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Global functional and phylogenetic structure of avian assemblages across elevation and latitude
Author(s) -
Jarzyna Marta A.,
Quintero Ignacio,
Jetz Walter
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13631
Subject(s) - ecology , temperate climate , phylogenetic diversity , phylogenetic tree , biology , bergmann's rule , latitude , biogeography , biodiversity , geography , biochemistry , geodesy , gene
Mountain systems are exceptionally species rich, yet the associated elevational gradients in functional and phylogenetic diversity and their consistency across latitude remain little understood. Here, we document how avian functional and phylogenetic diversity and structure vary along all major elevational gradients worldwide and uncover strong latitudinal differences. Assemblages in warm tropical lowlands and cold temperate highlands are marked by high functional overdispersion and distinctiveness, whereas tropical highlands and temperate lowlands appear strongly functionally clustered and redundant. We additionally find strong geographic variation in the interplay of phylogenetic and functional structure, with strongest deviations between the two in temperate highlands. This latitudinal and elevational variation in assemblage functional structure is underpinned by nuanced shifts in the position, shape and composition of multivariate trait space. We find that, independent of latitude, high‐elevation assemblages emerge as exceptionally susceptible to functional change.