Inferring ecological explanations for biogeographic boundaries of parapatric Asian mountain frogs.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Identifying and understanding the mechanisms that shape barriers to dispersal and resulting biogeographic boundaries has been a longstanding, yet challenging, goal in ecology, evolution and biogeography. Characterized by stable, adjacent ranges, without any intervening physical barriers, and limited, if any, range overlap in a narrow contact zone, parapatric species are an interesting system for studying biogeographic boundaries. The geographic ranges of two parapatric frog species, Feirana quadranus and F. taihangnica, meet in a contact zone within the Qinling Mountains, an important watershed for East Asia. To identify possible ecological determinants of the parapatric range boundaries for two closely related frog species, we quantified the extent of their niche differentiatio

SUBMITTER: Hu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5796512 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature