Niche Conservatism in Mammals
Author Information
Author(s): Natalie Cooper, Rob P. Freckleton, Walter Jetz
Primary Institution: Yale University
Hypothesis
Niche conservatism will vary across clades in relation to their characteristics.
Conclusion
Tropical, small-ranged, and specialized mammals have more conserved thermal niches than temperate, large-ranged, or generalized mammals.
Supporting Evidence
- Tropical species had lower σ2 values than temperate species for all variables except minimum precipitation.
- Small-ranged species had significantly lower σ2 values than large-ranged species for all temperature variables.
- Specialist species had lower σ2 values than generalist species for all variables.
Takeaway
Some animals are better at sticking to their favorite homes than others, especially those that live in warm places or have special diets.
Methodology
The study used species-level geographical range maps linked to global climate layers to derive species' broad-scale environmental niches and estimated the Brownian rate parameter, σ2, for various environmental niche variables.
Potential Biases
The reliance on geographical range maps may introduce inaccuracies in estimating species' environmental niches.
Limitations
The study assumes that species distributions accurately reflect their fundamental niches, which may not account for dispersal limitations and biotic interactions.
Participant Demographics
The study focused on mammals, with specific classifications based on latitude, range size, body size, and specialization.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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