenic disturbance level (urban exploiters; e.g., Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)). The eleven species that were common to both study areas similarly used the environmental variables and had similar niches, indicating that birds respond similarly to urbanization irrespective of latitude. Sixteen species in Kavala and eleven species in Rovaniemi were identified as conservation priority species, based on their niche specialization level and conservation status. The management actions proposed for the conservation of priority species will also benefit other species with similar ecological requirements and ultimately help maintain diverse bird communities in small-sized green spaces in urban core areas.
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Liu, Shang Yin Vanson, Mao-Ning Tuanmu, Rita Rachmawati, Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, and Paul H. Barber. "Integrating phylogeographic and ecological niche approaches to delimitating cryptic lineages in the blue–green damselfish (Chromis viridis)." PeerJ 7 (July 30, 2019): e7384. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7384.
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Species delimitation is challenging in sibling species/cryptic lineages because of the absence of clear diagnostic traits. However, integration of different approaches such as phylogeography and ecological niche comparison offers one potential approach to tease apart recently diverged lineages. In this study, we estimate the ecological niche divergence among lineages in Chromis viridis in a broad-scale phylogeographic framework to test whether the combination of these two approaches can effectively distinguish recently diverged lineages. Results from Cytb and Rag2 analyses identified two cryptic lineages (C. viridis A and C. viridis B) that diverged ∼3 Myr ago. Estimates of ecological niche divergence with 11 environmental parameters across the broad geographic range of these lineages showed overlapping ecological niches and niche conservatism. However, regardless of the incongruence between genetic and ecological niche divergence, the substantial genetic divergence between the two clades of C. viridis in both mtDNA and nuclear loci strong suggest that they are cryptic taxa.
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Pouteau, Robin, Santiago Trueba, and Sandrine Isnard. "Retracing the contours of the early angiosperm environmental niche." Annals of Botany 125, no. 1 (August 12, 2019): 49–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcz131.
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Abstract Background and Aims Our aim was to understand the environmental conditions of the emergence and radiation of early angiosperms. Such a question has long remained controversial because various approaches applied in the past have drawn conflicting images of early angiosperm ecology. Methods We provided a new perspective on the question by using support vector machines to model the environmental niche of 51 species belonging to ten genera of extant lineages that diverged early during angiosperm evolution (basal angiosperms). Then, we analysed the resulting pattern of niche overlap and determined whether this pattern deviates from what would be expected on the basis of a null model or whether it might mirror a legacy of a common primitive niche based on a phylogenetic reconstruction. Key Results The niche of three-quarters of the species and all genera converged towards tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs). The latitudinal pattern of basal angiosperm richness indeed culminated in the tropics, and the elevational pattern revealed a humpback curve peaking between 2000 m and 3500 m when accounting for the effect of area. At first glance, this diversity pattern does not significantly differ from null predictions. However, we revealed a tendency for the basal-most taxa to occur in TMCFs so that phylogenetic reconstructions indicated that the niche of the common ancestor of the sampled basal angiosperms had a probability of 0.85–0.93 to overlap with TMCFs. Conclusions Our new approach indicates that the environmental convergence of extant basal angiosperms towards TMCFs would reflect a legacy of an ancestral niche from which the least basal taxa would have diverged following a random pattern under geometric constraints.
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Kojima, Takuro, Reiji Suzuki, and Takaya Arita. "Effects of Ecological Inheritance on Coevolution of Cooperative Behaviors and Physically Niche Constructing Behaviors." Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics 18, no. 3 (May 20, 2014): 391–400. http://dx.doi.org/10.20965/jaciii.2014.p0391.
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Niche construction is a process whereby organisms that modify their own or others’ niches through their ecological activities. Recent studies have revealed that changes in social structures of interactions caused by social niche construction of individuals can affect seriously the evolution of cooperation. However, such a social niche also could be changed indirectly by a modification of their physical environment. Our purpose is to clarify the coevolution of cooperative behavior and physically niche-constructing behavior that modifies social niche indirectly. For this purpose, we constructed an evolutionary model in which each individual has not only a strategy for a spatial Prisoner’s Dilemma but also has traits for a niche-constructing behavior for modifying its physical environment that can limit social interactions between neighboring individuals. By conducting evolutionary experiments, we show that a cyclic coevolution between cooperative behavior and niche-constructing behavior occurred in the situation with no or low degree of ecological inheritance, in which the constructed niche could not be inherited in succeeding generations at all. Conversely, when the degree of ecological inheritance was high, the evolution of cooperation was promoted by the emerged environmental structure constructed by the evolved niche-constructing behavior. We also show that the condition for each scenario to occur depends on the settings of the payoff parameters as well as the degree of ecological inheritance.
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Gómez, Camila, Elkin A. Tenorio, Paola Montoya, and Carlos Daniel Cadena. "Niche-tracking migrants and niche-switching residents: evolution of climatic niches in New World warblers (Parulidae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283, no. 1824 (February 10, 2016): 20152458. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2458.
Full textAbstract:
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.
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Verhoeven, Michael R., Wesley J. Glisson, and Daniel J. Larkin. "Niche Models Differentiate Potential Impacts of Two Aquatic Invasive Plant Species on Native Macrophytes." Diversity 12, no. 4 (April 23, 2020): 162. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12040162.
Full textAbstract:
Potamogeton crispus (curlyleaf pondweed) and Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian watermilfoil) are widely thought to competitively displace native macrophytes in North America. However, their perceived competitive superiority has not been comprehensively evaluated. Coexistence theory suggests that invader displacement of native species through competitive exclusion is most likely where high niche overlap results in competition for limiting resources. Thus, evaluation of niche similarity can serve as a starting point for predicting the likelihood of invaders having direct competitive impacts on resident species. Across two environmental gradients structuring macrophyte communities—water depth and light availability—both P. crispus and M. spicatum are thought to occupy broad niches. For a third dimension, phenology, the annual growth cycle of M. spicatum is typical of other species, whereas the winter-ephemeral phenology of P. crispus may impart greater niche differentiation and thus lower risk of native species being competitively excluded. Using an unprecedented dataset comprising 3404 plant surveys from Minnesota collected using a common protocol, we modeled niches of 34 species using a probabilistic niche framework. Across each niche dimension, P. crispus had lower overlap with native species than did M. spicatum; this was driven in particular by its distinct phenology. These results suggest that patterns of dominance seen in P. crispus and M. spicatum have likely arisen through different mechanisms, and that direct competition with native species is less likely for P. crispus than M. spicatum. This research highlights the utility of fine-scale, abundance-based niche models for predicting invader impacts.