|
|||||
|
|
Latitudinal and altitudinal patterns of the endemic cacti from the Atacama desert to Mediterranean Chile |
|
| Authors: | PC Guerrero AP Durán |
| Institution: | a Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago 7800024, Chile b Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK c The EXSIS Project, Ex-situ & in-situ Cactaceae Conservation Project, Santiago, Chile and Munich, Germany |
| Abstract: | In this study we describe the biogeographic patterns of the endemic cacti from the Atacama Desert to the Mediterranean area of Chile. Our goals were: (1) to identify areas of high endemism, (2) to test Rapoport’s rule, (3) to test the geometric constraints hypothesis, (4) to explore temperature and precipitation as explanatory variables of species richness. We used a list of 72 species of cacti, ranging from 18° to 36° S and from 0 to 4500 m.a.s.l. A Bayesian analysis of Endemicity (BAE) was used to evaluate hierarchical relationships of endemism between different latitudinal bands. Rapoport’s rule was evaluated by examining the relationships between latitudinal/altitudinal mid-point, latitudinal/altitudinal range extent and species richness. The geometric constraints hypothesis was tested by examining the existence of mid-domain effect. The BAE indicated two areas of endemism: (1) the northern area between 18° S and 26° S, and (2) the southern area between 27° S and 36° S. The shape of the latitudinal gradient is non-linear, supporting the geometric constraints hypothesis. Altitudinal patterns, however, support Rapoport’s rule; a peak of endemism was found at low altitudes. The explanatory variables were elevation, minimum temperature of the coldest month, mean temperature of wettest quarter and annual precipitation. |
| Keywords: | Cactaceae Rapoport&rsquo s rule Geometric constraints Bayesian analysis Climatic control |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ | |