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1
Wilkes, Martin. "FLNG—a nice niche?" APPEA Journal 55, no. 2 (2015): 408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj14043.
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The LNG industry continues to experience strong growth. After a decade where industry growth outstripped expectations, even without the anticipated growth in LNG imports to the US, the outlook for LNG appears robust. New markets and suppliers are emerging and market dynamics are changing, in particular the marked increase in short-term contracts and spot market trading. LNG developments historically have been land based. Increases in process train capacities have enabled economies of scale to be achieved, helping to mitigate rising costs. As a result of these economies of scale, the resource base required to support developments has also increased. The development of FLNG together with a shift in market patterns presents the chance to fill a market space. Though FLNG has a long way to go before becoming widely accepted as a standard development route. This extended abstract will: Examine how different approaches to FLNG are being taken to fill the space left by traditional land-based LNG solutions. Investigate the similarities and differences between FLNG developments and how the world floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) fleet has developed in the last few decades, and will discuss the implications for FLNG development. Examine how the changes in market dynamics may support the development of FLNG. Outline the potential opportunities and challenges this could present to on- and off- shore producers in Australia. Provide an overview of the possible future of FLNG.
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Kandarakov, Oleg, Alexander Belyavsky, and Ekaterina Semenova. "Bone Marrow Niches of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23, no. 8 (April 18, 2022): 4462. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23084462.
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The mammalian hematopoietic system is remarkably efficient in meeting an organism’s vital needs, yet is highly sensitive and exquisitely regulated. Much of the organismal control over hematopoiesis comes from the regulation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by specific microenvironments called niches in bone marrow (BM), where HSCs reside. The experimental studies of the last two decades using the most sophisticated and advanced techniques have provided important data on the identity of the niche cells controlling HSCs functions and some mechanisms underlying niche-HSC interactions. In this review we discuss various aspects of organization and functioning of the HSC cell niche in bone marrow. In particular, we review the anatomy of BM niches, various cell types composing the niche, niches for more differentiated cells, metabolism of HSCs in relation to the niche, niche aging, leukemic transformation of the niche, and the current state of HSC niche modeling in vitro.
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Liu, Chunlong, Christian Wolter, Weiwei Xian, and Jonathan M. Jeschke. "Most invasive species largely conserve their climatic niche." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 38 (September 3, 2020): 23643–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004289117.
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The ecological niche is a key concept for elucidating patterns of species distributions and developing strategies for conserving biodiversity. However, recent times are seeing a widespread debate whether species niches are conserved across space and time (niche conservatism hypothesis). Biological invasions represent a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis in a short time frame at the global scale. We synthesized empirical findings for 434 invasive species from 86 studies to assess whether invasive species conserve their climatic niche between native and introduced ranges. Although the niche conservatism hypothesis was rejected in most studies, highly contrasting conclusions for the same species between and within studies suggest that the dichotomous conclusions of these studies were sensitive to techniques, assessment criteria, or author preferences. We performed a consistent quantitative analysis of the dynamics between native and introduced climatic niches reported by previous studies. Our results show there is very limited niche expansion between native and introduced ranges, and introduced niches occupy a position similar to native niches in the environmental space. These findings support the niche conservatism hypothesis overall. In particular, introduced niches were narrower for terrestrial animals, species introduced more recently, or species with more native occurrences. Niche similarity was lower for aquatic species, species introduced only intentionally or more recently, or species with fewer introduced occurrences. Climatic niche conservatism for invasive species not only increases our confidence in transferring ecological niche models to new ranges but also supports the use of niche models for forecasting species responses to changing climates.
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Johnston, T. A., A. D. Ehrman, G. L. Hamilton, B. K. Nugent, P. A. Cott, and J. M. Gunn. "Plenty of room at the bottom: niche variation and segregation in large-bodied benthivores of boreal lakes." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 76, no. 8 (August 2019): 1411–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2018-0180.
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Realized trophic niches of aquatic consumers are expected to reflect the particular abiotic and biotic conditions of the ecosystems they occupy. We examined patterns in the position, size, and shape of trophic niches of two common benthivorous fishes, white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), across boreal lakes using a stable isotope approach. In sympatry, white sucker niche positions reflected greater benthic reliance (higher δ13C) and lower trophic elevation (lower δ15N) compared with lake whitefish, and white sucker niche sizes (dispersion in δ13C–δ15N space) were also larger. Niche sizes of both species increased with maximum depth of lakes. Separation of trophic niche positions of the two species increased with increasing water clarity, but their niche sizes did not increase with increasing separation in their niche positions. White sucker occupied a niche position with slightly greater pelagic reliance and trophic elevation and had smaller trophic niches in the absence than in the presence of lake whitefish. Trophic niches of these benthivores appear to be shaped by both environmental factors and interspecific interactions.
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Figueiredo, Giovanna Corrêa e., Karina Bohrer do Amaral, and Marcos César de Oliveira Santos. "Cetaceans along the southeastern Brazilian coast: occurrence, distribution and niche inference at local scale." PeerJ 8 (October 5, 2020): e10000. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10000.
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It is deemed important to understand cetacean occurrence and distribution to comprehend their ecological roles. The geographical occurrence of species’ niche can be used to better describe their potential distribution. The niche can be defined using environmental variables. Those variables are considered static and not affected by biological activities. The present study goal was to assess the occurrence and distribution of cetaceans along the southeastern Brazilian coast, as well as to define the fundamental and realized niche of each species and to investigate niche overlap at local scale. The environmental requirements for each species were also investigated throughout statistical tests. Sighting data were obtained through oceanographic surveys conducted between 2012 and 2015. The environmental variables available on MARSPEC and the software NicheA were used for the ecological niche modeling. A total of twelve cetacean species were identified and the potential distribution areas of the six commonest ones were defined. Even though the species presented different environmental preferences, most of them had partial overlap among niches and potential distribution areas. The environmental heterogeneity of the study area might support the co-occurrence of different species with different environmental requirements.
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Sun, Bo. "Niches and Sculptures of the Imaginary Realm—Revisiting the Fowan Rock Carvings, Beishan, Dazu." Religions 15, no. 1 (December 28, 2023): 50. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15010050.
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The Fowan Cliff Carvings are a key part of the Dazu Grottoes. Formed in a southern and northern stretch, the 290 individual niches at Fowan were mostly sculpted from the Late Tang to the Southern Song. Previous research by archaeologists and art historians has used typological and iconographic methods to periodize these niches and debate the themes behind particular niche sculptures. This essay employs niche inscriptions in a discussion of typical Fowan niche contents, matching lay feasting activities onto the period background behind their construction. These individual case studies grant an understanding of the overall atmosphere at Fowan through the shared inclinations or connections between niches, also reflecting specific niche sculptures via holistic analysis. This method, repeatedly examining the relationship between the niches and site from the perspective of “venue”, helps us restore a sense of situatedness when facing different eras of Fowan and to understand the choice in statue content, changes in niche content, and the design underlying niche form.
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Hannan, Michael T., Glenn R. Carroll, and László Pólos. "The Organizational Niche." Sociological Theory 21, no. 4 (December 2003): 309–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-9558.2003.00192.x.
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Although the concept of niche has been extremely useful in sociological theory and research, some aspects of the concept have not been clearly developed. This article advances a theoretical reconstruction of the concept of niche, with special application to organizations. The proposed formal model unifies several active lines of sociological theory. It also extends the notion of the niche from the realm of behaviors to apply to the rules coding social identities and organizational forms. The reconstruction gives deeper insight into the niche of an organizational population as well as individual organizations. Finally, the model analyzes the (thus far) tacit assumption that niches are convex, examines the implications of convexity for commonly used measures of niche width, and provides a general sociological argument for the predominance of convex niches.
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Cooper, Natalie, Rob P. Freckleton, and Walter Jetz. "Phylogenetic conservatism of environmental niches in mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278, no. 1716 (January 5, 2011): 2384–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2207.
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Phylogenetic niche conservatism is the pattern where close relatives occupy similar niches, whereas distant relatives are more dissimilar. We suggest that niche conservatism will vary across clades in relation to their characteristics. Specifically, we investigate how conservatism of environmental niches varies among mammals according to their latitude, range size, body size and specialization. We use the Brownian rate parameter, σ 2 , to measure the rate of evolution in key variables related to the ecological niche and define the more conserved group as the one with the slower rate of evolution. We find that tropical, small-ranged and specialized mammals have more conserved thermal niches than temperate, large-ranged or generalized mammals. Partitioning niche conservatism into its spatial and phylogenetic components, we find that spatial effects on niche variables are generally greater than phylogenetic effects. This suggests that recent evolution and dispersal have more influence on species' niches than more distant evolutionary events. These results have implications for our understanding of the role of niche conservatism in species richness patterns and for gauging the potential for species to adapt to global change.
