Lineages that cheat death: surviving the squeeze on range size

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Ecology
• Climate Change Science

Background:

• Diversification rates vary across evolutionary lineages, influenced by speciation and extinction.
• Large geographic ranges are often linked to lower extinction risk, but climate change can shrink ranges, increasing extinction risk.
• Species survival during environmental change may depend on population-level
• threat tolerance
• rather than solely on broad distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between threat tolerance and diversification rates.
• To determine if threat tolerance differs between narrowly and widely distributed species.
• To explore how extinction resistance may operate differently under adverse global environmental change.

Main Methods:

• Utilized primates as a model system to study evolutionary lineages.
• Assessed the concept of
• threat tolerance
• as a factor in species survival.
• Compared threat tolerance in narrowly distributed versus widespread species.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a relationship between threat tolerance and diversification rates.
• Found that narrowly distributed species possess higher threat tolerance than widespread species.
• Confirmed that threat tolerance represents an unusual form of extinction resistance.

Conclusions:

• Threat tolerance is a key factor for species survival during periods of high extinction risk, particularly under climate change.
• Extinction resistance may function differently during adverse global environmental change compared to benign periods.
• Understanding threat tolerance is crucial for predicting species persistence and diversification patterns in a changing world.