History matters: ecometrics and integrative climate change biology

Polly, P. David; Eronen, Jussi T.; Fred, Marianne S.; Dietl, Gregory P.; Mosbrugger, Volker; Scheidegger, Christoph; Frank, David; Damuth, John; Stenseth, Nils Chr.; Fortelius, Mikael

doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2233

Cited by 89 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 94 publications

(120 reference statements)

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“…These results document this pattern for the first time in fossil marine mammal assemblages. Because our results showed that the taxonomic components of each assemblage involved taxa that were largely unrelated to one another (i.e., none were sister taxa), we argue that the iterative evolution of multispecies dugongid communities demonstrates the merit of extending questions about generality of community assembly [29], [30] into the fossil record of marine mammals, paralleling ongoing efforts with the comparatively denser and better-studied fossil record of terrestrial mammals [31]–[38]. Although we relied on ecomorphologic and body size proxies to detect the resource partitioning described for fossil dugongid communities, the application of other methods could possibly yield additional information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Iterative Evolution of Sympatric Seacow (Dugongidae, Sirenia) Assemblages during the Past ∼26 Million Years

2012

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Extant sirenians show allopatric distributions throughout most of their range. However, their fossil record shows evidence of multispecies communities throughout most of the past ∼26 million years, in different oceanic basins. Morphological differences among co-occurring sirenian taxa suggest that resource partitioning played a role in structuring these communities. We examined body size and ecomorphological differences (e.g., rostral deflection and tusk morphology) among sirenian assemblages from the late Oligocene of Florida, early Miocene of India and early Pliocene of Mexico; each with three species of the family Dugongidae. Although overlapping in several ecomorphological traits, each assemblage showed at least one dominant trait in which coexisting species differed. Fossil sirenian occurrences occasionally are monotypic, but the assemblages analyzed herein show iterative evolution of multispecies communities, a phenomenon unparalleled in extant sirenian ecology. As primary consumers of seagrasses, these communities likely had a strong impact on past seagrass ecology and diversity, although the sparse fossil record of seagrasses limits direct comparisons. Nonetheless, our results provide robust support for previous suggestions that some sirenians in these extinct assemblages served as keystone species, controlling the dominance of climax seagrass species, permitting more taxonomically diverse seagrass beds (and sirenian communities) than many of those observed today.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Iterative Evolution of Sympatric Seacow (Dugongidae, Sirenia) Assemblages during the Past ∼26 Million Years

2012

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“…ANCASH: Huaraz , Tullparaju, 4300, -9.03; -77.67 (FMNH 81371, 81373) [1]; Huari , Canrash, 4370 m, -9.68; -77.05 (mcp 54, 55, 56, 59, 63) [2]; Huari , Chacacmonte, 4220 m, -9.68; -77.11 (mcp 34, 35, 36, 42) [3]; Huari , Jupro, 4000 m, -9.59; -77.08 (mcp 67, 68) [4]; Huari, Paccha, 4240 m, -9.63; -77.12 (mcp 04, 05, 11, 15, 18, 20) [5]; Huari , Pumahuain, 4250 m, -9.66; -77.13 (mcp 24) [6]; Huari , Río Mosna, between Chavín and San Marcos, 3100 m, -9.55;-77.17 (FMNH 129213, 129215, 129219, 129225) [7]; Santa , Macate, 2250 m, -8.77; -78.08 (FMNH 20899, 20905, 20909) [8]. …”

Section: Appendix – Specimens Used In the Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, across species there is a negative correlation between body size and environmental temperature (Bergmann’s rule [4]) and an association in mammals between precipitation and high degree of hypsodonty in species inhabiting arid and grassy regions [5,6]. However, localized phenotypes may not necessarily be observed within a species, even if populations occur across steep environmental gradients and disparate ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Localized versus generalist phenotypes in a broadly distributed tropical mammal: how is intraspecific variation distributed across disparate environments?

2013

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BackgroundThe extent of phenotypic differentiation in response to local environmental conditions is a key component of species adaptation and persistence. Understanding the structuring of phenotypic diversity in response to local environmental pressures can provide important insights into species evolutionary dynamics and responses to environmental change. This work examines the influence of steep environmental gradients on intraspecific phenotypic variation and tests two hypotheses about how the tropical soft grass mouse, Akodon mollis (Cricetidae, Rodentia), contends with the disparate environmental conditions encompassed by its broad distribution. Specifically, we test if the species expresses a geographically unstructured, or generalist, phenotype throughout its range or if it shows geographically localized morphological differentiation across disparate environments.ResultsUsing geometric morphometric and ecomorphological analyses of skull shape variation we found that despite distinct environmental conditions, geographically structured morphological variation is limited, with the notable exception of a distinct morphological disjunction at the high-elevation forest-grassland transition in the southern portion of A. mollis distribution. Based on genetic analyses, geographic isolation alone does not explain this localized phenotype, given that similar levels of genetic differentiation were also observed among individuals inhabiting other ecosystems that are nonetheless not distinct morphologically.ConclusionsInstead of phenotypic specialization across environments in these tropical mountains, there was limited differentiation of skull shape and size across the broad range of A. mollis, with the exception of individuals from the puna, the highest-elevation ecosystem. The high morphological variance among individuals, together with a weak association with local environmental conditions, not only highlights the flexibility of A. mollis’ skull, but also highlights the need for further study to understand what maintains the observed morphological patterns. The work also indicates that mechanisms other than processes linked to local ecological specialization as a driver of diversification may contribute to the high diversity of this tropical region.

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“…These traits must be easily measured, their structure must be closely related to their function, and they must directly interact with their environment (Eronen et al 2010). Ecometrics has come into the spotlight as a way to measure both biodiversity (Roberts and Moore 1997;Alfaro et al 2007;Anderson 2009and effects of climate change in many different types of organisms (Eronen et al 2010;Polly et al 2011). Ecometrics can also be used to examine how morphology shapes ecological communities and how niches are partitioned in closely related sympatric species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Multiscale Assessment of Community Assembly across Time, Space, and Functional Niche

Meachen

Roberts²

2014

The American Naturalist

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A basic ecological tenet is that organisms in a community occupy different niches and have different traits, but how consistently competition, selection, and phylogenetic effects structure communities remains uncertain. Are all communities created equal? We examine how mammalian carnivoran communities are assembled with regard to mass, diet, and locomotion. Here, we use a multivariate nearest-neighbor framework to examine multiple North American localities spanning 3 million years to determine whether community assembly is consistent through time and four modern localities around the world to assess the effects of habitat. Additionally, we examined how trait patterns differ among families and how familylevel evolutionary effects affect them. We found some broadly consistent patterns, although differences are more pronounced than similarities. Diet is more affected by evolutionary constraints than by time or place. Locomotion is most affected by habitat, and the ability to partition niches is related to habitat heterogeneity. Mass is influenced by family, but also by habitat and the mass-selective extinction events at the end-Pleistocene. These findings indicate that assembly patterns are not largely determined by within-community interactions but instead show that each community is a product of its independent variables.

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History matters: ecometrics and integrative climate change biology

Cited by 89 publications

References 94 publications

Iterative Evolution of Sympatric Seacow (Dugongidae, Sirenia) Assemblages during the Past ∼26 Million Years

Iterative Evolution of Sympatric Seacow (Dugongidae, Sirenia) Assemblages during the Past ∼26 Million Years

Localized versus generalist phenotypes in a broadly distributed tropical mammal: how is intraspecific variation distributed across disparate environments?

A Novel Multiscale Assessment of Community Assembly across Time, Space, and Functional Niche

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