Our knowledge of the identity and distribution of most species on earth is remarkably poor. Species in hotspots tend to be scarce within their range which increases their probability of extinction. In this study, we u...Our knowledge of the identity and distribution of most species on earth is remarkably poor. Species in hotspots tend to be scarce within their range which increases their probability of extinction. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling （ENM） to estimate dimensions of realized niches of 4 species that are totally （Physopelta robusta St^l and Physopelta slanbuschii Fabricius） or partially （Physopelta cincticollis StS,1 and Physopelta quadriguttata Bergroth） distributed in the Indo-Myanmar and South Central China hotspot, and predicted additional sites where they might be found. Our findings suggest that the range of the 4 species could extend beyond their presently known distributions, which might be useful for future field surveys. Niche overlap was modeled between the 4 species, with R slanbuschii and R robusta showing more tolerance to temperature and P quadriguttata and P. slanbuschii more tolerance to precipitation. This study presents one more case study which highlights the ecological approach for taxonomic study in biodiversity conservation, especially of poorly, little known, and localized endemic species.展开更多
基金supported by a postdoctoral fellowship award to GZ in Nankai University (2012M510744)by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31071959,J0630963)
文摘Our knowledge of the identity and distribution of most species on earth is remarkably poor. Species in hotspots tend to be scarce within their range which increases their probability of extinction. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling （ENM） to estimate dimensions of realized niches of 4 species that are totally （Physopelta robusta St^l and Physopelta slanbuschii Fabricius） or partially （Physopelta cincticollis StS,1 and Physopelta quadriguttata Bergroth） distributed in the Indo-Myanmar and South Central China hotspot, and predicted additional sites where they might be found. Our findings suggest that the range of the 4 species could extend beyond their presently known distributions, which might be useful for future field surveys. Niche overlap was modeled between the 4 species, with R slanbuschii and R robusta showing more tolerance to temperature and P quadriguttata and P. slanbuschii more tolerance to precipitation. This study presents one more case study which highlights the ecological approach for taxonomic study in biodiversity conservation, especially of poorly, little known, and localized endemic species.
