In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2019, vol. 286, no. 1911, p. 20191506
We develop a spatially explicit model of diversification based on palaeohabitat to explore the predictions of four major hypotheses potentially explaining the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), namely, the ‘time-area’, ‘tropical niche conservatism’, ‘ecological limits’ and ‘evolutionary speed’ hypotheses. We compare simulation outputs to observed diversity gradients in the...
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In: Ecology and Evolution, 2018, vol. 8, no. 9, p. 4431–4442
Invasive alien plants (IAP) are a threat to biodiversity worldwide. Understanding and anticipating invasions allow for more efficient management. In this regard, predicting potential invasion risks by IAPs is essential to support conservation planning into areas of high conservation value (AHCV) such as sites exhibiting exceptional botanical richness, assemblage of rare, and threatened and/or...
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In: Ecology and Evolution, 2017, vol. 7, no. 6, p. 1996–2005
Coral reefs and their associated fauna are largely impacted by ongoing climate change. Unravelling species responses to past climatic variations might provide clues on the consequence of ongoing changes. Here, we tested the relationship between changes in sea surface temperature and sea levels during the Quaternary and present-day distributions of coral reef fish species. We investigated...
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In: Journal of Ecology, 2017, vol. 105, no. 1, p. 142–151
Plants protect themselves against herbivore attacks through a myriad of physical structures and toxic secondary metabolites. Together with abiotic factors, herbivores are expected to modulate plant defence strategies within plant assemblages. Because the abundance of insect herbivore decreases in colder environments, the palatability of plants in communities at higher elevation should shift...
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In: Ecography, 2016, vol. 39, no. 8, p. 796–804
Species currently track suitable abiotic and biotic conditions under ongoing climate change. Adjustments of trophic interactions may provide a mechanism for population persistence, an option that is rarely included in model projections. Here, we model the future distribution, of butterflies in the western Alps of Switzerland under climate change, simulating potential diet expansion resulting...
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In: Ecography, 2016, vol. 39, no. 9, p. 825–835
Identifying the main determinants of tropical marine biodiversity is essential for devising appropriate conservation measures mitigating the ongoing degradation of coral reef habitats. Based on a gridded distribution database and phylogenetic information, we compared the phylogenetic structure of assemblages for three tropical reef fish families (Labridae: wrasses, Pomacentridae: damselfishes...
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In: Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, p. 11461
The Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana strongly modified the global distribution of shallow tropical seas reshaping the geographic configuration of marine basins. However, the links between tropical reef availability, plate tectonic processes and marine biodiversity distribution patterns are still unknown. Here, we show that a spatial diversification model constrained by absolute plate motions...
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In: Journal of Biogeography, 2015, p. -
High intra-specific genetic diversity is necessary for species adaptation to novel environments under climate change, but species tracking suitable conditions are losing alleles through successive founder events during range shift. Here, we investigated the relationship between range shift since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and extant population genetic diversity across multiple plant species...
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In: Global Change Biology, 2015, vol. 21, no. 7, p. 2479–2487
Coral bleaching events threaten coral reef habitats globally and cause severe declines of local biodiversity and productivity. Related to high sea surface temperatures (SST), bleaching events are expected to increase as a consequence of future global warming. However, response to climate change is still uncertain as future low-latitude climatic conditions have no present-day analogue. Sea surface...
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