The future of microbial ecological niche theory and modeling

Roderick Usher is the protagonist of Edgar Allan Poe’s masterpiece The Fall of The House of Usher. Concerning his death, the scholars and critics at home and abroad have discussed a lot but there is no fixed conclusion. Based on the ecological niche theory, this thesis explored Roderick Usher’s death and concluded that his death was a natural outcome as his natural as well as his social niche positions were on the decline because of his failure to have effective communication with the environment he was living in and with the people around him. Furthermore, his niche trend to do nothing to the ever-decaying living environment but to do harm to his twin sister further accelerated the demise of his niche position. It is hoped that this thesis can shed some new light on the exploration of Roderick Usher’s death and work as a kind of tentatively interdisciplinary research between ecology and literature.

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Using ecological niche theory to avoid uninformative biodiversity surrogates

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105692 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 108 ◽

pp. 105692 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Philip S. Barton ◽

Martin J. Westgate ◽

Claire N. Foster ◽

Kim Cuddington ◽

Alan Hastings ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecological Niche ◽

Niche Theory ◽

Biodiversity Surrogates

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Empirical Study on Ecological Niche Evaluation on Regional Construction Industry in China

The Open Construction and Building Technology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874836801408010164 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 164-170

Author(s):

Yousong Wang ◽

Yufan Zhang ◽

Yang Li ◽

Martin H. Asare ◽

Yan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Empirical Study ◽

Construction Industry ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Statistical Data ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Chinese Government ◽

Niche Theory ◽

The North ◽

Central Regions ◽

Technology Level

The ecological system of the construction industry had been divided into three aspects, i.e.economy, scale and technology. Basing on the ecological niche theory, this paper established the evaluation model and studied on the ecologi-cal niche status about national regional construction industry in China using statistical data from 2007 to 2012. The analy-sis results show that Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning have the highest scores in the economic and the scaled niche. Tianjin, Beijing and Jiangsu’s technology niche are better. Overall, Integrated niche still has a better performance in Jiangsu, Zhe-jiang and Liaoning. The calculated values are 0.1002, 0.0696 and 0.0592 respectively. In terms of the discreteness and the diversity, the score of the scaled niche is the highest. The economic niche’s score is the second. And the lowest score is belonged to the technology niche. It is also found that the national construction industry has an unbalanced development in each area. The construction industry depends on the advantage of the economic investment and scaled advantage in the eastern coastal and the central regions. The level of the management and the technology is still low in the whole industry. Therefore, it is suggested that the Chinese government should enhance the strength of the construction investment and de-velopment in the north and west regions, ensuring the good developmental situation in the eastern and central regions. The R&D and the spreading of the technological advanced achievement should be strengthened. And the management and the technology level of the construction industry should be improved.

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Changes in the Geographic Distribution of the Diana Fritillary (Speyeria diana: Nymphalidae) Under Forecasted Predictions of Climate Change

10.20944/preprints201807.0058.v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Carrie Wells ◽

David Tonkyn

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

North America ◽

Geographic Distribution ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Ecological Niche Modeling ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Butterfly Species ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Southeastern Us ◽

The Future

Climate change is predicted to alter the geographic distribution of a wide variety of taxa, including butterfly species. Research has focused primarily on high latitude species in North America, with no known studies examining responses of taxa in the southeastern US. The Diana fritillary (Speyeria diana) has experienced a recent range retraction in that region, disappearing from lowland sites and now persisting in two, phylogenetically disjunct mountainous regions. These findings are consistent with the predicted effects of a warming climate on numerous taxa, including other butterfly species in North America and Europe. We used ecological niche modeling to predict future changes to the distribution of S. diana under several climate models. To evaluate how climate change might influence the geographic distribution of this butterfly, we developed ecological niche models using Maxent. We used two global circulation models, CCSM and MIROC, under low and high emissions scenarios to predict the future distribution of S. diana. Models were evaluated using the Receiver Operating Characteristics Area Under Curve test and the True Skill Statistics (mean AUC = 0.91± 0.0028 SE, TSS = 0.87 ± 0.0032 SE for RCP = 4.5, and mean AUC = 0.87± 0.0031SE, TSS = 0.84 ± 0.0032 SE for RCP = 8.5), which both indicate that the models we produced were significantly better than random (0.5). The four modeled climate scenarios resulted in an average loss of 91% of suitable habitat for S. diana by 2050. Populations in the Southern Appalachian Mountains were predicted to suffer the most severe fragmentation and reduction in suitable habitat, threatening an important source of genetic diversity for the species. The geographic and genetic isolation of populations in the west suggest that those populations are equally as vulnerable to decline in the future, warranting ongoing conservation of those populations as well. Our results suggest that the Diana fritillary is under threat of decline by 2050 across its entire distribution from climate change, and is likely to be negatively affected by other human-induced factors as well.

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Modelling species presence–absence in the ecological niche theory framework using shape-constrained generalized additive models

Ecological Modelling ◽

10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.108926 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 418 ◽

pp. 108926 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

L. Citores ◽

L. Ibaibarriaga ◽

D.-J. Lee ◽

M.J. Brewer ◽

M. Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecological Niche ◽

Generalized Additive Models ◽

Additive Models ◽

Niche Theory ◽

Theory Framework

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Modeling of the Potential Geographical Distribution of Three Fritillaria Species Under Climate Change

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.749838 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Ruiping Jiang ◽

Meng Zou ◽

Yu Qin ◽

Guodong Tan ◽

Sipei Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Bioclimatic Variables ◽

The Future ◽

Suitable Habitats ◽

Fritillaria Species

Fritillaria species, a well-known Chinese traditional medicine for more than 2,000 years, have become rare resources due to excessive harvesting. In order to balance the economical requirement and ecological protection of Fritillaria species, it is necessary to determine (1) the important environmental variables that were responsible for the spatial distribution, (2) distribution change in response to climate change in the future, (3) ecological niche overlap between various Fritillaria species, and (4) the correlation between spatial distribution and phylogenies as well. In this study, the areas with potential ecological suitability for Fritillaria cirrhosa, Fritillaria unibracteata, and Fritillaria przewalskii were predicted using MaxEnt based on the current occurrence records and bioclimatic variables. The result indicated that precipitation and elevation were the most important environmental variables for the three species. Moreover, the current suitable habitats of F. cirrhosa, F. unibracteata, and F. przewalskii encompassed 681,951, 481,607, and 349,199 km2, respectively. Under the scenario of the highest concentration of greenhouse gas emission (SSP585), the whole suitable habitats of F. cirrhosa and F. przewalskii reach the maximum from 2021 to 2100, while those of F. unibracteata reach the maximum from 2021 to 2100 under the scenario of moderate emission (SSP370) from 2021 to 2100. The MaxEnt data were also used to predict the ecological niche overlap, and thus high overlap occurring among three Fritillaria species was observed. The niche overlap of three Fritillaria species was related to the phylogenetic analysis despite the non-significance (P > 0.05), indicating that spatial distribution was one of the factors that contributed to the speciation diversification. Additionally, we predicted species-specific habitats to decrease habitat competition. Overall, the information obtained in this study provided new insight into the potential distribution and ecological niche of three species for the conservation and management in the future.

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An Ecological Niche Theory Approach to the Measurement of Brand Competition

Handbook of Niche Marketing ◽

10.4324/9780203050323-13 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 109-126

Keyword(s):

Ecological Niche ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Niche Theory ◽

Brand Competition

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To what degree are philosophy and the ecological niche concept necessary in the ecological theory and conservation?

European Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1515/eje-2017-0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 42-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rogério Parentoni Martins

Keyword(s):

Ecological Niche ◽

Conceptual Structure ◽

Ecological Models ◽

Niche Theory ◽

Niche Modelling ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Classical Physics ◽

Causal Processes ◽

Niche Concept ◽

Definition Of

AbstractEcology as a field produces philosophical anxiety, largely because it differs in scientific structure from classical physics. The hypothetical deductive models of classical physics are simple and predictive; general ecological models are predictably limited, as they refer to complex, multi-causal processes. Inattention to the conceptual structure of ecology usually imposes difficulties for the application of ecological models. Imprecise descriptions of ecological niche have obstructed the development of collective definitions, causing confusion in the literature and complicating communication between theoretical ecologists, conservationists and decision and policy-makers. Intense, unprecedented erosion of biodiversity is typical of the Anthropocene, and knowledge of ecology may provide solutions to lessen the intensification of species losses. Concerned philosophers and ecologists have characterised ecological niche theory as less useful in practice; however, some theorists maintain that is has relevant applications for conservation. Species niche modelling, for instance, has gained traction in the literature; however, there are few examples of its successful application. Philosophical analysis of the structure, precision and constraints upon the definition of a ‘niche’ may minimise the anxiety surrounding ecology, potentially facilitating communication between policy-makers and scientists within the various ecological subcultures. The results may enhance the success of conservation applications at both small and large scales.

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