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NCEAS
NCEAS Project 12208
The role of niche conservatism in producing biodiversity gradients
- Cornell, Howard
- Harrison, Susan
- McCain, Christy
| Activity | Dates | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Working Group | 17th—20th October 2008 | Participant List |
Abstract
Species diversity at broad spatial scales increases most strongly with productivity (terrestrial realm) and temperature (marine realm). The reason for such global-scale trends is still unknown. Ecological mechanisms operate locally and therefore appear inadequate to explain why these patterns are strongest at the largest geographic scales. Our goal is to test a novel evolutionary/historical hypothesis ? the climatic ?niche-conservatism? hypothesis ? which postulates that more species inhabit more productive or warmer environments because most higher taxa originated in such environments, and evolutionary constraints limit occupancy of colder or more arid regions. This hypothesis yields the testable prediction that ancestral climate state accounts for the strength of productivity- or temperature-richness relationships among taxa. We will test this using newly developed phylogenetic methods on both terrestrial and marine data. We will also quantify the timescales over which niche conservatism operates, analyze historical climate-richness data, and investigate possible mechanisms for niche conservatism.
