Nonequilibrium dynamics and non-neutral processes, such as trait-dependent dispersal, are often missing from quantitative island biogeography models despite their potential explanatory value. One of the most influential nonequilibrium models is the taxon cycle, but it has been difficult to test its validity as a general biogeographical framework. Here, we test predictions of the taxon cycle model using six expected phylogenetic patterns and a time-calibrated phylogeny of Indo-Pacific Odontomachus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae), one of the ant genera that E.O. Wilson used when first proposing the hypothesis. We used model-based inference and a newly developed trait-dependent dispersal model to jointly estimate ancestral biogeography, ecology (habitat preferences for forest interiors, vs. "marginal" habitats, such as savannahs, shorelines, disturbed areas) and the linkage between ecology and dispersal rates. We found strong evidence that habitat shifts from forest interior to open and disturbed habitats increased macroevolutionary dispersal rate. In addition, lineages occupying open and disturbed habitats can give rise to both island endemics re-occupying only forest interiors and taxa that re-expand geographical ranges. The phylogenetic predictions outlined in this study can be used in future work to evaluate the relative weights of neutral (e.g., geographical distance and area) and non-neutral (e.g., trait-dependent dispersal) processes in historical biogeography and community ecology.

Department of Applied Ecology North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Gothenburg Göteborg Sweden

Department of Entomology and Department of Animal Biology University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Urbana Illinois

Department of Entomology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington District of Columbia

Department of Zoology Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Division of Ecology and Evolution Research School of Biology The Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia

Division of Invertebrate Zoology American Museum of Natural History New York City New York

Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre Göteborg Sweden

Institute of Entomology Biology Centre CAS Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica ENES UNAM Morelia Mexico

Research and Collections North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Raleigh North Carolina

School of Biological Sciences The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand

W M Keck Center for Behavioral Biology North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org

Becoming urban: How city life shapes the social structure and genetics of ants

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Dryad
10.5061/dryad.5542pr8