Abstract
Considering that parasitic plant distributions are constrained by host availability, we measure the effects of adding information of host distributions to predict distributions of mistletoes under climate change using ecological niche modeling (ENM). We contrasted ecological niche models of two Psittacanthus mistletoe species, P. schiedeanus, a host-generalist species inhabiting cloud forests, and P. sonorae, a Bursera-specialist restricted to the Sonoran Desert. Mistletoe models that use only climate variables were contrasted with models that also take into account biotic interactions (i.e., host) to evaluate the potential effects that future climatic conditions have on the distributions of these mistletoe-host interactions. Current potential distributions of both mistletoe species were affected by environmental conditions under future climate change scenarios. However, future projected distributions differed between mistletoe species when including host interactions, with improved accuracy models for P. schiedeanus. Our results are consistent with previous studies showing that biotic interactions can be important in structuring species distributions at regional scales.
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Claims 3
Claim · model-written summary
Current potential distributions of both mistletoe species were affected by environmental conditions under future climate change scenarios.
- Taxon
- Psittacanthus
Psittacanthuse2 - Treatment
- future climate change scenariose1
- Outcome
- Current potential distributionse1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Current potential distributions of both mistletoe species were affected by environmental conditions under future climate change scenarios”
e2“We contrasted ecological niche models of two Psittacanthus mistletoe species, P. schiedeanus, a host-generalist species inhabiting cloud forests, and P. sonorae, a Bursera-specialist restricted to the Sonoran Desert”
Claim · model-written summary
Models that include host interactions improved accuracy for P. schiedeanus relative to models using only climate variables.
- Taxon
- P. schiedeanus
Psittacanthus schiedeanuse1 - Treatment
- biotic interactionse3
- Outcome
- accuracye1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Comparator
- models that use only climate variablese3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“with improved accuracy models for P. schiedeanus”
e3“Mistletoe models that use only climate variables were contrasted with models that also take into account biotic interactions”
Claim · model-written summary
Future projected distributions differed between mistletoe species when host interactions were included.
- Taxon
- PsittacanthusPsittacanthuse2
- Treatment
- including host interactionse4
- Outcome
- future projected distributionse4
BurseraNot reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“We contrasted ecological niche models of two Psittacanthus mistletoe species, P. schiedeanus, a host-generalist species inhabiting cloud forests, and P. sonorae, a Bursera-specialist restricted to the Sonoran Desert”
e4“However, future projected distributions differed between mistletoe species when including host interactions”