Ecological niche divergence or ecological niche partitioning in a widespread Neotropical bird lineage.

ABSTRACT: 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

SUBMITTER: Cooper JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11067898 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature