Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions of rodent biodiversity along an extensive tropical elevational gradient

Abstract

Relationships among taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions of biodiversity provide insight about the relative contributions of ecological and evolutionary processes in structuring local assemblages. We used data for rodent species distributions from an extensive tropical elevational gradient to 1) describe elevational gradients for each of three dimensions of biodiversity, 2) evaluate the suffi ciency of species richness as a surrogate for other dimensions, and 3) quantify the relative support for mechanisms that increase or decrease phylogenetic or functional dispersion. Taxonomic biodiversity was quantifi ed by species richness, as well as by richness, evenness, diversity, dominance, and rarity at generic and familial levels. Morphological and categorical traits were used to estimate functional biodiversity, and an ultrametric mammalian supertree was used as the basis for estimating phylogenetic biodiversity. Elevational gradients of each dimension of biodiversity were strong, with signifi cant linear and non-linear components based on orthogonal polynomial regression. Empirical linear and non-linear regression components were consistently diff erent than those expected based on species richness for generic, familial, and phylogenetic biodiversity, but not for functional biodiversity. Nevertheless, the congruence of dimensions of biodiversity based on correlation analyses indicated that any one dimension is a useful surrogate for the other dimensions for rodents at Manu. Given variation in species richness, assemblages from lowland rainforests comprised more biodiversity than expected, whereas assemblages from cloud and elfi n forests represented less biodiversity than expected. Warm temperatures, vertical complexity of the vegetation, and high productivity likely facilitate niche diff erentiation in rainforests, whereas cricetid rodents are competitively superior to other clades in the less structurally complex, less productive, and colder, high elevation habitats.

Global mammal beta diversity shows parallel assemblage structure in similar but isolated environments

“…This could be due to current and historic isolation, and environmental filtering or local adaptation to different environmental conditions. These results are in line with previous work that highlighted a general congruence between dimensions but also a decoupling in some regions for both alpha and beta diversity [19,[46][47][48][49].…”

The influence of biogeographic history on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of passerine birds in savannas and forests of the Brazilian Amazon

“…Because of their low dispersal capacity, understory birds, like many Tyranni, have a greater genetic divergence when compared to canopy birds (Burney & Brumfield, ; Hawkins, Diniz‐Filho, Jaramillo, & Soeller, ) and this may also have led to a high diversity of lineages within this suborder (Smith et al., ). In addition, forests with greater structural complexity and productivity, such as those existing in South America, allow greater diversification and persistence of species, through having a higher number and variety of available niches (Dreiss et al., ).…”

The roles of environment, space, and phylogeny in determining functional dispersion of rodents (Rodentia) in the Hengduan Mountains, China

“…As easily obtained measurements of functional characters, morphological and behavioral traits are widely used in functional analysis of animal communities (Cisneros et al., ; Dreiss et al., ; Stevens & Gavilanez, ). For morphological dimensions of the rodent community structure, we chose the head–body length (HL) and tail/body ratio (TR) as ecologically relevant traits, which in mammalian organisms are known to determine thermoregulation, interspecific exclusion, and resource use capacities (Bowers & Brown, ; Ge et al., ; Hayssen, ; Hume, Morgan, & Kenagy, ; Kotler, Brown, Smith, & Wirtz, ; Persson, ; see Table ).…”

“…These unique historical events should have left distinct evolutionary imprints on the elevational patterns of trait diversity. Rodentia, the most diverse lineage of mammals (Fabre, Hautier, Dimitrov, & Douzery, ; Wilson & Reeder, ), offers an ideal model for understanding assembly processes in small mammal communities (Dreiss et al., ; Stevens & Gavilanez, ; Stevens, Gavilanez, Tello, & Ray, ; Stevens & Tello, ). Taking rodents in the HMs as our study model, we aim to (1) quantify the elevational pattern of functional dispersion in rodent communities.…”