Abstract
Many biodiversity hotspots are in montane regions, and many plant and animal groups have their highest species richness at intermediate elevations. Yet, the explanation for this hump-shaped diversity pattern has remained unclear because no studies have addressed both the ecological and evolutionary causes. Here, we address these causes in North American plethodontid salamanders, using a near-comprehensive phylogeny and environmental data. We develop a null model for assessing the relationship between the time that an area has been occupied and its species richness, and we apply a new approach that tests whether clades exhibit long-term stasis in their climatic niches (niche conservatism). Evolutionary, the midelevation peak in species richness is explained by the time-for-speciation effect, with intermediate-elevation habitats seemingly being inhabited longest and accumulating more species. We find that this pattern is associated with evolutionary stasis in species' climatic niches, driving the midelevation peak by constraining the dispersal of lineages to environments at lower and higher elevations. These processes may help explain elevational diversity patterns in many montane regions around the world. The results also suggest that montane biotas may harbor high levels of'both species diversity and phylogenetic diversity but may be particularly susceptible to rapid climate change.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 40-54 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | American Naturalist |
| Volume | 176 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Climate
- Elevation
- Niche conservatism
- Phylogeny
- Speciation
- Species richness
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Niche conservatism drives elevational diversity patterns in appalachian salamanders. / Kozak, Kenneth H.; Wiens, John J.
In: American Naturalist, Vol. 176, No. 1, 01.07.2010, p. 40-54.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Niche conservatism drives elevational diversity patterns in appalachian salamanders
AU - Kozak, Kenneth H.
AU - Wiens, John J
PY - 2010/7/1
Y1 - 2010/7/1
N2 - Many biodiversity hotspots are in montane regions, and many plant and animal groups have their highest species richness at intermediate elevations. Yet, the explanation for this hump-shaped diversity pattern has remained unclear because no studies have addressed both the ecological and evolutionary causes. Here, we address these causes in North American plethodontid salamanders, using a near-comprehensive phylogeny and environmental data. We develop a null model for assessing the relationship between the time that an area has been occupied and its species richness, and we apply a new approach that tests whether clades exhibit long-term stasis in their climatic niches (niche conservatism). Evolutionary, the midelevation peak in species richness is explained by the time-for-speciation effect, with intermediate-elevation habitats seemingly being inhabited longest and accumulating more species. We find that this pattern is associated with evolutionary stasis in species' climatic niches, driving the midelevation peak by constraining the dispersal of lineages to environments at lower and higher elevations. These processes may help explain elevational diversity patterns in many montane regions around the world. The results also suggest that montane biotas may harbor high levels of'both species diversity and phylogenetic diversity but may be particularly susceptible to rapid climate change.
AB - Many biodiversity hotspots are in montane regions, and many plant and animal groups have their highest species richness at intermediate elevations. Yet, the explanation for this hump-shaped diversity pattern has remained unclear because no studies have addressed both the ecological and evolutionary causes. Here, we address these causes in North American plethodontid salamanders, using a near-comprehensive phylogeny and environmental data. We develop a null model for assessing the relationship between the time that an area has been occupied and its species richness, and we apply a new approach that tests whether clades exhibit long-term stasis in their climatic niches (niche conservatism). Evolutionary, the midelevation peak in species richness is explained by the time-for-speciation effect, with intermediate-elevation habitats seemingly being inhabited longest and accumulating more species. We find that this pattern is associated with evolutionary stasis in species' climatic niches, driving the midelevation peak by constraining the dispersal of lineages to environments at lower and higher elevations. These processes may help explain elevational diversity patterns in many montane regions around the world. The results also suggest that montane biotas may harbor high levels of'both species diversity and phylogenetic diversity but may be particularly susceptible to rapid climate change.
KW - Climate
KW - Elevation
KW - Niche conservatism
KW - Phylogeny
KW - Speciation
KW - Species richness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77953796487&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77953796487&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/653031
DO - 10.1086/653031
M3 - Article
C2 - 20497055
AN - SCOPUS:77953796487
VL - 176
SP - 40
EP - 54
JO - American Naturalist
JF - American Naturalist
SN - 0003-0147
IS - 1
ER -