Charles University, Prague Diversity dynamics across scales Antonin Machac 2018 Abstract Diversity dynamics remain controversial. It has been suggested that the dynamics are expansionary, such that the number of species across regions and clades increases constantly. However, the opposite has also been suggested, namely that species numbers are relatively stable, following equilibrial dynamics. Both views (expansionary and equilibrial) have been supported by compelling phylogenetic, biogeographic, and fossil evidence and, currently, it remains largely unclear how the two seemingly conflicting views could be reconciled. My dissertation addresses this question, based on the premise that diversity dynamics change systematically with scale. Specifically, I hypothesize that expansionary dynamics typify regionally distributed, small, and young clades whose diversity tends to expand, driven by a variety of regionally relevant factors (e.g. habitat-level adaptation, biotic interactions, or montane shifts leading to ecological divergence and speciation). Conversely, equilibrial dynamics typify large, ancient, and globally distributed clades, whose diversity is environmentally limited (e.g. by the total amount of resources that can sustain only a limited number of populations and species). Consequently, it seems...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:383916 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Macháč, Antonín |
| Contributors | Storch, David, Remeš, Vladimír, Ricklefs, Robert |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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