RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Source-sink dynamics can maintain mismatched range and bioclimatic limits even at large spatial scales
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.12.05.413153
DO 10.1101/2020.12.05.413153
A1 Goel, Nikunj
A1 Keitt, Timothy H.
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/12/07/2020.12.05.413153.abstract
AB Bioclimatic models assume that at broad spatial scales, climate is the primary determinant of species distribution. Meanwhile, processes such as source-sink dynamics can be ignored because they are thought to manifest at length scales comparable to species mean dispersal distance. We present a reaction-diffusion model to show species can use sink patches near the bioclimatic (or niche) limit as stepping-stones to occupy sinks much further than the mean dispersal distance, thereby extending the distribution far beyond the bioclimatic envelope. This mismatch between geographical and bioclimatic limits is mediated by the shape of the bioclimatic limit and may be significant for low growth sensitivity and fast dispersal life strategy. These findings challenge one of the core assumptions of the bioclimatic models. Therefore, we advocate that biogeographers consider the role of dispersal when using bioclimatic models to generate inferences about the ecological and evolutionary processes that determine the distribution of biota.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.