| Abstract Detail
Integration of Spatial and Ecological Data in Evolutionary Studies Smith, Stephen A. [1], Evans, Margaret E. K. [2], Flynn, Rachel S. [1], Donoghue, Michael J. [1]. Rates of climatic niche evolution in Oenothera sect. Anogra and Kleinia (Onagraceae). Species distribution models have been used extensively for ecological and conservation research in recent years, but their potential as a tool for evolutionary biology has not been adequately explored. In fact, their use in ecology and conservation (to predict invasions or the response of species distributions to climate change) is contingent upon the assumption of niche conservatism. We illustrate an approach for studying the evolution of climatological niches using the combination of species distribution models and phylogenetic information. For this purpose we focus on a clade of 19 plant species endemic to western North America (Oenothera sect. Anogra and Kleinia, Onagraceae). We use high resolution (1 km^2) climate data, a maximum entropy method to model the climatic tolerances of species, and phylogenies inferred from DNA sequence data. We reconstruct the evolution of climatic tolerances using standard continuous models and focus our analysis on the rate at which climatic tolerances evolve, including tests for rate heterogeneity. This approach allows us to investigate how climatic niches evolve over time scales relevant to macroevolutionary biologists. Our results provide examples of both climatic niche conservation and evolution.
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1 - Yale University, Department Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Po Box 208105, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8105, USA
2 - Yale University, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, P. O. Box 208106, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8106, United States of America
Keywords:
species distribution models
Biogeography
character evolution
Oenothera
climatic niches
Niche modeling.
Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: C02
Location: Stevens 2/Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Time: 11:15 AM
Number: C02011
Abstract ID:1379 |
