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Vertebrate species richness at the mesoscale: relative roles of energy and heterogeneity
Author(s) -
FRASER ROBERT H.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
global ecology and biogeography letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.164
H-Index - 152
eISSN - 1466-8238
pISSN - 0960-7447
DOI - 10.1046/j.1466-822x.1998.00294.x
Subject(s) - species richness , ecology , biodiversity , habitat , spatial heterogeneity , vegetation (pathology) , geography , body size and species richness , range (aeronautics) , species diversity , mesoscale meteorology , ordination , biology , medicine , materials science , pathology , composite material , meteorology
Macroscale (continental) patterns of vertebrate species richness have been related to a variety of climatic and historical influences. However, within North America and Britain, empirical evidence suggests that climatic energy is most significant. In this analysis, I examine mesoscale patterns of vertebrate species richness within the U.S. State of Wyoming. I test the generality of the species‐energy hypothesis in explaining richness at this scale using high‐resolution environmental datasets and a geographic information system (GIS). Results provide little evidence to support the hypotheses that mesoscale species richness of vertebrates follows a linear relationship with climatic energy or a hump‐shaped relationship with primary productivity. By contrast, vertebrate richness within Wyoming is most strongly associated with variability in vegetation and other aspects of environmental heterogeneity over a range of sampling grains. This result underscores the benefit of protecting a maximum diversity of vegetation and habitat types for biodiversity conservation.