Predictions and > test of multiple climate-species richness hypotheses to explain the > spatial distribution of tenebrionid beetles in mountain environments

CARRARA RODOLFO; VÁZQUEZ DIEGO PEDRO; SCOLLO, ANA MARÍA; FLORES GUSTAVO ERNESTO

ANAIS DA ACADEMIA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS.

ACAD BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIAS

Lugar: Rio de Janeiro; Año: 2023

0001-3765

Fewstudies have evaluated how climate is mechanistically related tospecies richness in mountain environments. We used path analysis toevaluate predictions of several mechanistic hypotheses based on theirhypothesized mechanism relating climate with richness of darklingbeetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). We modeled the influence ofspatial covariation on climatic variables and tenebrionid richness.Results showed that richness peaks at mid elevations, chieflyinfluenced by precipitation and temperature, both directly andindirectly through geographic range sizes. The best fitting modelexplains 84% of the variance of tenebrionid richness. We suggest thispattern is induced by a water-energy balance along the altitudinalgradient. At low elevations, energy availability is high but waterdeficit may limit species richness; in contrast, at high elevationswater availability is high, but energy deficit may limit speciesrichness. These results suggest high susceptibility of the studyregion to future global climate change.p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: #000000; line-height: 120%; orphans: 2; widows: 2 }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: es-ES }p.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: zh-CN }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:link { color: #0000ff }