Data: Abiotic niche divergence of homoploid hybrid species from their progenitors

Although more frequently reported recently than was previously expected, the role of ecology in the speciation of homoploid hybrid species (HHS) has not been quantitatively evaluated. We examined divergences in the niches of 22 assumed HHS (18 plants and four animals) from those of their progenitors using 52097 occurrences and 26 environmental factors (temperature, precipitation, altitude and soil). We identified three niche divergence patterns in HHS, niche novelty, niche contraction and niche intermediacy, by estimating niche overlap and niche breadth. Niche novelty, found in 16 HHS, is the commonest pattern, in which HHS occupied new habitats and a range geographically isolated from those of the progenitors, with low niche overlap and small niche breadth. Our study indicates that ecological divergence contributes greatly to the establishment of HHS and suggests that increasing habitat disturbance and the predicted climate change that may create new niches will accelerate the future production of HHS.