Sexual selection is positively associated with ecological generalism among agamid lizards

Natural and sexual selection shape the evolution of species but the interplay between them is poorly understood. Two phylogenetic studies on birds have suggested that species with greater sexual dichromatism have a broader habitat use. We show that in agamid lizards, species with more elaborate secondary sexual traits are also ecologically more opportunistic. Species with greater dimorphism in head size and ornamentation have greater altitudinal range and broader habitat use, respectively, and species with greater sexual dichromatism have wider microhabitat use. Body size was positively associated with sexual and ecological generalism, but associations between ecological and sexual traits remained after accounting for body size. We suggest that sexual and natural selection may be linked either because sexual selection can promote generalism at the population level by favouring 'good genes', or because higher population densities may be associated with both stronger sexual selection and broader resource use.     

Do traits of plant species predict the efficacy of species distribution models for finding new occurrences?

Species distribution models (SDMs) are used to test ecological theory and to direct targeted surveys for species of conservation concern. Several studies have tested for an influence of species traits on the predictive accuracy of SDMs. However, most used the same set of environmental predictors for all species and/or did not use truly independent data to test SDM accuracy. We built eight SDMs for each of 24 plant species of conservation concern, varying the environmental predictors included in each SDM version. We then measured the accuracy of each SDM using independent presence and absence data to calculate area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and true positive rate (TPR). We used generalized linear mixed models to test for a relationship between species traits and SDM accuracy, while accounting for variation in SDM performance that might be introduced by different predictor sets. All traits affected one or both SDM accuracy measures. Species with lighter seeds, animal‐dispersed seeds, and a higher density of occurrences had higher AUC and TPR than other species, all else being equal. Long‐lived woody species had higher AUC than herbaceous species, but lower TPR. These results support the hypothesis that the strength of species–environment correlations is affected by characteristics of species or their geographic distributions. However, because each species has multiple traits, and because AUC and TPR can be affected differently, there is no straightforward way to determine a priori which species will yield useful SDMs based on their traits. Most species yielded at least one useful SDM. Therefore, it is worthwhile to build and test SDMs for the purpose of finding new populations of plant species of conservation concern, regardless of these species’ traits.     

Fruit‐breeding drosophilids (Diptera) in the Neotropics: playing the field and specialising in generalism?

1. Species of Drosophilidae are frequently used as model organisms, but their relationships with the environment, particularly in immature stages, remain poorly known. 2. This is the most comprehensive survey to date of fruit‐breeding drosophilids and their hosts in the Neotropics. Drosophilid host‐utilisation patterns were analysed as to geographic origin (native versus exotic) and level of specialisation. 3. The 180 species of plants recorded as drosophilid hosts are distributed across the main Angiosperm lineages and fleshy‐fruited orders; plant families that hosted the greatest number of drosophilid species were Arecaceae, Moraceae, and Myrtaceae. The 100 nominal drosophilid species recorded breeding in fruits belong to just over one‐third of Neotropical genera; most species (91) belong to Drosophila. Drosophilid species with the greatest resource breadth were Drosophila simulans, Drosophila nebulosa, and Zaprionus indianus. 4. Exotic drosophilids breed in more plant species than Neotropical drosophilids and use exotic hosts more frequently, possibly because they are generalists that have survived the trial of introduction and establishment in the Neotropics. Native drosophilids are more variable in resource breadth and sometimes adopt exotic hosts. 5. Amongst the 49 drosophilids with enough records for analysis (> 4), 48 were categorised as generalists. One possible explanation for such overwhelming generalism is the high diversity of Neotropical habitat or hosts. A second, non‐exclusive explanation, suggested by recent studies and empirically supported by the absence of host specialisation found in this study, is that drosophilids could be selective of the dominant yeasts and bacteria in host tissue, and not of the hosts themselves.     

生态位有关术语的定义及计算公式评述

生态位(niche)理论在种间关系、群落结构、种的多样性及种群进化的研究中已被广泛应用。但对生态位及有关术语诸如生态位宽度、生态位重叠、生态位大小的定义至今还比较混乱。对于它们的计测,虽已提出了许多公式,但对其在生态学上的合理性仍有争议,本文试就这方面的问题作一评述。     

Urban birds have broader environmental tolerance

Urbanization dramatically changes the composition and diversity of biotic communities. The characteristics distinguishing species that persist in urban environments, however, are poorly understood. Here we test the hypothesis that broadly adapted organisms are better able to tolerate urbanization, using a phylogenetically controlled, global comparison of birds. We compared elevational and latitudinal distributions of 217 urban birds found in 73 of the world's largest cities with distributions of 247 rural congeners to test the hypothesis that urban birds possess broader environmental tolerance. Urban birds had markedly broader environmental tolerance than rural congeners, as estimated by elevational and latitudinal distributions. Our results suggest that broad environmental tolerance may predispose some birds to thrive in urban habitats. The mechanisms mediating such environmental tolerance warrant further investigation, but probably include greater behavioural, physiological and ecological flexibility.     

白颈长尾雉与白鹇秋冬季空间生态位比较

2008年9月-2009年2月,在江西官山国家级自然保护区对白颈长尾雉(Syrmaticus ellioti)和白鹇(Lophura nycthemera)及其栖息地生态因子进行调查,通过8个资源轴分析了2个种的多维生态位宽度、重叠及种间竞争.结果表明,白鹇和白颈长尾雉综合空间生态位宽度分别仅为0.268和0.294;白鹇的海拔和坡度空间生态位大于白颈长尾雉.而白颈长尾雉的坡向生态位宽度大于白鹇,在其他资源轴上二者接近;白颈长尾雉和白鹇的栖息地生态位相似性为0.425,竞争系数为0.584,竞争比较激烈.应加强低海拔地区植被及水源的保护,减少人为干扰.     

福建三明钩栲种群与主要伴生树种生态位研究

采用Levins生态位宽度及重叠、Shannon-Wiener生态位宽度测度式,定量分析福建三明钩栲群落8个主要伴生树种的生态位宽度、生态位重叠。结果表明,该群落中优势种的生态位宽度值均普遍较大;生态位宽的种群对生态位窄的种群可能有较大的重叠值,反之则低;揭示钩栲的生态位特征及空间分布格局,对今后生产实践具有一定的参考价值。     

新疆阜康绿洲荒漠过渡带主要植物种的生态位分析

采用Levins公式和王刚生态重叠计测方法,对新疆阜康绿洲荒漠过渡带中的7个植物种,分别从群落梯度和3个单一生态因子（土壤水分维,土壤盐分维,土壤酸碱度维）上对其生态位分化进行了定量分析。结果如下：（1）在群落梯度上,生态位大小依次为红砂（0.7010）,梭梭（0.6434）,角果藜（0.4774）,雾冰藜（0.3745）,盐爪爪（0.3541）,叉毛蓬（0.3354）和碱蓬（0.2769）;（2）红砂在土壤水分、土壤盐分、土壤酸碱度维上的生态位分别为0.5274,0.6039和0.3620,梭梭在这3维上分别为03320,0.3083和0.5103,从生态位宽度看,红砂和梭梭处于优势种地位,其余为非优势种;（3）每个物种在群落梯度上的生态位宽度基本大于在上述3个资源轴上的平均生态位;（4）红砂与梭梭在土壤盐分维上的生态位重叠最大（0.4203）。表明了这两个优势种在利用土壤盐分方面有相似的特性。