The Evolution of Hutchinsonian Climatic Niche Hypervolumes in Gymnosperms

Aim The niche is a fundamental concept in theoretical and experimental ecology and is used to describe a wide range of ecological processes from species interaction with the environment to community assemblies. A common way to represent the niche is through a multidimensional geometry known as the Hutchinsonian niche hypervolume. Ecological theory predicts that niche hypervolumes have properties such as holes with broader eco-evolutionary significance, but we lack a comprehensive empirical study of niche hypervolume properties and their evolutionary significance. Location Global Time period Holocene Major taxa studied Gymnosperms Methods We conducted for the first time a systematic and comprehensive test of the evolution of Hutchinsonian niche hypervolume properties (volume and holes) across 65 genera and 12 families of gymnosperms, which includes many species that are endangered or threatened. Using cutting-edge computational algorithms, we measured the evolution of geometric (i.e. volume) and topological (i.e. holes) properties of gymnosperm hypervolumes across a comprehensive calibrated phylogeny. Results Our comparative analysis revealed weak evidence of the non-independent evolution of niche hypervolume volume and no evidence of the non-independent evolution of hypervolume holes. We also found that genera and families with low hypervolume volume such as monotypic groups like Gingko , likely experienced shifts in hypervolume evolutionary rates. Main conclusions Our results show that geometric and topological properties of gymnosperm climatic niche hypervolumes evolve independently. This agrees with competitive exclusion hypothesis in ecological theory where extant groups are likely to be the ones which minimise niche overlap and competition.