A phylogenetic approach identifies patterns of beta diversity and floristic subregions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity and their relationships with environmental correlates can help reveal the origin and evolutionary history of regional biota.The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)harbors an exceptionally diverse flora,however,a phylogenetic perspective has rarely been used to investigate its beta diversity and floristic regions.In this study,we used a phylogenetic approach to identify patterns of beta diversity and quantitatively delimit floristic regions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.We also examined the relationships between multifaceted beta diversity,geographical distance,and climatic difference,and evaluated the relative importance of various factors(i.e.,climate,topography and history)in shaping patterns of beta diversity.Sørensen dissimilarity indices indicated that patterns of species turnover among sites dominated the QTP.We also found that patterns of both taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity were significantly related to geographical distance and climatic difference.The environmental factors that contributed most to these patterns of beta diversity include annual precipitation,mean annual temperature,climatic gradients and climatic instability.Hierarchical dendrograms of dissimilarity and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination based on phylogenetic beta diversity data identified ten floristic subregions in the QTP.Our results suggest that the contemporary environment and historical climate changes have filtered species composition among sites and eventually determined beta diversity patterns of plants in the QTP.

New patterns of the tree beta diversity and its determinants in the largest savanna and wetland biomes of South America

Clear and data-driven bioregionalizations can provide a framework to test hypotheses and base biodiversity conservation.Here we used occurrence and abundance data in combination with objective analytical methods to propose two bioregionalization schemes for tree species of the Cerrado and the Pantanal in South America.We also evaluated the contribution of three sets of determinants of the occurrence-and abundance-based subregions.We compiled data on tree species composition from 894 local assemblages based on species occurrences,and from 658 local assemblages based on species abundances.We used an unconstrained community-level modelling approach and clustering techniques to identify and map tree subregions for the occurrence and the abundance data sets,separately.Hierarchical clustering analyses were conducted to investigate floristic affinities between the subregions and to map broader floristic regions.We used multinomial logistic regression models,deviance partitioning,and rank-sum tests to assess the main subregion correlates.We identified 18 occurrence-and four abundance-based subregions in the Cerrado-Pantanal.The hierarchical classifications grouped the occurrence-based subregions into nine floristic zones and abundance-based subregions into two broad floristic zones.Variation in subregions were explained mainly by environmental factors and spatial structure in both occurrence and abundance data sets.The occurrence-and abundance-based subregions are complementary approaches to disentangle macroecological patterns and to plan conservation efforts in the Cerrado and the Pantanal.Our findings based on occurrence data revealed more complex and interdigitated boundaries between subregions of tree species than previously reported.The environment,historical stability,and human effects act in a synergetic way on the distribution of the subregions.Finally,the relevance of contemporary environmental factors to the subregion patterns we found alert us to the profound impact global warming may have on the spatial organization of the Cerrado-Pantanal tree flora.

Ecological Distribution and Significance of Metadiaptomus asiaticus Uljanirs,a Copepod Recently Found on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

1 Introduction In 2006,plankton investigation was carried out in the lakes in Ali district,Tibet.7 planktonic crustaceans were identified and reported.Metadiaptomus asiaticus Uljanirs was reported for the first time on the QTP(Yuan et al.,2007).However,detailed data on this species,especially its ecological significance,were not mentioned.In this

Evolutionary history and climate conditions constrain the flower colours of woody plants in China

In this study,we investigated(i)the differences in flower colour composition among growth forms of woody plants in China and(ii)the influences of biogeographic regions,evolutionary age and climatic conditions on geographic variation in the proportions of different flower colours.Using distribution maps and flower colour information(white,red,yellow,yellow-green,green and blue-purple)of 7673 Chinese woody plant species and a dated genus-level phylogenetic tree,we compared flower colour composition among different growth forms(shrubs,trees and lianas).We further estimated the relationships of geographical patterns in the proportions of different flower colours with seven different biogeographic regions,evolutionary age and different contemporary climatic variables.Compared with trees or lianas,shrubs showed a higher proportion of species with anthocyanin-based red and blue-purple flowers.The geographic patterns of flower colour composition of woody plants in China were strongly influenced by regional effects and contemporary climate,especially precipitation and ultraviolet B irradiance.The proportion of species with presumably bee-pollinated yellow and blue-purple flowers and stress tolerant anthocyanin-based red and blue-purple flower colours tended to be high in the northwestern part of China.Green flowers tended to evolve earlier than others,but evolutionary age had quite weak influences on the geographic pattern of flower colours.Our results reflect both evolutionary and environmental constraints on the distribution of flower colours of woody plants in China.

