scholarly journals Phylogenetic surveys on the newt genus Tylototriton sensu lato (Salamandridae, Caudata) reveal cryptic diversity and novel diversification promoted by historical climatic shifts

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Kanto Nishikawa ◽  
Masafumi Matsui ◽  
Truong Quang Nguyen ◽  
Feng Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Gene Tree ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Indochina Peninsula ◽  
Glacial Cycles ◽  
Ancestral Area ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Climatic Transition ◽  
Asian Monsoons

Global climatic transitions and Tibetan Plateau uplifts are hypothesized to have profoundly impacted biodiversity in southeastern Asia. To further test the hypotheses related to the impacts of these incidents, we investigated the diversification patterns of the newt genus Tylototriton sensu lato, distributed across the mountain ranges of southeastern Asia. Gene-tree and species-tree analyses of two mitochondrial genes and two nuclear genes revealed five major clades in the genus, and suggested several cryptic species. Dating estimates suggested that the genus originated in the early-to-middle Miocene. Under different species delimitating scenarios, diversification analyses with birth-death likelihood tests indicated that the genus held a higher diversification rate in the late Miocene-to-Pliocene era than that in the Pleistocene. Ancestral area reconstructions indicated that the genus originated from the northern Indochina Peninsula. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the Miocene Climatic Transition triggered the diversification of the genus, and the reinforcement of East Asian monsoons associated with the stepwise uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau promoted the radiation of the genus in southeastern Asia during the Miocene-to-Pliocene period. Quaternary glacial cycles likely had limited effects on speciation events in the genus, but mainly had contributions on their intraspecific differentiations.

scholarly journals The reanalysis of biogeography of the Asian tree frog,Rhacophorus(Anura: Rhacophoridae): geographic shifts and climatic change influenced the dispersal process and diversification

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Pan ◽  
Yanan Zhang ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Jun Wu ◽  
Xing Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Molecular Dating ◽  
Divergence Times ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Frog ◽  
Ancestral Area ◽  
Distinct Lineage ◽  
Asian Monsoons

Rapid uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau and climate change in Asia are thought to have profoundly modulated the diversification of most of the species distributed throughout Asia. The ranoid tree frog genusRhacophorus, the largest genus in the Rhacophoridae, is widely distributed in Asia and especially speciose in the areas south and east of the Tibetan Plateau. Here, we infer phylogenetic relationships among species and estimate divergence times, asking whether the spatiotemporal characteristics of diversification withinRhacophoruswere related to rapid uplifts of the Tibetan Plateau and concomitant climate change. Phylogenetic analysis recovered distinct lineage structures inRhacophorus, which indicated a clear distribution pattern from Southeast Asia toward East Asia and India. Molecular dating suggests that the first split within the genus date back to the Middle Oligocene (approx. 30 Ma). TheRhacophoruslineage through time (LTT) showed that there were periods of increased speciation rate: 14–12 Ma and 10–4 Ma. In addition, ancestral area reconstructions supported Southeast Asia as the ancestral area ofRhacophorus. According to the results of molecular dating, ancestral area reconstructions and LTT we think the geographic shifts, the staged rapid rises of the Tibetan Plateau with parallel climatic changes and reinforcement of the Asian monsoons (15 Ma, 8 Ma and 4–3 Ma), possibly prompted a burst of diversification inRhacophorus.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF TIBETAN PLATEAU SNOW COVER ON ABRUPT INTERDECADAL PRECIPITATION CHANGE OVER THE INDOCHINA PENINSULA IN THE MID-1990S

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-3/W9 ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Y. Ha ◽  
Y. M. Zhu ◽  
Y. J. Hu ◽  
Z. Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Western Pacific Subtropical High ◽  
Precipitation Change ◽  
Interdecadal Change ◽  
Northwestern Pacific ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Indochina Peninsula

Abstract. Abrupt interdecadal changes in summer precipitation (May – September) over the Indochina Peninsula in the past 40 years have been investigated based on the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis product over 1979–2013 and multiple precipitation datasets. The mechanism for the abrupt change is explored. Results indicate that an abrupt interdecadal change in summer precipitation over the Indochina Peninsula occurred in the middle 1990s, and the annual mean summer precipitation during 1994–2002 increased by about 10% compared to that during 1982–1993. The most significant precipitation change occurred in the central and northern peninsula. Further analysis reveals that the interdecadal decrease in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in the winter and spring contributed to the summer precipitation increase over the Indochina Peninsula. The decrease in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau actually increased the thermal contrast between the Tibetan Plateau and the tropical Indian Ocean-northwestern Pacific, leading to intensified summer monsoon over the northwestern Pacific and the South China Sea. As a result, westerly anomalies occurred from the Bay of Bengal to the northwestern Pacific, while anomalous cyclonic circulation prevailed in the upper levels above East Asia. Correspondingly, the western Pacific subtropical high weakened and shifted eastward. Under the joint effects of the above circulation patterns, the atmosphere became wetter in the Indochina Peninsula and summer precipitation increased. Results of the present study provide a theoretical basis for the prediction of long-term summer precipitation change in the Indochina Peninsula.

Roof of the World: Tibet, Pamirs

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Searle
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Palm Tree ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
North West ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

The Tibetan Plateau is by far the largest region of high elevation, averaging just above 5,000 metres above sea level, and the thickest crust, between 70 and 90 kilometres thick, anywhere in the world. This huge plateau region is very flat—lying in the internally drained parts of the Chang Tang in north and central Tibet, but in parts of the externally drained eastern Tibet, three or four mountain ranges larger and higher than the Alps rise above the frozen plateau. Some of the world’s largest and longest mountain ranges border the plateau, the ‘flaming mountains’ of the Tien Shan along the north-west, the Kun Lun along the north, the Longmen Shan in the east, and of course the mighty Himalaya forming the southern border of the plateau. The great trans-Himalayan mountain ranges of the Pamir and Karakoram are geologically part of the Asian plate and western Tibet but, as we have noted before, unlike Tibet, these ranges have incredibly high relief with 7- and 8-kilometre-high mountains and deeply eroded rivers and glacial valleys. The western part of the Tibetan Plateau is the highest, driest, and wildest area of Tibet. Here there is almost no rainfall and rivers that carry run-off from the bordering mountain ranges simply evaporate into saltpans or disappear underground. Rivers draining the Kun Lun flow north into the Takla Makan Desert, forming seasonal marshlands in the wet season and a dusty desert when the rivers run dry. The discovery of fossil tropical leaves, palm tree trunks, and even bones from miniature Miocene horses suggest that the climate may have been wetter in the past, but this is also dependent on the rise of the plateau. Exactly when Tibet rose to its present elevation is a matter of great debate. Nowadays the Indian Ocean monsoon winds sweep moisture-laden air over the Indian sub-continent during the summer months (late June–September). All the moisture is dumped as the summer monsoon, the torrential rains that sweep across India from south-east to north-west.

scholarly journals Evolution of the Yangtze River network, southeastern Tibet: Insights from thermochronology and sedimentology

Lithosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Loraine Gourbet ◽  
Rong Yang ◽  
Maria Giuditta Fellin ◽  
Jean-Louis Paquette ◽  
Sean D. Willett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Fluvial Incision ◽  
Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Southeastern Margin ◽  
The Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Southeastern Tibet

Abstract We performed apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He dating on a granitic pluton that has been offset by ∼10 km by motion on the sinistral strike-slip Xiangcheng fault in SW Sichuan, SE Tibetan plateau, where the Shuoqu River incises a deep valley before joining the upper Yangtze River. Mean ZHe cooling ages range from 49.5 ± 2.2 Ma to 68.6 ± 6.0 Ma. Samples located above 3870 m yield mean apatite (U-Th)/He ages ranging from 30.6 ± 1.4 Ma to 40.6 ± 2.7 Ma, whereas samples at lower elevations range from 9.8 ± 1.3 Ma to 14.6 ± 2.7 Ma. In the same region, Cenozoic continental sediments are exposed on the flanks of deep valleys. They consist of unsorted conglomerates and sandstones that partly fill a paleotopography. The sediments were deposited during an episode of rapid sedimentation, followed by incision that varies between 0.5 and 1.2 km. Thermal and exhumational modeling of the granite thermochronometric data indicates rapid cooling during the middle Miocene that was likely related to fluvial incision. Our findings suggest that the upper Yangtze River and its tributary (Shuoqu) were connected by the middle Miocene. Our modeling also supports the idea that the exhumation pattern during the Cenozoic in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is spatially and temporally heterogeneous.

Acricotopus indet. morphotype incurvatus: Description and genetics of a new Orthocladiinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) larval morphotype from the Tibetan Plateau

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4656 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-544
Author(s):  
ANDREAS LAUG ◽  
LADISLAV HAMERLÍK ◽  
STEN ANSLAN ◽  
STEFAN ENGELS ◽  
FALKO TURNER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Central Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Peculiar Form ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Coi Sequences ◽  
Complex Formations

High mountain ranges such as the Tibetan Plateau with an average altitude above 4500 m are topographically complex formations. Elevational gradients, physiographic diversity and climatic heterogeneity have led to highly biodiverse ecosystems in these regions. Mountain ranges can be seen as cradles of evolution and harbour, due to their unique characteristics, a high number of highly adapted species. At the same time these areas are hard to access and therefore taxonomic information is limited. Here we describe a new Acricotopus (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae) larval morphotype occurring in lakes and ponds of differing salinity and water depths located on the Southern and Central Tibetan Plateau. The description is based on larvae and their genetics (ribosomal 18S, 28S and mitochondrial COI sequences) collected from a shallow pond in close proximity to the large saline lake Selin Co. Larvae of Acricotopus indet. morphotype incurvatus are characterized by a mentum with a cluster of lateral teeth, partially folded inwards, a mandible with a toothed lobe in addition to four inner teeth and a sclerotized plate positioned behind the mentum. Up to now, these morphological features have only been found in early instars of other Acricotopus species. The proposed morphotype name is inspired by the peculiar form of the mentum. 

scholarly journals The topographic evolution of the Tibetan Region as revealed by palaeontology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Spicer ◽  
Tao Su ◽  
Paul J. Valdes ◽  
Alexander Farnsworth ◽  
Fei-Xiang Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Landscape Evolution ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
New Synthesis ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Topographic Evolution ◽  
East West

AbstractThe Tibetan Plateau was built through a succession of Gondwanan terranes colliding with Asia during the Mesozoic. These accretions produced a complex Paleogene topography of several predominantly east–west trending mountain ranges separated by deep valleys. Despite this piecemeal assembly and resultant complex relief, Tibet has traditionally been thought of as a coherent entity rising as one unit. This has led to the widely used phrase ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’, which is a false concept borne of simplistic modelling and confounds understanding the complex interactions between topography climate and biodiversity. Here, using the rich palaeontological record of the Tibetan region, we review what is known about the past topography of the Tibetan region using a combination of quantitative isotope and fossil palaeoaltimetric proxies, and present a new synthesis of the orography of Tibet throughout the Paleogene. We show why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ never occurred, and quantify a new pattern of topographic and landscape evolution that contributed to the development of today’s extraordinary Asian biodiversity.

scholarly journals The Effect of ENSO on Tibetan Plateau Snow Depth: A Stationary Wave Teleconnection Mechanism and Implications for the South Asian Monsoons

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2067-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Shaman ◽  
Eli Tziperman
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Stationary Wave ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The South ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
The North ◽  
Asian Monsoons

Abstract An atmospheric stationary wave teleconnection mechanism is proposed to explain how ENSO may affect the Tibetan Plateau snow depth and thereby the south Asian monsoons. Using statistical analysis, the short available record of satellite estimates of snow depth, and ray tracing, it is shown that wintertime ENSO conditions in the central Pacific may produce stationary barotropic Rossby waves in the troposphere with a northeastward group velocity. These waves reflect off the North American jet, turning equatorward, and enter the North African–Asian jet over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Once there, the waves move with the jet across North Africa, South Asia, the Himalayas, and China. Anomalous increases in upper-tropospheric potential vorticity and increased wintertime snowfall over the Tibetan Plateau are speculated to be associated with these Rossby waves. The increased snowfall produces a larger Tibetan Plateau snowpack, which persists through the spring and summer, and weakens the intensity of the south Asian summer monsoons.

scholarly journals Late Cenozoic continuous aridification in the western Qaidam Basin: evidence from sporopollen records

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1485-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. F. Miao ◽  
X. M. Fang ◽  
F. L. Wu ◽  
M. T. Cai ◽  
C. H. Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
East Asian ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Plateau Uplift ◽  
Western Qaidam Basin ◽  
Global Cooling ◽  
Tibetan Plateau Uplift

Abstract. Cenozoic climate changes in inner Asia provide a basis for understanding linkages between global cooling, the Tibetan Plateau uplift, and possibly the development of the East Asian monsoon. Based on the compiled palynological results from the western Qaidam Basin, this study reconstructed an 18 Ma record of changing vegetation and paleoclimates since the middle Miocene. Thermophilic taxa percentages were highest between 18 and 14 Ma and decreased after 14 Ma, corresponding closely with the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) between 18 and 14 Ma and the following global climatic cooling. After 3.6 Ma, the thermophilic taxa percentages further decreased, showing the inevitable relations with the ice-sheets enlargement in the North Hemisphere. During the same period of time, the increase in xerophytic taxa percentages and decrease in conifers percentages imply aridification in both the basin and surrounding mountains since 18 Ma. These results indicate that global cooling mainly controlled the climate change from a relative warm-wet stage to a cold-dry stage during the late Cenozoic at the western Qaidam Basin, and that the Tibetan Plateau uplift also contributed in contrast to the East Asian summer monsoon.

scholarly journals Seasonality and spatial variability of dynamic precipitation controls on the Tibetan Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Curio ◽  
Dieter Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Precipitation Distribution ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Dynamic Factors ◽  
Vertical Wind Speed

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the origin of many large Asian rivers, which provide moisture for large regions in South and East Asia. Therefore, the water cycle on the TP and adjacent high mountain ranges and especially the precipitation distribution plays an important role for the water availability for billions of people in the regions downstream of the TP. Based on the High Asia Refined analysis (HAR) we analyse the influence of dynamic factors on precipitation, enhancing or suppressing precipitation development. We selected six precipitation controls, the horizontal and vertical wind speed at 300 hPa and in about two kilometres above ground, the atmospheric water transport, and the planetary boundary layer height. Focus of the study are the seasonality and the spatial variability of these precipitation controls and their dominant patterns. The results show that precipitation controls have different effects on precipitation in different regions and seasons. This depends mainly on the type of precipitation, convective or frontal/cyclonic precipitation. Additionally, the study reveals that the mid-latitude westerlies have a high impact on precipitation distribution on the TP and its surrounding year-round.

scholarly journals Seasonality and spatial variability of dynamic precipitation controls on the Tibetan Plateau

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 767-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Curio ◽  
Dieter Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
Precipitation Distribution ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Vertical Wind Speed

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the origin of many large Asian rivers, which provide water resources for large regions in south and east Asia. Therefore, the water cycle on the TP and adjacent high mountain ranges, in particular the precipitation distribution and variability play an important role for the water availability for billions of people in the downstream regions of the TP. The High Asia Refined analysis (HAR) is used to analyse the dynamical factors that influence precipitation variability in the TP region, including the factors resulting in the enhancement and suppression of precipitation. Four dynamical fields that can influence precipitation are considered: the 300 hPa wind speed and wind speed 2 km above ground, the 300 hPa vertical wind speed, and the atmospheric water transport. The study focusses on the seasonality and the spatial variability of the precipitation controls and their dominant patterns. Results show that different factors have different effects on precipitation in different regions and seasons. This depends mainly on the dominant type of precipitation, i.e. convective or frontal/cyclonic precipitation. Additionally, the study reveals that the midlatitude westerlies have a high impact on the precipitation distribution on the TP and its surroundings year-round and not only in winter.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document