dc.contributor.author | Staunton, Kyran M | |
dc.contributor.author | Nakamura, Akihiro | |
dc.contributor.author | Burwell, Chris J | |
dc.contributor.author | Robson, Simon KA | |
dc.contributor.author | Williams, Stephen E | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-01-19T06:12:14Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-01-19T06:12:14Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1932-6203 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0155826 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10072/100598 | |
dc.description.abstract | Understanding how the environment influences patterns of diversity is vital for effective conservation
management, especially in a changing global climate. While assemblage structure
and species richness patterns are often correlated with current environmental factors,
historical influences may also be considerable, especially for taxa with poor dispersal abilities.
Mountain-top regions throughout tropical rainforests can act as important refugia for
taxa characterised by low dispersal capacities such as flightless ground beetles (Carabidae),
an ecologically significant predatory group. We surveyed flightless ground beetles
along elevational gradients in five different subregions within the Australian Wet Tropics
World Heritage Area to investigate (1) whether the diversity and composition of flightless
ground beetles are elevationally stratified, and, if so, (2) what environmental factors (other
than elevation per se) are associated with these patterns. Generalised linear models and
model averaging techniques were used to relate patterns of diversity to environmental factors.
Unlike most taxonomic groups, flightless ground beetles increased in species richness
and abundance with elevation. Additionally, each subregion consisted of relatively distinct
assemblages containing a high level of regional endemic species. Species richness was
most strongly and positively associated with historical and current climatic stabilities and
negatively associated with severity of recent disturbance (treefalls). Assemblage composition
was associated with latitude and historical and current climatic conditions. Although the
results need to be interpreted carefully due to inter-correlation between historical and current
climatic variables, our study is in agreement with the hypothesis that upland refugia provided
stable climatic conditions since the last glacial maximum, and supported a diverse
fauna of flightless beetle species. These findings are important for conservation management
as upland habitats become increasingly threatened by climate change. | |
dc.description.peerreviewed | Yes | |
dc.language | English | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.publisher | Public Library of Sciences | |
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom | e0155826-1 | |
dc.relation.ispartofpageto | e0155826-21 | |
dc.relation.ispartofissue | 5 | |
dc.relation.ispartofjournal | PLoS One | |
dc.relation.ispartofvolume | 11 | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearch | Landscape Ecology | |
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode | 050104 | |
dc.title | Elevational Distribution of Flightless Ground Beetles in the Tropical Rainforests of North-Eastern Australia | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
dc.type.description | C1 - Articles | |
dc.type.code | C - Journal Articles | |
dcterms.license | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.description.version | Published | |
gro.rights.copyright | © 2016 Staunton et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source are
credited. | |
gro.hasfulltext | Full Text | |
gro.griffith.author | Burwell, Christopher J. | |
gro.griffith.author | Nakamura, Aki | |