Habitat heterogeneity, temperature, and primary productivity drive elevational gradients in avian species diversity.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Anticipating and mitigating the impacts of climate change on species diversity in montane ecosystems requires a mechanistic understanding of drivers of current patterns of diversity. We documented the shape of elevational gradients in avian species richness in North America and tested a suite of a priori predictions for each of five mechanistic hypotheses to explain those patterns.

Location

United States.

Methods

We used predicted occupancy maps generated from species distribution models for each of 646 breeding birds to document elevational patterns in avian species richness across the six largest U.S. mountain ranges. We used spatially explicit biotic and abiotic data to test five mechanistic hypotheses proposed to explain geographic variation in species richnes

SUBMITTER: Dillon KG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8207161 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature