Phylogenetic diversity of regional beetle faunas at high latitudes: patterns, drivers and chance along ecological gradients

Abstract

Patterns in phylogenetic diversity are poorly known for many taxonomic groups, including hyperdiverse insect taxa. We contrasted patterns in the species richness and phylogenetic diversity of provincial beetle faunas in northern Europe (54°N to 71°N). We found that species richness and phylogenetic diversity varied rather predictably along ecogeographical gradients, with species richness and a proxy measure of phylogenetic diversity, average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD), decreasing from south to north and being strongly positively related to maximum temperature. A proxy measure of variation in phylogenetic diversity, variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD), was also strongly related to maximum temperature, but the relationship was negative. This was a novel finding, showing a reversed latitudinal gradient in biodiversity. In more than half of the provinces, AvTD value was significantly less than expected by chance. Also, more than half of the provinces showed significantly higher VarTD values than expected based on random draws of species. Our results showed that the phylogenetic diversity of beetle faunas is rather strongly associated with climatic gradients at high latitudes. Given that climatic variability and temperature extremes are correlated with phylogenetic diversity, climate change is likely to modify strongly this facet of diversity. Average phylogenetic Communicated by Dirk Sven Schmeller. Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (diversity is likely to increase in the northernmost parts of the study area if climate and vegetation become more suitable for many southern beetle species. Our statistical approach to test chance expectations based on random draws of species from larger-scale species pool is highly flexible in tackling this question when true phylogenies are not available.

Latitudinal gradients of parasite richness: a review and new insights from helminths of cricetid rodents

“…Its presence has been corroborated across multiple taxa (Hillebrand 2004), including mammals (Kaufman 1995, Kaufman and Willig 1998, Buckley et al 2010, Rolland et al 2014, fish (Hobson 1994, Macpherson and Duarte 1994, Hanly et al 2017, insects (Condamine et al 2012, Fattorini and Baselga 2012, Heino et al 2015, aquatic invertebrates (France 1992, Yasuhara et al 2012a, bacteria (Pommier et al 2007, Fuhrman et al 2008, Andam et al 2016) and plants (Dobzhansky 1950, Janzen 1970, Heino and Toivonen 2008, Xu et al 2015, among others. Its presence has been corroborated across multiple taxa (Hillebrand 2004), including mammals (Kaufman 1995, Kaufman and Willig 1998, Buckley et al 2010, Rolland et al 2014, fish (Hobson 1994, Macpherson and Duarte 1994, Hanly et al 2017, insects (Condamine et al 2012, Fattorini and Baselga 2012, Heino et al 2015, aquatic invertebrates (France 1992, Yasuhara et al 2012a, bacteria (Pommier et al 2007, Fuhrman et al 2008, Andam et al 2016) and plants (Dobzhansky 1950…”

Geographical gradients in the biodiversity of Chinese freshwater molluscs: Implications for conservation

“…The shared fractions of dispersal/historical effects, geographical location and area/environmental heterogeneity variables also accounted for relatively high amounts of variation in TD.Such large shared fractions are typical in variation partitioning studies(Heino, Soininen, Alahuhta, Lappalainen, & Virtanen, 2017), including those conducted at broad scales(Heino et al, 2015;Schleuter et al, 2012). As for the results of variation partitioning, the variations of all indices explained by shared fractions were higher than that of unique fractions, with the shared effects of the four groups of predictor variables always accounting for the highest proportion of variation.The shared fraction between energy, geographical location and dispersal/historical variables also explained considerable amounts of the variation.…”

“…This approach has been used in many studies dealing with PD (Heino, Alahuhta, & Fattorini, 2015;Schweiger, Klotz, Durka, & Kühn, 2008). This approach has been used in many studies dealing with PD (Heino, Alahuhta, & Fattorini, 2015;Schweiger, Klotz, Durka, & Kühn, 2008).…”

Species richness and taxonomic distinctness of lake macrophytes along environmental gradients in two continents

“…To complement linear regression models focussing on environmental gradients across all lakes, we tested for the null hypothesis that AvTD of a lake is not different from that expected by chance Heino, Alahuhta, & Fattorini, 2015). To complement linear regression models focussing on environmental gradients across all lakes, we tested for the null hypothesis that AvTD of a lake is not different from that expected by chance Heino, Alahuhta, & Fattorini, 2015).…”