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Climate and history explain the species richness peak at mid‐elevation for Schizothorax fishes (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) distributed in the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions
Author(s) -
Li Jun,
He Qixin,
Hua Xia,
Zhou Jie,
Xu Huidan,
Chen Jiakuan,
Fu Cuizhang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
global ecology and biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.164
H-Index - 152
eISSN - 1466-8238
pISSN - 1466-822X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2008.00430.x
Subject(s) - species richness , ecology , biology , niche , cypriniformes , plateau (mathematics) , altitude (triangle) , species diversity , ecological niche , cyprinidae , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , habitat , mathematical analysis , geometry , mathematics
Aim We studied elevational species richness patterns of Schizothorax fishes and identified the roles of ecological and evolutionary factors in shaping the patterns of elevational diversity. Location The Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions. Methods We assembled distribution and altitude data for all Schizothorax species using the literature. We merged ecological and evolutionary approaches to test the relationships between species richness and ecological factors (climate, area, the mid‐domain effect) or evolutionary factors (diversification rates and time of colonization). Results We found that species richness of Schizothorax fishes peaked at mid‐elevations. Rainfall, area, the mid‐domain effect and diversification rate were weak predictors of the richness pattern. Temperature showed a nonlinear relationship with species richness. Temperature and time of colonization were the most important variables in explaining the elevational diversity pattern. Main conclusion Our findings indicate that the time‐for‐speciation effect and niche conservatism play important roles in variation of species richness.