Phylogenetic Conservatism and Ambient Temperature Shape Spatial Variation in Bat Occupancy and Species Richness Along a Subtropical Elevational Gradient.

ABSTRACT: Steep elevational gradients are natural laboratories for understanding species-environment relationships, as they provide high environmental heterogeneity over accessible distances. If species can colonize all available environments, their distributions become mainly a product of their niches, offering a unique opportunity to study these dynamics. Here, we capitalized on this ideal scenario to test whether ecological traits and evolutionary history interact with environmental variables to shape the occupancy of 27 bat species along a ~1300 m elevational gradient in subtropical Brazil. Using a multi-species modeling approach, we integrated data from mist-netting and acoustic recorders, environmental variables, ecological traits, and phylogeny to generate estimates that represent the entire

SUBMITTER: Russi CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12461109 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature