RESEARCH PAPER
Historical environmental stability drives discordant niche filling dynamics across phylogenetic scales
Brunno F. Oliveira,
Jeffry M. Flenniken,
Robert P. Guralnick,
Stephen E. Williams,
Brett R. Scheffers,
Corresponding Author
Brunno F. Oliveira
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL, USA
Correspondence
Brunno F. Oliveira, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorJeffry M. Flenniken
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRobert P. Guralnick
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorStephen E. Williams
Centre for Tropical Environmental & Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorBrett R. Scheffers
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBrunno F. Oliveira,
Jeffry M. Flenniken,
Robert P. Guralnick,
Stephen E. Williams,
Brett R. Scheffers,
Corresponding Author
Brunno F. Oliveira
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL, USA
Correspondence
Brunno F. Oliveira, Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorJeffry M. Flenniken
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRobert P. Guralnick
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorStephen E. Williams
Centre for Tropical Environmental & Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorBrett R. Scheffers
Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBrunno F. Oliveira and Jeffry M. Flenniken shared first authorship.
Handling Editor: David Chapple
Abstract
Aim
Regional diversity can increase owing to either the packing of species within regional niche space or the expansion of regional niche space. Yet, the primary factors dictating these dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we assess the relative influence of current environmental conditions (net primary productivity, NPP) versus historic environmental stability over the Last Glacial Maximum on niche filling patterns of vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles) in the Australian Wet Tropics (AWTs).
Location
Australian Wet Tropics.
Taxon
Vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles).
Methods
We measured patterns of niche filling (niche packing vs. niche expansion) as the standardized departure of observed functional diversity (FD) from its null expectation. We fitted spatial models for vertebrates, and for each constituent class (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles) separately, to evaluate the relative effects of NPP and environmental stability on species richness and niche filling patterns.
Results
Historical environmental stability had a greater effect than NPP on species richness and niche filling patterns. However, the directionality of this effect depended on phylogenetic scale, with vertebrates exhibiting niche packing while each constituent class (except reptiles) exhibited niche expansion with increasing environmental stability.
Main Conclusion
Intra-class competition presumably leads to niche differentiation and expansion, whereas the overlap of functional traits among species from different classes leads to niche packing. That environmental stability over millennia is associated with an expanding niche space across multiple vertebrate classes suggests that the accumulation of FD within communities requires long recovery times.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
Authors declare no competing interests.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Species distribution and trait data are available from Williams et al. (2010), downloadable from https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3303180.v1.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| jbi13798-sup-0001-AppendixS1.csvapplication/csv, 9.4 KB | |
| jbi13798-sup-0002-AppendixS2.docxWord document, 304.8 KB | |
| jbi13798-sup-0003-VideoS1.gifGIF image, 2.3 MB |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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