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Spatial scale-dependent phylogenetic signal in species distributions along geographic and elevation gradients in a mountainous rangeland.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms determining community phylogenetic structure range from local ecological mechanisms to broad biogeographical processes. How these community assembly processes determine phylogenetic structure and patterns in rangeland communities across multiple spatial scales is still poorly understood. We sought to determine whether the structure of herbaceous and shrub assemblages along local environmental gradients (elevation) and broad geography (latitude) exhibited phylogenetic signal at different spatial scales, across 2,500 ha of a mountainous rangeland. We analyzed species distribution and phylogenetic data at two spatial scales: the community level (1 m2 sample units obtained by stratified random sampling) and the habitat level (plant assemblages identified categorically based on environmental and geographical variables). We found significant phylogenetic signal in structure and pattern at both spatial scales, along local elevational, and latitudinal gradients. Moreover, beta diversity was affected by different environmental variables in herbaceous and shrub species distributions across different spatial scales. Our results highlight the relative importance of local ecological mechanisms, including niche-based deterministic processes (environmental filtering and species interactions) as well as those of biogeographical processes, such as stochastic dispersal limitation and habitat specialization in plant assemblages of mountainous rangeland.

SUBMITTER: Pashirzad M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6238123 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Spatial scale-dependent phylogenetic signal in species distributions along geographic and elevation gradients in a mountainous rangeland.

Pashirzad Maral M Ejtehadi Hamid H Vaezi Jamil J Shefferson Richard P RP

Ecology and evolution 20181005 21

The mechanisms determining community phylogenetic structure range from local ecological mechanisms to broad biogeographical processes. How these community assembly processes determine phylogenetic structure and patterns in rangeland communities across multiple spatial scales is still poorly understood. We sought to determine whether the structure of herbaceous and shrub assemblages along local environmental gradients (elevation) and broad geography (latitude) exhibited phylogenetic signal at dif ...[more]

PMID: 30464810

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Project description:Climate change and other global change drivers threaten plant diversity in mountains worldwide. A widely documented response to such environmental modifications is for plant species to change their elevational ranges. Range shifts are often idiosyncratic and difficult to generalize, partly due to variation in sampling methods. There is thus a need for a standardized monitoring strategy that can be applied across mountain regions to assess distribution changes and community turnover of native and non-native plant species over space and time. Here, we present a conceptually intuitive and standardized protocol developed by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) to systematically quantify global patterns of native and non-native species distributions along elevation gradients and shifts arising from interactive effects of climate change and human disturbance. Usually repeated every five years, surveys consist of 20 sample sites located at equal elevation increments along three replicate roads per sampling region. At each site, three plots extend from the side of a mountain road into surrounding natural vegetation. The protocol has been successfully used in 18 regions worldwide from 2007 to present. Analyses of one point in time already generated some salient results, and revealed region-specific elevational patterns of native plant species richness, but a globally consistent elevational decline in non-native species richness. Non-native plants were also more abundant directly adjacent to road edges, suggesting that disturbed roadsides serve as a vector for invasions into mountains. From the upcoming analyses of time series, even more exciting results can be expected, especially about range shifts. Implementing the protocol in more mountain regions globally would help to generate a more complete picture of how global change alters species distributions. This would inform conservation policy in mountain ecosystems, where some conservation policies remain poorly implemented.

Dataset Information

Spatial scale-dependent phylogenetic signal in species distributions along geographic and elevation gradients in a mountainous rangeland.

Publications

Spatial scale-dependent phylogenetic signal in species distributions along geographic and elevation gradients in a mountainous rangeland.

Similar Datasets

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