| Laurance, WF; ..., ; Hemp, A; Hemp, C; et al., : Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota, Biological Conservation, 144, 548-557 (2011) | |
| Abstract: Tropical species with narrow elevational ranges may be thermally specialized and vulnerable to global warming. Local studies of distributions along elevational gradients reveal small-scale patterns but do not allow generalizations among geographic regions or taxa. We critically assessed data from 249 studies of species elevational distributions in the American, African, and Asia-Pacific tropics. Of these, 150 had sufficient data quality, sampling intensity, elevational range, and freedom from serious habitat disturbance to permit robust across-study comparisons. We found four main patterns: (1) species classified as elevational specialists (upper- or lower-zone specialists) are relatively more frequent in the American than Asia-Pacific tropics, with African tropics being intermediate; (2) elevational specialists are rare on islands, especially oceanic and smaller continental islands, largely due to a paucity of upper-zone specialists; (3) a relatively high proportion of plants and ectothermic vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles) are upper-zone specialists; and (4) relatively few endothermic vertebrates (birds and mammals) are upper-zone specialists. Understanding these broad-scale trends will help identify taxa and geographic regions vulnerable to global warming and highlight future research priorities. |
Upcoming ...
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| BayCEER Colloquium: |
|---|
| Th. 2024-04-25 Perspectives and challenges in the restoration and conservation of two isolated habitats: gypsum and cliffs |
| BayCEER Short Courses: |
| We. 2024-04-24 Mobile Film Making Workshop (for PhDs/PostDosc/Profs of BayCEER) |
| Fr. 2024-04-26 Mobile Film Making Workshop (for students of BayCEER) |
| Ecological-Botanical Garden: |
| Fr. 2024-04-19 now Führung | Gesteine im Ökologisch-Botanischen Garten |
| Su. 2024-04-21 Führung | Den ÖBG kennenlernen: Allgemeine Gartenführung |