Journal ArticleDOI
Niche breadth predicts geographical range size: a general ecological pattern.
TLDR
Despite significant variability in the strength of the relationship among studies, the general positive relationship suggests that specialist species might be disproportionately vulnerable to habitat loss and climate change due to synergistic effects of a narrow niche and small range size.Abstract:
The range of resources that a species uses (i.e. its niche breadth) might determine the geographical area it can occupy, but consensus on whether a niche breadth–range size relationship generally exists among species has been slow to emerge. The validity of this hypothesis is a key question in ecology in that it proposes a mechanism for commonness and rarity, and if true, may help predict species' vulnerability to extinction. We identified 64 studies that measured niche breadth and range size, and we used a meta-analytic approach to test for the presence of a niche breadth–range size relationship. We found a significant positive relationship between range size and environmental tolerance breadth (z = 0.49), habitat breadth (z = 0.45), and diet breadth (z = 0.28). The overall positive effect persisted even when incorporating sampling effects. Despite significant variability in the strength of the relationship among studies, the general positive relationship suggests that specialist species might be disproportionately vulnerable to habitat loss and climate change due to synergistic effects of a narrow niche and small range size. An understanding of the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that drive and cause deviations from this niche breadth–range size pattern is an important future research goal.read more
Citations
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Understanding and protecting forest biodiversity in relation to species and local contributions to beta diversity
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as discussed by the authors used the method of beta regression to point out important factors affecting LCBD and SCBD and concluded that LCBD was strongly related to species richness, abundance and abiotic environmental conditions, while SCBD was significantly affected by abundance and species niche characteristics.
Journal ArticleDOI
Does Evolutionary History Correlate with Contemporary Extinction Risk by Influencing Range Size Dynamics
TL;DR: It is suggested that range size dynamics may explain differing patterns of extinction risk across the ToL, with consequences for biodiversity conservation.
Posted ContentDOI
The origin and spread of locally adaptive seasonal camouflage in snowshoe hares
TL;DR: It is argued that while hybridization during periods of environmental change may provide a critical reservoir of adaptive variation at range edges, the probability and pace of local adaptation will strongly depend on population demography and the genetic architecture of introgressed variation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Modeling impacts of human footprint and soil variability on the potential distribution of invasive plant species in different biomes
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors used Maxent modeling to project the potential distribution of 29 invasive plant species with wide distributions and long introduction histories in China based on various combinations of climatic correlates, soil characteristics and human footprint.
Journal ArticleDOI
Niche overlap and divergence times support niche conservatism in eastern Asia–eastern North America disjunct plants
Xue Yin,Xue Yin,Scott Jarvie,Scott Jarvie,Wen-Yong Guo,Wen-Yong Guo,Tao Deng,Lingfeng Mao,Minhua Zhang,Chengjin Chu,Hong Qian,Jens-Christian Svenning,Fangliang He,Fangliang He +13 more
References
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