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Sillero, Neftalí, Elena Argaña, Cátia Matos, Marc Franch, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou, and Miguel A. Carretero. "Local Segregation of Realised Niches in Lizards." ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 9, no. 12 (December 21, 2020): 764. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9120764.
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Species can occupy different realised niches when sharing the space with other congeneric species or when living in allopatry. Ecological niche models are powerful tools to analyse species niches and their changes over time and space. Analysing how species’ realised niches shift is paramount in ecology. Here, we examine the ecological realised niche of three species of wall lizards in six study areas: three areas where each species occurs alone; and three areas where they occur together in pairs. We compared the species’ realised niches and how they vary depending on species’ coexistence, by quantifying niche overlap between pairs of species or populations with the R package ecospat. For this, we considered three environmental variables (temperature, humidity, and wind speed) recorded at each lizard re-sighting location. Realised niches were very similar when comparing syntopic species occurring in the same study area. However, realised niches differed when comparing conspecific populations across areas. In each of the three areas of syntopy, the less abundant species shift its realised niche. Our study demonstrates that sympatry may shift species’ realised niche.
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Ramírez-Albores, Jorge E., Gustavo Bizama, Ramiro O. Bustamante, and Ernesto I. Badano. "Niche conservatism in a plant with long invasion history: the case of the Peruvian peppertree (Schinus molle, Anacardiaceae) in Mexico." Plant Ecology and Evolution 153, no. 1 (March 26, 2020): 3–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2020.1562.
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Background and aim – Invasive plants should only colonize habitats meeting the environmental conditions included in their native niches. However, if they invade habitats with novel environmental conditions, this can induce shifts in their niches. This may occur in plants with long invasion histories because they interacted with the environmental conditions of invaded regions over long periods of time. We focused on this issue and evaluated whether the niche of the oldest plant invader reported in Mexico, the Peruvian peppertree, is still conserved after almost 500 years of invasion history. Methods – We compared climatic niches of the species between the native and invaded region. We later used species distribution models (SDM) to visualize the geographical expression of both niches in Mexico. Results – The invasive niche of the Peruvian peppertree is fully nested within the native niche. Although this suggests that the niche is conserved, this also indicates that a large fraction of the native niche is empty in the invaded region. The SDM from the native region indicated that Mexico contains habitats meeting the conditions included in this empty fraction of the native niche and, thus, this invasion should continue expanding. Nevertheless, the SDM calibrated with data from the invaded region indicated that peppertrees have colonized all suitable habitats indicated by its invasive niche and, thus, their populations should no longer expand. Conclusion – Our results suggests that the niche of the Peruvian peppertree is partially conserved in Mexico. This may have occurred because individuals introduced into Mexico constituted a small, nonrepresentative sample of the full niche of the species.
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Richards, Greg. "Rethinking niche tourism: The example of backpacking." Croatian Regional Development Journal 2, no. 1 (June 1, 2021): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/crdj-2021-0004.
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Abstract This conceptual paper re-evaluates the concept of niches in tourism markets. As many regions are now attempting to address niche markets in tourism as a development strategy, understanding of the dynamics of niche markets is crucial. Current approaches are often limited to seeing niche markets as simple subsectors of larger consumer markets. We argue for a broader view of market niches as forms of social rituals involving both consumers and producers with a mutual focus of attention. Based on the work of Randall Collins we examine how interaction rituals are produced and maintained, and how these are also reflected in niche markets, such as backpacking. We illustrate the how backpacking produces a mutual focus of attention and boundaries to outsiders, helping to sustain the niche over the longer term. This analysis has implications for producers hoping to tap into niche markets, as they too need to become part of the niche community.
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Hayashi, Yoshiki, Satoru Kobayashi, and Hiroshi Nakato. "Drosophila glypicans regulate the germline stem cell niche." Journal of Cell Biology 187, no. 4 (November 9, 2009): 473–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200904118.
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Stem cells are maintained in vivo by short-range signaling systems in specialized microenvironments called niches, but the molecular mechanisms controlling the physical space of the stem cell niche are poorly understood. In this study, we report that heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (HSPGs) are essential regulators of the germline stem cell (GSC) niches in the Drosophila melanogaster gonads. GSCs were lost in both male and female gonads of mutants deficient for HS biosynthesis. dally, a Drosophila glypican, is expressed in the female GSC niche cells and is responsible for maintaining the GSC niche. Ectopic expression of dally in the ovary expanded the niche area, showing that dally is required for restriction of the GSC niche space. Interestingly, the other glypican, dally-like, plays a major role in regulating male GSC niche maintenance. We propose that HSPGs define the physical space of the niche by serving as trans coreceptors, mediating short-range signaling by secreted factors.
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Ema, Hideo, and Toshio Suda. "Two anatomically distinct niches regulate stem cell activity." Blood 120, no. 11 (September 13, 2012): 2174–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2012-04-424507.
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Abstract The niche microenvironment controls stem cell number, fate, and behavior. The bone marrow, intestine, and skin are organs with highly regenerative potential, and all produce a large number of mature cells daily. Here, focusing on adult stem cells in these organs, we compare the structures and cellular components of their niches and the factors they produce. We then define the niche as a functional unit for stem cell regulation. For example, the niche possibly maintains quiescence and regulates fate in stem cells. Moreover, we discuss our hypothesis that many stem cell types are regulated by both specialized and nonspecialized niches, although hematopoietic stem cells, as an exception, are regulated by a nonspecialized niche only. The specialized niche is composed of 1 or a few types of cells lying on the basement membrane in the epithelium. The nonspecialized niche is composed of various types of cells widely distributed in mesenchymal tissues. We propose that the specialized niche plays a role in local regulation of stem cells, whereas the nonspecialized niche plays a role in relatively broad regional or systemic regulation. Further work will verify this dual-niche model to understand mechanisms underlying stem cell regulation.
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Russell, Vanessa L., M. Henry H. Stevens, Addison A. Zeisler, and Tereza Jezkova. "Identifying regional environmental factors driving differences in climatic niche overlap in Peromyscus mice." Journal of Mammalogy 103, no. 1 (December 2, 2021): 45–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab126.
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Abstract Different groups of taxa exhibit varying degree of climatic niche conservatism or divergence due to evolutionary constraints imposed on taxa and distributional relationships among them. Herein, we explore to what extent regional environmental conditions that taxa occupy affect climatic niche overlap between pairs of congeneric species of Peromyscus mice exhibiting allopatric, parapatric, or sympatric distributions. We used Bayesian generalized linear mixed models to identify environmental variables that best explain differences in climatic niche overlap between species. Our results suggest that regional environmental conditions explain 13–44% of variation in climatic niche overlap. Specifically, allopatric and parapatric species pairs are more likely to occupy similar climatic niches in areas that are topographically less complex but with more complex habitats. Sympatric species are more likely to occupy similar climatic niches in areas that promote local niche partitioning (topographically less complex, warmer winter temperatures, higher precipitation, and higher habitat complexity on a local scale). By understanding the relationship between regional environmental conditions and niche overlap, we highlight how differences in geography can contribute to shaping niches of congeneric species.
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Grossman, Jake J. "Evidence of Constrained Divergence and Conservatism in Climatic Niches of the Temperate Maples (Acer L.)." Forests 12, no. 5 (April 26, 2021): 535. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12050535.
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Research highlights: The availability of global distribution data and new, fossil-calibrated phylogenies has made it possible to compare the climatic niches of the temperate maple (Acer L.) taxa and assess phylogenetic and continental patterns in niche overlap. Background and Objectives: The maples have radiated from East Asia into two other temperate continental bioregions, North America and Eurasia (Europe and West Asia), over a roughly 60-million-year period. During this time, the Earth’s climate experienced pronounced cooling and drying, culminating in cyclic periods of widespread temperate glaciation in the Pliocene to Pleistocene. The objective of this study is to use newly available data to model the climatic niches of 60% of the temperate maples and assess patterns of niche divergence, constraint, and conservatism in the genus’s radiation out of East Asia. Materials and Methods: I assembled global occurrence data and associated climatic information for 71 maple taxa, including all species endemic to temperate North America and Eurasia and their closely related East Asian congeners. I constructed Maxent niche models for all taxa and compared the climatic niches of 184 taxa pairs and assessed phylogenetic signal in key niche axes for each taxon and in niche overlap at the continental and global scale. Results: Maxent models define a fundamental climatic niche for temperate maples and suggest that drought-intolerant taxa have been lost from the Eurasian maple flora, with little continental difference in temperature optima or breadth. Niche axes and niche overlap show minimal evidence of phylogenetic signal, suggesting adaptive evolution. Pairwise niche comparisons reveal infrequent niche overlap continentally and globally, even among sister pairs, with few taxa pairs sharing ecological niche space, providing evidence for constrained divergence within the genus’s fundamental climatic niche. Evidence of niche conservatism is limited to three somewhat geographically isolated regions of high maple diversity (western North America, the Caucasus, and Japan). Conclusions: Over 60 million years of hemispheric radiation on a cooling and drying planet, the maple genus experienced divergent, though constrained, climatic niche evolution. High climatic niche diversity across spatial and phylogenetic scales along with very limited niche overlap or conservatism suggests that the radiation of the genus has largely been one of adaptive diversification.
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Cooper, Jacob C. "Ecological niche divergence or ecological niche partitioning in a widespread Neotropical bird lineage." PeerJ 12 (April 30, 2024): e17345. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17345.
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Ecological niche divergence is generally considered to be a facet of evolution that may accompany geographic isolation and diversification in allopatry, contributing to species’ evolutionary distinctiveness through time. The null expectation for any two diverging species in geographic isolation is that of niche conservatism, wherein populations do not rapidly shift to or adapt to novel environments. Here, I test ecological niche divergence for a widespread, pan-American lineage, the avian genus of martins (Progne). The genus Progne includes migrant and resident species, as well as geographically restricted taxa and widespread, intercontinentally distributed taxa, thus providing an ideal group in which to study the nature of niche divergence within a broad geographic mosaic. I obtained distributional information for the genus from publicly available databases and created ecological niche models for each species to create pairwise comparisons of environmental space. I combined these data with the most up-to-date phylogeny of Progne currently available to examine the patterns of niche evolution within the genus. I found limited evidence for niche divergence across the breeding distributions of Progne, and much stronger support for niche conservatism with patterns of niche partitioning. The ancestral Progne had a relatively broad ecological niche, like extant basal Progne lineages, and several geographically localized descendant species occupy only portions of this larger ancestral niche. I recovered strong evidence of breeding niche divergence for four of 36 taxon pairs but only one of these divergent pairs involved two widespread species (Southern Martin P. elegans vs. Gray-breasted Martin P. chalybea). Potential niche expansion from the ancestral species was observed in the most wide-ranging present-day species, namely the North American Purple Martin P. subis and P. chalybea. I analyzed populations of P. subis separately, as a microcosm of Progne evolution, and again found only limited evidence of niche divergence. This study adds to the mounting evidence for niche conservatism as a dominant feature of diversifying lineages, and sheds light on the ways in which apparently divergent niches may arise through allopatry while not involving any true niche shifts through evolutionary time. Even taxa that appear unique in terms of habitat or behavior may not be diversifying with respect to their ecological niches, but merely partitioning ancestral niches among descendant taxa.
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Song, Xing-Jiang, Gang Liu, Zeng-Qiang Qian, and Zhi-Hong Zhu. "Niche Filling Dynamics of Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) during Global Invasion." Plants 12, no. 6 (March 14, 2023): 1313. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants12061313.
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Determining whether the climatic ecological niche of an invasive alien plant is similar to that of the niche occupied by its native population (ecological niche conservatism) is essential for predicting the plant invasion process. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) usually poses serious threats to human health, agriculture, and ecosystems within its newly occupied range. We calculated the overlap, stability, unfilling, and expansion of ragweed’s climatic ecological niche using principal component analysis and performed ecological niche hypothesis testing. The current and potential distribution of A. artemisiifolia was mapped by ecological niche models to identify areas in China with the highest potential risk of A. artemisiifolia invasion. The high ecological niche stability indicates that A. artemisiifolia is ecologically conservative during the invasion. Ecological niche expansion (expansion = 0.407) occurred only in South America. In addition, the difference between the climatic and native niches of the invasive populations is mainly the result of unpopulated niches. The ecological niche model suggests that southwest China, which has not been invaded by A. artemisiifolia, faces an elevated risk of invasion. Although A. artemisiifolia occupies a climatic niche distinct from native populations, the climatic niche of the invasive population is only a subset of the native niche. The difference in climatic conditions is the main factor leading to the ecological niche expansion of A. artemisiifolia during the invasion. Additionally, human activities play a substantial role in the expansion of A. artemisiifolia. Alterations in the A. artemisiifolia niche would help explain why this species is so invasive in China.
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Srivastava, Vivek, Wanwan Liang, Melody A. Keena, Amanda D. Roe, Richard C. Hamelin, and Verena C. Griess. "Assessing Niche Shifts and Conservatism by Comparing the Native and Post-Invasion Niches of Major Forest Invasive Species." Insects 11, no. 8 (July 29, 2020): 479. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects11080479.
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Invasive species experience biotic and abiotic conditions that may (or may not) resemble their native environment. We explored the methodology of determining climatic niches and compared the native and post-invasion niches of four invasive forest pests to determine if these species experienced shifts or changes in their new climatic niches. We used environmental principle components analysis (PCA-env) method to quantify climatic niche shifts, expansions, and temporal changes. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of variable selection in the delineation and comparison of niche space. We found that variable selection influenced the delineation and overlap of each niche, whereas the subset of climatic variables selected from the first two PCA-env axes explained more variance in environmental conditions than the complete set of climatic variables for all four species. Most focal species showed climatic niche shifts in their invasive range and had not yet fully occupied the available niche within the invaded range. Our species varied the proportion of niche overlap between the native and invasive ranges. By comparing native and invasive niches, we can help predict a species’ potential range expansion and invasion potential. Our results can guide monitoring and help inform management of these and other invasive species.
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Wu, Yanxia, Shuaishuai Yang, and Yushu Li. "Multidimensional Measurement and Enhancement Strategies of the Provincial Ecological Niche in the Yellow River Basin." Sustainability 14, no. 20 (October 12, 2022): 13034. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su142013034.
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Provincial economic development in the VUCA era (V: volatility; U: uncertainty; C: complexity; A: ambiguity) is facing great challenges. Comprehensively measuring the provincial ecological niche and giving enhancement strategies are significant for the implementation of the Yellow River Strategy. By constructing the S–R–F (Status–Relationship–Function) provincial ecological niche measurement framework using the SEM model (the structural equation modeling), this paper calculated the provincial ecological niche of the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2019 using an ecological niche width model, an ecological niche overlap model and an ecological niche suitability model and gave improvement strategies through spatial positioning. Results: (1) The ecological niche breadth in the Yellow River Basin is uneven, showing a spatial pattern of “low in the upper reaches, high in the lower reaches”. The ecological niche overlap changes from synchronous competition to hierarchical differentiation. The ecological niche suitability shows a transformation of “overall homogeneity but local variation”. (2) Qinghai and Gansu belong to subspace I of ecological niches; the strategies of ecological niche specialization, potential ecological niche and ecological niche synergy are appropriate. Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia belong to subspace III; the strategies of ecological niche specialization, ecological niche separation, potential ecological niche and ecological niche synergy are suitable. Shandong belongs to subspace VI; the strategies of ecological niche generalization and ecological niche synergy are fitting. Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi belong to subspace VIII; it is advisable to choose ecological niche generalization, ecological niche separation and ecological niche synergy strategies. The possible marginal contributions of this paper are: (1) applying the idea of fitting optimization to guide the construction of a provincial ecological status indicator system, applying the validation analysis in the SEM model to test the suitability and validity of a provincial ecological status indicator system and improving the scientificity and objectivity of the indicator system construction. (2) Correlating the measurement model with the connotation (state–relationship–function) of the provincial ecological niche, the perspective of ecological niche research and improving the theoretical support for the construction of a multidimensional measurement model. (3) Spatial positioning of provincial ecological niches to improve the relevance and effectiveness of strategies.
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Medina, Anderson Matos, and Mário Almeida-Neto. "Grinnelian and Eltonian niche conservatism of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) in its exotic distribution." Sociobiology 67, no. 2 (June 30, 2020): 239. http://dx.doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v67i2.4901.
