biostudies-literatureUnknown17(4)Pie MRDirect interactions among species are only possible if there is some overlap in their geographical distributions. However, despite intense focus of macroecological research on species geographical ranges, relatively little theoretical and empirical work has been done on the evolution of range overlap. In this study we explore a simple model of range overlap based on a log-normal distribution of species range sizes along a one-dimensional domain, with or without absorbing boundary conditions. In particular, we focus on the mean and variance of range overlap distributions, as well as the topology of the resulting overlap networks with respect to their degree distribution, evenness, and betweenness scores. According to the model, there is an approximately linear relationship between many aspePloS onee0266275https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8985969biostudies-literatureGeographical range overlap networks and the macroecology of species co-occurrence.PMC8985969Pie MRCaron FSfalseGeographical range overlap networks and the macroecology of species co-occurrence.Direct interactions among species are only possible if there is some overlap in their geographical distributions. However, despite intense focus of macroecological research on species geographical ranges, relatively little theoretical and empirical work has been done on the evolution of range overlap. In this study we explore a simple model of range overlap based on a log-normal distribution of species range sizes along a one-dimensional domain, with or without absorbing boundary conditions. In particular, we focus on the mean and variance of range overlap distributions, as well as the topology of the resulting overlap networks with respect to their degree distribution, evenness, and betweenness scores. According to the model, there is an approximately linear relationship between many aspe2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222025-04-19T20:10:46.794Z2025-04-19T20:10:46.794ZS-EPMC89859693538551510.1371/journal.pone.0266275