Ecological niche modelling and climate change in two species groups of huntsman spider genus Eusparassus in the Western Palearctic

Abstract

The huntsman spiders’ genus Eusparassus are apex arthropod predators in desert ecosystems of the Afrotropical and Palearctic ecoregions. The Eusparassus dufouri and E. walckenaeri clades are two distinct taxonomic, phylogenetic, and geographic units concerning morphology, molecular phylogeny, and spatial data; but little is known about their ecological niche. We applied the maximum-entropy approach and modelled ecologic niches of these two phylogenetically closely related clades. Ecological niches of the two clades were compared using identity and background tests and two different metrics, the Schooner’s D and Warren’s I. We also predicted the impacts of climate change on the distribution of the two clades. The results of the identity test showed that the ecological niches of the two clades were different in geographic space but were similar in environmental space. While results of the background test revealed that the ecological niches of the two clades were similar in geographic and environmental space. This indicated that “niche conservatism” had an important role over the evolutionary time of allopatric diversification. However, the normalized difference vegetation index vs. topographic heterogeneity had influenced the niches of the dufouri and walckenaeri clades, respectively. The analyses recovered that the two clades’ climatically suitable habitats will increase under future climate (the year 2070). However, since the two clades are characterized by the narrow range of environmental optimum and the accordingly high limits of tolerance, they are vulnerable to climate change.

Climate Change, Extreme Temperatures and Sex-Related Responses in Spiders

“…The effects of ACC and CE on spiders are therefore restricted to a few studies on the physiology or behavior of individual species or genera in response to heat exposure, with less data available on longer-term abundance or distributional shifts. A few studies are reporting that warming is correlated with potential or realized shifts in spider distribution northwards [ 65 , 66 ] or with a decrease in niche space or habitat suitability within the current range [ 67 , 68 ]. In thermally stable habitats, such as in caves, some authors are suggesting that rapid warming may drive many spiders adapted to these habitats to extinction in the coming decades [ 69 ].…”

Ant diversity and species assemblages along an elevational gradient in the arid area of Central Iran

“…Mostly because arid regions have Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 2024  10 (1) scarce freshwater resources and any disruption in precipitation patterns or increased evaporation due to climate change can exacerbate water scarcity, impacting ecosystems and biodiversity. Thus predicting the response of arid regions' biodiversity to the main drivers of global change is of special interest (Moradmand & Yousefi, 2022). However, the biodiversity of arid regions in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia is not well documented and these regions are considered gaps in the global biodiversity information (Peterson & Soberón, 2018).…”

Two Species Delimitation of Pseudaulacaspis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) Based on Morphology, Molecular Clustering, and Niche Differentiation

“…At present, many studies introduce ecological niches as a factor in biodiversity research [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Different from the concept of a biological species, the ecological species [ 24 , 25 ] emphasizes the species occupying a unique ecological niche, further expanding the concept of a species.…”