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The role of competition, ecotones, and temperature in the elevational distribution of Himalayan birds
- Source :
- Ecology. 98:337-348
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2017.
-
Abstract
- There is clear evidence that species' ranges along environmental gradients are constrained by both biotic and abiotic factors, yet their relative importance in structuring realized distributions remains uncertain. We surveyed breeding bird communities while collecting in situ temperature and vegetation data along five elevational transects in the Himalayas differing in temperature variability, habitat zonation, and bird richness in order to disentangle temperature, habitat, and congeneric competition as mechanisms structuring elevational ranges. Our results from species' abundance models representing these three mechanisms differed markedly from previous, foundational research in the tropics. Contrary to general expectations, we found little evidence for competition as a major determinant of range boundaries, with congeneric species limiting only 12% of ranges. Instead, temperature and habitat were found to structure the majority of species' distributions, limiting 48 and 40% of ranges, respectively. Our results suggest that different mechanisms may structure species ranges in the temperate Himalayas compared to tropical systems. Despite recent evidence suggesting temperate species have broader thermal tolerances than tropical species, our findings reinforce the notion that the abiotic environment has significant control over the distributions of temperate species.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Abiotic component
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Ecology
Range (biology)
media_common.quotation_subject
Population Dynamics
Temperature
Biodiversity
Ecotone
Biology
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Competition (biology)
Birds
Habitat
Abundance (ecology)
Animals
Species richness
Ecosystem
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19399170 and 00129658
- Volume :
- 98
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Ecology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....291b25aa41d8fef34e5289269fe05266