Data & R code for: Paquette & Hargreaves 'Biotic interactions are more often important at species' warm vs. cool range edges'

Predicting which ecological factors constrain species distributions is a fundamental ecological question and critical to forecasting geographic responses to global change. Darwin hypothesized that abiotic factors generally impose species’ high-latitude and high-elevation (typically cool) range limits, whereas biotic interactions more often impose species’ low-latitude/low-elevation (typically warm) limits, but empirical support has been mixed. Here, we clarify three predictions arising from Darwin’s hypothesis, and show that previously mixed support is partially due to researchers testing different predictions. Using a comprehensive literature review (885 range limits), we find that biotic interactions, including competition, predation, and parasitism, contributed to >60% of range limits, and influenced species’ warm limits more often than cool limits. Abiotic factors contributed more often than biotic interactions to cool range limits, but temperature contributed frequently to both ...

预测哪些生态因子限制物种分布是生态学的基础问题，对预测全球变化下的地理响应至关重要。达尔文提出假设：非生物因子（abiotic factors）通常决定物种的高纬度和高海拔（典型的凉爽区域）分布范围边界，而生物相互作用（biotic interactions）更常决定物种的低纬度/低海拔（典型的温暖区域）分布范围边界，但实证支持结果不一。本文中，我们阐明了达尔文假设衍生的三个预测，并指出先前结果不一的支持部分源于研究者测试了不同的预测。通过全面的文献综述（涵盖885个分布范围边界），我们发现生物相互作用（包括竞争、捕食和寄生）对超过60%的分布范围边界有影响，且对物种温暖区域边界的影响频率高于凉爽区域边界。非生物因子对凉爽区域边界的影响频率高于生物相互作用，但温度对两者均有频繁影响……