Intercontinental comparison of liana community assemblages in tropical forests of Ghana and Malaysia

Aims Liana research has increased in the past two decades,yet there is still inadequate comparison of liana communities at a cross-con-tinental scale.We compared liana assemblages in tropical forest ecosystems of Ghana and Malaysia,thereby determining patterns and mechanisms that are common or unique to the regions.Methods Liana diversity,community structure and taxonomic composition were determined in 60 plots of 40×40 m2 in three forest types(primary,disturbed secondary,selectively logged)in each biogeo-graphic area.Two traits,climbing mechanisms and dispersal modes were determined for all species and individuals via direct field observation and with published literature.Data were analyzed at biogeographic(using combined forest data)and forest-type levels.Important Findings Both observed and rarefied-extrapolated species richness of lianas were significantly higher in Ghanaian forests compared to Malaysian forests.In most cases,species diversity indices(Shannon diversity index,Margalef,Fisher’s alpha)showed significantly higher liana diversity at Ghanaian forests at biogeographic and forest-type lev-els.Similarly,Ghanaian forests harbored significantly higher values of liana abundance and basal area than Malaysian forests at both biogeographic and forest-type levels.The taxonomic composition of lianas differed considerably between the two biogeographic areas at all levels,although similarity in composition increased at generic and family levels.Though above-ground biomass of lianas was simi-lar between the two biogeographic regions,variations occurred at forest-type level between the two regions.The two biogeographic areas showed some similarities in assemblages of liana climbing mechanisms.Although more species of lianas were adapted for animal dispersal than other dispersal modes in both countries,the majority of liana individuals in Ghana were wind dispersed whereas the majority of liana individuals in Malaysia were animal dispersed.We speculate that the differences in liana community assemblages between the two biogeographic areas are due to historical and evo-lutionary processes,as well as climatic variation between the two biogeographic regions.

Predicting the effectiveness of protected areas of Natura 2000 under climate change

Background:Protected areas(PAs)are aimed to hold the environmental conditions that facilitate species and ecosystems to persist.PAs can become climatically unsuitable and unable to sustain their current number of species under climate change.The Natura 2000(N2K)is the largest coordinated conservation tool assigned to maintain the long-term survival of Europe’s most significant species and habitats.In attempting to understand the effectiveness of PAs in the face of climate change scenarios,we tested two hypotheses:(1)PAs in the Alpine and the Boreal biogeographical regions will experience more newly emerged climate conditions(hotter and drier)compared to the climate representation of other biogeographical regions under future climate in Europe and(2)PAs in the Mediterranean and the Continental biogeographical regions will face more consistency in climate conditions due to less area of disappearing and novel climate in future.Methods:Current climate data(1960–1990)and projections for 2050 and 2070 of PAs of N2K were extracted from WorldClim global climate data.Principal components analysis(PCA)was performed to construct climate space for the PAs across the biogeographical regions based on 19 climatic variables assessed at 5-km resolution.ArcMap 10.1 was used to map the location of the novel and disappearing climates.Results:PAs in the Alpine region will experience more novel climate conditions in the future compared to other biogeographical regions.The future projections showed that 17.70%of the PAs in the Alpine region will experience novel climate by 2070.Considerable climate consistency was observed in the PAs in the Continental region compared to the other biogeographical regions.Our results showed that about 176 km2 of the selected PAs in the Continental region will face new emerging climate,while about 110 km2 will disappear under RCP 8.5 scenario.The prediction also revealed that in the Mediterranean region 08 PAs will experience novel climate and 786 km2 areas in these PAs will face disappearing climate by 2070.We found that fewer areas of PAs in the Boreal regions will experience disappearing climate in both the scenarios.Conclusions:The portion of novel climate conditions can be seen as a future opportunity to assign new reserves for the species.Our study highlights the importance of conservation planning to increase the connectivity between PAs,identifying novel conservation zones to maximize representation of habitats during the emerging climatic changes as well as designing strategies,management,and monitoring of the individual PAs.