Predictive modeling for allopatricStrix(Strigiformes: Strigidae) owls in South America: determinants of their distributions and ecological niche-based processes

Abstract

Strix (Strigidae) is a worldwide genus of 17 owl species typical of forested habitats, including Rusty‐barred Owls (S. hylophila), Chaco Owls (S. chacoensis), and Rufous‐legged Owls (S. rufipes) in South America. These species are distributed allopatrically, but the ecological traits that determine their distributions remain largely unknown and their phylogenetic relationships are unclear. We used species distribution models (SDMs) to identify variables explaining their distribution patterns and test hypotheses about ecological divergence and conservatism based on niche overlap analysis. For Rusty‐barred Owls and Chaco Owls, climatic factors related to temperature played a major role, whereas a rainfall variable was more important for Rufous‐legged Owls. When niche overlaps were compared, accounting for regional similarities in the habitat available to each species, an ecological niche divergence process was supported for Chaco Owl‐Rusty‐barred Owl and Chaco Owl‐Rufous‐legged Owl, whereas a niche conservatism process was supported for Rusty‐barred Owl‐Rufous‐legged Owl. Different ecological requirements support current species delimitation, but they are in disagreement with the two main hypotheses currently envisaged about their phylogenetic relationships (Chaco Owls as the sister taxa of either Rufous‐legged Owls or Rusty‐barred Owls) and support a new phylogenetic hypothesis (Rufous‐legged Owls as sister taxa of Rusty‐barred Owls). Our findings suggest that speciation of Rusty‐barred Owls and Rufous‐legged Owls was a vicariant event resulting from Atlantic marine transgressions in southern South America in the Miocene, but their niche was conserved because habitat changed little in their respective ranges. In contrast, Chaco Owls diverged ecologically from the other two species as a result of their adaptations to the habitat they currently occupy. Ecological and historical approaches in biogeography can be embedded to explain distribution patterns, and results provided by SDMs can be used to infer historical and ecological processes in an integrative way.

Multiple abiotic factors correlate with parallel evolution in Australian soil burrowing cockroaches

“…Hypothesized rates of taxon adaptation in novel environments were proposed by Peterson, Soberón, and Sánchez‐Cordero () to be slower than the process of extinction, thereby largely restricting daughter species to ancestral environmental niches. Many subsequent studies have found evidence to instead support the incidence of niche divergence, focusing on taxa including lizards (Losos et al., ), pheasants (Wang et al., ), and owls (Girini, Palacio, & Zelaya, ). Environmental niche models of arid‐adapted taxa have not been studied in depth, the exception being lizards and frogs (Catullo, Lanfear, Doughty, & Keogh, ; Edwards, Keogh, & Knowles, ).…”

Biotic interactions in species distribution models enhance model performance and shed light on natural history of rare birds: a case study using the straight‐billed reedhaunter Limnoctites rectirostris

“…2). To reduce collinearity among variables, a correlation matrix was computed based on 1000 points drawn randomly from each accessible area, and a subset of less correlated variables was selected (Pearson's correlations < |0.8|; Girini et al 2017). Nine climatic (annual mean temperature range, mean diurnal range, maximum temperature of warmest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of wettest quarter, annual precipitation, precipitation of driest month, precipitation of wettest quarter and precipitation of warmest quarter) and ten climatic variables (annual mean temperature range, mean diurnal range, isothermality, maximum temperature of warmest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of wettest quarter, mean temperature of driest quarter, mean temperature of warmest quarter, annual precipitation and precipitation of wettest month) were selected for eryngos and straight-billed reedhaunter distributions, respectively.…”

“…Rather than being a drawback, though, this may represent an opportunity for SDMs to shed light on ecological knowledge on rare and cryptic birds. Indeed, SDMs have shown high performance for identifying important environmental variables explaining the distributions of birds with these characteristics (Gibson et al 2007, Tinoco et al 2009, Marini et al 2010, Botero-Delgadillo et al 2012, Wu et al 2012, Girini et al 2017. In this context, and given that birds are one of the most well-known taxonomic groups, avian SDMs provide a suitable model into which include biotic interactions (Engler et al 2017).…”

Survey and Molecular Characterization of Sarcocystidae protozoa in Wild Cricetid Rodents from Central and Southern Chile

“…Further investigations should test the host–parasite interaction. For instance, an examination of Strix rufipes —the only Strix species reported in Chile [ 40 ], and which predates A. olivacea [ 41 ]—for the presence of Sarcocystis sp. P61 could unveil a definitive host for this putative new taxon of the Sarcocystidae family.…”