Slajd 1

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How does phylogeny influence ecological patterns?
As species of the same genus have usually, though
by no means invariably, some similarity in
habitats and constitution, and always in
structure, the struggle will generally be more
severe between species of the same genus, when
they come into competition with each other, than
between species of distinct genera. Charles
Darwin(1959) The Origin of species by mean of
natural selection. London.
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Increase in marine diversity (number of families)
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How does phylogeny influence ecological patterns?
Species assemblage rules
Biogeography
Biotic interactions
Niche
History
Community structure
Chance processes
Life histrory traits Phenology
Phylogenetic constraints
Character evolution
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Imact of evolutionary history
Does evolutionary history influence todays
ecological patterns?
Impact of species interactions
Large scale
Small scale
Does evolutionary history influence ecological
patterns at the local scale?

• Abundances
• Extinction risk
• Species co-occurrences
• Species composition
• biogeographic distribution

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Species assembly and evolutionary history
Evolution
Evolution
Species traits Adaptations
Species traits Adaptations
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
Region1
Region2
Region3
Region1
Region2
Region3
Community assembly with conserved adaptational
traits
Community assembly with competitive effects
Clustered (underdispersed) pattern
Overdispersed pattern
The model assumes that ecologically plasticity is
at least to a certain amount limited
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Phylogeny and local and regional abundances
Older (basal) lineage
Younger (derived) lineages

• Abundance and clade (lineage) age
• Patterns of species co-occurrence
• Extinction risk and clade age
• Evolutionary speed and clade age

To study these patterns we need well established
phylogenetic trees
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Taxon species richness and local abundances The
case of Hymenoptera
Continental taxon species richness of Hymenoptera
is correlated to mean local abundances
Species rich hymenopteran taxa contain more
locally rare and fewer locally abundant species
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Does taxon size and phylogenetic history
determine susceptability to extinction?
In vascular plants frequencies of rare species
seem to be correlated to taxon sizes.
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Numbers of families and species scale
allometrically to floral species richness

• Species richer sites contain relatively less
  higher taxa.
• Species richer sites have higher S/G ratios
• Species richer sites contain higher proportions
  of ecologically similar species(environmental
  filtering)

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Todays reading
Community assembly www.cbs.umn.edu/cavender/Readi
ng_List/Ackerly03IJPS_2003.pdf Phylogeny and
community ecology www.phylodiversity.net/donoghu
e/publications/MJD_papers/2002/121_Webb_AnnRevEcol
Syst02.pdf