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The understanding of how niche-related traits change during species invasion have prompted what is now known as the niche conservatism principle. Most studies that have tested the niche conservatism principle have focused on the extent to which the species’ climatic niches remain stable in their exotic distribution. However, it is equality important to address how biotic specialization, i.e. resource use, changes during exotic species invasions. Here, we use the widespread European honeybee (Apis mellifera) to understand whether its Grinnelian and Eltonian niches changed in its exotic distribution using tests of abiotic and biotic niche conservatism. We found that both niche domains of the European honeybee remained stable in its exotic distribution, which means that neither the climatic niche nor the biotic specialization showed significant differences between the native and the exotic ranges. Our findings that climatic and resource use are coupled can be explained by A. mellifera’s long history of domestication and the possibility that life history traits (e.g., polyandry) may have shaped this species’ large niche over the course of evolution and therefore facilitated exotic ranges colonization.
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Walker, Richard. "“Niche Selection” and the Evolution of Complex Behavior in a Changing Environment—A Simulation." Artificial Life 5, no. 3 (July 1999): 271–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/106454699568782.
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One of the key problems in theoretical biology is the identification of the mechanisms underlying the evolution of complexity. This paper suggests that some difficulties in current models could be avoided by taking account of “niche selection” as proposed by Waddington [21] and subsequent authors [2]. Computer simulations, in which an evolving population of artificial organisms “selects” the niche(s) that maximize their fitness, are compared with a Control Model in which “Niche Selection” is absent. In the simulations the Niche Selection Model consistently produced a greater number of “fit” organisms than the Control Model; although the Niche Selection Model tended, in general, to produce organisms occupying simple niches, it was nonetheless more effective than the Control Model in producing well-adapted organisms inhabiting complex niches. It is shown that the production of these organisms is critically dependent on the rate of environmental change: Slow change leads to fit but undifferentiated populations, dominated by organisms occupying simple niches; differentiated populations, including well-adapted organisms living in complex niches, require rates of environmental change lying just beyond a mathematically well-defined critical value. In simulation “Niche Selection,” unlike conventional “Natural Selection,” provides a permanent selective bias in favor of simplicity. This tendency is counterbalanced by statistical forces favoring shifts from rare “simple niches” to commoner niches of greater complexity. Fit organisms inhabiting complex niches only emerge in conditions where the rate of environmental change is high enough to avoid the concentration of the population in very simple niches, but slow enough to permit step-by-step adaptation to niches of gradually increasing complexity. This result appears to be robust to changes in simulation parameters and assumptions, and leads to interesting conjectures about the real world behavior of biological organisms (and other complex adaptive systems). It is suggested that some of these conjectures might be relatively easy to test.
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Khlusov, Igor A., Larisa S. Litvinova, Marina Yu Khlusova, and Kristina A. Yurova. "Concept of Hematopoietic and Stromal Niches for Cell-Based Diagnostics and Regenerative Medicine (a Review)." Current Pharmaceutical Design 24, no. 26 (November 14, 2018): 3034–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612824666180829154119.
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Background: R. Schofield (1978) proposed a hypothesis of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) niche (specialized cell microenvironment). An existence of osteoblastic and vascular niches for HSCs has been postulated since 2003. At the same time, the discussion about the existence and functioning of niche for multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) is just beginning to develop. The design of artificial materials capable of biomimetical reproductionof the cellular and tissue microenvironment based on ideas and main elements borrowed from wildlife is an experimental approach in search of the stem cell niches. Results: Recent attempts to model the microterritories (niches) for HSCs have been undertaken and the behavior of cells in such structures has been investigated. However, the main quantitative factors involved in the original design of stem cell microterritories remain unknown. At the modern stage, the topography, hierarchy, and the size of the niches have to be determined, because the definition of the niches as morphological (structural and functional) units (microterritories), which provides the conditions for vital activity of stem cells, implies finite values of its parameters. The aim of this review was the critical review of key milestones of the niche concept for HSCs and MMSCs as we understood it. Conclusion: We speculated our definition of the stem cell niche, proposed and described certain stages (postulation; morphofunctional; topographical; quantitative; bioengineering) of the niche theory development. Prospective directions of the niche designing for cell-based diagnostics and regenerative medicine were noted.
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English, Matthew D., Gregory J. Robertson, Nelson J. O’Driscoll, Sara J. Klapstein, Liam E. Peck, and Mark L. Mallory. "Variation in isotopic niche, digestive tract morphology, and mercury concentrations in two sympatric waterfowl species wintering in Atlantic Canada." FACETS 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 393–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/facets-2019-0056.
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Sympatric communities of organisms may exploit different ecological niches to avoid intra- and interspecific competition. We examined the isotopic niches of American black ducks ( Anas rubripes) and mallards ( A. platyrhynchos) wintering in coastal and urban areas of Atlantic Canada and compared isotopic niche with digestive tract morphologies and blood mercury (Hg) concentrations. Isotopic niche width (for δ13C and δ15N) varied between the three groups of ducks studied, with coastally foraging black ducks exhibiting the widest isotopic niche, followed by coastal mallards, while urban feeding black ducks had a narrow isotopic niche. These niche differences had physical and chemical consequences: coastal black ducks had longer digestive tracts, a larger range in gizzard sizes, and higher and more variable Hg concentrations than urban black ducks and coastal mallards. This plasticity in ecological niche may reduce competition among and within species, and subsequently explain why winter numbers of black ducks and mallards have increased in Atlantic Canada.
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Gómez, Camila, Elkin A. Tenorio, Paola Montoya, and Carlos Daniel Cadena. "Niche-tracking migrants and niche-switching residents: evolution of climatic niches in New World warblers (Parulidae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283, no. 1824 (February 10, 2016): 20152458. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2458.
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Differences in life-history traits between tropical and temperate lineages are often attributed to differences in their climatic niche dynamics. For example, the more frequent appearance of migratory behaviour in temperate-breeding species than in species originally breeding in the tropics is believed to have resulted partly from tropical climatic stability and niche conservatism constraining tropical species from shifting their ranges. However, little is known about the patterns and processes underlying climatic niche evolution in migrant and resident animals. We evaluated the evolution of overlap in climatic niches between seasons and its relationship to migratory behaviour in the Parulidae, a family of New World passerine birds. We used ordination methods to measure seasonal niche overlap and niche breadth of 54 resident and 49 migrant species and used phylogenetic comparative methods to assess patterns of climatic niche evolution. We found that despite travelling thousands of kilometres, migrants tracked climatic conditions across the year to a greater extent than tropical residents. Migrant species had wider niches than resident species, although residents as a group occupied a wider climatic space and niches of migrants and residents overlapped extensively. Neither breeding latitude nor migratory distance explained variation among species in climatic niche overlap between seasons. Our findings support the notion that tropical species have narrower niches than temperate-breeders, but does not necessarily constrain their ability to shift or expand their geographical ranges and become migratory. Overall, the tropics may have been historically less likely to experience the suite of components that generate strong selection pressures for the evolution of migratory behaviour.
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Pagel, Jörn, Martina Treurnicht, William J. Bond, Tineke Kraaij, Henning Nottebrock, AnneLise Schutte-Vlok, Jeanne Tonnabel, Karen J. Esler, and Frank M. Schurr. "Mismatches between demographic niches and geographic distributions are strongest in poorly dispersed and highly persistent plant species." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 7 (February 6, 2020): 3663–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908684117.
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The ecological niche of a species describes the variation in population growth rates along environmental gradients that drives geographic range dynamics. Niches are thus central for understanding and forecasting species’ geographic distributions. However, theory predicts that migration limitation, source–sink dynamics, and time-lagged local extinction can cause mismatches between niches and geographic distributions. It is still unclear how relevant these niche–distribution mismatches are for biodiversity dynamics and how they depend on species life-history traits. This is mainly due to a lack of the comprehensive, range-wide demographic data needed to directly infer ecological niches for multiple species. Here we quantify niches from extensive demographic measurements along environmental gradients across the geographic ranges of 26 plant species (Proteaceae; South Africa). We then test whether life history explains variation in species’ niches and niche–distribution mismatches. Niches are generally wider for species with high seed dispersal or persistence abilities. Life-history traits also explain the considerable interspecific variation in niche–distribution mismatches: poorer dispersers are absent from larger parts of their potential geographic ranges, whereas species with higher persistence ability more frequently occupy environments outside their ecological niche. Our study thus identifies major demographic and functional determinants of species’ niches and geographic distributions. It highlights that the inference of ecological niches from geographical distributions is most problematic for poorly dispersed and highly persistent species. We conclude that the direct quantification of ecological niches from demographic responses to environmental variation is a crucial step toward a better predictive understanding of biodiversity dynamics under environmental change.
