Abstract Niche construction theory (NCT) aims to transform and unite evolutionary biology ecology. Much of the debate about NCT has focused on construction. Less attention been accorded niche: what is it, exactly, that organisms are constructing? In this paper I compare contrast definition niche used in with ecological definitions. NCT’s concept defined as sum selection pressures affecting a po...

Repeatability of community composition has been a critical aspect for community structure, which is closely associated with community stability, predictability, conservation biology and ecological restoration. It has been shown that both immigration and local dispersal limitation can affect the community composition in both neutral and niche model. Hence, we use a spatially explicit individual-...

Germline stem cells (GSCs) in Drosophila are a valuable model to explore of how adult stem cells are regulated in vivo. Genetic dissection of this system has shown that stem cell fate is determined and maintained by the stem cell's somatic microenvironment or niche. In Drosophila gonads, the stem cell niche -- the cap cell cluster in females and the hub in males -- acts as a signaling center to...

Theory and empirical evidence show that intraspecific competition can drive selection favouring the use of novel resources (i.e. niche expansion). The evolutionary response to such selection depends on genetic variation for resource use. However, while genetic variation might facilitate niche expansion, genetically diverse groups may also experience weaker competition, reducing density-dependen...

We present an individual-based, spatial implementation of an existing two-locus population genetic model of niche construction. Our analysis reveals that, across a broad range of conditions, niche-construction traits can drive themselves to fixation by simultaneously generating selection that favours 'recipient' trait alleles and linkage disequilibrium between niche-construction and recipient t...

Niche theory is central to understanding how species respond geographically to climate change. It defines a species' realized niche in a biological community, its fundamental niche as determined by physiology, and its potential niche--the fundamental niche in a given environment or geographic space. However, most predictions of the effects of climate change on species' distributions are limited...

Stable isotope analyses are increasingly employed to characterise population niche widths. The convex hull area (TA) in a δ(13)C-δ(15)N biplot has been used as a measure of isotopic niche width, but concerns exist over its dependence on sample size and associated difficulties in among-population comparisons. Recently a more robust method was proposed for estimating and comparing isotopic niche ...

To generate realistic projections of species' responses to climate change, we need to understand the factors that limit their ability to respond. Although climatic niche conservatism, the maintenance of a species's climatic niche over time, is a critical assumption in niche-based species distribution models, little is known about how universal it is and how it operates. In particular, few studi...