Exploring the Climatic Niche Evolution of the Genus Falco (Aves: Falconidae) in Europe.

ABSTRACT: By integrating species distribution modeling techniques, phylogenetic comparative methods, and climatic data, we analyzed how European falcon climatic niches have changed over evolutionary time in order to understand their tempo and mode of evolution and gain phylogenetic insights related to the ecological context of falcon evolution. For this purpose, we tested the relative contributions of niche conservatism, convergent evolution, and divergent evolution in the evolutionary history of this group of species in Europe. The occupation of climatic niche spaces by falcon species in Europe was not similar, considering that their climatic niche evolution was characterized by heterotachy, especially after ca. 4 Mya. Our results indicate that convergent evolution and niche divergence played an im

SUBMITTER: Popescu SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10886973 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature