bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mistakes in the analysis of exotic species establishment: source pool designation and correlates of introduction success among parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of the world
Authors: Cassey Phillip , Blackburn Tim M. , Jones Kate E. , Lockwood Julie L. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  To evaluate the effect of mis‐specifying the correct comparison of species pools in the study of species characteristics associated with the biological introduction of exotic species.Methods  We use a high quality data set on biological introductions of parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes). These data allow us to examine relationships between life history traits and probability of successful transition through an introduction stage when the species pool is both correctly and incorrectly specified.Results  For the establishment of introduced parrot species, nearly half of the predictor variables showed different patterns of significance when an incorrect pool was specified. Multivariate analysis identified entirely different sets of variables as independent predictors of establishment success, depending on the species pool used. Correct pool specification identified that introduced parrot species have been more likely to establish if they have broader diets and are more sedentary.Main conclusions  Conclusions from the analysis of biological introductions are likely to depend on the specification of the species pool for such analyses. In the analysis of parrot introductions, this was particularly apparent in establishment success following release. Further studies that analyse the introduction pathway need to examine the effects of pool mis‐specification so that the generality of our results can be assessed.
Breeding bird species richness in Taiwan: distribution on gradients of elevation, primary productivity and urbanization
Authors: Lee Pei‐Fen , Ding Tzung‐Su , Hsu Fu‐Hsiung , Geng Shu 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  To examine the richness of breeding bird species in relation to elevation, primary productivity and urbanization.Location  The island of Taiwan (120°–122° E, 22°–25° N).Methods  We arranged bird species richness (BSR) data from 288 bird censuses undertaken in Taiwan into a 2 × 2 km quadrat system and calculated average values of elevation, primary productivity [surrogated by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)], and urbanization (surrogated by road density and percentage of built area) for each 2 × 2 km quadrat.Results  Bird species richness showed a hump‐shaped relationship with elevation. It increased with elevation from sea level (10–64 species per 2 × 2 km quadrat), peaked around 2000 m (43–76 species), and then decreased with elevation towards its minimum at the highest elevation. Road density and percentage of built area decreased with elevation, and NDVI showed a hump‐shaped relationship with elevation and inverse relationships with road density and percentage of built area. BSR increased with NDVI and decreased with road density and percentage of built area. Linear and cubic terms of elevation together explained 31.3% of the variance in BSR, and road density explained additional 3.4%. The explanatory power of NDVI on BSR was insignificant after the effects of elevation and road density had been justified.Main conclusions  We argue that urbanization plays an important role in the BSR of Taiwan. Urbanization might indirectly decrease BSR through decreasing primary productivity and therefore change the hypothetical inverse relationship between BSR and elevation into a hump‐shaped relationship. We also propose a time hypothesis that the biotic communities in the mid‐elevation zone of Taiwan had relatively longer periods of existence during the Pleistocene glacial cycles, which might be one underlying process of the observed hump‐shaped relationship between species diversity and elevation.
The mismeasure of islands: implications for biogeographical theory and the conservation of nature
Authors: Walter Hartmut S. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractThe focus onplacerather than space provides geography with a powerfulraison d’être. As in human geography, the functional role of place is integral to the understanding of evolution, persistence and extinction of biotic taxa. This paper re‐examines concepts and biogeographical evidence from a geographical rather than ecological or evolutionary perspective. Functional areography provides convincing arguments for a postmoderndeconstructionof major principles of the dynamic Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography (ETIB). Endemic oceanic island taxa are functionally insular as a result of long‐term island stability, confinement, isolation, and protection from continental invasion and disturbance. Most continental taxa persist in different, more complex and open spatial systems; their geographical place is therefore fundamentally distinct from the functional insularity of oceanic island taxa. This creates an insular‐continentalpolarityin biogeography that is currently not reflected in conservation theory. The focus on the biogeographical place leads to the development of theeigenplaceconcept defined as thefunctional spatial complex of existence. The application of still popular ETIB concepts in conservation biology is discouraged. The author calls for the integration of functional areography into modern conservation science.
The mid‐domain effect applied to elevational gradients: species richness of small mammals in Costa Rica
Authors: McCain Christy M. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  The objective of this study was to comprehensively document and examine the alpha and gamma patterns of species richness in non‐volant, small mammals (rodents, shrews and mouse opossums) along a tropical elevational gradient. These data were used to determine the support for existing hypotheses of species richness encompassing mid‐domain null models, as well as climatic, and community overlap hypotheses.Location  Field studies were conducted along a Caribbean slope of the Río Peñas Blancas watershed in the north‐eastern region of Costa Rica between 750 and 1850 m at 10 sampling sites.Methods  Species richness and abundances of small mammals were surveyed for four seasons including three temporal replicates at each of five elevational sites: late wet season (2000), early wet season (2001), and dry season (2002), and one spatial replicate at five different sites within the same elevations during the late wet season (2001). Species richness at elevations below 700 m was compiled from specimen records from 23 US national and international collections. Predictions of a null model based solely on geometric constraints were examined using a Monte Carlo simulation program, Mid‐Domain Null.Results  In 16,900 trap nights, 1561 individuals from 16 species were captured. Both alpha and gamma species richness peaked at mid‐elevation between 1000 and 1300 m, with richness declining both at higher and lower elevations. Most of the empirical curves of species richness occur within 95% prediction curves of the mid‐domain model, although deviations from the null model exist. Regression of the empirical richness on the null model predictions explained nearly half of the variation observed (r2 = 0.45, P = 0.002).Main conclusions  The geometric constraints of montane topography appear to influence the diversity pattern of small mammals, although climatic conditions including an intermediate rainfall and temperature regime, and distance from the persistent cloud cap also are correlated with the pattern of species richness. The predictions of productivity, and community overlap hypotheses are not supported with the empirical data.
Geographical gradients in seed mass in relation to climate
Authors: Murray Brad R. , Brown A. H. D. , Dickman C. R. , Crowther M. S. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  To determine whether latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in seed mass are related to variation in climatic features including temperature, solar radiation and rainfall.Location  Australia.Methods  Seed mass was estimated from over 1600 provenances covering the latitudinal and longitudinal extents of 34 perennial Glycine taxa in Australia. Climatic data were obtained from ANUCLIM 5.1 for collection locations based on long‐term meteorological records across Australia. These climatic data were subject to principal components analysis to extract three components as climatic indices. Generalized linear models were used in three separate sets of analyses to evaluate whether seed mass–latitude and seed mass–longitude relationships persisted after taking climatic variation into account. First, relationships were examined across species in analyses that did not explicitly consider phylogenetic relationships. Secondly, phylogenetic regressions were performed to examine patterns of correlated evolutionary change throughout the Glycine phylogeny. Within‐species analysis was also performed to examine consistency across different taxonomic levels.Results  Geographical variation in seed mass among species was related primarily to temperature and solar radiation, while rainfall was much less influential upon seed mass. Partialing out the influence of temperature and solar radiation in models resulted in the disappearance of significant seed mass–latitude and seed mass–longitude relationships. Patterns within species were generally consistent with patterns among species. However, in several species, factors additional to these climatic variables may contribute to the origin and maintenance of geographical gradients in seed mass, as significant seed mass–latitude and seed mass–longitude relationships remained after controlling for the influence of climatic variables.Main conclusions  Our empirical results support the hypotheses that (1) seed mass is larger at low latitudes and in the interior of the Australian continent due to increased metabolic costs at high temperatures, and that (2) higher levels of solar radiation result in an increase in the availability of photosynthate, which in turn leads to an increase in biomass for the production of large seeds. In effect, our findings show that greater energy is available precisely where needed, that is, where high temperatures require large seed mass on the basis of metabolic requirements.
The combined role of glaciation and hybridization in shaping the distribution of genetic variation in a Patagonian southern beech
Authors: Marchelli P. , Gallo L. A. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  The distribution of the genetic variation in long‐lived species is a combination of both, historical and current processes. In Nothofagus nervosa (Phil.) Dim. et Mil., the possible existence of multiple glacial refugia, the unidirectional gene flow along fragmented areas and the natural hybridization with the related species Nothofagus obliqua (Mirb.) Oerst. highlights as the most important factors responsible for modelling its genetic structure. The present study aims to find out the relative importance of these evolutionary processes in determining the distribution pattern of the genetic variation in N. nervosa.Location  The study was carried out in north‐western Patagonia, Argentina. Twenty populations covering the entire distribution range of N. nervosa in Argentina were analysed. For comparison purposes, three populations from Chile were also included.Methods  Genetic variation was detected using isozyme gene markers; diversity and differentiation parameters were calculated. A cluster analysis was performed and the correlation between genetic and geographical distances was tested.Results  Levels of genetic variation were relatively high given the small distribution range of the species in Argentina. Genetic and geographical distances were not correlated and a longitudinal trend in the genetic variation was evident. Hotspots of diversity with rare and private alleles were observed among western populations, while hybrid seeds were found almost exclusively among eastern populations.Main conclusions  The higher level of diversity observed in western populations could be related with the location of glacial refugia. Furthermore, it should also reflect low levels of gene flow given the eastward unidirectional winds. On the contrary, ancient and current interspecific hybridization processes would mainly cause the particular genetic constitution of the eastern populations. Evidence is presented supporting that glaciations and hybridization were the main factors shaping the distribution of the genetic variation in N. nervosa.
Pharaonic Egypt and the origins of plague
Authors: Panagiotakopulu Eva 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  This paper examines the possibility that bubonic plague was a disease endemic in the wild rodent population of Egypt and East Africa.Location  The study focuses on Egypt and the Nile Valley during the Pharaonic period.Methods  This paper presents a hypothesis based on archaeoentomological, archaeozoological and biogeographical information on the insect and small mammal species involved in the spread of plague, as well as relevant information from early literary sources.Results  The primary host for the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis is the Nile rat, Arvicanthis niloticus. Urbanization and the Nile floods brought into contact humans and the Nile rat and its ectoparasite, Xenopsylla cheopis, which was able to move to a newly introduced host the synanthropic Rattus rattus. The existence of large numbers of human fleas and squalid conditions from the Workmens’ Village at Amarna, evidence for nile rats and black rats from Pharaonic sites and descriptions of an epidemic disease in the Amarna letters, the Hittitic archives and the Ebers papyrus with references to swelling buboes, present a new scenario for the origins of the disease.Main conclusions  Most modern researchers have regarded the origins of bubonic plague as a disease of Central Asiatic rodents. Here, I examine the evidence for plague in Egypt, and suggest that the bacillus Yersinia pestis was primarily a disease of the Nile rat, Arvicanthis niloticus, which only achieved epidemic proportions when its vector, the tropical rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, was able to make the jump to a new host, the black or ship rat, Rattus rattus, introduced from India or indirectly via Mesopotamia during the Pharaonic period. Synanthropy and a high death rate in the new host lead to frequent transfer to human populations and stochastic waves of pandemics.
The parable of Green Mountain: Ascension Island, ecosystem construction and ecological fitting
Authors: Wilkinson David M. 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAims  To use the ecosystem on Green Mountain, Ascension Island, to illustrate aspects of ecosystem construction and function as well as possible mitigation of human caused global environmental change.Location  Ascension Island, tropical south Atlantic.Main conclusions  The cloud forest on Green Mountain is a man‐made system that has produced a tropical forest without any coevolution between its constituent species. This has implications for the way we think about ecosystems and provides a striking example of Janzen's idea of ‘ecological fitting’. This system provides ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, and illustrates the possible role of man‐made ecosystems in the mitigation of global warming.
The role of landscape history and persistent biogeographical patterns in shaping the responses of Mediterranean land snail communities to recent fire disturbances
Authors: Kiss Laurence , Magnin Frédéric , Torre Franck 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAims To assess the impact of various fire regimes over the past 30 years on land snail communities and to analyse the role of recent landscape history and the influence of biogeography in shaping the response patterns of gastropod communities following disturbances by fire.Location South‐eastern France (Provence) and Mediterranean region.Methods Stratified sampling within 12 sites was undertaken with regard to fire regime (i.e. number of fires, fire intervals and age of the last fire) occurring over the past 30 years. The study was complemented by a historical analysis using aerial photographs, old maps of vegetation cover and an analysis of the biogeographical composition of malacofaunas. Data were investigated using Correspondence Analysis and Sørensen coefficient of similarity.Results When a disturbance regime (land use or fire disturbances) has been maintained over decades or centuries, land snail communities appear highly modified and tend to be composed of only Mediterranean and xerophilous species. However, low fire regimes, since the 1970s, do not seem to greatly affect the composition of gastropod communities. Indeed, shade‐loving, mesophilous and European range species persist even after successive fires within some sites. In addition, the malacofaunas have a higher component of European range species with increasing distance from the Mediterranean sea.Main conclusions Analysis of the response patterns of gastropod communities to fire shows a response to numerous different factors. The composition of current land snail communities is not only the result of (more or less) recent patterns of fire regimes but also of anthropogenic disturbances, of landscape changes over the last centuries and of subsequent structure of the pre‐fire habitat, as well as of the influence of a biogeographical gradient. However, the response patterns observed and the persistence of pre‐fire communities imply the presence of cryptic refuges located within burned areas.
