Niche Conservatism Research Articles

Ecological Niches Modelling of the TOP-100 Most Dangerous Invasive Species in Russia: Testing the Hypothesis of Ecological Niche Conservatism

Ecological Niches Modelling of the TOP-100 Most Dangerous Invasive Species in Russia: Testing the Hypothesis of Ecological Niche Conservatism

Phylogenetically conservative trait correlation: Quantification and interpretation

Abstract Correlation across species between two quantitative traits, or between a trait and a habitat property, can suggest that a trait value is effective in sustaining populations in some contexts but not others. It is widely held that such correlations should be controlled for phylogeny, via phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) or phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS). A weakness of this idea is that a clade's traits tend to confer success in particular habitats or ways of life, and those niches in turn tend to select for the same traits to continue in the clade. This feedback mechanism can bind phylogeny and niche together as a unified cause for present‐day trait configurations. Accordingly, the phylogenetically conservative share of a trait correlation ought not to be excluded from consideration as potentially ecologically functional. Another weakness is that PGLS does not yield a complete or accurate breakdown of covariation between traits A and B because it corresponds to a generating model where B predicts variation in A but not the reverse, and phylogenetic signal in B is not modelled. Multi‐response mixed models using phylogenetic covariance matrices can quantify conservative trait correlation (CTC), a share of A‐B covariation that is phylogenetically conservative. Because the evidence is from correlative data, it is not possible to split CTC into causation by phylogenetic history versus causation by continuing reciprocal selection between A and B. Moreover, it is quite likely biologically that the two influences have acted in concert, through phylogenetic niche conservatism. Synthesis: The CTC concept treats phylogenetic conservatism as a conjoint interpretation alongside ongoing influence of other traits. CTC can be quantified via multi‐response phylogenetic mixed models.

Attributes of host-specificity better explain the diversified wood-boring longhorn beetles in tropical SW China than plant species diversity

A long-debated question in ecology is whether the hyper-diversity of tropical plant-feeding insects is a direct consequence of high tropical plant diversity or should be attributed to increases in host plant specialization. In this study, we used Cerambycidae (the wood-boring longhorn beetles whose larval stages feed on the xylems of trees and lianas) and plants as study materials to explore which hypothesis is more favoured. Multiple analyses were used to show the differences in host specificity of Cerambycidae in tropical and subtropical forests. From these analyses, we found that the alpha diversity of beetles in tropical forests was significantly higher than that in subtropical forests but not in plants. The relationship between plants and beetles was also closer in tropical areas than in subtropical areas. Our results imply that the wood-boring longhorn beetles show higher degrees of niche conservatism and host-specificity in tropical forests than in subtropical forests. The high diversity of wood-boring longhorn beetles in tropical forests might be explained to a large extent by their more finely partitioned diet breadth.

Niche conservatism over deep timescales and diverse niche axes in land vertebrates

AbstractAimThere has been considerable interest in niche conservatism, the idea that ecological variables are similar among related species. Much research has focused on climatic niches of recently diverged species, rather than deeper timescales or non‐climatic niche axes. Furthermore, it has been suggested that conservatism disappears over deeper timescales, and is greater in alpha niche traits (like diet and microhabitat) than beta niche variables (like climate). Here, we test these latter two ideas by comparing patterns of phylogenetic conservatism among 10 niche variables across major clades of land vertebrates.LocationGlobal.Time PeriodPresent to 350 million years ago.Major Taxa StudiedTetrapods, including amphibians, mammals, lepidosaurs (including lizards and snakes), turtles, crocodilians and birds.MethodsThe 10 niche variables included four alpha niche components (diet, diel activity, habitat, body temperature) and six beta niche components (related to climatic temperature and precipitation). We analysed these variables on time‐calibrated phylogenies with similar taxon sampling (~1700 species), using phylogenetic signal (lambda) to estimate conservatism, along with the D statistic and estimates of evolutionary rates.ResultsPhylogenetic signal was generally strong across all variables, with lambda generally >0.80 (with 1.0 representing maximum signal). Nevertheless, mean phylogenetic signal was lower in beta niche traits than alpha niche traits (based on lambda and especially the D statistic), and alpha niche traits showed significantly slower rates of evolution.Main ConclusionsWe address two long‐held views in the literature on niche conservatism, rejecting one but supporting the other. We show that phylogenetic signal does not disappear over deep timescales for many important niche variables, even over 350 million years. We also generally support greater conservatism in alpha niche traits than beta niche traits over hundreds of millions of years, a pattern that was previously suggested (but not explicitly tested) based on closely related species.

A relict Triassic brittle star (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in Lower Jurassic strata of Asturias, north-west Spain

Ophiuroids, also known as brittle stars, are an important component of modern marine benthos, yet their fossil record is still poorly understood. Here, we describe new finds of ophiuroids from the upper Sinemurian (Lower Jurassic) of Asturias, north-west Spain. The material consists of several articulated specimens that show all relevant anatomical details to allow for an exhaustive description of a new species, Arenorbis santameraensis sp. nov., which adds a Jurassic member to the genus Arenorbis previously known exclusively from the Middle Triassic of central Europe. We demonstrate that Arenorbis has characters that are typically found in the suborder Ophiodermatina. The new Jurassic record of Arenorbis shows remarkable parallels with its Middle Triassic equivalents in terms of sedimentological and taphonomic context, suggesting niche conservatism in this genus. In contrast to its wide geographical distribution during the Middle Triassic, the new species is currently only known from a restricted area, which suggests that it represents a Jurassic relict of a formerly widespread Triassic lineage.

Climatic niche convergence through space and time for a potential archaeophyte (Acacia caven) in South America

Based on the niche conservatism hypothesis, i.e. the idea that niches remain unchanged over space and time, climatic niche modelling (CNM) is a useful tool for predicting the spread of introduced taxa. Recent advances have extended such predictions deeper in time for plant species dispersed by humans before the modern era. The latest CNMs successfully evaluate niche differentiation and estimate potential source areas for intriguing taxa such as archaeophytes (i.e., species introduced before 1492 AD). Here, we performed CNMs for Acacia caven, a common Fabaceae tree in South America, considered an archaeophyte west of the Andes, in Central Chile. Accounting for the infraspecific delimitation of the species, our results showed that even when climates are different, climatic spaces used by the species overlap largely between the eastern and western ranges. Despite slight variation, results were consistent when considering one, two, or even three-environmental dimensions, and in accordance with the niche conservatism hypothesis. Specific distribution models calibrated for each region (east vs west) and projected to the past, indicate a common area of occupancy available in southern Bolivia—northwest Argentina since the late Pleistocene, which could have acted as a source-area, and this signal becomes stronger through the Holocene. Then, in accordance with a taxon introduced in the past, and comparing regional vs continental distribution models calibrated at the infraspecific or species level, the western populations showed their spread status to be mostly in equilibrium with the environment. Our study thus indicates how niche and species distribution models are useful to improve our knowledge related to taxa introduced before the modern era.

Multidimensional climatic niche conservatism and invasion risk of Phenacoccus solenopsis.

The cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis, a globally invasive insect, is listed as a national quarantine pest in agriculture and forestry, which seriously threatens biological safety of China. Niche conservatism is a key assumption of species distribution model. An evaluation of the applicability of using ecological niche models to assess the invasion risk of cotton mealybug, and further optimizing model complexity, are of both theoretical and practical significance. Based on 706 occurrence records and key bioclimatic variables, we used n-dimensional hypervolume niche analysis method to quantify the climatic niche hypervolumes of this pest in both native and invasive sites, and further tested the niche conservatism hypothesis. MaxEnt model parameters were optimized to predict the invasion risk of the mealybug under current and future climate scenarios in China. The results showed that four climatic variables (annual mean temperature, mean temperature of wettest quarter, mean temperature of warmest quarter, and precipitation of driest quarter) were the key climate factors affecting the distribution of cotton mealybug. Compared with native climatic niche (hypervolume volume, HV=40.43), the niche hypervolume of cotton mealybug in the invasive areas was significantly reduced (HV=6.04). Niche contraction (the net differences between the amount of space enclosed by each hypervolume was 0.84) explained 98.8% of niche differentiation, whereas niche shift (the replacement of space between hypervolumes was 0.01) contributed less than 2%. The direction of climatic niche contraction of the pest in different invasive areas was not exactly consistent. The default parameters of MaxEnt model were unreliable (ΔAICc=14.27), and the optimal parameter combination was obtained as follows: feature combination was linear-quadratic-hinge-product and regularization multiplier was 0.5. The most suitable habitats of cotton mealybug were concentrated in the south of Huaihe River-Qinling Mountains line, and the north-central provinces contained a large area of low suitable habitat. The increase of suitable habitat was not significant at the end of 21 century (SSP1-2.6: 1.7%, SSP5-8.5: 0.7%). The multidimensional climatic niche of P. solenopsis was highly conservative. The species distribution model was suitable for analyzing its invasion risk. The northward spread was obvious, and climate change had less impact on the pest.

