IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-62124-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals

Author

Listed:
  • Adriana Alzate

    (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle - Jena - Leipzig
    Leipzig University
    Wageningen University and Research
    Naturalis Biodiversity Center)

  • Roberto Rozzi

    (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle - Jena - Leipzig
    Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
    Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science)

  • Julian A. Velasco

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

  • D. Ross Robertson

    (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)

  • Alexander Zizka

    (Philipps-University Marburg)

  • Joseph A. Tobias

    (Imperial College London)

  • Adrian Hill

    (University of Gothenburg
    Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre)

  • Christine D. Bacon

    (University of Gothenburg
    Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre)

  • Thijs Janzen

    (University of Groningen)

  • Loïc Pellissier

    (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich
    Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL)

  • Fons Plas

    (Wageningen University and Research)

  • James Rosindell

    (Imperial College London)

  • Renske E. Onstein

    (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle - Jena - Leipzig
    Leipzig University
    Naturalis Biodiversity Center)

Abstract

More than 40 thousand species of plants and animals are facing extinction worldwide. Range size is one of the strongest determinants of extinction risk, but the causes underlying the wide variation in natural range sizes remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate how species’ age is related to present-day range size for over 26,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, reef fishes, and plants. We show that, on average, older species have larger ranges across all groups except for marine mammals, but the strength of the age-range size relationship depends on taxonomic scale. Furthermore, while our results confirm the well-established pattern of smaller range sizes for species restricted to islands (compared to mainland) or with limited dispersal abilities (compared to good dispersers), we show that the correlation between species age and range size is stronger in these groups, suggesting that island dynamics and dispersal ability modulate this relationship. Our study reveals that species with small ranges, and thus increased extinction risk, tend to be restricted to islands, are poor dispersers, or have recently evolved.

Suggested Citation

  • Adriana Alzate & Roberto Rozzi & Julian A. Velasco & D. Ross Robertson & Alexander Zizka & Joseph A. Tobias & Adrian Hill & Christine D. Bacon & Thijs Janzen & Loïc Pellissier & Fons Plas & James Rosi, 2025. "Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62124-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62124-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62124-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-62124-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan B. Losos & Robert E. Ricklefs, 2009. "Adaptation and diversification on islands," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7231), pages 830-836, February.
    2. Viechtbauer, Wolfgang, 2010. "Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 36(i03).
    3. Daniel L. Rabosky & Jonathan Chang & Pascal O. Title & Peter F. Cowman & Lauren Sallan & Matt Friedman & Kristin Kaschner & Cristina Garilao & Thomas J. Near & Marta Coll & Michael E. Alfaro, 2018. "An inverse latitudinal gradient in speciation rate for marine fishes," Nature, Nature, vol. 559(7714), pages 392-395, July.
    4. W. Jetz & G. H. Thomas & J. B. Joy & K. Hartmann & A. O. Mooers, 2012. "The global diversity of birds in space and time," Nature, Nature, vol. 491(7424), pages 444-448, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maxime Policarpo & Maude W. Baldwin & Didier Casane & Walter Salzburger, 2024. "Diversity and evolution of the vertebrate chemoreceptor gene repertoire," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Sergio Nolazco & Kaspar Delhey & Shinichi Nakagawa & Anne Peters, 2022. "Ornaments are equally informative in male and female birds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Gregory Thom & Marcelo Gehara & Brian Tilston Smith & Cristina Y. Miyaki & Fábio Raposo Amaral, 2021. "Microevolutionary dynamics show tropical valleys are deeper for montane birds of the Atlantic Forest," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Sarah T. Friedman & Martha M. Muñoz, 2023. "A latitudinal gradient of deep-sea invasions for marine fishes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Jamie B. Thompson & Tania Hernández-Hernández & Georgia Keeling & Marilyn Vásquez-Cruz & Nicholas K. Priest, 2024. "Identifying the multiple drivers of cactus diversification," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Kimberley J. Mathot & Josue David Arteaga-Torres & Anne Besson & Deborah M. Hawkshaw & Natasha Klappstein & Rebekah A. McKinnon & Sheeraja Sridharan & Shinichi Nakagawa, 2024. "A systematic review and meta-analysis of unimodal and multimodal predation risk assessment in birds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Felipe O. Cerezer & Cristian S. Dambros & Marco T. P. Coelho & Fernanda A. S. Cassemiro & Elisa Barreto & James S. Albert & Rafael O. Wüest & Catherine H. Graham, 2023. "Accelerated body size evolution in upland environments is correlated with recent speciation in South American freshwater fishes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Dimitar Dimitrov & Xiaoting Xu & Xiangyan Su & Nawal Shrestha & Yunpeng Liu & Jonathan D. Kennedy & Lisha Lyu & David Nogués-Bravo & James Rosindell & Yong Yang & Jon Fjeldså & Jianquan Liu & Bernhard, 2023. "Diversification of flowering plants in space and time," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Jan Smyčka & Anna Toszogyova & David Storch, 2023. "The relationship between geographic range size and rates of species diversification," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Joan Garcia-Porta & Daniel Sol & Matt Pennell & Ferran Sayol & Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou & Carlos A. Botero, 2022. "Niche expansion and adaptive divergence in the global radiation of crows and ravens," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Ana C. Afonso Silva & Odile Maliet & Leandro Aristide & David Nogués-Bravo & Nathan Upham & Walter Jetz & Hélène Morlon, 2025. "Negative global-scale association between genetic diversity and speciation rates in mammals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. Bart Verkuil & Serpil Atasayi & Marc L Molendijk, 2015. "Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Francesca Pilotto & Ingolf Kühn & Rita Adrian & Renate Alber & Audrey Alignier & Christopher Andrews & Jaana Bäck & Luc Barbaro & Deborah Beaumont & Natalie Beenaerts & Sue Benham & David S. Boukal & , 2020. "Meta-analysis of multidecadal biodiversity trends in Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    14. repec:cup:judgdm:v:15:y:2020:i:6:p:972-988 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Jonas Schmidt & Tammo H. A. Bijmolt, 2020. "Accurately measuring willingness to pay for consumer goods: a meta-analysis of the hypothetical bias," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 499-518, May.
    16. Mario Herberz & Tobias Brosch & Ulf J. J. Hahnel, 2020. "Kilo what? Default units increase value sensitivity in joint evaluations of energy efficiency," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 15(6), pages 972-988, November.
    17. repec:osf:metaar:tp45u_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Piers Steel & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Herman Aguinis, 2021. "The anatomy of an award-winning meta-analysis: Recommendations for authors, reviewers, and readers of meta-analytic reviews," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(1), pages 23-44, February.
    19. Augusteijn, Hilde Elisabeth Maria & van Aert, Robbie Cornelis Maria & van Assen, Marcel A. L. M., 2021. "Posterior Probabilities of Effect Sizes and Heterogeneity in Meta-Analysis: An Intuitive Approach of Dealing with Publication Bias," OSF Preprints avkgj, Center for Open Science.
    20. Georgiou, George K. & Guo, Kan & Naveenkumar, Nithya & Vieira, Ana Paula Alves & Das, J.P., 2020. "PASS theory of intelligence and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    21. Stephan Kambach & Ingolf Kühn & Bastien Castagneyrol & Helge Bruelheide, 2016. "The Impact of Tree Diversity on Different Aspects of Insect Herbivory along a Global Temperature Gradient - A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-14, November.
    22. Nan Wang & Yuxiang Luan & Rui Ma, 2024. "Detecting causal relationships between work motivation and job performance: a meta-analytic review of cross-lagged studies," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62124-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.