The niche, biogeography and species interactions
- 27 August 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by The Royal Society in Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences
- Vol. 366 (1576), 2336-2350
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0059
Abstract
In this paper, I review the relevance of the niche to biogeography, and what biogeography may tell us about the niche. The niche is defined as the combination of abiotic and biotic conditions where a species can persist. I argue that most biogeographic patterns are created by niche differences over space, and that even 'geographic barriers' must have an ecological basis. However, we know little about specific ecological factors underlying most biogeographic patterns. Some evidence supports the importance of abiotic factors, whereas few examples exist of large-scale patterns created by biotic interactions. I also show how incorporating biogeography may offer new perspectives on resource-related niches and species interactions. Several examples demonstrate that even after a major evolutionary radiation within a region, the region can still be invaded by ecologically similar species from another clade, countering the long-standing idea that communities and regions are generally 'saturated' with species. I also describe the somewhat paradoxical situation where competition seems to limit trait evolution in a group, but does not prevent co-occurrence of species with similar values for that trait (called here the 'competition-divergence-co-occurrence conundrum'). In general, the interface of biogeography and ecology could be a major area for research in both fields.Keywords
This publication has 92 references indexed in Scilit:
- Phylogeny, niche conservatism and the latitudinal diversity gradient in mammalsProceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2010
- Birds track their Grinnellian niche through a century of climate changeProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009
- Bringing the Hutchinsonian niche into the 21st century: Ecological and evolutionary perspectivesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009
- Geographic range limits: achieving synthesisProceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2009
- Species invasions and extinction: The future of native biodiversity on islandsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
- Global patterns of diversification in the history of modern amphibiansProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2007
- Historical processes enhance patterns of diversity along latitudinal gradientsProceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2006
- Self-organized similarity, the evolutionary emergence of groups of similar speciesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006
- Latitudinal gradients and geographic ranges of exotic species: implications for biogeographyJournal of Biogeography, 2001
- Thermal Physiology, Phenology, and Distribution of Tree FrogsThe American Naturalist, 1988