The mid-domain effect hypothesis: models, evidence and limitations

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.09140

Abstract

Abstract:

Geographic patterns of species diversity and their underlying mechanisms have long been the focus of macro-ecology and biogeography. Recently, the mid-domain effect (MDE) hypothesis has been proposed to explain geographical diversity patterns. The hypothesis states that if the ranges of the species are randomly distributed within a bounded domain then more ranges will overlap near the middle of the domain than at the edges, and thus decreasing species richness will be observed from the mid-domain to the edges. Many studies have shown that the MDE is an important mechanism affecting geographic richness pattern. However, its relative role in such patterns differs markedly depending on many factors. In this paper, we introduced the assumptions and basic models of the hypothesis and illustrate that the models differ in their predictions as a result of different assumptions. We also review the debate on the MDE hypothesis, and discuss the limitations of present mid-domain models. Although the hypothesis has improved our understanding of the effects of geometric constraints and random process on geographic richness gradients, current MDE models are too simplistic to describe biodiversity patterns in the real world. Improvements to mid-domain models should be based on a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying species distribution.

Key words: species richness pattern, mid-domain effect(MDE), geometric constraints, null model, latitudinal and altitudinal gradients

Xiangping Wang, Jingyun Fang, Zhiyao Tang. The mid-domain effect hypothesis: models, evidence and limitations[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2009, 17(6): 568-578.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.09140

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2009/V17/I6/568

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 The mid-domain hypothesis for species richness gradients within a bounded domain, the boundaries are denoted by 0 and 1 on the x axis. a, All midpoint-range coordinate pairs must lie within the isosceles triangle under the assumption that species should be distributed within the boundaries. The ranges for species are shown as horizontal lines centered on their midpoints. b, Patterns of species richness across the domain when maximum range size is set to be 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 of the domain width in the bivariate model. Note that richness is scaled as the proportion of all species in the simulation (from Colwell & Lees, 2000).

Fig. 2 Patterns of midpoint-range pairs generated by different mid-domain models. a, the bivariate random model; b, the random midpoint model; c, the random range model. The domain boundaries are denoted by 0 and 1.0 on the x axis, and thus the range of the y axis is also between 0 and 1.0 (the species ranges can not be wider than the domain range because of the geometric constraints).

Fig. 3 Comparison of patterns generated by different mid-domain models. a, midpoint frequency distribution; b, range size frequency distribution; c, species richness; d, mean range size (MRS). Each simulation was run with 50 species and 50 bins. Species richness and MRS were the means of 1,000 iterations.

Fig. 4 Altitudinal patterns of species richness in Lijiang region in comparison with patterns simulated by different mid-domain models. The species data were compiled from Lü (1998). The model predictions were the means of 500 iterations.

Fig. 5 Empirical patterns of species richness along latitude or altitude gradients. Two of them were consistent with mid-domain model predictions (a and c), while the other two showed remarkable deviation. a, Latitudinal richness pattern for ten faunal groups in Madagascar. ■ Richness pattern for all species; □ Large ranged species; ○ Small ranged species; solid lines, model predictions (Colwell & Lees, 2000). b, Latitudinal richness pattern for Proteaceae in the Cape Floristic Region of Africa. Solid line, observed pattern; dashed line, model prediction (Laurie & Silander, 2002). c, Altitudinal richness patterns of small mammals in Aquarius Mountains of USA. d, Richness patterns of small mammals in Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo. Lines without data points were the 95% confidence limits of mid-domain model predictions (McCain, 2005).

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