Author
A. Townsend Peterson
Other affiliations: California Academy of Sciences, University of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History ...read more
Bio: A. Townsend Peterson is an academic researcher from University of Kansas. The author has contributed to research in topics: Environmental niche modelling & Ecological niche. The author has an hindex of 91, co-authored 521 publications receiving 51524 citations. Previous affiliations of A. Townsend Peterson include California Academy of Sciences & University of Chicago.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: It is suggested that the potential existence of evolved, intraspecific niche differentiation in species niche requirements is revealed using genetic algorithms coupled with geographical information systems, which provide a powerful and novel approach to characterizing species ecological niches and geographical distributions.
Abstract: The development of quantitative models of species distributions has largely ignored the potential for intraspecific variation in species niche requirements. Application of such models may nevertheless provide a rich, untapped opportunity to address the basic issue of niche conservatism vs. evolution. We illustrate this potential using genetic algorithms coupled with geographical information systems, which provide a powerful and novel approach to characterizing species ecological niches and geographical distributions. Our example consists of several species of Mexican birds with recognized subspecies, and associated climatic and vegetation data. Our basic protocol is to develop an ecological niche model for each subspecies, and use this model to predict distributions of other subspecies. In some cases, the ecological niche model inferred for one subspecies provides an excellent descriptor of other subspecies ranges, whereas in other cases the prediction is rather poor. We suggest that the latter may reveal the potential existence of evolved, intraspecific niche differentiation. We discuss alternative, non-evolutionary explanations, and point out potential implications of our results for predictive models of species invasions.
185 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a model of the Central Western Atlantic, roughly bounded by the definitions of the Food and Agricultural Organizations definition of Fishing Area 31, approximately the area of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico between 35°N and 5°N Latitude and west of 40°W Longitude.
Abstract: (Vieglais et al., 2000). Museum data are high quality because voucher specimens can be examined if identification is questionable. However, like all point data, museum specimens provide only a limited view of the actual species' range (Krohn, 1996), hence the need for predictive approaches. A limited number of ecological data sets are also available, worldwide, including physio-chemical parameters (NOAA, 1999) and bathymetry (Smith and Sandwell, 1997). Ecological niche modeling uses the primary point data and the ecological data to build a partial niche The niche model is defined in ecological space by ecological parameters. It can be projected into geographic space by dividing the area of interest into rows and columns to create a grid, and then identifying the grid cells where the ecological parameters match those of the niche model. The landscape for this study is the Central Western Atlantic, roughly bounded by the definitions of the Food and Agricultural Organizations definition of Fishing Area 31, approximately the area of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico between 35°N and 5°N Latitude and west of 40°W Longitude. Many tools have been used to develop models of ecological niches. Among the simplest is BIOCLIM (Nix, 1986), which involves intersecting the ranges (slightly trimmed) inhabited by the species along each environmental axis (e.g. 0–50 m depth x annual surface temperature average of 20–22°C, etc.). Other approaches include general linear models, distance-based algorithms , and regression-tree analyses (Austin et al. These relatively straightforward algorithms, however, suffer from their focus on a search for a single decision rule, or a small set of decision rules. The reality of species' ranges is that many factors affect them, and indeed different decision rules may govern distributional limits in different sectors of a species' distribution Biological communities are changing drastically in response to global climate change (Walther et al., 2002), changes in use by human populations (Krishtalka et al., 2002), and introduction of exotic species (Carlton, 1996; Enserink, 1999). To study the impact of such changes in the marine environment, biologists require a detailed understanding of the diversity and distributions of marine organisms on macroscopic scales, such as across entire ocean basins, in order to improve understanding of the actual distributions of species, and gain an overall impression of the potential community structures that exist in particular habitats. A major obstacle to such an improved understanding is the fact that existing biodiversity records …
184 citations
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TL;DR: An ongoing renaissance of species discovery is characterized and how a 25-year Pleistocene island connectivity paradigm continues to provide some explanatory power, but has been augmented by increased understanding of the archipelago's geological history and ecological gradients is described.
