Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroAug 2019View details →

Data from: Predicted effects of climate factors on mountain species are not uniform over different spatial scales

The selection of relevant factors and appropriate spatial scale(s) is fundamental when modelling species response to climate change. We evaluated whether the effects of climate factors on species distribution/occurrence are consistently modelled over different spatial scales in birds, and used a two-scale approach to identify species-climate correlations unlikely to represent causal effects. We used passerine birds inhabiting mountain grassland in the Apennines (Italy) as a model. We surveyed four grassland species at 400 sampling points, and built habitat selection models (territory scale) and distribution models (7 algorithms, landscape scale). We compared the effect of climatic predictors on occurrence/distribution highlighted by models over to the two spatial scales, and with the effects supposed a priori based on the climatic niche of each species. Models at the territory level included at least one climatic predictor for three species; the observed effect of climatic predictors was seldom consistent with supposed effects. At the broadest scale, distribution models for all species included climatic predictors, with varying consistence with supposed effects and findings at the finer scale. Despite the importance of climate for species distribution, occurrence could be more directly related to other factors, with important implications for understanding/predicting the impacts of climate/environmental changes. Our approach revealed key variables for grassland birds, and highlighted the scale-dependent perceived importance of climate. At the local scale, climate effects were weak or hard to interpret. We found a general lack of consistence between supposed and observed effects at the territory level, and between landscape and territory models. Our results show the importance of predicting the potential effect of climatic factors prior to the analyses, carefully selecting ecologically meaningful variables and scales, and evaluating the nature and scale of climate-species links. We call for caution when predicting under future climates, especially when mechanistic effects and consistency across scales lack.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Mountain metacommunities: climate and spatial connectivity shape ant diversity in a complex landscape

Understanding what drives biodiversity patterns across scales is the central goal of ecology. Both environmental gradients and spatial landscape structure have been found to be important factors influencing species distributions and community composition, and partly reflect the balance of underlying deterministic and stochastic community processes. In some systems, environmental gradients and spatial connectivity are intertwined in that steep environmental gradients serve as boundaries on species movements and impose environment-derived complex spatial structure to metacommunities. Mountainous landscapes are prime examples of this, and recent theory has linked principles of geomorphology, environmental gradients, and spatial structure to make predictions for resulting community patterns. In this context, we examine variation in taxonomic and phylogenetic ant diversity patterns along a geographic transect spanning >5000 m in elevational range in the Hengduan mountains of southern China. We found that environmental gradients dominate variation in both alpha and beta diversity in this landscape, with alpha diversity strongly declining with elevation and beta diversity driven by elevational differences. However, within an elevational band spatial connectivity predicts beta diversity better than geographic distance. Our findings deviate from theoretical predictions in several ways, notably alpha diversity is monotonically declining and within-band beta diversity is invariant with increasing elevation. The discrepancies between theory and observation may be explained by differences in the Hengduan landscape from idealized fluvial landscapes, such as a lack of a mid-elevation peak in connectivity, as well as evolutionary limits on the source pool of species available to populate metacommunities at different elevations. The latter is supported by variation in phylogenetic community structure with elevation. Our results demonstrate the power of conceptual, statistical, and theoretical frameworks that integrate the roles of environment and spatial structure in metacommunities, but that additional work is needed to bridge the gap between abstract theory and real systems.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Climatic stress during stand development alters the sign and magnitude of age-related growth responses in a subtropical mountain pine

