Environmental niche divergence of species from <i>Merodon ruficornis</i> group (Diptera: Syrphidae)
Keywords:
environmental niche, PCA, MAXENT, ENMTools, Merodon ruficornis groupAbstract
In this paper we analyzed environmental differentiation of closely related species from the Merodon ruficornis group. By applying principal component analysis (PCA) and environmental niche modelling (ENM)-based techniques, we estimated the level of niche divergence of closely related species. Our results indicate that ecology has an important role in the diversification process in related species from the M. ruficornis group. Distribution patterns of all analyzed species are mainly affected by the limiting effects of the temperature of the coldest quarter and month, as well as by the precipitation of the wettest and driest quarters. Our results demonstrated that among all related species, with the exception of M. ovaloides, overall or partial divergence in environmental space is present. Importantly, the results indicate that the environmental niches of all endemic species are restricted to smaller parts of the environmental space. In the case of niche overlap, the niches of endemic species are placed along the border of the realized niche of the widespread related species. For species in which distribution is not limited by geographical barriers, environmental preferences could be considered as limiting factors for further expansion, as in the case of M. alexandri, a lowland species with very strict climatic adaptations. Knowledge about the environmental factors that might influence the diversification process can provide an explanation for the high diversity in other Merodon species groups.
https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS160303095A
Received: March 3, 2016; Revised: April 8, 2016; Accepted: May 10, 2016; Published online: October 17, 2016
How to cite this article: Ačanski J, Miličić M, Likov L, Milić D, Radenković S, Vujić A. Environmental niche divergence of species from Merodon ruficornis group (Diptera: Syrphidae). Arch Biol Sci. 2017;69(2):247-59.
Downloads
References
Coope GR. The Response of Insect Faunas to Glacial-Interglacial Climatic Fluctuations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1994;344(1307):19-26.
Hewitt GM. Speciation, hybrid zones and phylogeography- or seeing genes in space and time. Mol Ecol. 2001;10(3):537-49.
Konstantinov AS, Korotyaev BA, Volkovitsh MG. Insect biodiversity in the Palearctic Region. In: Foottit RG, Adler PH, editors. Insect biodiversity: science and society. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell; 2009. p. 107-62.
Dapporto L. Speciation in Mediterranean refugia and post-glacial expansion of Zerynthia polyxena (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). J Zoolog Syst Evol Res. 2010;48(3):229-37.
Ujvárosi L, Bálint M, Schmitt T, Mészáros N, Ujvárosi T, Popescu O. Divergence and speciation in the Carpathians area: patterns of morphological and genetic diversity of the crane fly Pedicia occulta (Diptera: Pediciidae). J North Am Benthol Soc. 2010;29(3):1075-88.
Nicholls JA, Preuss S, Hayward A, Melika G, Csóka GY, Nieves-Aldrey J, Askew RR, Tavakoli M, Schönrogge K, Stone GN. Concordant phylogeography and cryptic speciation in two Western Palaearctic oak gall parasitoid species complexes. Mol Ecol. 2010;19(3):592-609.
Zhu G, Liu G, Bu W, Lis JA. Geographic distribution and niche divergence of two stinkbugs, Parastrachia japonensis and Parastrachia nagaensis. J Insect Sci. 2013;13(1):102.
Seddon JM, Santucci F, Reeve N, Hewitt GM. Caucasus Mountains divide postulated postglacial colonization routes in the white-breasted hedgehog, Erinaceus concolor. J Evolution Biol. 2002;15(3):463-7.
Habel JC, Drees C, Schmitt T, Assmann T. Refugial areas and postglacial colonisations in the Western Palearctic. In: Habel JC, Assmann T, editors. Relict Species - Phylogeography and Conservation Biology. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 2010. p. 189-98.
Hewitt GM. Post-glacial re-colonization of European biota. Biol J Linn Soc. 1999;68(1-2):87-112.
Vujić A, Radenković S, Likov L, Trifunov S, Nikolić T. Three new species of the Merodon nigritarsis group (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Middle East. Zootaxa. 2013;3640(2):442-64.
Vujić A, Radenković S, Ačanski J, Grković A, Taylor M, Şenol SG, Hayat R. Revision of the species of the Merodon nanus group (Diptera: Syrphidae) including three new species. Zootaxa. 2015;4006(3):439-62.
Ricarte A, Marcos-García MA, Rotheray GE. The early stages and life histories of three Eumerus and two Merodon species (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Mediterranean region. Entomol Fennica. 2008;19(2):129-41.
Radenković S, Vujić A, Ståhls G, Pérez-Bañón C, Rojo S, Petanidou T, Šimić S. Three new cryptic species of the genus Merodon Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the island of Lesvos (Greece). Zootaxa. 2011;2735:35-56.
Andrić A, Šikoparija B, Obreht D, Djan M, Preradović J, Radenković S, Pérez-Banon S, Vujić A. DNA barcoding applied: identifying the larva of Merodon avidus (Diptera: Syrphidae). Acta Ent Mus Nat Pra. 2014;54(2):741-57.
Speight MCD. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae. Vol. 83, Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), 2015. Dublin: Syrph the Net publications; 2015. 295 p.
Ståhls G, Vujić A, Pérez-Bañon C, Radenković S, Rojo S. Petanidou T. COI barcodes for identification of Merodon hoverflies (Diptera, Syrphidae) of Lesvos Island, Greece. Mol Ecol Resour. 2009;9(6):1431-38.
Vujić A, Marcos-García MÁ, Sarıbıyık S, Ricarte A. New data on the Merodon Meigen 1803 fauna (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Turkey including description of a new species and changes in the nomenclatural status of several taxa. Ann Soc Entomol Fr. 2011;47(1-2):78-88.
Radenković S, Vujić A, Šimić S. On the identity and synonymy of two species from Merodon ruficornis Meigen group (Diptera: Syrphidae). Acta entomol Serb. 2002;7(1/2):51-7.
Vujić A, Pérez-Bañón C, Radenković S, Ståhls G, Rojo S, Petanidou T, Šimić S. Two new species of the genus Merodon Meigen 1803 (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the island of Lesvos (Greece), in the eastern Mediterranean. Ann Soc Entomol Fr. 2007;43(3):319-26.
Vujić A, Radenković S, Ståhls G, Ačanski J, Stefanović A, Veselić S, Andrić A, Hayat R. Systematics and taxonomy of the ruficornis group of genus Merodon Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae). Syst Entomol. 2012;37(3):578-602.
Milankov V, Ståhls G, Vujić A. Molecular diversity of populations of the Merodon ruficornis group (Diptera, Syrphidae) on the Balkan Peninsula. J Zool Syst Evol Res. 2008;46(2):143-152.
Popov GV. Merodon alexandri spec. nov. − a new species of hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the northern Black Sea Region. Studia Dipt. 2010;16:133-51.
Wiens JJ, Graham CH. Niche conservatism: integrating evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 2005;36:519-39.
Raxworthy C, Ingram C, Rabibisoa N, Pearson R. Applications of ecological niche modeling for species delimitation: a review and empirical evaluation using day geckos (Phelsuma) from Madagascar. Syst Biol. 2007;56(6):907-23.
Schulter D. Evidence for ecological speciation and its alternative. Science. 2009;323(5915):737-741.
McCormack JE, Zellmer AJ, Knowles LL. Does niche divergence accompany allopatric divergence in Aphelocoma jays as predicted under ecological speciation?: insights from tests with niche models. Evolution. 2010;64(5):1231-44.
Hutchinson GE. Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1957;22:415-427.
Graham CH, Ron SR, Santos JC, Schneider CJ, Moritz C. Integrating phylogenetics and environmental niche models to explore speciation mechanisms in dendrobatid frogs. Evolution. 2004;58(8):1781-93.
Rissler LJ, Apodaca JJ. Adding more ecology into species delimitation: ecological niche models and phylogeography help define cryptic species in the black salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus). Syst Biol. 2007;56(6):924-42.
Stockman AK, Bond JE. Delimiting cohesion species: extreme population structuring and the role of ecological interchangeability. Mol Ecol. 2007;16(16):3374-92.
Bond JE, Stockman AK. An integrative method for delimiting cohesion species: finding the population-species interface in a group of Californian trapdoor spiders with extreme genetic divergence and geographic structuring. Syst Biol. 2008;57(4):628-46.
Nosil P, Luke JH, Ole S. Ecological explanations for (incomplete) speciation. Trends Ecol Evol. 2009;24(3):145-56.
Medley KA. Niche shifts during the global invasion of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus Skuse (Culicidae), revealed by reciprocal distribution models. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 2010;19(1):122-33.
Sánchez-Fernández D, Lobo JM, Abellán P, Millán A. Environmental niche divergence between genetically distant lineages of an endangered water beetle. Biol J Linn Soc. 2011;103(4):891-903.
Wooten JA, Gibbs HL. Niche divergence and lineage diversification among closely related Sistrurus rattlesnakes. J Evolution Biol. 2012;25(2):317-28.
Zhou WW, Wen Y, Fu J, Xu YB, Jin JQ, Ding L, Min MS, Che J, Zhang YP. Speciation in the Rana chensinensis species complex and its relationship to the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Mol Ecol. 2012;21(4):960-73.
Petersen MJ. Evidence of a climatic niche shift following North American introductions of two crane flies (Diptera; genus Tipula). Biol Invasions. 2013;15(4):885-97.
Phillips SJ, Anderson RP, Schapire RE. Maximum entropy modeling of species geographic distributions. Ecol Model. 2006;190(3):231-59.
