Journal
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
Volume 45, Issue 10, Pages 2227-2237Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13411
Keywords
adaptability; colonization; dispersal limitation; ecological success; mammals; range size
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Funding
- Wallenberg Academy Fellowship from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
- Swedish Research Council [B0569601]
- European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme, ERC [331024]
- Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
- Faculty of Sciences at the University of Gothenburg
- Wenner-Gren Foundation
- David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University
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Aim To identify which factors distinguish ecologically successful mammalian clades (i.e., clades with a large combined range size) from less successful ones. Location Global. Methods We estimated the total range sizes for each individual mammalian subfamily and used phylogenetic regressions to identify the relative importance of factors related to colonization ability (body size and niche width) and adaptability (rate of evolution of body size and rate of evolution of climatic preference) in determining these ranges. We then estimated the importance of the same factors on the variation in diversification rate within mammals. Results We found strong support for a link between total range size and traits related to colonization ability. In particular, we found larger total range sizes among clades containing larger bodied species and clades with wider climatic niche width, while we did not find support for any predictors related to adaptability being linked to total range size. We also found that traits related to increased range size were associated with reduced diversification rate. Main Conclusions Range size for mammalian clades is mainly predicted by colonization ability, suggesting that most clades are limited by dispersal rather than their ability to adapt to new environments. The most ecologically successful (i.e., most widespread) mammalian clades tend to possess traits that reduce geographical isolation among populations, but the same traits tend to decrease diversification rates. Our results unveil a decoupling between evolutionary and ecological success in mammals.
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