Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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López-Villalta, J. S. (2012). Why mountain passes are higher… for endemic amphibians and reptiles. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 49, 364–370.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (18 Nov 2012 17:43:40 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: LpezVillalta2012 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Echsen = saurians, Emydidae, Emys, Emys orbicularis, Geoemydidae, Habitat = habitat, Mauremys, Mauremys leprosa, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Schlangen = snakes, Südwesteuropa = South-Western Europa Creators: López-Villalta Collection: Annales Zoologici Fennici |
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| Abstract |
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Emys orbicularis Mauremys leprosa Crossing dispersal barriers with hostile environments is difficult for species with low environmental tolerance. Thus low environmental tolerance could result in small geographic ranges. In the case of mainland biotas, where mountain ranges are important dispersal barriers, this means species range size would decrease with the species inability to tolerate high altitude conditions. This idea predicts endemic species are more sensitive to elevational barriers than non-endemic species, other things being equal. Here, I test this prediction in the Mediterranean herpetofauna (southern Europe), using reported maximum altitude as a surrogate for tolerance to altitude. After correcting for sampling effects (influence of range size on reported altitude), phylogeny, and topographic biases (regional availability of maximum altitudes), a strong pattern is revealed: endemic amphibians and reptiles reach lower maximum altitudes than non-endemic counterparts. This suggests range size is controlled by the species ability to cross elevational barriers. Available data suggest this may be a general trend among endemics from mainland biotas.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |