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Russell_Vanessa_OhioLINK_8_13_19.pdf (1.11 MB)

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Identifying Environmental Factors Driving Differences in Climatic Niche Overlap in Peromyscus Mice

Russell, Vanessa
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9877-5757
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1565722438217428

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Science, Miami University, Biology.
Climatic niches exhibit a varying degree of niche conservatism in different taxa. The degree of climatic niche overlap among closely related species may be affected by environmental conditions. The purpose of this research is to identify environmental factors that explain differences in climatic niche overlap between pairs of congeneric species of Peromyscus that exhibit either allopatric, parapatric, or sympatric distributions. Peromyscus mice can be found in most parts of North America with the highest species richness in the southern and southwestern regions. We used multiple regression to identify environmental variables that best explain differences in climatic niche overlap between species. For sympatric species pairs of Peromyscus, we predicted that a higher degree of climatic niche overlap exists in areas that promote local coexistence, such as areas with high habitat complexity. For parapatric and allopatric species pairs, we predicted higher climatic niche overlap in areas where allopatric speciation is common, such as topographically complex regions. Our results suggest that several environmental variables, such as topographic or habitat complexity, are significantly correlated with climatic niche overlap. The directionality of these correlations, however, does not always match our predictions, suggesting that complex interactions between species and their habitats may obscure large-scale patterns.
Tereza Jezkova, Dr. (Advisor)
Hank Stevens, Dr. (Committee Member)
Susan Hoffman, Dr. (Committee Member)
Animal Sciences; Ecology; Environmental Studies; Zoology
climatic niche overlap, Peromyscus, mice, niche partitioning, niche conservatism, niche divergence

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Russell, V. (2019). Identifying Environmental Factors Driving Differences in Climatic Niche Overlap in Peromyscus Mice [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1565722438217428

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Russell, Vanessa. Identifying Environmental Factors Driving Differences in Climatic Niche Overlap in Peromyscus Mice. 2019. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1565722438217428.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Russell, Vanessa. "Identifying Environmental Factors Driving Differences in Climatic Niche Overlap in Peromyscus Mice." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1565722438217428

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.