Abstract:

Background & Aims: Species distribution models (SDMs), often synonymous with ecological niche models (ENMs), have solidified their position as indispensable tools in modern macroecology, biogeography, species invasion and conservation. Their utility in predicting a species’ potential geographic range, evaluating the impacts of climate change, and guiding targeted conservation efforts has led to a remarkable surge in their popularity and application over the last three decades. However, this rapid expansion has also exposed a significant and persistent conceptual gap: a growing disconnect between the practical application of modeling techniques and the foundational ecological theory that should guide them. A primary source of this issue is the widespread confusion surrounding the concept of the “ecological niche”. This ambiguity has led to conceptual errors, inappropriate method use, and potentially flawed ecological inferences. This paper addresses this critical gap by systematically reviewing the core niche concepts, linking them to specific modeling paradigms, diagnosing prevalent issues in current research, and offering recommendations to promote a more theoretically grounded and robust application of SDMs. 

Review Results: The term “ecological niche” is not a single, unified concept. It encompasses three distinct yet complementary ideas. The Grinnellian niche defines a species’ existence based on the abiotic environmental conditions and habitat requirements that allow it to persist. As a “scenopoetic” or habitat-based framework, it is most closely aligned with standard SDMs, which statistically correlate species occurrence records with broad-scale climatic and environmental variables. The Eltonian niche, conversely, focuses on a species’ functional role within a community, emphasizing biotic interactions such as resource consumption, predation, and competition. This concept is central to community ecology and is better represented by methods like joint species distribution models (JSDMs) that account for residual correlations between species, or through explicit network analysis. The Hutchinsonian niche provides the most formal definition, conceptualizing the niche as an “n-dimensional hypervolume” encompassing all environmental and resource variables. Different modeling approaches correspond to these niche concepts. Standard correlative SDMs (e.g., MaxEnt, random forest) are primarily used to model the Grinnellian niche, generating a map of environmental suitability based on abiotic variables. To explore the Eltonian niche, JSDMs simultaneously model multiple species to infer interspecific interactions. The Hutchinsonian framework, particularly the concept of the hypervolume, is directly operationalized by analytical methods that quantify niche breadth, overlap, and centrality in multidimensional space. Mechanistic models, which use principles of physiology to predict survival and reproduction, offer a valuable complementary approach to approximate the fundamental niche. Despite these advances, the application of SDMs is fraught with common pitfalls. The most critical error is the fundamental vs. realized niche fallacy, where researchers mistakenly interpret the output of a standard SDM, which is trained on a species’ actual distribution, as a representation of its full fundamental niche. In reality, these models typically capture only a portion of the realized niche, constrained by unmeasured biotic factors and dispersal limitations. Additionally, many studies violate the core assumptions of SDMs, such as the assumption that species are in equilibrium with their environment or that sampling is unbiased. Ignoring biotic interactions and failing to account for non-equilibrium dynamics (e.g., recent invasions) further limits the accuracy and reliability of these models. 

Conclusion: To advance species distribution modeling, this paper advocates for a multi-pronged approach grounded in ecological theory. First, researchers must strive for greater conceptual clarity, explicitly stating which niche concept their study addresses and interpreting results within that defined framework. Second, there is a clear need for enhanced methodological rigor and integration, encouraging the development of hybrid models that combine the strengths of different modeling paradigms, such as incorporating biotic interactions or dispersal dynamics into standard SDMs. Furthermore, adherence to best practices in data collection, model selection, and rigorous validation is paramount. The future of the field lies in transcending simple correlative methods and embracing a more integrative science that synthesizes Grinnellian, Eltonian, and Hutchinsonian perspectives. By leveraging new data streams and grounding our work in a deep understanding of ecological theory, we can ask more complex questions and provide more robust guidance for biodiversity management in an era of rapid environmental change.

Key words: ecological niche, ecological niche model, environmental suitability, model misapplication