Ecological traits influence the phylogenetic structure of bird species co‐occurrences worldwide

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 811 - 820
• Main Authors: Barnagaud, Jean‐Yves, Daniel Kissling, W, Sandel, Brody, Eiserhardt, Wolf L, Şekercioğlu, Çağan H, Enquist, Brian J, Tsirogiannis, Constantinos, Svenning, Jens‐Christian, Mouillot, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Science 01.07.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Aves; Biogeography; Biological and medical sciences; Birds; Birds - classification; Birds - physiology; Body size; carnivores; classification; Climate; diet; Diversification; Ecosystem; Evolution; forest habitats; frugivores; functional traits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; geographical range; Herbivores; Homing Behavior; invertebrates; Life history; macroecology; migratory behavior; Migratory species; Models, Biological; Niches; phylogenetic community structure; phylogenetic fields; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; physiology; species coexistence; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Community structure; Taxonomy; Functional trait; phylogenetic community structure; Coexistence; Phylogeny; Diversification; Vertebrata; Geographic distribution; functional traits; Macroecology; phylogenetic fields; Aves; Distribution range; geographical range; species coexistence; macroecology
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.12285

The extent to which species’ ecological and phylogenetic relatedness shape their co‐occurrence patterns at large spatial scales remains poorly understood. By quantifying phylogenetic assemblage structure within geographic ranges of >8000 bird species, we show that global co‐occurrence patterns are linked – after accounting for regional effects – to key ecological traits reflecting diet, mobility, body size and climatic preference. We found that co‐occurrences of carnivorous, migratory and cold‐climate species are phylogenetically clustered, whereas nectarivores, herbivores, frugivores and invertebrate eaters tend to be more phylogenetically overdispersed. Preference for open or forested habitats appeared to be independent from the level of phylogenetic clustering. Our results advocate for an extension of the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis to incorporate ecological and life‐history traits beyond the climatic niche. They further offer a novel species‐oriented perspective on how biogeographic and evolutionary legacies interact with ecological traits to shape global patterns of species coexistence in birds.