Life on a tropical planet: niche conservatism and the global diversity gradient

Aim The niche conservatism hypothesis proposes that species distribution patterns are, by and large, governed by ancestral climatic affinities. Here, we test this hypothesis by combining information on current diversity gradients among lineages, lineage initiation dates, and palaeoclimatic reconstructions. Location World‐wide. Methods We test the niche conservatism hypothesis by comparing slopes of latitudinal diversity gradients among...