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Shrestha, Kshitiz Raj, and So Young Yoo. "Phage-Based Artificial Niche: The Recent Progress and Future Opportunities in Stem Cell Therapy." Stem Cells International 2019 (April 3, 2019): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/4038560.
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Self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells can be the best option for treating intractable diseases in regenerative medicine, and they occur when these cells reside in a special microenvironment, called the “stem cell niche.” Thus, the niche is crucial for the effective performance of the stem cells in bothin vivoandin vitrosince the niche provides its functional cues by interacting with stem cells chemically, physically, or topologically. This review provides a perspective on the different types of artificial niches including engineered phage and how they could be used to recapitulate or manipulate stem cell niches. Phage-based artificial niche engineering as a promising therapeutic strategy for repair and regeneration of tissues is also discussed.
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Velikic, Gordana, Dusan M. Maric, Dusica L. Maric, Gordana Supic, Miljan Puletic, Oliver Dulic, and Danilo Vojvodic. "Harnessing the Stem Cell Niche in Regenerative Medicine: Innovative Avenue to Combat Neurodegenerative Diseases." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25, no. 2 (January 12, 2024): 993. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms25020993.
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Regenerative medicine harnesses the body’s innate capacity for self-repair to restore malfunctioning tissues and organs. Stem cell therapies represent a key regenerative strategy, but to effectively harness their potential necessitates a nuanced understanding of the stem cell niche. This specialized microenvironment regulates critical stem cell behaviors including quiescence, activation, differentiation, and homing. Emerging research reveals that dysfunction within endogenous neural stem cell niches contributes to neurodegenerative pathologies and impedes regeneration. Strategies such as modifying signaling pathways, or epigenetic interventions to restore niche homeostasis and signaling, hold promise for revitalizing neurogenesis and neural repair in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Comparative studies of highly regenerative species provide evolutionary clues into niche-mediated renewal mechanisms. Leveraging endogenous bioelectric cues and crosstalk between gut, brain, and vascular niches further illuminates promising therapeutic opportunities. Emerging techniques like single-cell transcriptomics, organoids, microfluidics, artificial intelligence, in silico modeling, and transdifferentiation will continue to unravel niche complexity. By providing a comprehensive synthesis integrating diverse views on niche components, developmental transitions, and dynamics, this review unveils new layers of complexity integral to niche behavior and function, which unveil novel prospects to modulate niche function and provide revolutionary treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
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Fan, Yan Rong, Shuang Lin Chen, Hua Lin, Qing Ping Yang, Yi Cong Hong, and Zi Wu Guo. "Niches of Major Associated Species in Natural Mixed Moso Bamboo Forests." Advanced Materials Research 726-731 (August 2013): 4298–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.726-731.4298.
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Niche characteristics of nineteen main associated tree populations in moso bamboo mixed forests in Luoboyan Natural Reserve were investigated. The results show that associated populations ofSarcandra glabra,Ilex purpureaandEurya japonica, with high important values have great capacity of adapting to environment and also have broader niche breadths.Liquidamba formosanaseldom appear as associated trees and have narrow niche breadth.Castanopsis fargesii,Engelhardia fenzelii,Castanopsis kawakamii,Schima superba,Nyssa aquaticandCarpinus turczaninowiihave close niche breadth and similar distribution range within the community.Ilex purpurea-Castanopsis fargesii,Ilex purpurea-Engelhardia fenzelii,Engelhardia fenzelii-Liquidamba formosana,Castanopsis kawakamii-Dendropanax dentiger,Rhododendron pulchrum-Schima superba,Dendropanax dentiger-Castanopsis lamontiiandCastanopsis lamontii-Carpinus turczaninowiihave high niche overlaps which prove that species having similar or same circumstances demands high niche overlap indexes. Species with broader niches have more chances for niche overlap with other species.Sarcandra glabradistributes widely and has broad niche breadth but low overlap index with other species, which indicates that species with broad niche breadth is not inevitable to have broad niche overlap with other species.
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Karpathiou, Georgia, Celine Chauleur, Maroa Dridi, Pauline Baillard, Thomas Corsini, Jean Marc Dumollard, and Michel Peoc’h. "Histologic Findings of Uterine Niches." American Journal of Clinical Pathology 154, no. 5 (June 20, 2020): 645–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqaa080.
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Abstract Objectives The disruption or defect of the myometrium in the uterine scar of a cesarean section (CS) has been known by various names, such as uterine niche, isthmocele, deficient uterine scar, scar pouch, or diverticulum. Symptomatology, risk factors for niche development, and available treatment modalities have been recently studied. However, the histologic features of this disease remain unknown. Methods The histologic features of eight uterine niches are thoroughly described and a summary of the most important aspects of the uterine niche literature is provided. Five cases of CS scars without niche formation are comparatively examined. Results Most uterine niches harbor endocervical mucosa, often cystically dilated and/or an atrophic or disorganized endometrial mucosa of lower uterine segment origin. Regenerative epithelial atypia and fibroblastic stromal reaction are frequent features. No granulomatous reaction, important inflammation, or hemorrhage is seen. CS scars without niche formation do not harbor endocervical mucosa or inclusion cysts, fibroblastic stroma, or regenerative atypia. Conclusions As more prospective studies of uterine niche development and treatment will be conducted, a detailed pathologic report with the criteria proposed herein can be designed.
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Peng, Minghao, and Ruoshui Li. "Additional niches and architecture added in the Tang dynasty to the Vairocana niche in the Fengxian Temple at Longmen." Chinese Archaeology 22, no. 1 (November 1, 2022): 182–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/char-2022-0015.
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Abstract The niche with the colossal statue of Vairocana Buddha in the Fengxian Temple in Longmen was carved in the second year of the Shangyuan reign period of the Tang dynasty. At the beginning of the Kaiyuan reign, additional niches were carved into the same cliff wall. Based on spatial analysis of the surviving holes for architectural structures and their relation to the niches added later, it is inferred that the architecture in front of the niche was not built after the construction of these later niches. These two construction events could have belonged to the same construction phase. The construction of the architecture in front of the Vairocana niche completely altered the outer appearance and visibility of the statues, which then resulted in the relocation of worship activities from the open area to an enclosed space created by the wooden-structured temple in front of the niche.
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Shenbrot, G., and B. Kryštufek. "Relation between the habitat niche breadth and the geographic range size: A case study on palearctic voles (Mammalia: Rodentia: Arvicolinae)." Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology, no. 1 (May 18, 2021): 79–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.35885/1684-7318-2021-1-79-88.
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Habitat niche breadth for Palearctic Arvicolinae species was estimated at both local (α- niche) and global (the entire geographic range, γ-niche) scales using occurrence records of species and environmental (climate, topography, and vegetation) data. Niche breadth was estimated in the space of the first two principal components of environmental variables using kernel smoothing of the densities of species occurrence points. The breadth of α-niches was estimated for a set of random points inside the geographic range in a series of buffers of increasing size around these points. Within each buffer, we calculated the overlap between the distribution of environment values for the kernel smoothed densities of species occurrence points and the distribution of environment values in the background environment. The α-niche breadth was calculated as the slope of the linear regression of the niche breadth for buffers of different size by the ln area of these buffers with a zero intercept. The γ-niche breadth was calculated as the overlap between the distributions of environmental values for the kernel smoothed densities of species occurrence points over the whole geographic range and the distribution of environmental values in the background environment and also approximated by linear regression of the species’ average α-niche to the geographic range area of this species. The results demonstrated that the geographic range size was significantly related with the α- and γ-niche breadth. The γ-niche breadth was significantly positively correlated with the α-niche breadth. Finally, the differences between the γ-niche breadth values that were directly estimated and extrapolated from the α-niche breadth (Δ) values were positively correlated with the geographic range size. Thus, we conclude that the species occupy larger geographic ranges because they have broader niches. Our estimations of the γ-niche breadth increase with the geographic range size not due to a parallel increase of the environmental diversity (spatial autocorrelation in the environment).
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Allgeier, Jacob E., Thomas C. Adam, and Deron E. Burkepile. "The importance of individual and species-level traits for trophic niches among herbivorous coral reef fishes." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284, no. 1856 (June 14, 2017): 20170307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0307.
