Journal article
Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota
Biological Conservation, Vol.144(1), pp.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. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.
Details
- Title
- Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota
- Authors
- W F Laurance (Author)D Carolina Useche (Author)L P Shoo (Author)S K Herzog (Author)M Kessler (Author)F Escobar (Author)G Brehm (Author)J C Axmacher (Author)I C Chen (Author)L A Gámez (Author)P Hietz (Author)K Fiedler (Author)T Pyrcz (Author)J Wolf (Author)C L Merkord (Author)C Cardelus (Author)Andrew R Marshall (Author) - University of York, United KingdomC Ah-Peng (Author)G H Aplet (Author)M del Coro Arizmendi (Author)W J Baker (Author)J Barone (Author)C A Bruhl (Author)R W Bussmann (Author)D Cicuzza (Author)G Eilu (Author)M E Favila (Author)A Hemp (Author)C Hemp (Author)J Homeier (Author)J Hurtado (Author)J Jankowski (Author)G Kattan (Author)J Kluge (Author)T Kromer (Author)D C Lees (Author)M Lehnert (Author)J T Longino (Author)J Lovett (Author)P H Martin (Author)B D Patterson (Author)R G Pearson (Author)K S H Peh (Author)B Richardson (Author)M Richardson (Author)M J Samways (Author)F Senbeta (Author)T B Smith (Author)T M A Utteridge (Author)J E Watkins (Author)Rohan Wilson (Author)S E Williams (Author)C D Thomas (Author)
- Publication details
- Biological Conservation, Vol.144(1), pp.548-557
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.10.010
- ISSN
- 0006-3207
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Tropical Forests & People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451051202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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