Latitudinal gradients in niche breadth: empirical evidence from haematophagous ectoparasites

The most pervasive patterns in biogeography are those related to latitude. In particular, the most conspicuous of these patterns, such as latitudinal gradients in species richness and geographic range size, have been extensively studied and documented (Gaston, 2003; Willig et al., 2003; Hillebrand, 2004; Ruggiero & Hawkins, 2006; Mittelbach et al., 2007; Ruggiero & Werenkraut, 2007, for recent reviews). One of the most well-known latitudinal patterns is Rapoport’s rule, which postulates an increase in the geographic range size of a species with increasing latitude (Stevens, 1989; Hawkins & DinizFilho, 2006). From an ecological perspective, Rapoport’s rule can represent a particular case of the more general relationship between the niche breadth of a species and the size of its geographic Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, BenGurion University of the Negev, Sede-Boqer Campus, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel, Ramon Science Center, PO Box 194, Mizpe Ramon 80600, Israel, Desert Animal Adaptations and Husbandry, Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, BenGurion University of the Negev, Sede-Boqer Campus, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel, UMR CNRS-UMII 5119 Ecosystemes Lagunaires, University of Montpellier II, CC093, FR-34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France and Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand