Divergent trends in functional and phylogenetic structure in reptile communities across Africa.

ABSTRACT: Despite extensive research on ecological community compositions, general patterns across large-scale environmental gradients have remained unclear. A widely used explanatory model is the stress dominance hypothesis (SDH), predicting that the relative influence of environmental filtering is greater in stressful habitats while competition is more important in benign environments. Here, we test the SDH using African squamates as a model system to facilitate general predictions on community structures amidst changing global environments. For the first time we investigate changes in functional, phylogenetic and species diversity across continental, environmental gradients within a multidimensional, phylogenetically informed approach. Results suggest that phylogenetic patterns of African squamat

SUBMITTER: Ramm T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224532 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature