Impacts of Niche Breadth and Dispersal Ability on Macroevolutionary Patterns
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Issue Date
2016-05-31Author
Qiao, Huijie
Saupe, Erin E.
Soberón, Jorge
Peterson, A. Townsend
Myers, Corinne Emanuelle
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We describe a spatially explicit simulation experiment designed to assess relative impacts of macroecological traits on patterns of biological diversification under changing environmental conditions. Using a simulation framework, we assessed impacts of species’ niche breadth (i.e., the range of their abiotic tolerances) and dispersal ability on resulting patterns of speciation and extinction and evaluated how these traits, in conjunction with environmental change, shape biological diversification. Simulation results supported both niche breadth and dispersal ability as important drivers of diversification in the face of environmental change, and suggested that the rate of environmental change influences how species interact with the extrinsic environment to generate diversity. Niche breadth had greater effects on speciation and extinction than dispersal ability when climate changed rapidly, whereas dispersal ability effects were elevated when climate changed slowly. Our simulations provide a bottom-up perspective on the generation and maintenance of diversity under climate change, offering a better understanding of potential interactions between species’ intrinsic macroecological characteristics and a dynamic extrinsic environment in the process of biological diversification.
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Citation
Huijie Qiao, Erin E. Saupe, Jorge Soberón, A. Townsend Peterson, and Corinne E. Myers, "Impacts of Niche Breadth and Dispersal Ability on Macroevolutionary Patterns," The American Naturalist 188, no. 2 (August 2016): 149-162.
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