| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.26 MB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
It is known that species’ distributions are influenced by several ecological factors. Nonetheless,
the geographical scale upon which the influence of these factors is perceived is largely undefined.
We assessed the importance of competition in regulating the distributional limits of species at large
geographical scales. We focus on species with similar diets, the European Soricidae shrews, and how
interspecific competition changes along climatic gradients. We used presence data for the seven most
widespread terrestrial species of Soricidae in Europe, gathered from GBIF, European museums, and
climate data from WorldClim. We made use of two Joint Species Distribution Models to analyse
the correlations between species’ presences, aiming to understand the distinct roles of climate and
competition in shaping species’ distributions. Our results support three key conclusions: (i) climate
alone does not explain all species’ distributions at large scales; (ii) negative interactions, such as competition,
seem to play a strong role in defining species’ range limits, even at large scales; and (iii) the
impact of competition on a species’ distribution varies along a climatic gradient, becoming stronger
at the climatic extremes. Our conclusions support previous research, highlighting the importance of
considering biotic interactions when studying species’ distributions, regardless of geographical scale
Description
Keywords
biotic interactions competition environmental niche models Joint Species Distribution Models shrews Soricidae species distributions
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Neves, T.; Borda-de-Água, L.; Mathias, M.d.L.; Tapisso, J.T. The Influence of the Interaction between Climate and Competition on the Distributional Limits of European Shrews. Animals 2022, 12, 57
Publisher
MDPI