Understanding the relationship between climatic niches and dispersal through the lens of bat wing morphology

Abstract

AbstractClimate, an important dimension within the classical Hutchinsonian niche concept, represents abiotic variables that influence species distributions. As dispersal allows species to move and colonize new regions with distinct climates, the role of dispersal traits in determining the occupation of particular climatic conditions is hypothesized to be important in climatic niche determination. I test this hypothesis by investigating the effects of interspecific variation in bat dispersal abilities due to wing morphology on species climatic niches. For 74 phyllostomid bat species, I collected their niche positions (i.e. mean value of occupied climatic conditions) along the climatic space as defined by phylogenetic principal components, as well as wing variables related to flight performance and aerodynamics. To test how wing variables are related to species positions along climatic niche axes, I used a framework of phylogenetic regressions and model selection by information theory. I found that wing morphology has an important and positive influence on bat species niche positions in the climatic space. Species with increased relative wing loading have better flight performance which likely allowed them to overcome geographical barriers to dispersal in order to colonize areas with distinct climatic regimes, thus influencing their climatic niche configurations. My results reconcile the morphological role bat wings have on local habitat use with their effects on dispersal and their importance in shaping climatic niches at broad scales. Overall, my findings reinforce the roles of dispersal and complementary life‐history traits in determining species climatic niches. These results imply that traits linked to tracking suitable habitats may be important for adapting to climate change.