The modification of typical age-related growth by environmental changes is poorly understood, In part because there is a lack of consensus at individual tree level regarding age-dependent growth responses to climate warming as stands develop. To increase our current understanding about how multiple drivers of environmental change can modify growth responses as trees age we used tree ring data of a mountain subtropical pine species along an altitudinal gradient covering more than 2,200 m of altitude. We applied mixed-linear models to determine how absolute and relative age-dependent growth varies depending on stand development; and to quantify the relative importance of tree age and climate on individual tree growth responses. Tree age was the most important factor for tree growth in models parameterised using data from all forest developmental stages. Contrastingly, the relationship found between tree age and growth became non-significant in models parameterised using data corresponding to mature stages. These results suggest that although absolute tree growth can continuously increase along tree size when trees reach maturity age had no effect on growth. Tree growth was strongly reduced under increased annual temperature, leading to more constant age-related growth responses. Furthermore, young trees were the most sensitive to reductions in relative growth rates, but absolute growth was strongly reduced under increased temperature in old trees. Our results help to reconcile previous contrasting findings of age-related growth responses at the individual tree level, suggesting that the sign and magnitude of age-related growth responses vary with stand development. The different responses found to climate for absolute and relative growth rates suggest that young trees are particularly vulnerable under warming climate, but reduced absolute growth in old trees could alter the species' potential as a carbon sink in the future.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Diversity of cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) in the Fanjing Mountain Nature Reserve and geographical distribution comparisons with other representative nature reserves in different climate zones of China

Protected areas are widely considered an essential strategy for biodiversity conservation. Dictyostelids are unique soil protists known to have important ecological functions, but the relationship between dictyostelid diversity within protected areas remains poorly understood, especially on a large scale. Herein, we report data on the distribution of dictyostelids, identified with ITS + SSU rRNA molecular and morphology-based taxonomy, from soil samples collected in the Fanjing Mountain protected area of Guizhou Province, Southwest China. We compared the dictyostelids biodiversity data with similar data from previously sampled sites in other protected areas in China. We identified four species of dictyostelids belonging to three genera (Dictyostelium, Heterostelium, and Polysphondylium)and herein provide information on the taxonomy of these species information. Two species (Heterostelium pallidum and Dictyostelium purpureum) are common and widely distributed throughout the world, but one species (Polysphondylium fuscans) was new to China. Our data indicate that the distribution patterns of dictyostelids are most influenced by vegetation and temperature. Overall, the similarity index between Baiyun Mountain in Henan Province and Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou Province, located at approximately the same longitude, is the highest, and the similarity coefficients of family, genus and species are 100%, 100% and 12.5%, respectively. From a species perspective, species in the same climate zone are not closely related, but obvious geographical distributions are evident in different climate zones. This preliminary study provided evidence of the ecological adaptation of dictyostelids to different biological niches.

Fig. 4 in Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Fig. 4. Estimation of ancestral ranges for the relictual Asian scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998 in four biogeographical regions: Tajik and north Pamir blocks (northern Afghanistan and southern China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) (A); western Cimmeria, including only the Farah, Helmand, south and central Pamirs (SP and CP, respectively), Karakorum (K) and Band-e Bayan (BB) blocks (present-day Afghanistan and northern Pakistan) (B); northwest Annamite Mountains (Khammouan Karst, Laos) (C); northeast Annamite Mountains (Phong Nha-Ke Montenat (2009), Collett et al. (2015), Robinson (2015), Siehl (2017), and Li et al. (2020).

Fig. 3 in Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Fig. 3. Estimation of divergence times (A) in evolution of the relictual Asian scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998 with palaeogeographical reconstructions (B) indicating tectonic positions and past and present plate boundaries. Geological time periods on phylogeny include Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian,Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Cenozoic. Divergence ages (in millions of years) plotted on phylogeny. Circled numbers denote three divergence events leading to Pseudochactidae and its three subfamilies.Timeline for origins, dispersal, and diversification of Pseudochactidae as follows: Carboniferous (340 Ma), Pseudochactidae originates near Tajik block (colored grey area), situated among chain of continental blocks and island arcs between Turkestan and Palaeo-Tethys Oceans. Jurassic–Triassic Boundary (202 Ma): Cimmerian continent collides with Eurasia and Indochina in the Jurassic, allowing ancestor of

