The role of niche evolution (niche conservatism or niche divergence) in lineage diversification is a poorly studied area. The Chinese cobra Naja atra (Elapidae) has diverged into three lineages: Lineage E in eastern China, Lineage S in southern China and Vietnam, and Lineage W in western China. However, whether the ecological niche is conserved or divergent among these three lineages is unknown. In the present study, we used ecological niche models in geographical space to study the ecological differences among lineages. We compared the niche overlap in environmental space to test niche conservatism and niche divergence. Our results showed that the three lineages of N. atra shared an ecological niche space between Lineages E and S/W, with the climatic niches of Lineages S and W representing a specialized fraction of the climatic niche of Lineage E. We speculated that the niche divergence between Lineages S and W was a consequence of geographical barriers limiting gene flow. Our study provides evidence for lineage diversification associated with both geographical isolation and climatic niche evolution, suggesting that early niche divergence between Lineages S and W, followed by niche conservatism, causes niche divergence among lineages.

Xiaming ZHU;Guanyan ZHU;Shengnan ZHANG;Yu DU;Yanfu QU;Longhui LIN;Xiang JI

Hangzhou Key Laboratory for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration,College of Life and Environmental Sciences,Hangzhou Normal University,Hangzhou 311121,Zhejiang,China;Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection,College of Life and Environmental Sciences,Wenzhou University,Wenzhou 325035,Zhejiang,China;Hainan Key Laboratory for Herpetological Research,College of Fisheries and Life Science,Hainan Tropical Ocean University,Sanya 572022,Hainan,China;College of Life Sciences,Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing 210023,Jiangsu,China

亚洲两栖爬行动物研究（英文版）

[1]Xiaming ZHU;Guanyan ZHU;Shengnan ZHANG;Yu DU;Yanfu QU;Longhui LIN;Xiang JI-.Lineage Diversification and Niche Evolution in the Chinese Cobra Naja atra (Elapidae))[J].亚洲两栖爬行动物研究（英文版）,2022(04):242-250,中插5-中插6

Diversification,Naja,Elapidae,conservatism,cobra,Lineages

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