Niche Divergence at Intraspecific Level in the Hyrcanian Wood Frog, Rana pseudodalmatina: A Phylogenetic, Climatic, and Environmental Survey

Abstract

The role of ecological niche divergence in lineage speciation has recently stimulated the interest of evolutionary biologists and ecologists. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed that the Hyrcanian wood frog, Rana pseudodalmatina, has diverged into two western and eastern regional clades (WRC and ERC) within the Hyrcanian forest. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the ecological niches of WRC and ERC are conserved or diverged, as well as to figure out what variables promote niche conservatism or divergence. For this purpose, the maximum entropy model was employed to assess environmental niche modeling in geographical (G) space utilizing climatic and macro-environmental data. The niche overlap, equivalency, and similarity tests based on PCAenv analyses were used to assess niche divergence or conservatism in environmental (E) space. The findings strongly support the hypothesis that WRC and ERC have undergone substantial niche divergence and are constrained by a unique set of climatic and macro-environmental conditions. This study by ecological niche comparisons based on phylogenetic data provides new insights into the exploration of species diversification processes in the Hyrcanian forests.

Identifying connectivity for two sympatric carnivores in human-dominated landscapes in central Iran

“…Machine learning models (e.g., Random Forest) have advantages over standard regression models as they are able to capture nonlinear patterns as well as linear correlation. Also, in contrast to machine learning models, the validity of regression models depends on several assumptions such as normality, data independence, and additivity which are rarely valid in ecological context [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Climatic adaptation explains responses to Pleistocene oscillations and diversification in European vipers

“…The Miocene was characterized by a gradual global cooling, ice sheet growth, regional aridification and expansion of grasslands at the expense of forests (Steinthorsdottir et al, 2021). These climatic conditions likely acted as selective pressures across landscapes, causing divergent evolutionary responses and environmental tolerances across different groups (Ahmadzadeh et al, 2013; Vaissi & Rezaei, 2022). Fossil records of Vipera ancestors in the early Miocene support a first establishment of the three clades in distinct landmasses located in the north ( Pelias ), southwest ( Vipera 1) and southeast ( Vipera 2) of Europe (Szyndlar & Rage, 1999).…”

“…Understanding how ecological factors promote species diversification is a fundamental topic in ecology and evolutionary biology (Coyne & Orr, 2004; Travis et al, 2013). The role of niche divergence and niche conservatism during speciation can impact species persistence and colonization of new geographical areas (Rato et al, 2015; Vaissi & Rezaei, 2022). Allopatric speciation, the most common mode of diversification, arises from genetic differences between isolated populations, promoting the gradual acquisition of divergent characters (Coyne & Orr, 2004).…”

Predicting the habitat suitability and niche dynamics of two Ziziphus species in response to climate change

“…Ecologists have developed various approaches and metrics for scrutinizing species' niche dynamics across spatial and temporal scales (Broennimann et al, 2012). A central question in niche theory revolves around whether species maintain or diverge from their ecological niches (Vaissi and Rezaei, 2022). Niche conservatism, a biological concept, characterizes the inclination of species to adhere to their ancestral niches (Wiens & Graham, 2005;Vaissi & Rezaei, 2022;Du et al, 2023;Han et al, 2023).…”

“…A central question in niche theory revolves around whether species maintain or diverge from their ecological niches (Vaissi and Rezaei, 2022). Niche conservatism, a biological concept, characterizes the inclination of species to adhere to their ancestral niches (Wiens & Graham, 2005;Vaissi & Rezaei, 2022;Du et al, 2023;Han et al, 2023). Climate change has brought niche conservatism into focus as a potential concern and threat to organisms (Wiens et al, 2010;Aguirre-Gutierrez et al, 2015).…”