Unraveling climatic niche evolution: Insights into the geographical distribution of the neotropical social wasp genus Synoeca (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)

Abstract

Niche evolution refers to the process by which species undergo changes in ecological interactions, as well as their ability to disperse over time. Our study focuses on the widely distributed neotropical genus of social wasps, Synoeca (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini). We use ecological niche modeling to investigate the niche evolution of this insects, to explore how species have evolved within and across distinct environmental boundaries, as well as to explore the overlap, equivalence, and similarity between their niches. Our analysis of Predicted Niche Occupancy reveals that species occupy heterogeneous niches in relation to temperature, precipitation, and altitude, similar to the patterns observed in the analysis of the evolutionary history of climate tolerances, which shows that species have evolved to occupy distinct niche ranges. In addition, our niche comparisons indicate that the species do not share similar niches with each other. All these results suggest that Phylogenetic Niche Conservatism may be playing a significant role as a process contributing to the allopatric pattern observed in this genus. This study represents the first investigation of niche evolution in Vespidae, providing valuable insights for future research into the evolutionary dynamics of insects.