New paper: Paleobiogeographic insights gained from ecological niche models
New Paper out!
In this review, we explore how ecological niche modeling has contributed to understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of past biodiversity and past ecological and evolutionary processes.
Abstract
The spatial distribution of species across the landscape and their associated traits and behaviors play a pivotal role in determining ecosystem structure and function and contribute to our understanding of the processes that shape biodiversity. Ecological niche models (ENMs) are tools that can be used to estimate the ecological niche of a species based on its known occurrences. In this review, we explore the ways that ENMs have been used to study the evolution and ecology of past biodiversity. While ENMs are commonly used to understand the dynamics of species and assemblages during more recent periods of Earth history (i.e., the last several million years), an increasing number of studies have extended ENMs deeper into the geologic past. Overall, ENMs are powerful tools for illuminating paleobiogeographic patterns; further integration of ENMs with traits, phylogenies, and other methods may extend insights.