scholarly journals The relationship between species elevational range size of breeding birds, temperature range, primary productivity, habitat heterogeneity, and species richness: an empirical test of related environmental hypotheses and rescue effect in the Eastern Himalayas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shutian Chen ◽  
Paras Singh ◽  
Huijian Hu ◽  
Zhifeng Ding ◽  
Zhixin Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Rescue Effect ◽  
Temperature Range ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Elevational Range ◽  
The Relationship

Describing the pattern and variations in spatial pattern of biodiversity and revealing its underlying mechanisms remain a central focus in ecology. However, less attention was paid to the species range size, and few studies have explored the drivers of species range size and the relationship between species range size and species richness (rescue effect). Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of breeding birds collected from 2018 to 2019 along the elevational gradient in Lebu Valley, Eastern Himalayas of China to explore the a) species mean elevational range size pattern, b) drivers influencing species mean elevational range size, and c) rescue effect. We found that species mean elevational range size of birds in Lebu Valley was a hump-shaped pattern (species mean elevational range size was largest at middle elevations), and the annual temperature range and normalized vegetation index were the most important explanatory variables for the species mean elevational range size pattern. However, species mean elevational range size was negatively correlated with the annual temperature range and positively correlated with the normalized vegetation index, respectively. These results were contrary to the predictions of the climate variability hypothesis and the ambient energy hypothesis. In addition, the correlation between species mean elevational range size and habitat heterogeneity was weak, which indicated that the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis also failed to predict the breeding bird mean elevational range size pattern in Lebu Valley. Moreover, we found the hump-shaped species richness pattern, which could also be resulted from non-directional rescue effect. Given the uncertainty in mean elevational range size pattern and the fact that much of the previous research has rarely tested the relationship between species range size and richness patterns, hypotheses explaining the elevational range size and the underlying mechanisms should be tested in more studies of different taxa and regions.

scholarly journals Altitudinal range-size distribution of breeding birds and environmental factors for the determination of species richness: An empirical test of altitudinal Rapoport’s rule and rescue effect on a local scale

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Yong Kim ◽  
Changwan Seo ◽  
Seungbum Hong ◽  
Sanghoon Lee ◽  
Soo Hyung Eo
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Rescue Effect ◽  
Altitudinal Range ◽  
Rapoport’S Rule ◽  
Peak Pattern

AbstractRange-size distributions are important for understanding species richness patterns and led to the development of the controversial Rapoport’s rule and Rapoport-rescue effect. This study aimed to understand the relationship between species richness and range-size distribution in relation to environmental factors. The present study tested the following: (1) altitudinal Rapoport’s rule, (2) climatic and ambient energy hypotheses, (3) non-directional rescue effect, and (4) effect of environmental factors on range-size group. Altitudinal species range-size distribution increased with increasing altitude and showed a negative relationship with climatic variables and habitat heterogeneity, and a positive relationship with primary productivity. These results support the altitudinal Rapoport’s rule and climatic hypothesis; however, they do not fully support the ambient energy hypothesis. Results from testing the non-directional rescue effect showed that the inflow intensity of species from both directions (high and low elevations) affected species richness. And we found that the 2nd and 3rd quartile species distribution were the main cause of a mid-peak of species richness and the non-directional rescue effect. Additionally, the 2nd quartile species richness was highly related to minimum temperature and possessed thermal specialist species features, and the 3rd quartile species richness was highly related to habitat heterogeneity and primary productivity. Although altitudinal range-size distribution results were similar to the altitudinal Rapoport’s rule, the mid-peak pattern of species richness could not be explained by the Rapoport’s-rescue effect; however, the non-directional rescue effect could explain a mid-peak pattern of species richness.

scholarly journals Unifying latitudinal gradients in range size and richness across marine and terrestrial systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1830) ◽  
pp. 20153027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Tomašových ◽  
Jonathan D. Kennedy ◽  
Tristan J. Betzner ◽  
Nicole Bitler Kuehnle ◽  
Stewart Edie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Latitudinal Gradients ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
Marine Bivalves ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Genus Expansion

Many marine and terrestrial clades show similar latitudinal gradients in species richness, but opposite gradients in range size—on land, ranges are the smallest in the tropics, whereas in the sea, ranges are the largest in the tropics. Therefore, richness gradients in marine and terrestrial systems do not arise from a shared latitudinal arrangement of species range sizes. Comparing terrestrial birds and marine bivalves, we find that gradients in range size are concordant at the level of genera. Here, both groups show a nested pattern in which narrow-ranging genera are confined to the tropics and broad-ranging genera extend across much of the gradient. We find that (i) genus range size and its variation with latitude is closely associated with per-genus species richness and (ii) broad-ranging genera contain more species both within and outside of the tropics when compared with tropical- or temperate-only genera. Within-genus species diversification thus promotes genus expansion to novel latitudes. Despite underlying differences in the species range-size gradients, species-rich genera are more likely to produce a descendant that extends its range relative to the ancestor's range. These results unify species richness gradients with those of genera, implying that birds and bivalves share similar latitudinal dynamics in net species diversification.

The relationship between the spectral diversity of satellite imagery, habitat heterogeneity, and plant species richness

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 160-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Warren ◽  
Martin Alt ◽  
Keith D. Olson ◽  
Severin D.H. Irl ◽  
Manuel J. Steinbauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Latitudinal Diversity Gradients and Rapoport Effects in Chinese Endemic Woody Seed Plants

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
Hua Liu ◽  
Ruoyun Yu ◽  
Jihong Huang ◽  
Yibo Liu ◽  
Runguo Zang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Diversity Gradients ◽  
Rapoport’S Rule ◽  
Latitudinal Patterns

The distribution of plant species diversity has long been a major focus on biogeography. Yet, the universality of the popular Rapoport’s rule remains controversial for endemic plants, as previous studies have focused more on broad-ranged species. Here, we collected data for 4418 endemic woody seed plant species across China, including trees, shrubs, and lianas, to explore the latitudinal patterns of species range size and richness, and test the relevant biogeographic law. The species range size distribution was examined for conformity with Rapoport’s rule using four methods (i.e., Steven’s, Pagel’s, the mid-point, and the across-species method). Spatial patterns of species richness along latitudinal gradient were also investigated by parabolic regression. Results showed that species range size increased with latitude for all species as well as by trees, shrubs and lianas, especially assessed by Pagel’s method. Species richness was highest at low latitude, where species range size was smallest, and decreased with increasing latitude. The species range size and richness of shrubs were maximum, followed by trees then lianas. These findings prove that Rapoport’s rule is strongly supported by latitudinal patterns of species distribution in Chinese endemic woody seed plants.

scholarly journals Habitat heterogeneity reduces richness of ant species by increasing abundance of the local dominant species

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Travassos-Britto ◽  
P. B. L. Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Methodological Problem ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Desert Environment ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe effect of environmental heterogeneity on species richness is frequently discussed in ecology. However, the empirical evidence has been contradictory as to the direction of the effect. Although some authors have considered that this might be a methodological problem, we argue that for ants, ecological interactions within the community, as interspecific competition is more important. We analyzed the plausibility of models in explaining the ant richness distribution patterns in a semi-desert environment. We used three predicting variables in the construction of the models to explain ant richness distribution: heterogeneity based on the amount of structures regardless of their type, heterogeneity based on the diversity of structures, and the abundance of individuals of the dominant species. We used ANOVA to chose the best model and corroborated the prediction that in this system abundance of dominant species is the best predictor of ant species richness. Neither of the heterogeneity conceptions contributed much to explain richness distribution. However, in a second analysis, we concluded that heterogeneity could affect the abundance of the dominant species. We conclude that competitive dominance is a better predictor of species richness distribution patterns than structural heterogeneity. However, the structural heterogeneity affects the distribution of dominant individuals. We suggest that some unexplained patterns observed about the relationship between heterogeneity and richness could be due to an indirect effect.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document