Patterns and drivers of species richness and turnover of neo-endemic and palaeo-endemic vascular plants in a Mediterranean hotspot: the case of Crete, Greece.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exploring species richness and turnover patterns and their drivers can provide new insights into underlying mechanisms shaping community assembly, with significant implications for biodiversity conservation. Here, we explored diversity patterns of non-endemic, neo-endemic and palaeo-endemic vascular plants in Crete, Greece, a Mediterranean hotspot of plant richness and endemism. We evaluated the relationship between α-diversity and environmental (bioclimatic variables, topography), and anthropogenic variables by Generalized Additive Models, after accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Then, we quantified turnover using the novel concept of zeta diversity (the number of shared species by multiple sites), a framework which allows to explore the full spectrum of compositio

SUBMITTER: Lazarina M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6833306 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature