Current Research
Trait evolution across spatial and phylogenetic scales
Niche evolution is an important evolutionary mechanism that can explain how ecology and contemporary characteristics interact with evolutionary processes to determine biogeographical patterns. Although climatic niche evolution has been continually tested in many organisms, including bats (the only mammal group with real flight capability), yet we still know little about the role of spatial scale in niche evolution. In this research, we are interested in the scale-dependence and spatial variation in niche evolution in extant bat assemblages across the globe and across different biogeographical regions.
Collaborators
Pedro Peres-Neto, Steven Kembel
Funding
National Council of Research and Development (CNPq-Brazil) (249289 / 2013-0) Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS-Canada)
Publications
Upcoming.
Spatial and temporal scale-dependence in community phylogenetics
Patterns of phylogenetic relatedness among co-occurring species are traditionally assumed to be caused by three mechanisms: environmental filtering, competitive exclusion, and neutrality. Nevertheless, these mechanisms are built into assumptions that have been continuously contended by evidence related – but not limited – to evolutionary changes in niche requirements and competitive abilities, fitness, diversification rates, dispersal barriers, and species pool extent and isolation. Here, we decompose the determinants of phylogenetic patterns of community assembly across different geographical scales and extents and test core biogeographical predictions to answer (1) how the phylogenetic structure of assemblages change across spatial scales, (2) whether similar taxa exhibit similar community phylogenetic structure, and (3) which historical, environmental, and ecological factors best explain the observed patterns. For this, we use the geographical distribution and phylogenetic history of bats (Chiroptera), and the current- and paleo-climates to assess how historical, environmental, and spatial and temporal scale-dependent factors jointly determine the phylogenetic structure of bat communities across the world.
Collaborators
Pedro Peres-Neto, Steven Kembel
Funding
National Council of Research and Development (CNPq-Brazil) (249289 / 2013-0) Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS-Canada)
Publications
Upcoming.
Past Research
Trait evolution and species diversification in Neotropical anurans
Understanding how and at what extent processes maintain and generate species and novelties across the evolutionary time is a long-standing point shared among evolutionary ecologists and comparative biologists. Niche evolution may favor speciation in certain lineages, while increasing extinction rates in others. In this study, we used macroevolutionary analyses of trait evolution to test the predictions that due to high physiological dependence to water, (i) frogs with indirect development life cycles tend to retain their ecological niche characteristics across evolution (i.e., phylogenetic niche conservatism) and (ii) the climatic niche of direct development anurans evolved faster than the climatic niche of anurans with indirect development. If both previous predictions confirm, (iii) indirect development anurans will also have higher diversification rates than direct development anurans, because of the role of niche conservatism in promoting allopatric speciation
Collaborators
Natan Medeiros Maciel, Paulo De Marco Júnior, José Alexandre F. Diniz-Filho, Fabricio Villalobos
Funding
National Council of Research and Development (CNPq-Brazil) Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES-Brazil)
Publications
Upcoming.
