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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Journal ArticleDOI
Acclimatization in the physiological performance of an introduced ectotherm
Lauren K. Neel,Lauren K. Neel,John David Curlis,John David Curlis,Chase T. Kinsey,Chase T. Kinsey,Christian L. Cox,Christian L. Cox,Lance D. McBrayer +8 more
TL;DR: The results suggest that L. carinatus may use reversible acclimatization to maintain high levels of performance across seasons not typically experienced within their native range, which likely shapes the fundamental niche of both introduced and native species.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impact of mating system on range size and niche breadth in Epipactis (Orchidaceae).
Alexandra Evans,Hans Jacquemyn +1 more
TL;DR: The 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.
Journal ArticleDOI
Using traits to explain interspecific variation in diatom occupancy and abundance across lakes and streams
TL;DR: Biological traits were the strongest predictors of occupancy and abundance in both freshwater systems, suggesting that these two freshwater system types differ in the formation of biodiversity patterns.
Journal ArticleDOI
Notes on the Diet of the Endemic Red-Eared Parakeet Pyrrhura hoematotis and other Venezuelan Montane Parrots
TL;DR: The feeding ecology of the red-eared parakeet Pyrrhura hoematotis, an endemic and poorly known species of Venezuelan montane forests, is presented and basic natural history data is added that can be useful for the conservation of these restricted distribution parrot species that are threatened by the habitat loss.
Journal ArticleDOI
Occurrence data may provide unreliable thermal preferences and breadth of species
TL;DR: The abundance-temperature response curves reveal that birds prefer higher temperatures to overwinter, and are more thermally selective, than is measured by the classical approach and also detect a higher inter-specific variability in both thermal preferences and thermal breadth of species.
References
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Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test
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Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package
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