scholarly journals Contribution of range restricted and widespread species to biodiversity patterns in the Western Balkans in Southern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Bregović ◽  
Cene Fišer ◽  
Maja Zagmajster
Keyword(s):  
Range Size ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Full Dataset ◽  
Linear Extent ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
Subterranean Species

Species richness patterns (SRP) emerge due to overlap in species distributions. They critically depend on two parameters of species ranges: geographic position and size. An important question is which species contribute more to the observed SRP, range restricted or widespread species. Most studies concluded that the widespread species tend to influence SRP more. However, the relative importance of either may strongly depend on the study system. Here we investigated how subterranean species of different range sizes contribute to SRP in the Western Balkans. We studied spatially defined datasets of terrestrial and aquatic troglobionts, represented by beetles (Cholevidae, Carabidae, 425 species) and amphipod crustaceans (Niphargidae, 150 species), respectively. The two groups differ in dispersal capacities, and indeed distribution of their range sizes differed. The proportion of single site species reached 30% in beetles, and 21% in niphargids. Maximum linear extent (MLE) of the range exceeded 200 km in only 1% of beetles, but in nearly 20% of niphargids. SRP of both taxonomic groups only partly overlapped. To assess the contribution of species with different ranges on SRP, we created different subsets and compared their SRPs with full dataset SRP. Subsets were first formed by adding species one-by-one, in ascending and descending order according to range size. We used correlation analysis, with significance assessed using null models generated from randomly generated subsets. In the second analysis, we assigned species info four classes according to range size, and modelled which size class best explains SRP. The results showed certain differences among the two taxonomic groups, which make generalizations difficult. We find it important to evaluate the contribution of species with different ranges to overall SRP, but also to identification of local hotspots.

scholarly journals The pitfalls of biodiversity proxies: Differences in richness patterns of birds, trees and understudied diversity across Amazonia

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila D. Ritter ◽  
Søren Faurby ◽  
Dominic J. Bennett ◽  
Luciano N. Naka ◽  
Hans ter Steege ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Taxonomic Group ◽  
Diversity Gradients ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Micro Organisms

AbstractMost knowledge on biodiversity derives from the study of charismatic macro-organisms, such as birds and trees. However, the diversity of micro-organisms constitutes the majority of all life forms on Earth. Here, we ask if the patterns of richness inferred for macro-organisms are similar for micro-organisms. For this, we barcoded samples of soil, litter and insects from four localities on a west-to-east transect across Amazonia. We quantified richness as Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in those samples using three molecular markers. We then compared OTU richness with species richness of two relatively well-studied organism groups in Amazonia: trees and birds. We find that OTU richness shows a declining west-to-east diversity gradient that is in agreement with the species richness patterns documented here and previously for birds and trees. These results suggest that most taxonomic groups respond to the same overall diversity gradients at large spatial scales. However, our results show a different pattern of richness in relation to habitat types, suggesting that the idiosyncrasies of each taxonomic group and peculiarities of the local environment frequently override large-scale diversity gradients. Our findings caution against using the diversity distribution of one taxonomic group as an indication of patterns of richness across all groups.

scholarly journals Determinants of species richness patterns in the Netherlands across multiple taxonomic groups

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Schouten ◽  
P. A. Verweij ◽  
A. Barendregt ◽  
R. M. J. C. Kleukers ◽  
V. J. Kalkman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

scholarly journals Determinants and Congruence of Species Richness Patterns across Multiple Taxonomic Groups on a Regional Scale

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn Buse ◽  
Eva Maria Griebeler
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
German Federal State

Applying multiple generalized regression models, we studied spatial patterns in species richness for different taxonomic groups (amphibians, reptiles, grasshoppers, plants, mosses) within the German federal state Rhineland-Palatinate (RP). We aimed (1) to detect their centres of richness, (2) to rate the influence of climatic and land-use parameters on spatial patterns, and (3) to test whether patterns are congruent between taxonomic groups in RP. Centres of species richness differed between taxonomic groups and overall richness was the highest in the valleys of large rivers and in different areas of southern RP. Climatic parameters strongly correlated with richness in all taxa whereas land use was less significant. Spatial richness patterns of all groups were to a certain extent congruent but differed between group pairs. The number of grasshoppers strongly correlated with the number of plants and with overall species richness. An external validation corroborated the generality of our species richness models.

