Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia.
New Phytol. 2012 Nov;196(3):681-694. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04298.x. Epub 2012 Sep 3.
Phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC) is the tendency of lineages to retain their niche-related traits through speciation events. A recent surge in the availability of well-sampled molecular phylogenies has stimulated phylogenetic approaches to understanding ecological processes at large geographical scales and through macroevolutionary time. We stress that PNC is a pattern, not a process, and is found only in some traits and some lineages. At the simplest level, a pattern of PNC is an inevitable consequence of evolution - descent with modification and divergence of lineages - but several intrinsic causes, including physicochemical, developmental and genetic constraints, can lead directly to a marked pattern of PNC. A pattern of PNC can also be caused indirectly, as a by-product of other causes, such as extinction, dispersal limitation, competition and predation. Recognition of patterns of PNC can contribute to understanding macroevolutionary processes: for example, release from constraint in traits has been hypothesized to trigger adaptive radiations such as that of the angiosperms. Given the multiple causes of patterns of PNC, tests should address explicit questions about hypothesized processes. We conclude that PNC is a scientifically useful concept with applications to the practice of ecological research.
系统发育生态位保守性（PNC）是指谱系通过物种形成事件保留与其生态位相关特征的趋势。最近，大量可供采样的分子系统发育数据的出现，刺激了通过系统发育方法来理解大地理尺度和宏观进化时间的生态过程。我们强调，PNC 是一种模式，而不是一个过程，并且仅在某些特征和某些谱系中发现。在最简单的层面上，PNC 的模式是进化的必然结果——谱系的后裔及其变异——但包括物理化学、发育和遗传限制在内的几个内在原因，可能直接导致 PNC 的显著模式。PNC 的模式也可能是由其他原因的间接结果引起的，例如灭绝、扩散限制、竞争和捕食。对 PNC 模式的识别有助于理解宏观进化过程：例如，特征上的约束释放被假设为触发了适应性辐射，如被子植物的辐射。鉴于 PNC 模式的多种原因，测试应该明确解决假设过程的问题。我们的结论是，PNC 是一个具有科学应用价值的概念，可应用于生态研究实践。