Guisan A, Thuiller W. Predicting species distribution: offering more than simple habitat models. Ecol Lett. 2005;8(9):993-1009.
Jeschke JM, Strayer DL. Usefulness of bioclimatic models for studying climate change and invasive species. In: Ostfeld RS, Schlesinger WH, editors. The year in ecology and conservation 2008. Boston, Mass.: Blackwell Pub; 2008. p. 1-24. (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; vol. 1134)
Elith J, Graham CH. Do they? How do they? Why do they differ? On finding reasons for differing performances of species distribution models. Ecography. 2009;32(1):66-77.
Hijmans RJ, Cameron SE, Parra JL, Jones PG, Jarvis A. The WorldClim Interpolated Global Terrestrial Climate Surfaces. [Internet]. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of Berkeley: 2005. [cited 2014 Jan 27]. Available from: http://www.worldclim.org/current
Phillips SJ, Dudik M, Schapire RE. A maximum entropy approach to species distribution modeling. In Brodley CE, editor. Proceedings: 21st International Conference on Machine Learning; 2004 Jul 4-8; Banff, Alberta, Canada. New York: ACM; 2004. p. 655-62.
Merow C, Smith MJ, Silander JA. A practical guide to MaxEnt for modeling species’ distributions: what it does, and why inputs and settings matter. Ecography. 2013;36(10):1058-69.
Ortega-Huerta MA, Peterson AT. Modeling ecological niches and predicting geographic distributions: a test of six presence-only methods. Rev Mex Biodivers. 2008;79(1):205-16.
Peterson AT, Papes M, Eaton M. Transferability and model evaluation in ecological niche modeling: a comparison of GARP and Maxent. Ecography. 2007;30(4):550-60.
Phillips SJ, Dudik M. Modeling of species distributions with Maxent: new extensions and a comprehensive evaluation. Ecography. 2008;31(2):161-75.
Jaynes ET. Information theory and statistical mechanics. Phys. Rev. 1957;106(4):620-30.
Araújo MB, Pearson RG, Thuiller W, Erhard M. Validation of species-climate impact models under climate change. Global Change Biol. 2005;11(9):1504-13.
Warren DL, Glor RE, Turelli M. Environmental niche equivalency versus conservatism: quantitative approaches to niche evolution. Evolution. 2008;62(11):2868-83.
Warren DL, Glor RE, Turelli M. ENMTools: a toolbox for comparative studies of environmental niche models. Ecography. 2010;33(3):607-11.
Schoener T.W. The Anolis lizards of Bimini: resource partitioning in a complex fauna. Ecology. 1968;49(4):704-26.
Peterson AT. Ecological niche conservatism: a time-structured review of evidence. J Biogeogr. 2011;38(5):817-27.
Nosil P. Ecological speciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2012. 280 p.
Peterson AT, Hold RD. Niche differentiation in Mexican birds: using point occurrences to detect ecological innovation. Ecol Lett. 2003;6(8):774-82.
MacArthur, RH. Geographical ecology: patterns in the distribution of species. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 1984. 269 p.
Taberlet P, Fumagalli L, Wust-Saucy A, Cosson J. Comparative phylogeography and postglacial colonization routes in Europe. Mol Ecol. 1998;7(4):453-64.
Hewitt GM. Genetic consequences of climatic oscillations in the Quaternary. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004;359(1442):183-95.
Balletto E, Casale A. Mediterranean Insect conservation. In: Collins NM, Thomas JA, editors. The conservation of insects and their habitats. London: Academic Press; 1991. p. 121-42.
Hewitt GM. Some genetic consequences of ice ages, and their role, in divergence and speciation. Biol J Linn Soc. 1996;58(3):247-76.
Habel JC, Meyer M, El Mousadik A, Schmitt T. Africa goes Europe: The complete phylogeography of the marbled white butterfly species complex Melanargia galathea/M. lachesis (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). Org Divers Evol. 2008;8(2):121-9.
Malaroda R, Carraro F, Dal Piaz GB, Franceschetti B, Sturani C, Zanella E. Carta Geologica del Massiccio dell'Argentera alla scala 1:50.000 e note illustrative. Memorie S G I. 1970;9:557-663.
Federici PR, Spagnolo M. Morphometric analysis on the size, shape and areal distribution of glacial cirques in the Maritime Alps (Western French Italian Alps). Geogr Ann A. 2004;86(3):235-48.
Buoncristiani JF, Campy M. Quaternary Glaciations in the French Alps and Jura. In: Ehlers J, Gibbard PL, editors. Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology, Part 1: Europe. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2004. p. 117-26.
Hughes PD, Woodward JC, Gibbard PL. Quaternary glacial history of the Mediterranean mountains. Prog Phys Geog. 2006;30(3):334-64.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