scholarly journals Geographic trends in range sizes explain patterns in bird responses to urbanization in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Ferenc ◽  
Ondřej Sedláček ◽  
Roman Fuchs ◽  
Maurizio Fraissinet ◽  
David Storch
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Spatial Position ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Urban Core ◽  
Rapoport’S Rule ◽  
City Core ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract The probability of occurrence of bird species in towns/cities increases with their range sizes, and Rapoport’s rule states that range sizes increase with latitude. To test the hypothesis that the increasing number of bird species persisting in cities at higher latitudes of Europe is linked to their larger range sizes, we compiled data on bird communities of: a) 41 urban bird atlases; b) 37 city core zones from published sources; c) regions of nine grid cells of the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds around each city. We tested whether the proportion of species from particular regional bird assemblages entering cities (i.e., proportional richness) was related to the geographical position, mean range size of regional avifaunas, proportion of vegetated areas and city habitat heterogeneity. The mean range sizes of the observed and randomly selected urban avifaunas were contrasted. The proportional richness of urban avifaunas was positively related to the geographic position and mean range size of birds in regional assemblages. The evidence favoured range sizes if considering the European range sizes or latitudinal extents, but was limited for global range sizes. Randomizations tended to show larger range sizes for the real avifaunas than in the randomly selected ones. For urban core zones, the results were less clear-cut with some evidence only in favour of the European range sizes. No role of vegetation or habitat heterogeneity was found. In conclusion, while vegetation availability or heterogeneity did not show any effects, spatial position and range sizes of birds in regional assemblages seemed to influence the proportional richness of cities and their core zones. Factors correlated with spatial position (e.g., climate) might increase the attractivity of particular cities to birds. However, the effects of range sizes indicated that urbanization possibly has more negative impacts on the avifauna in the regions occupied by less widespread species.

Seeing the wood and the trees—predicting the future for fragmented plant populations in Australian landscapes

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Broadhurst ◽  
Andrew Young
Keyword(s):  
Rare Species ◽  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Current State ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Australian landscapes face significant environmental challenges in the coming decade. The fragmentation of vegetation following broadscale land-clearing has rapidly altered critical genetic and demographic processes within and among the remnants that still reside in these landscapes. These perturbations threaten the long-term persistence of many species. Although considerable research has been directed towards the management of rare species, little is understood about how common and widespread species respond to these new challenges. In this paper we review the current state of knowledge regarding species biology for some key Australian taxonomic groups to develop broad predictions about the major threats to species persistence, particularly for some of the most common and widespread floral components of fragmented Australian landscapes. The main focus is on associations between reproductive strategy, vulnerability to demographic and genetic threats, and implications for fecundity.

scholarly journals Does climate limit species richness by limiting individual species’ ranges?

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1776) ◽  
pp. 20132695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Boucher-Lalonde ◽  
Jeremy T. Kerr ◽  
David J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Richness Patterns

Broad-scale geographical variation in species richness is strongly correlated with climate, yet the mechanisms underlying this correlation are still unclear. We test two broad classes of hypotheses to explain this pattern. Bottom-up hypotheses propose that the environment determines individual species’ ranges. Ranges then sum up to yield species richness patterns. Top-down hypotheses propose that the environment limits the number of species that occur in a region, but not which ones. We test these two classes of hypotheses using a natural experiment: seasonal changes in environmental variables and seasonal range shifts of 625 migratory birds in the Americas. We show that richness seasonally tracks the environment. By contrast, individual species’ geographical distributions do not. Rather, species occupy different sets of environmental conditions in two seasons. Our results are inconsistent with extant bottom-up hypotheses. Instead, a top-down mechanism appears to constrain the number of species that can occur in a given region.

scholarly journals Climate change, climatic variation and extreme biological responses

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1723) ◽  
pp. 20160144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Palmer ◽  
Philip J. Platts ◽  
Tom Brereton ◽  
Jason W. Chapman ◽  
Calvin Dytham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Population Changes ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Population Responses ◽  
Extreme Climatic Events ◽  
Biological Responses ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Extreme climatic events could be major drivers of biodiversity change, but it is unclear whether extreme biological changes are (i) individualistic (species- or group-specific), (ii) commonly associated with unusual climatic events and/or (iii) important determinants of long-term population trends. Using population time series for 238 widespread species (207 Lepidoptera and 31 birds) in England since 1968, we found that population ‘crashes’ (outliers in terms of species' year-to-year population changes) were 46% more frequent than population ‘explosions’. (i) Every year, at least three species experienced extreme changes in population size, and in 41 of the 44 years considered, some species experienced population crashes while others simultaneously experienced population explosions. This suggests that, even within the same broad taxonomic groups, species are exhibiting individualistic dynamics, most probably driven by their responses to different, short-term events associated with climatic variability. (ii) Six out of 44 years showed a significant excess of species experiencing extreme population changes (5 years for Lepidoptera, 1 for birds). These ‘consensus years’ were associated with climatically extreme years, consistent with a link between extreme population responses and climatic variability, although not all climatically extreme years generated excess numbers of extreme population responses. (iii) Links between extreme population changes and long-term population trends were absent in Lepidoptera and modest (but significant) in birds. We conclude that extreme biological responses are individualistic, in the sense that the extreme population changes of most species are taking place in different years, and that long-term trends of widespread species have not, to date, been dominated by these extreme changes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events’.

scholarly journals Is the sky the limit? On the expansion threshold of a species’ range

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitka Polechová
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic Drift ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Range Margin ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Testable Prediction ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
Number Of Individuals

AbstractMore than a hundred years after Grigg’s influential analysis of species’ borders, the causes of limits to species’ ranges still represent a puzzle that has never been understood with clarity. The topic has become especially important recently as many scientists have become interested in the potential for species’ ranges to shift in response to climate change – and yet, nearly all of those studies fail to recognise or incorporate evolutionary genetics in a way that relates to theoretical developments. I show that range margins can be understood based on just two measurable parameters: i) the fitness cost of dispersal – a measure of environmental heterogeneity – and ii) the strength of genetic drift, which reduces genetic diversity. Together, these two parameters define an expansion threshold: adaptation fails when genetic drift reduces genetic diversity below that required for adaptation to environmental heterogeneity. When the key parameters drop below this expansion threshold locally, a sharp range margin forms. When they drop below this threshold throughout the species’ range, adaptation collapses everywhere, resulting in either extinction, or formation of a fragmented meta-population. Because the effects of dispersal differ fundamentally with dimension, the second parameter – the strength of genetic drift – is qualitatively different compared to a linear habitat. In two-dimensional habitats, genetic drift becomes effectively independent of selection. It decreases with neighbourhood size – the number of individuals accessible by dispersal within one generation. Moreover, in contrast to earlier predictions, which neglected evolution of genetic variance and/or stochasticity in two dimensions, dispersal into small marginal populations aids adaptation. This is because the reduction of both genetic and demographic stochasticity has a stronger effect than the cost of dispersal through increased maladaptation. The expansion threshold thus provides a novel, theoretically justified and testable prediction for formation of the range margin and collapse of the species’ range.Author summaryGene flow across environments has conflicting effects: while it increases the genetic variation necessary for adaptation and counters the loss of genetic diversity due to genetic drift, it may also swamp adaptation to local conditions. This interplay is crucial for the dynamics of a species’ range expansion, which can thus be understood based on two dimensionless parameters: i) the fitness cost of dispersal – a measure of environmental heterogeneity – and ii) the strength of genetic drift – a measure of reduction of genetic diversity. Together, these two parameters define an expansion threshold: adaptation fails when the number of individuals accessible by dispersal within one generation is so small that genetic drift reduces genetic diversity below the level required for adaptation to environmental heterogeneity. This threshold provides a novel, theoretically justified and testable prediction for formation of a range margin and a collapse of a species’ range in two-dimensional habitats.

scholarly journals No one-size-fits-all solution to clean GBIF

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Zizka ◽  
Fernanda Antunes Carvalho ◽  
Alice Calvente ◽  
Mabel Rocio Baez-Lizarazo ◽  
Andressa Cabral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Conservation Assessments ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Biodiversity Information ◽  
Occurrence Records

ABSTRACTSpecies occurrence records provide the basis for many biodiversity studies. They derive from georeferenced specimens deposited in natural history collections and visual observations, such as those obtained through various mobile applications. Given the rapid increase in availability of such data, the control of quality and accuracy constitutes a particular concern. Automatic filtering is a scalable and reproducible means to identify potentially problematic records and tailor datasets from public databases such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; www.gbif.org), for biodiversity analyses. However, it is unclear how much data may be lost by filtering, whether the same filters should be applied across all taxonomic groups, and what the effect of filtering is on common downstream analyses. Here, we evaluate the effect of 13 recently proposed filters on the inference of species richness patterns and automated conservation assessments for 18 Neotropical taxa, including terrestrial and marine animals, fungi, and plants downloaded from GBIF. We find that a total of 44.3% of the records are potentially problematic, with large variation across taxonomic groups (25 - 90%). A small fraction of records was identified as erroneous in the strict sense (4.2%), and a much larger proportion as unfit for most downstream analyses (41.7%). Filters of duplicated information, collection year, and basis of record, as well as coordinates in urban areas, or for terrestrial taxa in the sea or marine taxa on land, have the greatest effect. Automated filtering can help in identifying problematic records, but requires customization of which tests and thresholds should be applied to the taxonomic group and geographic area under focus. Our results stress the importance of thorough recording and exploration of the meta-data associated with species records for biodiversity research.

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