title: Habitat area and climate stability determine geographical variation in plant species range sizes.
abstract: Despite being a fundamental aspect of biodiversity, little is known about what controls species range sizes. This is especially the case for hyperdiverse organisms such as plants. We use the largest botanical data set assembled to date to quantify geographical variation in range size for ~ 85 000 plant species across the New World. We assess prominent hypothesised range-size controls, finding that plant range sizes are codetermined by habitat area and long- and short-term climate stability. Strong short- and long-term climate instability in large parts of North America, including past glaciations, are associated with broad-ranged species. In contrast, small habitat areas and a stable climate characterise areas with high concentrations of small-ranged species in the Andes, Central America and the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest region. The joint roles of area and climate stability strengthen concerns over the potential effects of future climate change and habitat loss on biodiversity.
authors.affiliation: Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity Group, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Naia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morueta-Holme
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Enquist
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McGill
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: Jeffrey E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Peet
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Símová
authors.forename: Lindsey L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Sloat
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thiers
authors.forename: Cyrille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Violle
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wiser
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dolins
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Donoghue
authors.forename: Nathan J B
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Regetz
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schildhauer
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Jens-Christian
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Svenning
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002489:Central America; D002980:Climate; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009656:North America; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*; D013020:South America; D062206:Spatial Analysis
keywords: Climate stability; New World; Rapoport's rule; geographical range size; habitat area; plants