The mid‐domain effect: it's not just about space

Letten, Andrew D.; Lyons, S. Kathleen; Moles, Angela T.

doi:10.1111/jbi.12196

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This finding agrees with the strong correlations documented between environmental gradients and global patterns in diversity, especially effects of water, energy, or geographic regimes Hawkins and Porter 2003;Qian 2008;Ricklefs et al 2004;Whittaker et al 2008). Therefore, the controversy about the mid-domain effect is far from resolved (Colwell et al 2009;Letten et al 2013;Wang et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Latitudinal concordance between biogeographic regionalization, community structure, and richness patterns: a study on the reptiles of China

Chen

Srivastava

2014

Sci Nat

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Latitudinal patterns in species richness may be affected by both continuous variations in macroecological factors as well as discrete change between biogeographic regions. We examined whether latitudinal reptilian richness and community structure in China were best explained by three macroecological patterns (mid-domain effects, Rapoport's rule effects, or environmental correlates) within or across the ranges of biogeographic realms. The results showed that (1) there was a weak mid-domain effect within the Oriental Realm. However, the mid-domain effect was detected neither at the overall regional scale nor in the Palaearctic Realm. (2) Rapoport's rule was only weakly supported for reptilian fauna in China at lower latitudinal areas. (3) Environmental variables were more strongly correlated with species' latitudinal community structure and richness patterns at the scale of biogeographic realms. Based on the faunal similarity of reptilian community across latitudinal bands, we proposed a latitudinal delineation scheme at 34° N for dividing East Asia into Oriental and Palaearctic biogeographic realms. At last, at the functional group level, we also evaluated the relevant ecological patterns for lizard and snake species across different latitudinal bins, showing that the distributions of lizards presented strong mid-domain effects at the latitudinal ranges within the Oriental Realm and over the whole range but did not support Rapoport's rule. In comparison, snake species supported Rapoport's rule at low latitudinal zones but did not present any remarkable mid-domain effects at any spatial extents. In conclusion, biogeographic realms are an appropriate scale for studying macroecological patterns. Reptilian latitudinal richness patterns of China were explained by a combination of environmental factors and geometric constraints, while the latitudinal community structure patterns were greatly affected by environmental gradients. Functional guilds present differentiated macroecological patterns along the latitudinal gradients.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Latitudinal concordance between biogeographic regionalization, community structure, and richness patterns: a study on the reptiles of China

Chen

Srivastava

2014

Sci Nat

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“…Figure 1a offers a physical analogy (a pencil-box) for this phenomenon, which later became known as the mid-domain effect (Colwell & Lees 2000) or MDE, because, in a simple 1-dimensional domain, the expected distribution of species richness under this model is exactly symmetrical about the centre of the domain. Geometric constraints have been generalised to other bounded spatial (Storch et al 2006) and non-spatial (Letten et al 2013) domains at the assemblage level, as well as to studies of home ranges (Prevedello et al 2013) and the movement of individuals within a population (Tiwari et al 2005). The classic geometric constraint model illustrated by a physical analogy: a set of pencils (species), some shorter and some longer (narrower and wider elevational ranges), stored in a schoolchild's old-fashioned pencil-box (the bounded elevational domain) (Colwell et al 2004).…”

Section: Geometric Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and non‐spatial (Letten et al . ) domains at the assemblage level, as well as to studies of home ranges (Prevedello et al . ) and the movement of individuals within a population (Tiwari et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Midpoint attractors and species richness: Modelling the interaction between environmental drivers and geometric constraints

et al. 2016

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We introduce a novel framework for conceptualising, quantifying and unifying discordant patterns of species richness along geographical gradients. While not itself explicitly mechanistic, this approach offers a path towards understanding mechanisms. In this study, we focused on the diverse patterns of species richness on mountainsides. We conjectured that elevational range midpoints of species may be drawn towards a single midpoint attractor - a unimodal gradient of environmental favourability. The midpoint attractor interacts with geometric constraints imposed by sea level and the mountaintop to produce taxon-specific patterns of species richness. We developed a Bayesian simulation model to estimate the location and strength of the midpoint attractor from species occurrence data sampled along mountainsides. We also constructed midpoint predictor models to test whether environmental variables could directly account for the observed patterns of species range midpoints. We challenged these models with 16 elevational data sets, comprising 4500 species of insects, vertebrates and plants. The midpoint predictor models generally failed to predict the pattern of species midpoints. In contrast, the midpoint attractor model closely reproduced empirical spatial patterns of species richness and range midpoints. Gradients of environmental favourability, subject to geometric constraints, may parsimoniously account for elevational and other patterns of species richness.

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“…, Schnitzer & Carson , Stevens & Carson , Letten et al . ). The resulting lottery of colonization by these pioneer species may make propagule pressure particularly important in tropical rain forest pioneer tree communities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Disturbance in the form of treefalls creates gaps for pioneer species, including small, light-demanding trees that quickly colonize these spaces (Denslow 1987). Although there is some evidence for niche differentiation as a function of gap size, pioneer tree assemblages are largely shaped by chance arrival at a gap, rather than competitive outcomes tracking slight differences in abiotic conditions (Hubbell et al 1999, Schnitzer & Carson 2001, Stevens & Carson 2002, Letten et al 2013. The resulting lottery of colonization by these pioneer species may make propagule pressure particularly important in tropical rain forest pioneer tree communities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prolific fruit output by the invasive tree Bellucia pentamera Naudin (Melastomataceae) is enhanced by selective logging disturbance

et al. 2018

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Selective logging in tropical rain forests may promote population growth of invasive plants. The ability of invaders to respond, specifically in reproductive traits, to increase in resource abundance may allow them to increase their presence in the seed rain of recipient communities. The invasive pioneer tree Bellucia pentamera (Melastomataceae) is currently spreading within Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The park has also experienced periods of illegal, small‐scale, selective logging that seem to have facilitated population growth and spread of this invader. We first used fruiting frequency as a proxy for fruit output to make comparisons between B. pentamera and the native tree community of over 200 genera. We then constructed two Generalized Linear Autoregressive Moving Average (GLARMA) models using 13 months of phenology data to predict both fruiting frequency and crop size of B. pentamera under selective logging versus natural treefall disturbance regimes. Bellucia pentamera fruited at considerably higher frequency than all 200 native genera considered. This invader also responded positively to selective logging with both odds of being in fruit and crop sizes at least doubling in logged plots. Prolific seed output of B. pentamera is especially problematic within the lottery competition of tropical rain forest gap tree communities, in which prominence in the seed rain is particularly important. Furthermore, the reproductive response of B. pentamera to selective logging suggests that this harvesting practice may have a considerable role in facilitating this invasion in Southeast Asia.

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The mid‐domain effect: it's not just about space

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

Latitudinal concordance between biogeographic regionalization, community structure, and richness patterns: a study on the reptiles of China

Latitudinal concordance between biogeographic regionalization, community structure, and richness patterns: a study on the reptiles of China

Midpoint attractors and species richness: Modelling the interaction between environmental drivers and geometric constraints

Prolific fruit output by the invasive tree Bellucia pentamera Naudin (Melastomataceae) is enhanced by selective logging disturbance

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