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Niche breadth and geographical range: Ecological compensation for geographical rarity in rainforest frogs
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 05:26 authored by Williams, YM, Williams, SE, Alford, RA, Waycott, M, Christopher JohnsonChristopher JohnsonWe investigated the relationship between diet specialization and geographical range in Cophixalus, a genus of microhylid frogs from the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. The geographical ranges of these species vary from a few square kilometres in species restricted to a single mountain top to the entire region for the widespread species. Although macroecological theory predicts that species with broad niches should have the largest geographical ranges, we found the opposite: geographically rare species were diet generalists and widespread species were diet specialists. We argue that this pattern is a product of extinction filtering, whereby geographically rare and therefore extinction-prone species are more likely to persist if they are diet generalists.
History
Publication title
Biology LettersIssue
4Pagination
532-535ISSN
1744-9561Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
The Royal Society PublishingPlace of publication
United KingdomRepository Status
- Restricted