The origin and maintenance of montane diversity: integrating evolutionary and ecological processes |
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Authors: | Catherine H Graham Ana C Carnaval Carlos Daniel Cadena Kelly R Zamudio Trina E Roberts Juan Luis Parra Christy M McCain Rauri C K Bowie Craig Moritz Stephen B Baines Christopher J Schneider Jeremy VanDerWal Carsten Rahbek Kenneth H Kozak Nathan J Sanders |
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Institution: | 1. Dept of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook Univ., , Stony Brook, NY 11794‐5245 USA;2. Dept of Biology, City College and City Univ. of New York, , New York, NY 10031 USA;3. Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva de Vertebrados, Depto de Ciencias Biológicas, Univ. de los Andes, , Apartado 4976, Bogotá, Colombia;4. Cornell Univ., Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, , E209 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853‐2701 USA;5. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, , Suite A200, Durham, NC 27705‐4667 USA;6. Univ. of Iowa, Museum of Natural History, , Iowa City, IA 52242 USA;7. Inst. de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Univ. de Antioquia, , Medellín, Colombia;8. Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and CU Museum of Natural History, Univ. of Colorado, , Boulder, CO 80309 USA;9. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Dept of Integrative Biology, Univ. of California‐Berkeley, , Berkeley, CA 94720‐3160 USA;10. Dept of Biology, Boston Univ., , Boston, MA 02215 USA;11. Centre for Tropical Biology and Climate Change Research, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook Univ., , Townsville, QLD 4811 Australia;12. Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Dept of Biology, Univ. of Copenhagen, , DK‐2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark;13. Bell Museum of Natural History and Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Univ. of Minnesota, , St Paul, MN 55108 USA;14. Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Tennessee, , Knoxville, TN 37996 USA |
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Abstract: | Determining how ecological and evolutionary processes produce spatial variation in local species richness remains an unresolved challenge. Using mountains as a model system, we outline an integrative research approach to evaluate the influence of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms on the generation and maintenance of patterns of species richness along and among elevational gradients. Biodiversity scientists interested in patterns of species richness typically start by documenting patterns of species richness at regional and local scales, and based on their knowledge of the taxon, and the environmental and historical characteristics of a mountain region, they then ask whether diversity–environment relationships, if they exist, are explained mostly by ecological or evolutionary hypotheses. The final step, and perhaps most challenging one, is to tease apart the relative influence of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. We propose that elucidating the relative influence of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms can be achieved by taking advantage of the replicated settings afforded by mountains, combined with targeted experiments along elevational gradients. This approach will not only identify potential mechanisms that drive patterns of species richness, but also allow scientists to generate more robust hypotheses about which factors generate and maintain local diversity. |
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