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Resolving how species compete and coexist within ecological communities represents a long-standing challenge in ecology. Research efforts have focused on two predominant mechanisms of species coexistence: complementarity and redundancy. But findings also support an alternative hypothesis that within-species variation may be critical for coexistence. Our study focuses on nine closely related and ecologically similar coral reef fish species to test the importance of individual- versus species-level traits in determining the size of dietary, foraging substrate, and behavioural interaction niches. Specifically, we asked: (i) what level of biological organization best describes individual-level niches? and (ii) how are herbivore community niches partitioned among species, and are niche widths driven by species- or individual-level traits? Dietary and foraging substrate niche widths were best described by species identity, but no level of taxonomy explained behavioural interactions. All three niches were dominated by only a few species, contrasting expectations of niche complementarity. Species- and individual-level traits strongly drove foraging substrate and behavioural niches, respectively, whereas the dietary niche was described by both. Our findings underscored the importance of species-level traits for community-level niches, but highlight that individual-level trait variation within a select few species may be a key driver of the overall size of niches.
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Larose, Chloé, Darren J. Parker, and Tanja Schwander. "Fundamental and realized feeding niche breadths of sexual and asexual stick insects." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285, no. 1892 (November 28, 2018): 20181805. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1805.
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The factors contributing to the maintenance of sex over asexuality in natural populations remain unclear. Ecological divergences between sexual and asexual lineages could help to maintain reproductive polymorphisms, at least transiently, but the consequences of asexuality for the evolution of ecological niches are unknown. Here, we investigated how niche breadths change in transitions from sexual reproduction to asexuality. We used host plant ranges as a proxy to compare the realized feeding niche breadths of five independently derived asexual Timema stick insect species and their sexual relatives at both the species and population levels. Asexual species had systematically narrower realized niches than sexual species, though this pattern was not apparent at the population level. To investigate how the narrower realized niches of asexual species arise, we performed feeding experiments to estimate fundamental niche breadths but found no systematic differences between reproductive modes. The narrow realized niches found in asexual species are therefore probably a consequence of biotic interactions such as predation or competition, that constrain realized niche size in asexuals more strongly than in sexuals.
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Namyatova, Anna A. "Climatic niche comparison between closely related trans-Palearctic species of the genus Orthocephalus (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae)." PeerJ 8 (December 15, 2020): e10517. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10517.
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Previously climatic niche modelling had been studied for only a few trans-Palearctic species. It is unclear whether and to what extent those niches are different, and which climatic variables influence such a wide distribution. Here, environmental niche modelling is performed based on the Worldclim variables using Maxent for eight species of the genus Orthocephalus (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae). This group belongs to one of the largest insect families and it is distributed across Palearctic. Orthocephalus bivittatus, O. brevis, O. saltator and O. vittipennis are distributed across Europe and Asia; O. coriaceus, O. fulvipes, O. funestus, O. proserpinae have more limited distribution. Niche comparison using ENMTools was also undertaken to compare the niches of these species, and to test whether the niches of closely related species with trans-Palearctic distributions are more similar to each other, than to other congeners. It has been found that climatic niche models of all trans-Palearctic species under study are similar but are not identical to each other. This has been supported by niche geographic projections, climatic variables contributing to the models and variable ranges. Climatic niche models of all the trans-Palearctic Orthocephalus species are also very similar to two species having more restricted distribution (O. coriaceus, O. funestus). Results of this study suggest that trans-Palearctic distributions can have different geographic ranges and be shaped by different climatic factors.
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Litsios, Glenn, Loïc Pellissier, Félix Forest, Christian Lexer, Peter B. Pearman, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, and Nicolas Salamin. "Trophic specialization influences the rate of environmental niche evolution in damselfishes (Pomacentridae)." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1743 (June 20, 2012): 3662–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1140.
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The rate of environmental niche evolution describes the capability of species to explore the available environmental space and is known to vary among species owing to lineage-specific factors. Trophic specialization is a main force driving species evolution and is responsible for classical examples of adaptive radiations in fishes. We investigate the effect of trophic specialization on the rate of environmental niche evolution in the damselfish, Pomacentridae, which is an important family of tropical reef fishes. First, phylogenetic niche conservatism is not detected in the family using a standard test of phylogenetic signal, and we demonstrate that the environmental niches of damselfishes that differ in trophic specialization are not equivalent while they still overlap at their mean values. Second, we estimate the relative rates of niche evolution on the phylogenetic tree and show the heterogeneity among rates of environmental niche evolution of the three trophic groups. We suggest that behavioural characteristics related to trophic specialization can constrain the evolution of the environmental niche and lead to conserved niches in specialist lineages. Our results show the extent of influence of several traits on the evolution of the environmental niche and shed new light on the evolution of damselfishes, which is a key lineage in current efforts to conserve biodiversity in coral reefs.
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Kolanowska, Marta, Katarzyna Mystkowska, Marta Kras, Magdalena Dudek, and Kamil Konowalik. "Evolution of the climatic tolerance and postglacial range changes of the most primitive orchids (Apostasioideae) within Sundaland, Wallacea and Sahul." PeerJ 4 (August 31, 2016): e2384. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2384.
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The location of possible glacial refugia of six Apostasioideae representatives is estimated based on ecological niche modeling analysis. The distribution of their suitable niches during the last glacial maximum (LGM) is compared with their current potential and documented geographical ranges. The climatic factors limiting the studied species occurrences are evaluated and the niche overlap between the studied orchids is assessed and discussed. The predicted niche occupancy profiles and reconstruction of ancestral climatic tolerances suggest high level of phylogenetic niche conservatism within Apostasioideae.
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Wu, Hao, Sijin Dong, Yanyan Wang, Li Wang, and Benqiang Rao. "Niche Characteristics of Alternanthera philoxeroide-Invaded Plant Communities in Heterogeneous Habitats and Their Latitudinal Trends." Diversity 15, no. 5 (May 11, 2023): 651. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15050651.
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Plant invasions are closely related to environmental filtering and biointeractions; however, the variations in invasive plant niches along latitudinal gradients in heterogeneous habitats remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a two-year survey in China spanning 21° N–37° N to explore the niche characteristics of plant species within communities invaded by the amphibious alien weed Alternanthera philoxeroides in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats as well as their latitudinal trends. We found that A. philoxeroides had the greatest niche breadth in the studied communities. The species pairs with the highest niche similarity were A. philoxeroides–Digitaria sanguinalis in terrestrial communities and Cyperus rotundus–Kyllinga brevifolia in aquatic communities. The niche similarity between A. philoxeroides and its accompanying species in terrestrial habitats was significantly higher than that in aquatic habitats (t = 5.954; p < 0.001). The niche breadth of A. philoxeroides had no obvious latitudinal trend, while the niche breadth of its accompanying species in the terrestrial community significantly decreased with increasing latitude (F7, 57 = 4.364, p = 0.001). In the terrestrial communities, the niche similarity between A. philoxeroides and its accompanying species significantly decreased with increasing latitude (F7, 57 = 3.671, p = 0.003), while the niche overlap significantly increased with increasing latitude (F7, 57 = 8.916, p < 0.001). However, the aquatic species’ niche characteristics had no obvious latitudinal trends. These findings indicated that habitat heterogeneity significantly affected the species’ niche characteristics in A. philoxeroides-invaded communities. Environmental filtering at low latitudes allowed the invasive and accompanying species to evolve similar niches, while the cold climate at high latitudes increased the niche overlap between the invader and accompanying species. Our findings are crucial for predicting the dynamics of invasive plant communities under global change and for understanding the mechanisms of species coexistence.
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Alexandre, Hermine, Julie Faure, Steven Ginzbarg, John Clark, and Simon Joly. "Bioclimatic niches are conserved and unrelated to pollination syndromes in Antillean Gesneriaceae." Royal Society Open Science 4, no. 11 (November 2017): 170293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170293.