Abstract: Long celebrated for its spectacular landscapes and strikingly high levels of endemic biodiversity, the Philippines has been studied intensively by biogeographers for two centuries. Concentration of so many endemic land vertebrates into a small area and shared patterns of distribution in many unrelated forms has inspired a search for common mechanisms of production, partitioning, and maintenance of life in the archipelago. In this review, we (a) characterize an ongoing renaissance of species discovery, (b) discuss the changing way biogeographers conceive of the archipelago, (c) review the role molecular phylogenetic studies play in understanding the evolutionary history of Philippine vertebrates, and (d) describe how a 25-year Pleistocene island connectivity paradigm continues to provide some explanatory power, but has been augmented by increased understanding of the archipelago's geological history and ecological gradients. Finally, we (e) review new insights provided by studies of adaptive versus nonadap...
178 citations
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177 citations
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TL;DR: A novel approach to identifying areas of potential distribution across novel geographic regions that avoids perilious extrapolation into novel environments is explored, finding that changes are best attributed to climatic differences between the two continents.
Abstract: Emerging infectious diseases can present serious threats to wildlife, even to the point of causing extinction. Whitenose fungus (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) is causing an epizootic in bats that is expanding rapidly, both geographically and taxonomically. Little is known of the ecology and distributional potential of this intercontinental pathogen. We address this gap via ecological niche models that characterise coarse resolution niche differences between fungus populations on different continents, identifying areas potentially vulnerable to infection in South America. Here we explore a novel approach to identifying areas of potential distribution across novel geographic regions that avoids perilious extrapolation into novel environments. European and North American fungus populations show differential use of environmental space, but rather than niche differentiation, we find that changes are best attributed to climatic differences between the two continents. Suitable areas for spread of the pathogen were identified across southern South America; however caution should be taken to avoid underestimating the potential for spread of this pathogen in South America.
177 citations
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TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
14,171 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the use of the maximum entropy method (Maxent) for modeling species geographic distributions with presence-only data was introduced, which is a general-purpose machine learning method with a simple and precise mathematical formulation.
13,120 citations
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TL;DR: It is suggested that the natural selection against large insertion/deletion is so weak that a large amount of variation is maintained in a population.
11,521 citations
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TL;DR: The Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis by Sampling Trees (BEAST) software package version 1.7 is presented, which implements a family of Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for Bayesian phylogenetic inference, divergence time dating, coalescent analysis, phylogeography and related molecular evolutionary analyses.
Abstract: Computational evolutionary biology, statistical phylogenetics and coalescent-based population genetics are becoming increasingly central to the analysis and understanding of molecular sequence data. We present the Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis by Sampling Trees (BEAST) software package version 1.7, which implements a family of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms for Bayesian phylogenetic inference, divergence time dating, coalescent analysis, phylogeography and related molecular evolutionary analyses. This package includes an enhanced graphical user interface program called Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis Utility (BEAUti) that enables access to advanced models for molecular sequence and phenotypic trait evolution that were previously available to developers only. The package also provides new tools for visualizing and summarizing multispecies coalescent and phylogeographic analyses. BEAUti and BEAST 1.7 are open source under the GNU lesser general public license and available at http://beast-mcmc.googlecode.com and http://beast.bio.ed.ac.uk
9,055 citations
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TL;DR: Range-restricted species, particularly polar and mountaintop species, show severe range contractions and have been the first groups in which entire species have gone extinct due to recent climate change.
Abstract: Ecological changes in the phenology and distribution of plants and animals are occurring in all well-studied marine, freshwater, and terrestrial groups These observed changes are heavily biased in the directions predicted from global warming and have been linked to local or regional climate change through correlations between climate and biological variation, field and laboratory experiments, and physiological research Range-restricted species, particularly polar and mountaintop species, show severe range contractions and have been the first groups in which entire species have gone extinct due to recent climate change Tropical coral reefs and amphibians have been most negatively affected Predator-prey and plant-insect interactions have been disrupted when interacting species have responded differently to warming Evolutionary adaptations to warmer conditions have occurred in the interiors of species’ ranges, and resource use and dispersal have evolved rapidly at expanding range margins Observed genetic shifts modulate local effects of climate change, but there is little evidence that they will mitigate negative effects at the species level
7,657 citations