El Niño and Biodiversity

Meuser, Emily; Mooers, Arne Ø.; Cleary, Daniel F. R.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-384719-5.00235-5

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…In particular, multi-year climatic cycles such as ENSO have unevenly distributed effects across and within regions. Apart from affecting Pacific coasts more intensely than other continents, this recurring climatic pattern also amplifies the effects derived from the average zonal circulation, as seen in southern Africa, with variations in ocean-land interactions that have different effects on the eastern vs. western coastlines (Meuser et al, 2013).…”

Section: Present Climatementioning

confidence: 86%

“…On a shorter time scale, variations in climatic cycles can also impact biodiversity. For example, in southern Africa there is a connection between the strength of El Niño events over geological history and shifts in the boundary between the summer and winter rainfall regions, with the areas that shift from one regime to the other having lower long-term stability (Meuser et al, 2013).…”

Section: Past Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

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Why we should be looking for longitudinal patterns in biodiversity

et al. 2023

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Our understanding of global diversity patterns relies overwhelmingly on ecological and evolutionary correlates of latitude, and largely ignores longitude. However, the two major explanations of biodiversity patterns – energy and stability – are confounded across latitudes, and longitude offers potential solutions. Recent literature shows that the global biogeography of the Cenozoic world is structured by longitudinal barriers. In a few well-studied regions, such as South Africa’s Cape, the Himalayas and the Amazon-Andes continuum, there are strong longitudinal gradients in biodiversity. Often, such gradients occur where high and low past climatic velocities are juxtaposed, and there is clear evidence of higher biodiversity at the climatically-stable end. Understanding longitudinal biodiversity variations more widely can offer new insights towards biodiversity conservation in the face of anthropogenic climatic change.

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Section: Present Climatementioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Past Climatementioning

confidence: 99%