Shifts in species richness, herbivore specialization, and plant resistance along elevation gradients.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Pellissier L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3433986 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Shifts in species richness, herbivore specialization, and plant resistance along elevation gradients.
Pellissier Loïc L Fiedler Konrad K Ndribe Charlotte C Dubuis Anne A Pradervand Jean-Nicolas JN Guisan Antoine A Rasmann Sergio S
Ecology and evolution 20120701 8
Environmental gradients have been postulated to generate patterns of diversity and diet specialization, in which more stable environments, such as tropical regions, should promote higher diversity and specialization. Using field sampling and phylogenetic analyses of butterfly fauna over an entire alpine region, we show that butterfly specialization (measured as the mean phylogenetic distance between utilized host plants) decreases at higher elevations, alongside a decreasing gradient of plant di ...[more]
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