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Riddell EA, Burger IJ, Tyner-Swanson TL, Biggerstaff J, Muñoz MM, Levy O, Porter CK. Parameterizing mechanistic niche models in biophysical ecology: a review of empirical approaches. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb245543. [PMID: 37955347 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Mechanistic niche models are computational tools developed using biophysical principles to address grand challenges in ecology and evolution, such as the mechanisms that shape the fundamental niche and the adaptive significance of traits. Here, we review the empirical basis of mechanistic niche models in biophysical ecology, which are used to answer a broad array of questions in ecology, evolution and global change biology. We describe the experiments and observations that are frequently used to parameterize these models and how these empirical data are then incorporated into mechanistic niche models to predict performance, growth, survival and reproduction. We focus on the physiological, behavioral and morphological traits that are frequently measured and then integrated into these models. We also review the empirical approaches used to incorporate evolutionary processes, phenotypic plasticity and biotic interactions. We discuss the importance of validation experiments and observations in verifying underlying assumptions and complex processes. Despite the reliance of mechanistic niche models on biophysical theory, empirical data have and will continue to play an essential role in their development and implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric A Riddell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Isabella J Burger
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Tamara L Tyner-Swanson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Justin Biggerstaff
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Martha M Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Ofir Levy
- Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Cody K Porter
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
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Dunne EM, Farnsworth A, Benson RBJ, Godoy PL, Greene SE, Valdes PJ, Lunt DJ, Butler RJ. Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2023; 33:206-214.e4. [PMID: 36528026 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod "climatic niche space" across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Dunne
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
| | - Alexander Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
| | - Pedro L Godoy
- Department of Biology, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14040-901, Brazil; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Sarah E Greene
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Paul J Valdes
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
| | - Daniel J Lunt
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
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Mathewson PD, Porter WP, Barrett L, Fuller A, Henzi SP, Hetem RS, Young C, McFarland R. Field data confirm the ability of a biophysical model to predict wild primate body temperature. J Therm Biol 2020; 94:102754. [PMID: 33292995 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In the face of climate change there is an urgent need to understand how animal performance is affected by environmental conditions. Biophysical models that use principles of heat and mass transfer can be used to explore how an animal's morphology, physiology, and behavior interact with its environment in terms of energy, mass and water balances to affect fitness and performance. We used Niche Mapper™ (NM) to build a vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) biophysical model and tested the model's ability to predict core body temperature (Tb) variation and thermal stress against Tb and behavioral data collected from wild vervets in South Africa. The mean observed Tb in both males and females was within 0.5 °C of NM's predicted Tbs for 91% of hours over the five-year study period. This is the first time that NM's Tb predictions have been validated against field data from a wild endotherm. Overall, these results provide confidence that NM can accurately predict thermal stress and can be used to provide insight into the thermoregulatory consequences of morphological (e.g., body size, shape, fur depth), physiological (e.g. Tb plasticity) and behavioral (e.g., huddling, resting, shade seeking) adaptations. Such an approach allows users to test hypotheses about how animals adapt to thermoregulatory challenges and make informed predictions about potential responses to environmental change such as climate change or habitat conversion. Importantly, NM's animal submodel is a general model that can be adapted to other species, requiring only basic information on an animal's morphology, physiology and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul D Mathewson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
| | - Warren P Porter
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Louise Barrett
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Canada; Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Andrea Fuller
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - S Peter Henzi
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Canada; Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Robyn S Hetem
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
| | - Christopher Young
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Canada; Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystems Research Unit, University of South Africa, South Africa; Endocrine Research Laboratory, Mammal Research Institute, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Richard McFarland
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
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