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The study of the evolution of abiotic niches can be informative regarding the speciation drivers in a given group. Yet, two factors that could potentially affect niche evolution have seldom been addressed concomitantly, which are biotic interactions and geographical isolation. In this study, we used as a model group the Antillean plant genera Gesneria and Rhytidophyllum (Gesneriaceae) to evaluate the effect of pollinators and geographical isolation on the bioclimatic niche. These genera possess species characterized by interspecific geographical isolation in different islands and are pollinated by different pollinators. Some species are pollinated by hummingbirds, other by bats, while some are more generalists and are pollinated by pollinators from both functional groups. After describing the bioclimatic niches of plant species, we measured niche overlap for species pairs and we fitted Brownian motion and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) evolution models with multiple evolutionary regimes to test for an effect of pollination strategy or geographical isolation on bioclimatic niche evolution of these plants. The analysis of niche overlap between plant species, which could not be corrected for phylogenetic relationships, showed that it was significantly influenced by pollination mode and island distribution. By contrast, the best fitting evolutionary model on niche optima and tolerance was always an OU model with a unique selective regime, suggesting that neither pollination strategy nor island isolation had an important effect on bioclimatic niches at a macroevolutionary scale. Instead, we conclude that bioclimatic niches of Antillean Gesneriaceae evolved under phylogenetic conservatism and hypothesize that this macroevolutionary pattern could result from adaptation to temporally variable climates in the Antilles.
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Lavergne, Sébastien, Margaret E. K. Evans, Ian J. Burfield, Frederic Jiguet, and Wilfried Thuiller. "Are species' responses to global change predicted by past niche evolution?" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 368, no. 1610 (January 19, 2013): 20120091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0091.
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Predicting how and when adaptive evolution might rescue species from global change, and integrating this process into tools of biodiversity forecasting, has now become an urgent task. Here, we explored whether recent population trends of species can be explained by their past rate of niche evolution, which can be inferred from increasingly available phylogenetic and niche data. We examined the assemblage of 409 European bird species for which estimates of demographic trends between 1970 and 2000 are available, along with a species-level phylogeny and data on climatic, habitat and trophic niches. We found that species' proneness to demographic decline is associated with slow evolution of the habitat niche in the past, in addition to certain current-day life-history and ecological traits. A similar result was found at a higher taxonomic level, where families prone to decline have had a history of slower evolution of climatic and habitat niches. Our results support the view that niche conservatism can prevent some species from coping with environmental change. Thus, linking patterns of past niche evolution and contemporary species dynamics for large species samples may provide insights into how niche evolution may rescue certain lineages in the face of global change.
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Ochoa-Gonzále, Alejandra, Octavio R. Rojas-Soto, David A. Prieto-Torres, María del Coro Arizmendi, and Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza. "At home in the tropics: seasonal niche-tracking by the Yellow-green Vireo, Vireo flavoviridis, an intratropical migrant." Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 94 (October 31, 2023): e945233. http://dx.doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2023.94.5233.
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Migratory birds move geographically by tracking specific climatic conditions through time. However, we lack information about the climatic conditions birds are tracking, especially in intratropical migrants, whose movements are contained inside the tropics. The Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis is an intratropical migrant whose migration patterns remain only partially documented and understood. Using GBIF presence records and WorldClim monthly climatic layers, we reconstructed ecological niche for Yellow-green Vireo’ reproductive and non-reproductive seasons. Then, we used a niche overlap analysis, based on a PCA-env approach and similarity tests, to assess overlap in climatic niches between seasons. We also projected climatic niches onto their spring and fall migration to evaluate the climatic conditions tracked by the species in transitional months. Overall, models revealed significant geographic inter-prediction between seasons. Similarity analyses showed high niche overlap between seasons; however, they failed to reject the null hypothesis of niche similarity. As expected by the hypothesis of niche conservatism in the tropics, Yellow-green Vireo is a niche follower. This information will help to clarify evolution of intratropical migration and provide ecological information for future conservation plans.
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Yañez, Carlos, Gerardo Martín, Luis Osorio-Olvera, Jazmín Escobar-Luján, Sandra Castaño-Quintero, Xavier Chiappa-Carrara, and Enrique Martínez-Meyer. "The Abundant Niche-centroid Hypothesis: Key Points About Unfilled Niches and the Potential Use of Supraspecfic Modeling Units." Biodiversity Informatics 15, no. 3 (November 13, 2020): 92–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/bi.v15i2.13218.
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Correlative estimates of fundamental niches are gaining momentum as an alternative to predict species’ abundances, particularly via the abundant niche-centroid hypothesis (an expected inverse relationship between species’ abundance variation across its range and the distance to the geometric centroid of its multidimensional ecological niche). The main goal of this review is to recapitulate what has been done, where we are now, and where should we move towards in regards to this hypothesis. Despite evidence in support of the abundance-distance to niche centroid relationship, its usefulness has been highly debated, although with little consideration of the underlying theory regarding the circumstances that might break down the relationship. We address some key points about the conditions needed to test the hypothesis in correlative studies, specifically in relation to nichecharacterization and configurations of the Biotic-Abiotic-Mobility (BAM) framework to illustrate the problem of unfilled niches. Using a created supraspecific modeling unit, we show that species for which only a portion of their fundamental niche is represented in their area of historical accessibility (M)—i.e., when the environmental equilibrium condition is violated—it is impossible to characterize their true niche centroid. Therefore, we strongly recommend to analyze this assumption prior toassess the abundant niche-centroid hypothesis. Finally, we discuss the potential of using modeling units above the species level for cases in which environmental conditions associated with species’ occurrences may not be sufficient to fully characterize their fundamental niches.
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Manlick, Philip J., and Jonathan N. Pauli. "Human disturbance increases trophic niche overlap in terrestrial carnivore communities." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 43 (October 12, 2020): 26842–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012774117.
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Animal foraging and competition are defined by the partitioning of three primary niche axes: space, time, and resources. Human disturbance is rapidly altering the spatial and temporal niches of animals, but the impact of humans on resource consumption and partitioning—arguably the most important niche axis—is poorly understood. We assessed resource consumption and trophic niche partitioning as a function of human disturbance at the individual, population, and community levels using stable isotope analysis of 684 carnivores from seven communities in North America. We detected significant responses to human disturbance at all three levels of biological organization: individual carnivores consumed more human food subsidies in disturbed landscapes, leading to significant increases in trophic niche width and trophic niche overlap among species ranging from mesocarnivores to apex predators. Trophic niche partitioning is the primary mechanism regulating coexistence in many communities, and our results indicate that humans fundamentally alter resource niches and competitive interactions among terrestrial consumers. Among carnivores, niche overlap can trigger interspecific competition and intraguild predation, while the consumption of human foods significantly increases human–carnivore conflict. Our results suggest that human disturbances, especially in the form of food subsidies, may threaten carnivores by increasing the probability of both interspecific competition and human–carnivore conflict. Ultimately, these findings illustrate a potential decoupling of predator–prey dynamics, with impacts likely cascading to populations, communities, and ecosystems.
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Costa-Pereira, Raul, Márcio S. Araújo, Franco L. Souza, and Travis Ingram. "Competition and resource breadth shape niche variation and overlap in multiple trophic dimensions." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, no. 1902 (May 2019): 20190369. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0369.
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Competition plays a central role in the maintenance of biodiversity. A backbone of classic niche theory is that local coexistence of competitors is favoured by the contraction or divergence of species' niches. However, this effect should depend on the diversity of resources available in the local environment, particularly when resources vary in multiple ecological dimensions. Here, we investigated how available resource breadth (i.e. prey diversity) and competition together shape multidimensional niche variation (between and within individuals) and interspecific niche overlap in 42 populations of congeneric tropical frog species. We modelled realized niches in two key trophic dimensions (prey size and carbon stable isotopes) and sampled available food resources to quantify two-dimensional resource breadth. We found a 14-fold variation in multidimensional population niche width across populations, most of which was accounted for by within-individual diet variation. This striking variation was predicted by an interaction whereby individual niche breadth increased with resource breadth and decreased with the number of congeneric competitors. These ecological gradients also interact to influence the degree of niche overlap between species, which surprisingly decreased with population total niche width, providing novel insights on how similar species can coexist in local communities. Together, our results emphasize that patterns of exploitation of resources in multiple dimensions are driven by both competitive interactions and extrinsic factors such as local resource breadth.
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Mejía, Omar, Norberto Martínez-Méndez, Fabian Pérez-Miranda, and Wilfredo A. Matamoros. "Climatic niche evolution of a widely distributed Neotropical freshwater fish clade." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 135, no. 4 (February 18, 2022): 839–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blab153.
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Abstract The role of climate in the speciation process has been documented widely in ectotherms but poorly in freshwater fishes, which represent the richest clade among vertebrates. In this study, we have evaluated the occurrence of phylogenetic niche evolution as a promoter of diversification in the herichthyines (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) clade. We used distributional and bioclimatic data, niche modelling algorithms and phylogenetic comparative methods to study patterns of climatic niche evolution in the herichthyines clade. Our results suggested that herichthyines display signals of phylogenetic niche conservatism, but also signals of niche evolution in the last 14 Myr associated with the availability of new habitats promoting ecological opportunity within the clade. We also concluded that niche conservatism is equally strong in the fundamental and realized niches, which indicates a need to evaluate the potential role of biotic interactions in the evolution of the niche in future studies.
