Evolutionary conservatism will limit responses to climate change in the tropics

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan B. Linck ◽  
Benjamin G. Freeman ◽  
C. Daniel Cadena ◽  
Cameron K. Ghalambor
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Parapatric Speciation ◽  
The Tropics

Rapid species turnover in tropical mountains has fascinated biologists for centuries. A popular explanation for this heightened beta diversity is that climatic stability at low latitudes promotes the evolution of narrow thermal tolerance ranges, leading to local adaptation, evolutionary divergence and parapatric speciation along elevational gradients. However, an emerging consensus from research spanning phylogenetics, biogeography and behavioural ecology is that this process rarely, if ever, occurs. Instead, closely related species typically occupy a similar elevational niche, while species with divergent elevational niches tend to be more distantly related. These results suggest populations have responded to past environmental change not by adapting and diverging in place, but instead by shifting their distributions to tightly track climate over time. We argue that tropical species are likely to respond similarly to ongoing and future climate warming, an inference supported by evidence from recent range shifts. In the absence of widespread in situ adaptation to new climate regimes by tropical taxa, conservation planning should prioritize protecting large swaths of habitat to facilitate movement.

scholarly journals Origin of elevational replacements in a clade of nearly flightless birds – most diversity in tropical mountains accumulates via secondary contact following allopatric speciation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Daniel Cadena ◽  
Laura N. Céspedes
Keyword(s):  
Species Turnover ◽  
Secondary Contact ◽  
Elevational Gradients ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Limited Dispersal ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Parapatric Speciation ◽  
The Tropics

AbstractTropical mountains are biodiversity hotspots. In particular, mountains in the Neotropics exhibit remarkable beta diversity reflecting species turnover along elevational gradients. Elevational replacements of species have been known since early surveys of the tropics, but data on how such replacements arise are scarce, limiting our understanding of mechanisms underlying patterns of diversity. We employed a phylogenetic framework to evaluate hypotheses accounting for the origin of elevational replacements in the genusScytalopus(Rhinocryptidae), a speciose clade of passerine birds with limited dispersal abilities occurring broadly in the Neotropical montane region. We found that species ofScytalopushave relatively narrow elevational ranges, closely related species resemble each other in elevational distributions, and most species replacing each other along elevational gradients are distantly related to each other. Although we cannot reject the hypothesis that a few elevational replacements may reflect parapatric speciation along mountain slopes, we conclude that speciation inScytalopusoccurs predominantly in allopatry within elevational zones, with most elevational replacements resulting from secondary contact of formerly allopatric lineages. Our study suggests that accumulation of species diversity in montane environments reflects colonization processes as opposed toin situdivergence even in dispersal-limited animals.

scholarly journals Narrow thermal tolerance and low dispersal drive higher speciation in tropical mountains

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (49) ◽  
pp. 12471-12476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R. Polato ◽  
Brian A. Gill ◽  
Alisha A. Shah ◽  
Miranda M. Gray ◽  
Kayce L. Casner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Seasonal Temperature ◽  
Dispersal Capacity ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Stream Insects ◽  
Speciation Rates

Species richness is greatest in the tropics, and much of this diversity is concentrated in mountains. Janzen proposed that reduced seasonal temperature variation selects for narrower thermal tolerances and limited dispersal along tropical elevation gradients [Janzen DH (1967) Am Nat 101:233–249]. These locally adapted traits should, in turn, promote reproductive isolation and higher speciation rates in tropical mountains compared with temperate ones. Here, we show that tropical and temperate montane stream insects have diverged in thermal tolerance and dispersal capacity, two key traits that are drivers of isolation in montane populations. Tropical species in each of three insect clades have markedly narrower thermal tolerances and lower dispersal than temperate species, resulting in significantly greater population divergence, higher cryptic diversity, higher tropical speciation rates, and greater accumulation of species over time. Our study also indicates that tropical montane species, with narrower thermal tolerance and reduced dispersal ability, will be especially vulnerable to rapid climate change.

scholarly journals Staying cool: preadaptation to temperate climates required for colonising tropical alpine-like environments

PhytoKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berit Gehrke
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Tropical Alpine ◽  
Suitable Habitats ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact

Plant species tend to retain their ancestral ecology, responding to temporal, geographic and climatic changes by tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to novel conditions. Nevertheless, transitions into different environments or biomes still seem to be common. Especially intriguing are the tropical alpine-like areas found on only the highest mountainous regions surrounded by tropical environments. Tropical mountains are hotspots of biodiversity, often with striking degrees of endemism at higher elevations. On these mountains, steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity within small spaces coincide with astounding species diversity of great conservation value. The analysis presented here shows that the importance ofin situspeciation in tropical alpine-like areas has been underestimated. Additionally and contrary to widely held opinion, the impact of dispersal from other regions with alpine-like environments is relatively minor compared to that of immigration from other biomes with a temperate (but not alpine-like) climate. This suggests that establishment in tropical alpine-like regions is favoured by preadaptation to a temperate, especially aseasonal, freezing regime such as the cool temperate climate regions in the Tropics. Furthermore, emigration out of an alpine-like environment is generally rare, suggesting that alpine-like environments – at least tropical ones – are species sinks.

scholarly journals Latitude, elevational climatic zonation and speciation in New World vertebrates

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1726) ◽  
pp. 194-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Daniel Cadena ◽  
Kenneth H. Kozak ◽  
Juan Pablo Gómez ◽  
Juan Luis Parra ◽  
Christy M. McCain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Climatic Variation ◽  
Temperate Zone ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspots ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Evolutionary Conservatism ◽  
The Tropics

Many biodiversity hotspots are located in montane regions, especially in the tropics. A possible explanation for this pattern is that the narrow thermal tolerances of tropical species and greater climatic stratification of tropical mountains create more opportunities for climate-associated parapatric or allopatric speciation in the tropics relative to the temperate zone. However, it is unclear whether a general relationship exists among latitude, climatic zonation and the ecology of speciation. Recent taxon-specific studies obtained different results regarding the role of climate in speciation in tropical versus temperate areas. Here, we quantify overlap in the climatic distributions of 93 pairs of sister species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles restricted to either the New World tropics or to the Northern temperate zone. We show that elevational ranges of tropical- and temperate-zone species do not differ from one another, yet the temperature range experienced by species in the temperate zone is greater than for those in the tropics. Moreover, tropical sister species tend to exhibit greater similarity in their climatic distributions than temperate sister species. This pattern suggests that evolutionary conservatism in the thermal niches of tropical taxa, coupled with the greater thermal zonation of tropical mountains, may result in increased opportunities for allopatric isolation, speciation and the accumulation of species in tropical montane regions. Our study exemplifies the power of combining phylogenetic and spatial datasets of global climatic variation to explore evolutionary (rather than purely ecological) explanations for the high biodiversity of tropical montane regions.

Community characteristics of forest understory birds along an elevational gradient in the Horn of Africa: A multi-year baseline

The Condor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle D Kittelberger ◽  
Montague H C Neate-Clegg ◽  
Evan R Buechley ◽  
Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Demographic Rates ◽  
Understory Birds ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Tropical mountains are global hotspots for birdlife. However, there is a dearth of baseline avifaunal data along elevational gradients, particularly in Africa, limiting our ability to observe and assess changes over time in tropical montane avian communities. In this study, we undertook a multi-year assessment of understory birds along a 1,750 m elevational gradient (1,430–3,186 m) in an Afrotropical moist evergreen montane forest within Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains. Analyzing 6 years of systematic bird-banding data from 5 sites, we describe the patterns of species richness, abundance, community composition, and demographic rates over space and time. We found bimodal patterns in observed and estimated species richness across the elevational gradient (peaking at 1,430 and 2,388 m), although no sites reached asymptotic species richness throughout the study. Species turnover was high across the gradient, though forested sites at mid-elevations resembled each other in species composition. We found significant variation across sites in bird abundance in some of the dietary and habitat guilds. However, we did not find any significant trends in species richness or guild abundances over time. For the majority of analyzed species, capture rates did not change over time and there were no changes in species’ mean elevations. Population growth rates, recruitment rates, and apparent survival rates averaged 1.02, 0.52, and 0.51 respectively, and there were no elevational patterns in demographic rates. This study establishes a multi-year baseline for Afrotropical birds along an elevational gradient in an under-studied international biodiversity hotspot. These data will be critical in assessing the long-term responses of tropical montane birdlife to climate change and habitat degradation.

