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Elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal.

ABSTRACT: Background:Geographical patterns of species diversity are one of the key topics in biogeography and ecology. The effects of biogeographical affinities on the elevational patterns of species diversity have attracted much attention recently, but the factors driving elevational patterns of the percentages of plants with tropical and temperate biogeographical affinities have not been adequately explored. Methods:We first used univariate least squares regressions to evaluate the effects of each predictor on the elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal. Then, the lowest corrected Akaike information criterion value was used to find the best-fit models for all possible combinations of the aforementioned predictors. We also conducted partial regression analysis to investigate the relative influences of each predictor in the best-fit model of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities. Results:With the increase of elevation, the percentage of plant genera with tropical affinity significantly decreased, while that of plant genera with temperate affinity increased. The strongest predictor of the percentages of plant genera with tropical affinity in the examined area was the minimum temperature of the coldest month. For the elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with temperate affinity, the strongest predictor was the maximum temperature of the warmest month. Compared with mid-domain effects (MDE), climatic factors explained much more of the elevational variation of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities. Discussion:The elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical affinities and the factors driving them supported the revision of the freezing-tolerance hypothesis. That is, freezing may filter out plant genera with tropical affinity, resulting in the decrease of their percentages, with winter coldness playing a predominant role. Winter coldness may not only exert filtering effects on plant genera with tropical affinity, but may also regulate the interactions between plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities. The elevational patterns of tropical and temperate plant diversities, and those of their percentages, might be controlled by different factors or mechanisms. Freezing-tolerance and the interactions between plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities regulated by climatic factors played stronger roles than MDE in shaping the elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal.

SUBMITTER: Lai Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6369827 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal.

Lai Yunyun Y Feng Jianmeng J

PeerJ 20190208

<h4>Background</h4>Geographical patterns of species diversity are one of the key topics in biogeography and ecology. The effects of biogeographical affinities on the elevational patterns of species diversity have attracted much attention recently, but the factors driving elevational patterns of the percentages of plants with tropical and temperate biogeographical affinities have not been adequately explored.<h4>Methods</h4>We first used univariate least squares regressions to evaluate the effect ...[more]

PMID: 30775164

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Project description:This study tests if the biogeographical affinities of genera are relevant for explaining elevational plant diversity patterns in Nepal. We used simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models to investigate the explanatory power of several predictors in explaining the diversity-elevation relationships shown in genera with different biogeographical affinities. Delta akaike information criterion (?AIC) was used for multi-model inferences and selections. Our results showed that both the total and tropical genus diversity peaked below the mid-point of the elevational gradient, whereas that of temperate genera had a nearly symmetrical, unimodal relationship with elevation. The proportion of temperate genera increased markedly with elevation, while that of tropical genera declined. Compared to tropical genera, temperate genera had wider elevational ranges and were observed at higher elevations. Water-related variables, rather than mid-domain effects (MDE), were the most significant predictors of elevational patterns of tropical genus diversity. The temperate genus diversity was influenced by energy availability, but only in quadratic terms of the models. Though climatic factors and mid-domain effects jointly explained most of the variation in the diversity of temperate genera with elevation, the former played stronger roles. Total genus diversity was most strongly influenced by climate and the floristic overlap of tropical and temperate floras, while the influences of mid-domain effects were relatively weak. The influences of water-related and energy-related variables may vary with biogeographical affinities. The elevational patterns may be most closely related to climatic factors, while MDE may somewhat modify the patterns. Caution is needed when investigating the causal factors underlying diversity patterns for large taxonomic groups composed of taxa of different biogeographical affinities. Right-skewed diversity-elevation patterns may be produced by the differential response of taxa with varying biogeographical affinities to climatic factors and MDE.

Dataset Information

Elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal.

Publications

Elevational patterns of the percentages of plant genera with tropical and temperate affinities in Nepal.

Similar Datasets

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