University Library
  • Login
A gateway to Melbourne's research publications
Minerva Access is the University's Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve, and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of the University of Melbourne for a global audience.
View Item 
  • Minerva Access
  • Science
  • School of BioSciences
  • School of BioSciences - Research Publications
  • View Item
  • Minerva Access
  • Science
  • School of BioSciences
  • School of BioSciences - Research Publications
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Ecological opportunity and the evolution of habitat preferences in an arid-zone bird: implications for speciation in a climate-modified landscape

    Thumbnail
    Download
    Published version (1.492Mb)

    Citations
    Scopus
    Web of Science
    Altmetric
    8
    7
    Author
    Norman, JA; Christidis, L
    Date
    2016-01-20
    Source Title
    Scientific Reports
    Publisher
    NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Christidis, Leslie
    Affiliation
    School of BioSciences
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Norman, J. A. & Christidis, L. (2016). Ecological opportunity and the evolution of habitat preferences in an arid-zone bird: implications for speciation in a climate-modified landscape. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 6 (1), https://doi.org/10.1038/srep19613.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/258156
    DOI
    10.1038/srep19613
    Abstract
    Bioclimatic models are widely used to investigate the impacts of climate change on species distributions. Range shifts are expected to occur as species track their current climate niche yet the potential for exploitation of new ecological opportunities that may arise as ecosystems and communities remodel is rarely considered. Here we show that grasswrens of the Amytornis textilis-modestus complex responded to new ecological opportunities in Australia's arid biome through shifts in habitat preference following the development of chenopod shrublands during the late Plio-Pleistocene. We find evidence of spatially explicit responses to climatically driven landscape changes including changes in niche width and patterns of population growth. Conservation of structural and functional aspects of the ancestral niche appear to have facilitated recent habitat shifts, while demographic responses to late Pleistocene climate change provide evidence for the greater resilience of populations inhabiting the recently evolved chenopod shrubland communities. Similar responses could occur under future climate change in species exposed to novel ecological conditions, or those already occupying spatially heterogeneous landscapes. Mechanistic models that consider structural and functional aspects of the niche along with regional hydro-dynamics may be better predictors of future climate responses in Australia's arid biome than bioclimatic models alone.

    Export Reference in RIS Format     

    Endnote

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".

    Refworks

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


    Collections
    • Minerva Elements Records [53102]
    • School of BioSciences - Research Publications [1508]
    Minerva AccessDepositing Your Work (for University of Melbourne Staff and Students)NewsFAQs

    BrowseCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
    My AccountLoginRegister
    StatisticsMost Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors