Niche Theory as an Underutilized Resource for the Study of Adaptive Radiations

Abstract

Biologists are often stuck between two opposing questions: Why are there so many species and why are there not more? Although these questions apply to the maintenance of existing species, they equally apply to the formation of new ones. The more species specialize in terms of their niches, the more opportunities arise for new species to form and coexist in communities. What sets an upper limit to specialization, thus setting an upper limit to speciation? We propose that MacArthur's theories of species packing and resource minimization may hold answers. Specifically, resources and individuals are finite—as species become increasingly specialized, each individual has fewer resources it can access. Species can only be as specialized as is possible in a given resource environment while still meeting basic resource requirements. We propose that the upper limit to specialization lies below the threshold that causes populations to be so small that stochastic extinctions take over, and that this limit is likely rarely approached due to the sequential timing by which new lineages arrive.