Global variation in thermal physiology of birds and mammals: evidence for phylogenetic niche conservatism only in the tropics

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (11) ◽  
pp. 2187-2196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Khaliq ◽  
Susanne A. Fritz ◽  
Roland Prinzinger ◽  
Markus Pfenninger ◽  
Katrin Böhning-Gaese ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1925) ◽  
pp. 20200045
Author(s):  
James B. Dorey ◽  
Scott V. C. Groom ◽  
Elisha H. Freedman ◽  
Cale S. Matthews ◽  
Olivia K. Davies ◽  
...  

Island biogeography explores how biodiversity in island ecosystems arises and is maintained. The topographical complexity of islands can drive speciation by providing a diversity of niches that promote adaptive radiation and speciation. However, recent studies have argued that phylogenetic niche conservatism, combined with topographical complexity and climate change, could also promote speciation if populations are episodically fragmented into climate refugia that enable allopatric speciation. Adaptive radiation and phylogenetic niche conservatism therefore both predict that topographical complexity should encourage speciation, but they differ strongly in their inferred mechanisms. Using genetic (mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)) and morphological data, we show high species diversity (22 species) in an endemic clade of Fijian Homalictus bees, with most species restricted to highlands and frequently exhibiting narrow geographical ranges. Our results indicate that elevational niches have been conserved across most speciation events, contradicting expectations from an adaptive radiation model but concordant with phylogenetic niche conservatism. Climate cycles, topographical complexity, and niche conservatism could interact to shape island biodiversity. We argue that phylogenetic niche conservatism is an important driver of tropical island bee biodiversity but that this phylogenetic inertia also leads to major extinction risks for tropical ectotherms under future warming climates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 7055-7077 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Tang ◽  
M. G. Zhang ◽  
C. Liu ◽  
Z. Zhou ◽  
W. Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Tropical Niche Conservatism Hypothesis (TCH) tries to explain the generally observed latitudinal gradient of increasing species diversity towards the tropics. To date, few studies have used phylogenetic approaches to assess its validity, even though such methods are especially suited to detect changes in niche structure. We test the TCH using modeled distributions of 1898 woody species in Yunnan Province (southwest China) in combination with a family level phylogeny. Unlike predicted, species richness and phylogenetic diversity did not show a latitudinal gradient, but identified two high diversity zones, one in Northwest and one in South Yunnan. Despite this, the underlying residual phylogenetic diversity showed a clear decline away from the tropics, while the species composition became progressingly more phylogenetically clustered towards the North. These latitudinal changes were strongly associated with more extreme temperature variability and declining precipitation and soil water availability, especially during the dry season. Our results suggests that the climatically more extreme conditions outside the tropics require adaptations for successful colonization, most likely related to the plant hydraulic system, that have been acquired by only a limited number of phylogenetically closely related plant lineages. We emphasize the importance of phylogenetic approaches for testing the TCH.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (19) ◽  
pp. eaaz5373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo A. Segovia ◽  
R. Toby Pennington ◽  
Tim R. Baker ◽  
Fernanda Coelho de Souza ◽  
Danilo M. Neves ◽  
...  

The historical course of evolutionary diversification shapes the current distribution of biodiversity, but the main forces constraining diversification are still a subject of debate. We unveil the evolutionary structure of tree species assemblages across the Americas to assess whether an inability to move or an inability to evolve is the predominant constraint in plant diversification and biogeography. We find a fundamental divide in tree lineage composition between tropical and extratropical environments, defined by the absence versus presence of freezing temperatures. Within the Neotropics, we uncover a further evolutionary split between moist and dry forests. Our results demonstrate that American tree lineages tend to retain their ancestral environmental relationships and that phylogenetic niche conservatism is the primary force structuring the distribution of tree biodiversity. Our study establishes the pervasive importance of niche conservatism to community assembly even at intercontinental scales.


Erdkunde ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Tiede ◽  
Jürgen Homeier ◽  
Nixon Cumbicus ◽  
Jaime Peña ◽  
Jörg Albrecht ◽  
...  

Oecologia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 170 (3) ◽  
pp. 835-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Liu ◽  
Erika J. Edwards ◽  
Robert P. Freckleton ◽  
Colin P. Osborne

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