Distribution, endemism and threat status of freshwater fishes in the Western Ghats of India
Authors: Dahanukar Neelesh , Raut Rupesh , Bhat Anuradha 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  To study (1) the large‐scale distribution patterns of freshwater fishes in the Western Ghats of India; (2) the endemism and uniqueness of the fishes in various zones; and (3) the threat status of fishes by categorizing them under low risk (LR), vulnerable (VU), endangered (EN) and critically endangered (CR).Location  The Western Ghats of India.Methods  The scientific literature describing the freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats was reviewed. Data describing the lists of the species were extracted and complied. The species accumulation curve was plotted using Michaelis–Menten‐like equation. The Western Ghats was divided into six zones and similarity of the species was calculated using Jacquard's index.Results  Literature to date records 288 species belonging to 12 orders, 41 families and 109 genera, of which 118 species are endemic and 51 are unique. However, the species accumulation curve shows that there might be 345 species in this region, indicating that 16% species have not been recorded to date. An analysis of the distribution pattern of fishes in the Western Ghats suggests that the southern region is more diverse than the northern and central regions. The southern region shows high endemism and high uniqueness while the northern region shows high endemism but less uniqueness. The similarity index between the zones indicates that as the distance between the zones increases similarity decreases. The status of 105 of 288 species was not known due to data deficiency but among the remaining 183 species, 58 species were categorized as LR, 41 as VU, 54 as EN, 24 as CR while the remaining six species were introduced.Conclusions  The distribution patterns of fishes in the Western Ghats are discussed in accordance with the geography of Western Ghats, its climatic conditions and ‘Satpura Hypothesis’. The threat status of fishes found in Western Ghats suggests that at least 41% of fish fauna is threatened by either being VU, EN or CR. Implication of potent conservation measures is necessary to conserve the fish fauna of Western Ghats.
A fine‐resolution Pliocene pollen and charcoal record from Yallalie, south‐western Australia
Authors: Atahan Pia , Dodson John R. , Itzstein‐Davey Freea 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim  This paper aims to reconstruct a high‐resolution fire and vegetation history from a period when humans were absent in Australia. This is then used to comment on the frequency of natural fire in high biodiversity heathland, and to compare this with historical fire regime in the same region.Methods  A section of varved sediment covering a period of c. 84 years was taken from Palaeolake Yallalie in south‐western Australia. The sediments were separated into approximately single to small multiples of years and then analysed for charcoal, pollen and sediment analysis to reconstruct the environmental conditions at the time.Results  The charcoal record indicates fire recurrence to have been roughly between 5 and 13 years, a little longer than those of the historical period. The pollen record was dominated by Casuarinaceae, Myrtaceae and a large number of Proteaceae species; these are intermixed with Araucariaceae, Nothofagus and Podocarpus. This suggests there was a mix of sclerophyll woodland and a mosaic of rain forest elements, thus conditions must have been wetter, particularly in the summers, compared with today.Conclusions  We assume that fire was most likely confined to the sclerophyll vegetation, and that fire has been a significant feature of the environment long before humans entered Australia. The slightly longer fire recurrence times compared with the present result from the intermittent nature of lightning and wetter summers at the time.
The influence of spatial resolution on macroecological patterns of range size variation: a case study using parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of the world
Authors: Blackburn Tim M. , Jones Kate E. , Cassey Phillip , Losin Neil 
Published: October 2010

AbstractAim To assess the extent to which the resolution at which geographical range sizes are measured influences macroecological patterns in this variable.Location Global.Methods Data on the geographical ranges of parrot species were digitized, and a Geographic Information System used to produce nine range size estimates for each species using different degrees of spatial resolution. The inter‐correlation of these estimates was then compared, together with their patterns of covariation with population size, body mass and migratory behaviour (across species and controlling for phylogeny), their pattern of phylogenetic correlation, and the frequency distributions of the different measures.Results Strong correlations exist among all nine range size measures across species, albeit that measures of similar spatial resolution are more strongly correlated. All measures show similar patterns of covariation with population size, body mass and migratory behaviour, and similar patterns of phylogenetic correlation. The skewness of frequency distributions increases towards zero as the resolution of the range size measure declines.Main conclusions The results of macroecological analyses are little affected by the resolution with which geographical range sizes are calculated, at least for the parrots of the world. Previously published studies based on crude measures of range size would be unlikely to have produced markedly different conclusions had they used more refined range size metrics.