Environmental Determinants of Faunal Diversity

Klopfer, Peter H.

doi:10.1086/282092

Cited by 107 publications

(78 citation statements)

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“…Based upon the geological history of the 2 regions, ecological requirements for the taxon, and paleontological evidence drawn from sister taxa, we propose that these differences are closely linked to concepts which led Sanders (1969) to propose the Time-Stability Hypothesis (also see Klopfer 1959, Klopfer & MacArthur 1960, 1961, Slobodkin & Sanders 1969. Over long periods of geological time, the Alcyonacea experienced broad taxonomic radiation in the Indo-Pacific.…”

Section: Biogeography: Caribbean Versus Indo-pacific Octocorals Distrmentioning

confidence: 97%

Chemical adaptations in the Octocorallia: evolutionary considerations

Sammarco¹,

Coll²

1992

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

110

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The Octocorallia are a highly diverse group, rich in secondary compounds which serve several ecological functions, including predator defense, interspecific competition for space, antifouling, and reproduction. The Alcyonacea are characterized by high frequencies of ichthyotoxicity and feeding deterrence which are not generally correlated with each other. This may be due to the multiple functions these compounds perform, m a s l n g correlations which would otherwise be apparent. Correlations between ichthyotoxicity and physical defense exist, but only at higher levels of taxonomic resolution. One resultant selective advantage of varlance in ichthyotoxlcity and feeding deterrence may be Diffuse Batesian Mimicry, whereby the toxic or feeding-deterrent characteristics of a majority of species help to protect a taxon with a small number of general morphological types and small variance in coloration from generalist predators. Surface-brooded planulae of Indo-Pacific coral species, similar in appearance but not possessing toxic or feeding deterrent attributes, may be similarly protected. The chemical characters of octocorals may serve the same functions which morphological characters in scleractinian corals serve, particularly in predator defense and competition for space. Most octocorals lack a rigid skeleton possessed by scleractinians, which can protect polyps from predation. Octocorals also lack toxic stinging nenlatocysts common to scleractinians, but possess allelopathic capabilities. In some octocorals, 'non-toxic' nematocysts on sweeper tentacles may still be effective in competition for space; in others, aggressive interactions can be avoided through re-orientation or movement, resulting in directed growth. Octocoral orders are distributed inequitably between the tropical Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. The Gorgonacea dominate the former; the Alcyonacea. the latter. Octocoral species diversity is higher in the western Indo-Pacific, as is the abundance and diversity of secondary rnetabolites and their functions. This may be a result of differential levels of extinction between the 2 regions dunng the early Miocene and the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene, with high extinction rates having been experienced in the Caribbean. These extinctions may also have affected radiation in the secondary metabolites produced by those species and the functions which those rnetabolites serve. Secondary metabolites appear to have contributed to the evolutionary success of the Indo-Pacific Alcyonacea. In accordance with the Time-Stability hypothesis, we believe that this high abundance and diversity evolved in the Indo-Pacific under conditions of reduced climatic change and lower extinction levels, when compared to the Caribbean.

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Section: Biogeography: Caribbean Versus Indo-pacific Octocorals Distrmentioning

confidence: 97%

Chemical adaptations in the Octocorallia: evolutionary considerations

Sammarco¹,

Coll²

1992

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

110

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“…The low diversity of the salt marsh could be explained by the idea that "extreme conditions ... act as a filter, demanding adaptations" (Whittaker 1972;Grime 1973), or as a very wet habitat (Whittaker 1970), or a variable habitat (Klopfer 1959), or as a single-stratum community, or as unstable successional (Whittaker, 1977), but not as a "peripheral" site (Peet 1978) since that theory predicts high diversity. As Pianka (1966) noted, when too many theories are available, some fit can be obtained in any case.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Some tests for niche limitation by examination of species diversity in the Dunedin area, New Zealand

Wilson

Sykes

1988

New Zealand Journal of Botany

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Fifteen plant communities were sampled, each by five randomly-placed quadrats. Bryophyte and vascular plant species were recorded.There were considerable differences between communities in species diversity. These agree with some theories, and conflict with others.Types of community that are young, in evolutionary time, did not seem deficient in species.Human disturbance, and the consequent invasion of exotic species, had very little effect on species diversity, but this seemed to be because of a balance between opposing trends, difficult to relate to niche limitation. Correlation gave no evidence that exotic species displaced natives from a fixed number of niches.Within-community variance in species richness is significantly greater than that predicted from a null model, providing no evidence for the niche limitation theory.

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“…One group of hypotheses proposes that climatic variables, such as seasonal climate, energy, and water availability, are the primary predictors of broad-scale species richness patterns (Klopfer 1959;Wright 1983;Francis and Currie 1998;Hawkins et al 2003). A second group suggests that the variation in species richness is affected by several other factors but not by climatic variables including topographical heterogeneity (O'Brien et al 2000;Rahbek and Graves 2001) or historical/regional differences based on different speciation or extinction rates, coupled with unique events in the Earth's history (Ricklefs 1987;McGlone 1996;Ricklefs et al 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grass (Poaceae) richness patterns across China’s nature reserves

Liu

Chen

et al. 2008

Plant Ecol

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Explaining grass richness patterns over broad geographic scales is a central issue of biogeography and macroecology. In this investigation, we document the richness patterns of grasses across China's nature reserves, and discuss their possible explanations at national and regional scales using grass richness data coupled with information from climatic and topographical variables. Our results suggest that the water-and energy-related variables and elevation range (a surrogate of topographical heterogeneity) represent the primary explanations for the variation in grass richness across China's nature reserves. Significant relationships were found between energy and all grasses, water and C 3 grasses, and the combination of water and energy and C 4 grasses at the national scale. Topographical heterogeneity is strongly associated with grass richness across China, whereas climatic constraints to grass diversity vary regionally. In regions of high rainfall, the presence of C 4 grasses is determined by annual potential evapotranspiration and sunshine hours; the climatic constraint to C 3 grass richness in a large and varied region is sunshine hours; whereas in regions of low soil temperature, the temperature determines the grass richness pattern. Our results also suggest that water variables alone do not represent the primary predictor of grass richness at the regional scale.

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Environmental Determinants of Faunal Diversity

Cited by 107 publications

References 0 publications

Chemical adaptations in the Octocorallia: evolutionary considerations

Chemical adaptations in the Octocorallia: evolutionary considerations

Some tests for niche limitation by examination of species diversity in the Dunedin area, New Zealand

Grass (Poaceae) richness patterns across China’s nature reserves

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