Bringing the Hutchinsonian niche into the 21st century: Ecological and evolutionary perspectives

Abstract

G. Evelyn Hutchinson more than a half century ago proposed that one could characterize the ecological niche of a species as an abstract mapping of population dynamics onto an environmental space, the axes of which are abiotic and biotic factors that influence birth and death rates. If a habitat has conditions within a species' niche, a population should persist without immigration from external sources, whereas if conditions are outside the niche, it faces extinction. Analyses of species' niches are essential to understanding controls on species' geographical range limits and how these limits might shift in our rapidly changing world. Recent developments in ecology and evolutionary biology suggest it is time to revisit and refine Hutchinson's niche concept. After reviewing techniques for quantifying niches, I examine subtleties that arise because of impacts species have on their own environments, the density-dependent modulation of how individuals experience environments, and the interplay of dispersal and temporal heterogeneity in determining population persistence. Moreover, the evolutionary record over all time scales reveals a spectrum of rates of change in species' niches, from rapid niche evolution to profound niche conservatism. Substantial challenges revolving around the evolutionary dimension of the Hutchinsonian niche include quantifying the magnitude of evolved intraspecific and clade-level variation in niches and understanding the factors that govern where along the spectrum of potential evolutionary rates any given lineage lies. A growing body of theory provides elements of a conceptual framework for understanding niche conservatism and evolution, paving the way for an evolutionary theory of the niche.Allee effects ͉ ecological niche ͉ landscape texture ͉ niche conservatism ͉ niche evolution T he niche concept is central to ecology (1, 2). G. EvelynHutchinson in a seminal essay Ͼ50 years ago (1) proposed a formalization of the niche that still resonates in the minds of ecologists. After years of quiescence, there has been a recent upsurge of interest in species' niches (2, 3), driven in part by the urgency of predicting ecological responses to rapid environmental change. In this article, after summarizing Hutchinson's niche concept and sketching empirical approaches to quantifying niches, I will point out limitations in standard articulations of the Hutchinsonian niche. Some arise from its focus on a species solely when it is rare, which can belie the impact of positive density dependence and feedback processes on population persistence; others arise from its relative neglect of temporal variation and spatial dynamics; and yet others arise from genetic variation and evolution in the niche itself. These reflections will lead to alternative and complementary niche definitions, enriching and extending Hutchinson's concept.

Vacated niches, competitive release and the community ecology of pathogen eradication

“…For example, Vasilakis et al [19] state that any future eradication of human dengue viruses would be unlikely to last without continued vaccination, given the frequency of spillover events and low adaptive barrier for emergence of sylvatic dengue virus in humans. This also highlights the potential for competitive release and evolutionary emergence to act in concert, as lengthening transmission chains provide greater opportunities for adaptation to human hosts [30,58].…”

“…In recent years, the theory has been reinvigorated by the syntheses offered by Chase & Leibold [27] and Peterson et al [29], but instead of a unified niche concept we now have a proliferation of 'types' of niche (Grinnellian, Eltonian and Hutchinsonian niches [29,30], or recess/role, populationpersistence and resource-utilization niches [31]) aiming to clarify the discourse. There is no simple definition, so there will be no simple resolution to the debate considered here.…”

Shape and evolution of the fundamental niche in marine Vibrio

“…Since that time, the niche concept has been one of the most studied and one of the most debated concepts in theoretical ecology (Whittaker et al, 1973;Leibold, 1995;Chase and Leibold, 2003;Holt, 2009). Despite its central importance, few empirical studies have been undertaken to map the fundamental niche space associated with non-consumable environmental factors, such as temperature, salinity and pH (Panagou et al, 2005;Hooper et al, 2008).…”

Applying a regional community concept to forest birds of eastern North America

“…The individual component reflects adaptations to use substrates and exploit resources within the individual's activity space, which is also influenced by its tolerance of physical conditions (1,9,10). The population component reflects the changing balance of births and deaths over space as they are affected by regional conditions and interacting populations (11). The individual (primarily within-habitat) component tends to be evolutionarily conservative-for example, most warblers glean insects from foliage and most woodpeckers scale bark and excavate wood to find their prey.…”