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Codrici, Elena, Ana-Maria Enciu, Ionela-Daniela Popescu, Simona Mihai, and Cristiana Tanase. "Glioma Stem Cells and Their Microenvironments: Providers of Challenging Therapeutic Targets." Stem Cells International 2016 (2016): 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5728438.
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Malignant gliomas are aggressive brain tumors with limited therapeutic options, possibly because of highly tumorigenic subpopulations of glioma stem cells. These cells require specific microenvironments to maintain their “stemness,” described as perivascular and hypoxic niches. Each of those niches induces particular signatures in glioma stem cells (e.g., activation of Notch signaling, secretion of VEGF, bFGF, SDF1 for the vascular niche, activation of HIF2α, and metabolic reprogramming for hypoxic niche). Recently, accumulated knowledge on tumor-associated macrophages, possibly delineating a third niche, has underlined the role of immune cells in glioma progression,viaspecific chemoattractant factors and cytokines, such as macrophage-colony stimulation factor (M-CSF). The local or myeloid origin of this new component of glioma stem cells niche is yet to be determined. Such niches are being increasingly recognized as key regulators involved in multiple stages of disease progression, therapy resistance, immune-escaping, and distant metastasis, thereby substantially impacting the future development of frontline interventions in clinical oncology. This review focuses on the microenvironment impact on the glioma stem cell biology, emphasizing GSCs cross talk with hypoxic, perivascular, and immune niches and their potential use as targeted therapy.
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Brunet, Anne. "EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REGULATION OF AGING." Innovation in Aging 3, Supplement_1 (November 2019): S234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igz038.871.
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Abstract Aging is accompanied by a decline in the regenerative potential of most tissues. The mammalian brain contains regenerative neurogenic niches composed of neural stem cells (NSCs), neural progenitors, and other cells, including microglia, and endothelial cells. Neurogenic niches become less functional with increasing age. This deterioration could underlie cognitive and sensory restriction with age, although the exact age at which it occurs is still debated in humans. How the neurogenic niche changes during aging, and whether new cell types arise in older individuals, is not known. Our lab has embarked on a global characterization of the neurogenic niche during aging. This work provides a global understanding of the old neurogenic niche and suggests possible cause for NSC decline during aging. Results from these studies could open new avenues to counter age-related decline in the neurogenic niche and brain aging.
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Rowley-Conwy, Peter, and Robert Layton. "Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 366, no. 1566 (March 27, 2011): 849–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0307.
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All forager (or hunter–gatherer) societies construct niches, many of them actively by the concentration of wild plants into useful stands, small-scale cultivation, burning of natural vegetation to encourage useful species, and various forms of hunting, collectively termed ‘low-level food production’. Many such niches are stable and can continue indefinitely, because forager populations are usually stable. Some are unstable, but these usually transform into other foraging niches, not geographically expansive farming niches. The Epipalaeolithic (final hunter–gatherer) niche in the Near East was complex but stable, with a relatively high population density, until destabilized by an abrupt climatic change. The niche was unintentionally transformed into an agricultural one, due to chance genetic and behavioural attributes of some wild plant and animal species. The agricultural niche could be exported with modifications over much of the Old World. This was driven by massive population increase and had huge impacts on local people, animals and plants wherever the farming niche was carried. Farming niches in some areas may temporarily come close to stability, but the history of the last 11 000 years does not suggest that agriculture is an effective strategy for achieving demographic and political stability in the world's farming populations.
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Rujing, Yang, Gong Xiang, Hu Xiaokang, Hu Yawen, and Feng Jianmeng. "Global cultivation of wheat crops induces considerable shifts in the range and niche of species relative to their wild progenitors." Environmental Research Communications 3, no. 11 (November 1, 2021): 115012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ac3906.
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Abstract Species’ range and niche play key roles in understanding ecological and biogeographical patterns, especially in projecting global biotic homogenization and potential distribution patterns of species under global change scenarios. However, few studies have investigated the ability of crop cultivation to influence potential range sizes and niche shifts of species. Wheat and its wild progenitors share the same origin and evolutionary history, and thus provide an excellent system to explore this topic. Using ensembled ecological niche models and niche dynamic models, we studied the potential range sizes of wheat and its wild progenitors, as well as their niche dynamics. Our results showed that wheat had larger range size and niche breadth than its wild progenitors, suggesting that wheat cultivation is a more powerful driver of range and niche expansion than natural niche evolution. Additionally, wheat and its wild progenitors occupied different niche positions, and the former did not conserve the niches inherited from the latter, implying that wheat cultivation considerably induces niche shifts. The niche dynamics between wheat and its wild progenitors were not only closely associated with cultivation but were also modified by the niche conservatism of its wild progenitors. In contrast to most invasive plants, wheat, as a global staple crop species, did not conserve the niche space inherited from its wild progenitors, suggesting that compared with most plant invasions, cultivation may have a stronger effect on niche shifts. Therefore, global niche shifts induced by crop cultivation need much more attention, though the underlying mechanisms require further study.
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Pesch, Udo, Anne-Lorène Vernay, Ellen van Bueren, and Sofie Pandis Iverot. "Niche entrepreneurs in urban systems integration: On the role of individuals in niche formation." Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 49, no. 8 (April 19, 2017): 1922–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0308518x17705383.
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In many sustainable urban innovation projects, the efforts, endurance and enthusiasm of individuals at key positions are considered a crucial factor for success. This article studies the role of individual agency in sociotechnical niches by using Kingdon’s agenda-setting model. Although strategic niche management is commonly used to study processes of urban innovation, the process of niche formation and the role of individual agency has been understudied. We will introduce the notion of the ‘niche entrepreneur’ as an actor who, analogous to Kingdon’s policy entrepreneur, connects the elements that are needed to develop a successful niche that allows learning for sustainability transitions. We will study the process of niche formation and the role of individual entrepreneurship therein, and identify the strategies that have been used by individuals to create a successful niche. This will be done for three cases in urban systems integration: the development of Eva Lanxmeer, a residential district in a drinking water retention area in Culemborg, the Netherlands; the transformation of the waste management practices of Lille Métropole Urban Community, France; and the development of the urban district Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden. Our findings show that for the successful formation of niches, it is necessary to create ambitious, but clear goals and matching concrete operational plans; niche entrepreneurs may play the role of project champions that contribute significantly to the operationalization, monitoring and the effectuation of the original goals of the project; the strategies of niche entrepreneurs emphasize the building of coalitions and the securing of space for learning.
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Lizardo, Viridiana, Erick Alejandro García Trejo, and Juan J. Morrone. "Niche conservatism and convergence in birds of three cenocrons in the Mexican Transition Zone." PeerJ 12 (January 2, 2024): e16664. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16664.
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Background The niche conservatism hypothesis postulates that physiological and phylogenetic factors constrain species distributions, creating richness hotspots with older lineages in ancestral climatic conditions. Conversely, niche convergence occurs when species successfully disperse to novel environments, diversifying and resulting in areas with high phylogenetic clustering and endemism, low diversity, and lower clade age. The Mexican Transition Zone exhibits both patterns as its biotic assembly resulted from successive dispersal events of different biotic elements called cenocrons. We test the hypothesis that biogeographic transitionallity in the area is a product of niche conservatism in the Nearctic and Typical Neotropical cenocrons and niche convergence in the Mountain Mesoamerican cenocron. Methods We split the avifauna into three species sets representing cenocrons (sets of taxa that share the same biogeographic history, constituting an identifiable subset within a biota by their common biotic origin and evolutionary history). Then, we correlated richness, endemism, phylogenetic diversity, number of nodes, and crowning age with environmental and topographic variables. These correlations were then compared with the predictions of niche conservatism versus niche convergence. We also detected areas of higher species density in environmental space and interpreted them as an environmental transition zone where birds’ niches converge. Results Our findings support the expected predictions on how niches evolved. Nearctic and Typical Neotropical species behaved as predicted by niche conservatism, whereas Mountain Mesoamerican species and the total of species correlations indicated niche convergence. We also detected distinct ecological and evolutionary characteristics of the cenocrons on a macroecological scale and the environmental conditions where the three cenocrons overlap in the Mesoamerican region.