General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally

A longstanding question in ecology asks whether or not species that achieve large geographic ranges also have large climatic niche breadths. Using a dataset of ~250,000 terrestrial plant species spanning diverse clades (bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants), we demonstrate a consistent positive relationship between geographic range size and climatic niche breadth across latitudinal and elevational gradients. This relationship holds across major phylogenetic groups, suggesting a general biogeographical rule for range size variation. Our findings indicate that latitudinal and elevational gradients in range size arise from selective pressures and species sorting based on climatic tolerance. Additionally, we show that species with larger range sizes tend to be ecologically dominant, supporting a long-suspected connection between range size, niche breadth, and local and regional abundance. Our results suggest a spectrum of dominance, where species with extensive geographic ranges and broader climatic tolerances tend to be more abundant. We posit that the relationship between range size, niche breadth, and ecological dominance is an emergent macroecological pattern that can be used for understanding and predicting the impacts of climate change on species distributions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2025-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2517585122
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.35
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article

General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally

Amy E. Frazier, Cory Merow, Brian Joseph Enquist, Cesar Hinojo-Hinojo et al.
4 citations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Species Distribution and Climate Change
7.35
article

General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally

Amy E. Frazier, Cory Merow, Brian Joseph Enquist, Cesar Hinojo-Hinojo, Pablo A. Marquet, Brian Maitner, Fabricio Villalobos, Lei Song, Gabriel Massaine MOULATLET, Xiao Feng, Brad Boyle, Erica A. Newman, Jens‐Christian Svenning, Patrick R. Roehrdanz
article en
4 citations

Abstract

A longstanding question in ecology asks whether or not species that achieve large geographic ranges also have large climatic niche breadths. Using a dataset of ~250,000 terrestrial plant species spanning diverse clades (bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants), we demonstrate a consistent positive relationship between geographic range size and climatic niche breadth across latitudinal and elevational gradients. This relationship holds across major phylogenetic groups, suggesting a general biogeographical rule for range size variation. Our findings indicate that latitudinal and elevational gradients in range size arise from selective pressures and species sorting based on climatic tolerance. Additionally, we show that species with larger range sizes tend to be ecologically dominant, supporting a long-suspected connection between range size, niche breadth, and local and regional abundance. Our results suggest a spectrum of dominance, where species with extensive geographic ranges and broader climatic tolerances tend to be more abundant. We posit that the relationship between range size, niche breadth, and ecological dominance is an emergent macroecological pattern that can be used for understanding and predicting the impacts of climate change on species distributions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 122(46)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), James Madison University (US), Santa Fe Institute (US), Conservation International (US), University of Arizona (US), University of Connecticut (US), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), Aarhus University (DK), University of South Florida (US), Universidad de Sonora (MX), Instituto de Ecología (MX), University of South Florida St. Petersburg (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
7.35
DOISourceOpenAlex
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