BACKGROUND AND AIMS The geographical distribution of plant species is not only fundamentally linked to environmental variables, but also to key traits that affect the dispersal, establishment and evolutionary potential of a species. One of the key plant traits that can be expected to affect standing genetic variation, speed of adaptation and the capacity to colonize and establish in new habitats, and therefore niche breadth and range size, is the plant mating system. However, the precise role of mating system in shaping range size and niche breadth of plant species remains unclear and different studies have provided contrasting results. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that range size and niche breadth differed with mating system in the orchid genus Epipactis. METHODS We modelled the ecological niches of 14 Epipactis species in Europe using occurrence records and environmental satellite data in Maxent. Niche breadth and niche overlap in both geographic and environmental space were calculated from the resulting habitat suitability maps using ENMTools and geographic range was estimated using α-hull range definition. Habitat suitability, environmental variable contributions and niche metrics were compared among species with different mating systems. KEY RESULTS We did not detect significant differences in niche breadth, occurrence probability or geographical range between autogamous and allogamous Epipactis species, although autogamous species demonstrated notably low variation in niche parameters. We also found no significant differences in niche overlap between species with the same mating system or different mating systems. For all Epipactis species, occurrence was strongly associated with land-cover, particularly broad-leafed and coniferous forests, and with limestone bedrock. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the mating system does not necessarily contribute to niche breadth and differentiation, and that other factors (e.g. mycorrhizal specificity) may be more important drivers of range size and niche breadth in Epipactis and orchids in general.

中文翻译：

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交配系统对 Epipactis（兰科）范围大小和生态位宽度的影响

背景和目标 植物物种的地理分布不仅与环境变量有着根本的联系，而且与影响物种的传播、建立和进化潜力的关键性状有关。植物交配系统是影响常设遗传变异、适应速度以及在新栖息地定殖和建立的能力，从而影响生态位宽度和范围大小的关键植物性状之一。然而，交配系统在塑造植物物种的范围大小和生态位宽度方面的确切作用仍不清楚，不同的研究提供了对比结果。在本文中，我们检验了兰花属 Epipactis 的范围大小和生态位宽度随交配系统不同的假设。方法 我们使用 Maxent 的发生记录和环境卫星数据模拟了欧洲 14 种 Epipactis 物种的生态位。地理和环境空间中的生态位宽度和生态位重叠使用 ENMTools 根据生成的栖息地适宜性地图计算，地理范围使用 α-船体范围定义估计。比较了具有不同交配系统的物种的栖息地适宜性、环境变量贡献和生态位指标。主要结果 我们没有检测到自交和同种异体 Epipactis 物种在生态位宽度、发生概率或地理范围方面的显着差异，尽管自交物种在生态位参数方面表现出显着的低变化。我们还发现具有相同交配系统或不同交配系统的物种之间的生态位重叠没有显着差异。对于所有 Epipactis 物种，发生与土地覆盖密切相关，特别是阔叶林和针叶林，以及石灰岩基岩。结论 这些结果表明，交配系统不一定有助于生态位宽度和分化，其他因素（例如菌根特异性）可能是一般的 Epipactis 和兰花范围大小和生态位宽度的更重要驱动因素。