The mid-domain effect in ectomycorrhizal fungi: range overlap along an elevation gradient on Mount Fuji, Japan.

ABSTRACT: Mid-domain effect (MDE) models predict that the random placement of species' ranges within a bounded geographical area leads to increased range overlap and species richness in the center of the bounded area. These models are frequently applied to study species-richness patterns of macroorganisms, but the MDE in relation to microorganisms is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the characteristics of the MDE in richness patterns of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, an ecologically important group of soil symbionts. We conducted intensive soil sampling to investigate overlap among species ranges and the applicability of the MDE to EM fungi in four temperate forest stands along an elevation gradient on Mount Fuji, Japan. Molecular analyses using direct sequencing revealed 302 EM fungal spe

SUBMITTER: Miyamoto Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4817612 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature