Macroecological patterns of mammals across taxonomic, spatial, and temporal scales

2018/12/12 by S. Kathleen Lyons, S Kathleen Lyons, Felisa A. Smith +3 · 36 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies #Bergmann's rule #Biodiversity #Biodiversity hotspot #Biogeography #Biology #Computer science #Data science #Ecology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Field (mathematics) #Geography #Macroecology #Spatial ecology #Temporal scales #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

paper · doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyy171

published in Journal of Mammalogy 100(3), 1087-1104 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 2018/12/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

The field of macroecology has made many contributions to our understanding of mammalian ecology and evolution through its use of big data and the examination of statistical patterns that emerge. Here, we review the advances in three areas of mammalian macroecology: 1) spatial and temporal patterns of assemblage structure and space use, 2) the processes and constraints underlying the evolution of body size and life history, and 3) advances in understanding and predicting loss of biodiversity. We highlight the important role that studies of mammals have played in the advancement of macroecological theories and patterns, and note that both mammalogy and macroecology are richer because of this linkage.

Citations

• BODY MASS OF LATE QUATERNARY MAMMALS
• Ecological Specialization in Fossil Mammals Explains Cope’s Rule
• Body Size and Extinction Risk in Terrestrial Mammals Above the Species Level
• TOWARD A METABOLIC THEORY OF ECOLOGY
• How many species of mammals are there?

Cited by

• Early Cenozoic increases in mammal diversity cannot be explained solely by expansion into larger body sizes
• Decoupled diversity and disparity after faunistic turnover in caviomorph rodents
• Most mammals do not wander: few species escape continental endemism
• Community macroecological patterns and interspecific interactions in guild level regulate avian isotopic niche over time
• Impacts of Pleistocene extinctions on the biomass and energy use of local mammal assemblages around the world
• Do Marine Mammals Diversify More Slowly Than Non‐Marine Mammals?
• Divergent mammalian body size in a stable Eocene greenhouse climate. [europepmc]
• Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities. [europepmc]
• A Reproducible, Data-Driven Approach to Mapping Species Distributions Using Presence-Only Data and Biogeographic Templates. [europepmc]
• Persistent body size bias in the fossil record of Cenozoic North American mammals. [europepmc]

Related

• Body Size and Extinction Risk in Terrestrial Mammals Above the Species Level
• New methods for quantifying macroevolutionary patterns and processes
• Body size downgrading of mammals over the late Quaternary
• BODY MASS OF LATE QUATERNARY MAMMALS
• The Evolution of Maximum Body Size of Terrestrial Mammals