Fig. 2 in Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Fig. 2. Preferred phylogeny (A) of the relictual Asian scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998 based on simultaneous analysis of the morphological and molecular datasets using Maximum Likelihood with unambiguous morphological synapomorphies optimized. Black circles indicate uniquely derived apomorphic states, white circles, parallel deviations of apomorphic states. Numbers above circles indicate characters, numbers below indicate states (Supp Appendices 2 and 3 [online only]). Dorsal habitus (B–F) of five species of Pseudochactidae: Pseudochactas ovchinnikovi Gromov 1998, Babatag, Uzbekistan, ♀ (AMNH) (B), Troglokhammouanus steineri Lourenço 2007,Tham Xe Bang Fai, Laos, ♀ (AMNH) (C), Aemngvantom thamnongpaseuam Prendini et al. 2021,Tham Nong Pa Seuam, Laos, holotype ♀ (AMNH) (D), Aemngvantom lao (Lourenço 2012),Tham Nam Lot (Lod), Laos, ♀ (AMNH) (E) and Vietbocap canhi Lourenço and Pham 2010,Tiên Sơn, Vietnam,♀ (AMNH) (F). Scale bars = 10 mm.

Fig. 1 in Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Fig. 1. Distribution of subfamilies of the relictual Asian scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998: Pseudochactinae Gromov 1998, Troglokhammouaninae Prendini et al. 2021, Vietbocapinae Lourenço 2007.

Fig. 5 in Climate Relicts: Asian Scorpion Family Pseudochactidae Survived Miocene Aridification in Caves of the Annamite Mountains

Fig. 5. Preferred ancestral state reconstruction (A) for the relictual Asian scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov 1998 using ARD model of troglomorphism index (scale = 1–10) ranging from epigean (score = 1) to hypogean, troglobitic (score = 10). Ecomorphotypes classified as epigean (1–5); hypogean, troglophilic (6–8); and hypogean, troglobitic (9–10). Carapace (B–D) of three pseudochactid species, representing each ecomorphotype: epigean: Pseudochactas ovchinnikovi Gromov 1998 (B); troglophilic: Troglokhammouanus steineri Lourenço 2007 (C); and troglobitic: Vietbocap canhi Lourenço 2010 (D).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2024View details →

Vulnerable but not equal: mountain lakes exhibit heterogeneous patterns of phytoplankton responses to climate change

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2024View details →

DATASET - Climate heterogeneity shapes the diversity of specialist beetle species across mountains in Malaysia

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

The living heart: climate gradients predict desert mountain endemism

Mountain regions are centres of biodiversity endemism at a global scale but the role of arid- zone mountain ranges in shaping biodiversity patterns is poorly understood. Focusing on three guilds of taxa from a desert upland refugium in Australia, we sought to determine: 1) the relative extent to which climate, terrain or geological substrate predict endemism, and 2) whether patterns of endemism are complimentary across broad taxonomic guilds. We mapped regional endemism for plants, land snails and vertebrates using combined Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for all endemic taxa (n=82). We then modelled predictors of endemism using Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) and geology, terrain and climate variables. We tested for the presence of inter- and intraguild hotspots of endemism. Many individual plant and land snail taxa were tightly linked with geology, corresponding to small distributions. Conversely, most vertebrate taxa were not constrained to specific geological substrates and occurred over larger areas. However, across all three guilds, climate was the strongest predictor of regional endemism, particularly for plants wherein discrete hotspots of endemism were buffered from extreme summer temperatures. Land snail and vertebrate endemism peaked in areas with the highest precipitation in the driest times of the year. Hotspots of endemism within each guild poorly predicted endemism in other guilds. We found an overarching signal that climatic gradients play a dominant role in the persistence of endemic taxa in an arid-zone mountain range system. An association with higher rainfall and cooler temperatures indicates that continuing trends towards hotter and drier climates may lead to range contractions in this, and potentially other, arid-zone mountain biotas. Contrasting patterns of endemism across guilds highlight the need to couple comprehensive regional planning for the protection of climate refugia, with targeted management of more localised and habitat specialist taxa.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2022View details →

Dataset related to the study "Black carbon and dust alter the response of mountain snow cover under climate change"

This dataset contains the data of the manuscript "Black carbon and dust alter the response of mountain snow cover under climate change" under publication in Nature Communication. It is made of a dataset and information to reproduce the simulations presented in the study.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Climate and competition effects on tree growth in Rocky Mountain forests