Niche conservatism versus niche differentiation in sympatric chipmunks in the northern Sierra Nevada

Abstract Closely related species are predicted to have similar fundamental niches, and therefore to compete locally and possibly be constrained to occur allopatrically. Over time, niche differentiation should lead to divergent use of niche axes, such as food or habitat. Most studies of niche divergence or of niche conservatism have focused on multiple species at large spatial scales. We studied two species of closely related chipmunks at two spatial scales in the northern Sierra Nevada. The Long-eared Chipmunk (Tamias quadrimaculatus) and the Shadow Chipmunk (T. senex) are subcryptic species that exhibit extensive geographic overlap in the northern and central Sierra Nevada. Habitat use at the macrohabitat scale was similar, with both species reaching their highest mean abundance in Red Fir (Abies magnifica) forests, but exhibiting divergent secondary affinities. Additionally, macrohabitat associations of T. senex appear to differ from those reported 50 years ago within the same forest, suggesting flexibility in the face of structural habitat changes resulting from forest management actions, climate change, or other factors. At a finer spatial scale, habitat affinities of these chipmunks differed modestly, suggesting that local distribution emphasizes slightly different microhabitat characteristics. We conclude that these species exhibit niche conservatism overall, but whether microhabitat differences reflect competition or niche divergence requires further study. Because T. quadrimaculatus has the smallest geographic range of any Sierra Nevada sciurid, it may be at risk of local extirpation or substantial range restriction in the face of climate change, large-scale high-severity wildfires, and other stochastic threats; the present research sheds light on the ecology of these species, but has important relevance for regional resource managers as well.

Calyceraceae: Unexpected diversification pattern in the Southern Andes

Calyceraceae comprises 46 species mostly endemic to the Andes and Patagonia in Southern South America, and it is the sister family of Asteraceae, one of the largest Angiosperm families. With a robust phylogeny and with an exceptionally good sampling fraction, we performed macroevolution and biogeographic analyses to understand paleodiversity dynamics through time and space, and its potential drivers. We address the impact of the Andean uplift, global temperature, life forms, and biogeography on Calyceraceae diversification through a time-calibrated phylogeny. Calyceraceae diversification was homogeneous through time and followed a low speciation rate for the last 24 Mya, with no lineage differing much in their diversification dynamics. In accordance with the homogeneous speciation rate, we found that neither the Andean uplift, nor the evolution of global average temperature, nor the different life forms have affected its diversification. The Southern Andes is the centre of origin of the family and major clades within it, and most dispersal events occurred from the Andes to Patagonia. Most Calyceraceae species seem to have originated, evolved, and dispersed within the Argentinean Arid Diagonal, indicating that niche conservatism could have played an important role in the evolution of Calyceraceae. Differences in macroevolution dynamics could explain the asymmetry of species richness in the two sister families Asteraceae-Calyceraceae.

High lability of global niche and range in the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica): Small niche expansions resulting in large range shifts

As a major source of global change, biological invasions have received increasing attention in past decades. Niche and range dynamics of alien invasive species provide essential evidence for understanding mechanisms underlying biological invasions. However, to our knowledge few relevant studies on mollusks have been reported. Here, from the perspective of climatic suitability, we investigated niche and range shifts of the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica), one of the world’s most invasive mollusks. We observed that, compared with its native counterpart, this invasive snail could survive in environments with wider temperature ranges. The invasive snail showed a wider niche breadth and larger potential range than its native counterpart, and occupied different niche and range positions, indicating its high lability in terms of niche and range. This invasive Giant African Snail did not conform to the niche and range conservatism hypotheses, probably due to the influence of human introductions and niche releasing. Given that large shifts in range size can result from small niche expansions, making niche shifts a more important indicator for biological invasion assessments than range shifts. While most invasive species show low lability in niche space, highly labile niche was observed in the Giant African Snail, indicating that strategies to prevent biological invasions by this invasive mollusk should be prioritized. Our study, to certain extent, could further our understanding on the niche shifts and range dynamics between the invasive mollusks and their native counterparts.

Niche shifts and range expansions after invasions of two major pests: the Asian longhorned beetle and the citrus longhorned beetle.

In recent years, the quarantine forestry pests the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) Anoplophora glabripennis and the citrus longhorned beetle (CLB) Anoplophora chinensis have spread across the Northern Hemisphere, triggering concern about their potential distribution. However, little is known about the niche shifts of the pests during the invasion, making it difficult to assess their potential ranges. We thus employed two distinct approaches (i.e., ordination-based and reciprocal model-based) to compare the native and invaded niches of ALB and CLB after their spread to new continents based on global occurrence records. We further constructed models with pooled occurrences from both the native and invaded ranges to analyze the effects of occurrence partitioning on predicted ranges. We detected expansions in the invaded niches of both pests, indicating that the niches shifted to varying extents after the invasion. Large shares of the native niches of ALB and CLB remained unfilled, revealing the potential for further invasion in new regions. The models calibrated with pooled occurrences clearly underestimated the potential ranges in invaded regions compared with the projections based on partitioned models considering native and invaded areas separately. These results emphasize the importance of elucidating the niche dynamics of invasive species for obtaining accurately predicted ranges, which may help identify risk areas masked by the assumption of niche conservatism. Furthermore, prevention and quarantine measures for ALB and CLB are clearly needed to avoid future serious damage to forest ecosystems. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ecological Niches Modelling of the Most Dangerous Invasive Species Top-100 in Russia: Testing the Hypothesis of Conservatism of Ecological Niches

The concept of ecological niches plays an important role in predicting the potential distribution of species in the invasive range and developing invasion management strategies. To test the hypothesis, we used models of ecological niches of the 100 most dangerous invasive species of Russia. Our results show that invasive niches occupy a position similar to native niches in the space of predictor variables and there is a very limited expansion of niches. The results generally support the niche conservatism hypothesis. We also found important exceptional cases of rejection of this hypothesis. The key mechanisms governing the persistence of niche increase our confidence in availability species distribution models to predict the response of species in the framework of ongoing of global climate change.

Comparison of the ecological niche of two closely related toads (Bufo bufo and Bufo verrucosissimus)

Abstract Understanding climatic variables to determine the ecological niche is crucial to explaining species distributions and revealing how sister species coexist within a geographic area. Here, we used ecological niche modeling to determine the ecological niche patterns of two toad species in Türkiye: Bufo bufo and Bufo verrucosissimus. Thus, we tested the ecological niche divergence and similarity between these species. In our results, the potential distribution of B. verrucosissimus showed high suitability throughout all Caucasus hotspots, and this suitability has been found even along the middle and western coast of Türkiye, but suitability was found to be very weak in the southern part of Türkiye. For B. bufo, the distribution pattern indicated high suitability along the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts of Türkiye, but this suitability was low throughout Caucasus hotspots. Furthermore, we found that among B. bufo and B. verrucosissimus, the niches are not identical, but this situation is different in the background test. Therefore, we suggested that although there is niche conservatism between the two sister species, this pattern is caused by geographic barriers, not climatic parameters.

Range restricted old and young lineages show the southern Western Ghats to be both a museum and a cradle of diversity for woody plants.

The Western Ghats (WG) mountain chain is a global biodiversity hotspot with high diversity and endemicity of woody plants. The latitudinal breadth of the WG offers an opportunity to determine the evolutionary drivers of latitudinal diversity patterns. We examined the spatial patterns of evolutionary diversity using complementary phylogenetic diversity and endemism measures. To examine if different regions of the WG serve as a museum or cradle of evolutionary diversity, we examined the distribution of 470 species based on distribution modelling and occurrence locations across the entire region. In accordance with the expectation, we found that the southern WG is both a museum and cradle of woody plant evolutionary diversity, as a higher proportion of both old and young evolutionary lineages are restricted to the southern WG. The diversity gradient is likely driven by high geo-climatic stability in the south and phylogenetic niche conservatism for moist and aseasonal sites. This is corroborated by persistent lineage nestedness at almost all evolutionary depths (10-135 million years), and a strong correlation of evolutionary diversity with drought seasonality, precipitation and topographic heterogeneity. Our results highlight the global value of the WG, demonstrating, in particular, the importance of protecting the southern WG-an engine of plant diversification and persistence.

Simultaneous competition and environmental filtering in woody communities of the understory of Eucalyptus plantations in the Cerrado

Dense and species-rich understory communities have been commonly found in old or abandoned stands of Eucalyptus plantations in the Cerrado domain presenting plant species and ecological niches that suggest a repository of the original biodiversity. This repository depends on the largely unknown effect of Eucalyptus plantations on their understories. We addressed this issue by testing if the effect of Eucalyptus trees on the assembly of Cerrado communities causes environmental filtering or competitive exclusion. For the test, 40 plots (20 inside stands and 20 outside) were allocated and all woody plants with a circumference at the ground level equal to or greater than 10 cm were sampled. Species richness, diversity indexes and species turnover were determined. The phylogenetic structure was evaluated at different scales using the values of Mean Pairwise Distance (MPD), the Mean Nearest Taxon Distance (MNTD), the Net Relatedness Index (NRI) and the Nearest Taxon Index (NTI), as well as phylobetadiversity indices. The metrics of alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity (NTI, MNTD, NRI and MPD, betaMPD and betaMNTD) fell within the random expectation in each plant community, suggesting a phylogenetic uniformity, but fewer plants of the Fabaceae family than expected by chance were detected outside Eucalyptus stands suggesting that this family is filtered in inside Eucalyptus stands. Species richness is lower inside than outside Eucalyptus stands. The pattern is congruent with simultaneous environmental filtering and competitive exclusion in a context of niche conservatism which means that functional traits are conserved within phylogenetic lineages.

Evolutionary history and global angiosperm species richness–climate relationships

AbstractAimClimate has been regarded as an important explanation for large‐scale species richness patterns. However, the mechanisms underlying the significant variations in species richness–climate relationships across different clades remain to be tested. We explored how niche conservatism, diversification rates and time for speciation influenced species richness–climate relationships between clades.LocationThe globe.Time PeriodPresent day.Major Taxa StudiedAngiosperms.MethodsBased on a newly complied database of the global distributions of 288,735 angiosperm species, we used generalized linear models to assess the relationships between species richness of different angiosperm families and climatic factors. We also conducted phylogenetic comparative analysis to test whether niche conservatism, diversification rates and time for speciation affect the variations in species richness–climate relationships.ResultsWe found that temperature seasonality dominated the global angiosperm diversity patterns. Closely related families had more similar species richness–climate relationships than distantly related ones. The discrepancy between the current and ancestral niches of different clades had much stronger effects on variations in species richness–climate relationships than diversification rates and time for speciation. With the increase in the discrepancy between current and ancestral niches, the explanatory power (i.e., R2) of contemporary temperature and precipitation in explaining species richness patterns increased.Main ConclusionsOverall, our findings strongly support that niche conservatism dominates the variations in species richness–climate relationships across taxonomic groups. These findings allow better understanding on how large‐scale species diversity patterns are formed.

Climatic Niche Divergence and Conservatism Promote Speciation in Snake-Eyed Skinks (Sauria: Scincidae): New Insight into the Evolution and Diversification of Ablepharus Species

Climatic Niche Divergence and Conservatism Promote Speciation in Snake-Eyed Skinks (Sauria: Scincidae): New Insight into the Evolution and Diversification of Ablepharus Species

Niche conservatism and ecological change during the Late Devonian mass extinction.

Studies of the fossil record can inform our understanding of not only the causes of mass extinctions, but also their effects on biodiversity, ecology and evolution. Here, we examine regional-scale ecological changes resulting from a Late Devonian mass extinction event using brachiopod fossil assemblages from the Appalachian Basin. About half of the species went extinct, but were largely replaced by new immigrant taxa. Both before and after the extinction, the primary gradient in faunal composition was correlated with onshore-offshore position, with a second gradient attributed to frequency of disturbance. Survivors of the extinction displayed a strong degree of niche conservatism along these gradients. Despite these indicators of ecological stability, the pre- and post-extinction faunas were quite distinct at the order level, with atrypids and strophomenids largely replaced by productids, whose spiny shells may have provided greater resistance to disturbance and/or predation. Thus, extinction survivors persisted in similar ecological niches despite environmental perturbations and considerable change in the taxonomic and ecological composition of the regional species pool.

Niche Dynamics Below the Species Level: Evidence from Evaluating Niche Shifts within Quercus aquifolioides

The role of ecological niches in lineage diversification has been the subject of long-standing interest of ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Specific responses to climate change can arise below the species level, resulting in differentiated adaptation or movement patterns within a given species. Thus, the urgent need to model potential responses to ongoing climate changes among genetically distinct populations within a species is increasingly recognized. In this study, we utilize the information of intraspecific variation within Quercus aquifolioides as a priori, and then focus on the potential distribution ranges and niche dynamics of its three intraspecific lineages (WSP, HDM, and Tibet) under current environmental conditions via ecological niche models (ENMs) and PCA-env ordination method, respectively. Our results indicated that the three lineages have occupied differentiated climatic niches. Although the three lineages have distinctly adaptive strategies for homogeneous environmental conditions, some lineages had sympatric projecting areas. The PCA-env demonstrated that the lineage pair WSP vs. HDM had the largest niche overlap while Tibet vs. HDM showed the smallest one. Moreover, the hypothesis of the niche was indistinguishable within the three lineages rejected, indicating the presence of niche divergence rather than niche conservatism below the species level. Our findings highlight the potential of modeling intraspecific responses to climate change and provide insights into lineage diversification within Q. aquifolioides, permitting the exploration of the information determined by niche evaluations and comparisons to understand plant diversification processes below the species level in biodiversity hotspots.

Niche Filling Dynamics of Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) during Global Invasion

Determining whether the climatic ecological niche of an invasive alien plant is similar to that of the niche occupied by its native population (ecological niche conservatism) is essential for predicting the plant invasion process. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) usually poses serious threats to human health, agriculture, and ecosystems within its newly occupied range. We calculated the overlap, stability, unfilling, and expansion of ragweed's climatic ecological niche using principal component analysis and performed ecological niche hypothesis testing. The current and potential distribution of A. artemisiifolia was mapped by ecological niche models to identify areas in China with the highest potential risk of A. artemisiifolia invasion. The high ecological niche stability indicates that A. artemisiifolia is ecologically conservative during the invasion. Ecological niche expansion (expansion = 0.407) occurred only in South America. In addition, the difference between the climatic and native niches of the invasive populations is mainly the result of unpopulated niches. The ecological niche model suggests that southwest China, which has not been invaded by A. artemisiifolia, faces an elevated risk of invasion. Although A. artemisiifolia occupies a climatic niche distinct from native populations, the climatic niche of the invasive population is only a subset of the native niche. The difference in climatic conditions is the main factor leading to the ecological niche expansion of A. artemisiifolia during the invasion. Additionally, human activities play a substantial role in the expansion of A. artemisiifolia. Alterations in the A. artemisiifolia niche would help explain why this species is so invasive in China.