Strong equatorial plasma bubble associated with prominent TEC enhancement observed at mid-latitude ionosphere under the quiescent condition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqing Huang ◽  
Jiuhou Lei ◽  
Chao Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Electron Density ◽  
Electron Content ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Plasma Bubble ◽  
Total Electron ◽  
Middle Latitudes ◽  
Multiple Observations ◽  
Equatorial Plasma Bubbles ◽  
Low Latitudes

<p>Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) are typically ionospheric irregularities that frequently occur at the low latitudes and equatorial regions, which can significantly affect the propagation of radio waves. In this study, we reported a unique strong EPB that happened at middle latitudes over the Asian sector during the quiescent period. The multiple observations including total electron content (TEC) from Beidou geostationary satellites and GPS, ionosondes, in-situ electron density from SWARM and meteor radar are used to explore the characteristic and mechanism of the observed EPB. The unique strong EPB was associated with great nighttime TEC/electron density enhancement at the middle latitudes, which moves toward eastward. The potential physical processes of the observed EPB are also discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Karyotype Characterization of Nine Periwinkle Species (Gastropoda, Littorinidae)

Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel García-Souto ◽  
Sandra Alonso-Rubido ◽  
Diana Costa ◽  
José Eirín-López ◽  
Emilio Rolán-Álvarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Chromosome Numbers ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Chromosomal Mapping ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Submetacentric Chromosome ◽  
The Family ◽  
Littorina Arcana

Periwinkles of the family Littorinidae (Children, 1834) are common members of seashore littoral communities worldwide. Although the family is composed of more than 200 species belonging to 18 genera, chromosome numbers have been described in only eleven of them. A molecular cytogenetic analysis of nine periwinkle species, the rough periwinkles Littorina arcana, L. saxatilis, and L. compressa, the flat periwinkles L. obtusata and L. fabalis, the common periwinkle L. littorea, the mangrove periwinkle Littoraria angulifera, the beaded periwinkle Cenchritis muricatus, and the small periwinkle Melarhaphe neritoides was performed. All species showed diploid chromosome numbers of 2n = 34, and karyotypes were mostly composed of metacentric and submetacentric chromosome pairs. None of the periwinkle species showed chromosomal differences between male and female specimens. The chromosomal mapping of major and minor rDNA and H3 histone gene clusters by fluorescent in situ hybridization demonstrated that the patterns of distribution of these DNA sequences were conserved among closely related species and differed among less related ones. All signals occupied separated loci on different chromosome pairs without any evidence of co-localization in any of the species.

scholarly journals Intraspecific variation in thermal tolerance differs between tropical and temperate fishes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. H. Nati ◽  
M. B. S. Svendsen ◽  
S. Marras ◽  
S. S. Killen ◽  
J. F. Steffensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Temperate Species ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Upper Thermal Tolerance

AbstractHow ectothermic animals will cope with global warming is a critical determinant of the ecological impacts of climate change. There has been extensive study of upper thermal tolerance limits among fish species but how intraspecific variation in tolerance may be affected by habitat characteristics and evolutionary history has not been considered. Intraspecific variation is a primary determinant of species vulnerability to climate change, with implications for global patterns of impacts of ongoing warming. Using published critical thermal maximum (CTmax) data on 203 fish species, we found that intraspecific variation in upper thermal tolerance varies according to a species’ latitude and evolutionary history. Overall, tropical species show a lower intraspecific variation in thermal tolerance than temperate species. Notably, freshwater tropical species have a lower variation in tolerance than freshwater temperate species, which implies increased vulnerability to impacts of thermal stress. The extent of variation in CTmax among fish species has a strong phylogenetic signal, which may indicate a constraint on evolvability to rising temperatures in tropical fishes. That is, in addition to living closer to their upper thermal limits, tropical species may have higher sensitivity and lower adaptability to global warming compared to temperate counterparts. This is evidence that freshwater tropical fish communities, worldwide, are especially vulnerable to ongoing climate change.

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