NCEAS Project 9500

The role of temperature in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity

  • Allen, Andrew

ActivityDatesFurther Information
Postdoctoral Fellowship1st March 2005—28th February 2008Participant List  

Abstract
The mechanisms responsible for latitudinal gradients in biodiversity are still poorly understood. Mechanistic understanding will require new theory that links short-term species coexistence to long-term speciation-extinction dynamics. My research at NCEAS will involve developing and testing a theoretical framework based on temperature dependence of biological rates and times and the dynamics of speciation and extinction. This framework will involve a synthesis of theory and data that encompasses population genetics, community ecology, and macroevolution. The primary motivations for this work are to better understand and predict changes in biodiversity along temperature gradients, and more generally, to better understand the forces that control the origin and maintenance of species.

TypeProducts of NCEAS Research
PublicationAllen, Andrew P.; Gillooly, James F.2006. Assessing latitudinal gradients in speciation rates and biodiversity at the global scale. Ecology Letters. Vol: 9. Pages 947-954.
PublicationAllen, Andrew P.; Gillooly, James F.2007. The mechanistic basis of the metabolic theory of ecology. Oikos. Vol: 116. Pages 1073-1077.
PublicationAllen, Andrew P.; Gillooly, James F.; Brown, James H.2005. Linking the global carbon cycle to individual metabolism. Functional Ecology. Vol: 19. Pages 202-213.
PublicationAllen, Andrew P.; Gillooly, James F.; Savage, Van M.; Brown, James H.2006. Kinetic effects of temperature on rates of genetic divergence and speciation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol: 130(24). Pages 9130-9135.
PublicationAllen, Andrew P.; Savage, Van M.2007. Setting the absolute tempo of biodiversity dynamics. Ecology Letters. Vol: 10. Pages 637-646.
PublicationAnderson, Kristina J.; Allen, Andrew P.; Gillooly, James F.; Brown, James H.2006. Temperature-dependence of biomass accumulation rates during secondary succession. Ecology Letters. Vol: 9. Pages 673-682.
PublicationEnquist, Brian J.; Allen, Andrew P.; Brown, James H.; Gillooly, James F.; Kerkhoff, Andrew J.; Niklas, Karl J.; Price, Charles A.; West, Geoffrey B.2007. Does the exception prove the rule?. Nature. Vol: 445. Pages E9-E10.
PublicationGillooly, James F.; Allen, Andrew P.2007. Changes in body temperature influence the scaling of Vo2max and aerobic scope in mammals. Biology Letters. Vol: 3. Pages 99-102.
PublicationGillooly, James F.; Allen, Andrew P.2007. Linking global patterns in biodiversity to evolutionary dynamics using metabolic theory. Ecology. Vol: 88(8). Pages 1890-1894.
PublicationGillooly, James F.; Allen, Andrew P.; Brown, James H.; Elser, James J.; Martinez del Rio, Carlos ; Savage, Van M.; West, Geoffrey B.; Woodruff, W. H.; Woods, H. A.2005. The metabolic basis of whole-organism RNA and phosphorus content. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol: 102(33). Pages 11923-11927.
PublicationGillooly, James F.; Allen, Andrew P.; Charnov, Eric 2006. Dinosaur fossils predict body temperatures. PLoS Biology. Vol: 4(8). Pages e248.
PublicationGillooly, James F.; McCoy, Michael W.; Allen, Andrew P.2007. Effects of metabolic rate on protein evolution. Biology Letters. Vol: 3. Pages 655-659.
PublicationSavage, Van M.; Allen, Andrew P.; Brown, James H.; Gillooly, James F.; Herman, Alexander B; Woodruff, W. H.; West, Geoffrey B.2007. Scaling of number, size, and metabolic rate of cells with body size in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol: 104(11). Pages 4718-4723.
Data setAllen, Andrew P.2006. Global compilation of molecular evolution data for planktonic foraminifera. (Online version)