理解物種地理分布格局是生物地理學(xué),、進化生物學(xué)和保護生物學(xué)研究的關(guān)鍵核心之一。由于在空間生態(tài)學(xué)中必須考慮研究所涉及的尺度,，從而選擇合適的空間尺度是一個極為重要且經(jīng)常發(fā)生的主題,。
中科院成都生物所系統(tǒng)進化與保育學(xué)科組胡軍華博士與動物所蔣志剛研究員領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的研究團隊針對中亞地區(qū)特有的有蹄類——原羚屬(Procapra，包括普氏原羚P. przewalskii,、藏原羚P. picticaudata和蒙原羚P. gutturosa 3種羚羊)物種，在不同的空間范圍尺度上探討了物種間的同域分布區(qū),，并在此基礎(chǔ)上揭示了它們的生態(tài)位分化格局,，發(fā)現(xiàn)原羚屬物種間的生態(tài)位重疊與地理距離密切相關(guān)而并非物種間的系統(tǒng)發(fā)育距離。該研究提供了近緣物種在大空間尺度上存在生態(tài)位分化的證據(jù),，并支持了生態(tài)物種形成在譜系產(chǎn)生中起著重要作用的假說,。
該研究結(jié)果近期發(fā)表于國際主流學(xué)術(shù)期刊Naturwissenschaften (The Science of Nature). Junhua Hu & Zhigang Jiang. 2012. Detecting the potential sympatric range and niche divergence between Asian endemic ungulates of Procapra. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-012-0933-1。此項研究受中國科學(xué)院知識創(chuàng)新工程領(lǐng)域前沿項目(Y1B302100),、國家自然科學(xué)基金（31070469）及中國科學(xué)院重要方向性項目（KSCX2-EW-Z-4; KSCX2-EW-J-22）等項目的資助,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1007/s00114-012-0933-1
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Detecting the potential sympatric range and niche divergence between Asian endemic ungulates of Procapra
Junhua Hu and Zhigang Jiang
Species distribution modeling (SDM) is increasingly used to reveal biogeographical relationships, for example the sympatric range for species coexistence, and fundamental questions about niche evolution between related species. We explored the sympatric ranges between three Procapra species (Procapra przewalskii, Procapra Picticaudata, and Procapra gutturosa) via two methods of defining the study region (method 1, in which models were developed in a larger region including the whole geographic range of Procapra, and method 2 in which a smaller region surrounding focal species’ localities was used and then projected to the larger region). We also quantified environmental niche divergence between gazelles across the whole range in Procapra. Models for gazelles generally performed well. Compared with method 2, method 1 led to larger predicted areas with high suitability and was less concentrated around known localities. Clamping, which deals with variables outside the training range, varied between gazelles and occurred primarily in regions unsuitable for respective species. For all gazelle pairs, models revealed an overlap zone where more than one species should occur, while the estimates varied between the two methods. Moreover, we found that the niche overlap was closely associated with geographic distance but not with phylogenetic distance among gazelles. Our findings indicate that SDM is a useful tool for testing whether related species tend to be in sympatry at large scales, with method 1 leading to more realistic predictions for Procapra. This study provides evidence of a distinct niche divergence among related species and supports the theory that ecological speciation plays a significant role in lineage generation.
