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Mathematical contributions to link biota with environment
Author(s) -
Cerdeira J.O.,
MonteiroHenriques T.,
Martins M.J.,
Silva P.C.,
Alagador D.,
Franco A.M.A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.1111/jvs.12188
Subject(s) - niche , ecological niche , ecology , environmental niche modelling , niche construction , niche segregation , habitat , biology
Hutchinson's pioneering work on the niche concept, dating from 1957, inspired the development of many ecological models. The first proposals, BIOCLIM and HABITAT , were simple geometric approximations to the shape of the niche. Despite their simplicity, they combine two features that make them adequate for the purpose of exploring the niche: they fit a predefined shape to the empirical data; and produce binary or ordinal predictions rather than continuous predictions. Thus, both explicitly delineate a precise boundary for the niche. However, the two methods present some limitations: BIOCLIM assumes that the variables are independent in their action on the species; and HABITAT , although not having that limitation, only delineates the boundaries of the niches without distinguishing levels of suitability for the species. We propose, discuss and illustrate: (1) the use of depth functions to identify regions with distinct suitability inside the niche; and (2) a general framework to assess overlap of the niches of two species, which can be applied to predictions from models that decompose the niche into a finite number of measurable regions.