1. Climate is widely assumed to influence physiological and demographic processes in trees, and hence forest composition, biomass and range limits. Growth in trees is an important barometer of climate change impacts on forests as growth is highly correlated with other demographic processes including tree mortality and fecundity. 2. We investigated the main drivers of diameter growth for five common tree species occurring in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States using non-linear regression methods. We quantified growth at the individual tree level from tree core samples collected across broad environmental gradients. We estimated the effects of both climate variation and biotic interactions on growth processes and tested for evidence that disjunct populations of a species respond differentially to climate. 3. Relationships between tree growth and climate varied by species and location. Growth in all species responded positively to increases in annual moisture up to a threshold level. Modest linear responses to temperature, both positive and negative, were observed at many sites. However, model results also revealed evidence for differentiated responses to local site conditions in all species. In severe environments in particular, growth responses varied non-linearly with temperature. For example, in northerly cold locations pronounced positive growth responses to increasing temperatures were observed. In warmer southerly climates, growth responses were unimodal, declining markedly above a threshold temperature level. 4. Net effects from biotic interactions on diameter growth were negative for all study species. Evidence for facilitative effects was not detected. For some species, competitive effects more strongly influenced growth performance than climate. Competitive interactions also modified growth responses to climate to some degree. 6. Synthesis. These analyses suggest that climate change will have complex, species specific effects on tree growth in the Rocky Mountains due to non-linear responses to climate, differentiated growth processes that vary by location and complex species interactions that impact growth and potentially modify responses to climate. Thus, robust model simulations of future growth responses to climate trends may need to integrate realistic scenarios of neighborhood effects as well as variability in tree performance attributed to differentiated populations.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Staying in situ or shifting range under ongoing climate change: A case of an endemic herb in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains across elevational gradients

Aim: How species respond to ongoing climate change has been a hot research topic, especially with the controversy in shifting range (movement) or persisting in local habitat (in situ) as the primary response. Assessing the relative roles of range shifts, phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation helps us predict the evolutionary fate of species. We aim to explore the evolutionary strategies of plants under climate change from a keystone herb in alpine ecosystems, Mirabilis himalaica, along its elevational gradient. Location: Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains, China. Methods: We combined evidence from population genomics and ecological data in both space and time to investigate the state of "staying" or "moving". We identified migration events by assessing historical and contemporary gene flow, and changes in species distribution. Morphological variation was compared by measuring five traits using specimen data. Moreover, we explored climate-driven genetic variation and local selection regimes acting on populations in the alpine landscape along an elevational gradient. Results: Our results argue that staying in situ by morphological variation and local genetic evolution rather than range shifting plays an important role in M. himalaica response to climate change. We first found trace evidence of upward or climatic-driven shifting along an elevational gradient, although asymmetric gene flow was restricted within microenvironments of mid-elevational populations. Furthermore, morphological variation comparisons revealed clinal variation, as resource allocation showed a declining pattern in vegetative growth but increased reproductive growth with increasing elevation. Outlier tests and environment association analyses indicated adaptative loci primarily related to thermal-driven selection and continuous adaptations to high elevation in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains. Main conclusions: Our findings show M. himalaica may persist in local habitats rather than shifting range under climate change, exhibiting a low risk of genomic vulnerability in current habitats. This study has important implications for improving our understanding of the evolutionary response in alpine plants to climate change.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2023View details →

References and Climatic data of the different study sites of the Moroccan Mountains

This Dataset present the Precipitation and Temperature of different study sites and the references used in the article: "Pollen indices of C. atlantica M. populations vary with climatic changes in the Moroccan Mountains"

publicJul 2019View details →

Data from: Mountain building, climate cooling and the richness of cold-adapted plants in the northern hemisphere

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

publicSep 2013View details →

Data from: Surviving in mountain climate refugia: new insights from the genetic diversity and structure of the relict shrub Myrtus nivellei (Myrtaceae) in the Sahara desert

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

publicAug 2017View details →

Data from: Future ecosystem services from European mountain forests under climate change

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.