Search results for "Biogeography"
showing 10 items of 310 documents
Reconstructing caribou seasonal biogeography in Little Ice Age (late Holocene) Western Alaska using intra-tooth strontium and oxygen isotope analysis
2019
Abstract The palaeobiogeography of key prey-species can provide valuable insights into animal-human interactions, human subsistence activities and landscape use in the past. In many contemporary indigenous Arctic societies, caribou (Rangifer tarandus spp.) are an important seasonal subsistence species, and recent climatic shifts have influenced the seasonal and spatial distribution and migrations of herds. The impact of larger scale climatic change on this species, such as that experienced during the Little Ice Age (LIA), is not known, but may provide vital clues about future variability. Here we present sequential strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OCO3) isotope data from archaeological …
REWORKING OF FUSULINIDS AND CALCIPHAERIDS IN THE LERCARA FORMATION (SICILY, ITALY); GEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
2004
Different fusulinids have been identified in the Lercara Formation (Sicily). They are: Reichelina sp., Schubertella paramelonica, Toriyamaia (?) sp., Neofusulinella lantenoisi, Yangchienia compressa, Rauserella staffi, Darvasites contractus, Chalaroschwagerina (Taiyuanella?) aff. davalensis, Levenella aff. evoluta, Pamirina darvasica, and Neoschwagerina ex gr. craticulifera. Small Permian foraminifers, as well as the calcispherid Asterosphaera pulchra also exist. The microfossils indicate reworking of different Permian stages, at different periods of time, and possibly also of the Mississippian (Early Carboniferous). All these resediments have been deposited within the Lercara Formation, a …
Pseudoskirroceras, a remarkable but poorly known Early Pliensbachian Tethyan ammonite genus: New data from the High Atlas (Morocco).
2007
13 pages; International audience; The discovery of new Early Pliensbachian ammonite faunas in Central High Atlas (Morocco) allows the re-examination of the taxonomic, stratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the genus Pseudoskirroceras, an intriguing but until now poorly known Tethyan taxon. For the first time, several specimens of Pseudoskirroceras mastodon (Fucini, 1935) the type species of the genus, have been collected in a well-known stratigraphical context. This material allows the evaluation of intra-specific variability and consequently the assessment of the taxonomical relevance of various geometrical and ornamental features. The best diagnostic features are the clearly …
Ammonite paleobiogeography during the Pliensbachian-Toarcian crisis (Early Jurassic) reflecting paleoclimate, eustasy, and extinctions.
2011
14 pages; International audience; The Pliensbachian-Toarcian crisis (Early Jurassic) is one of the major Mesozoic paleoecological disturbances when ca. 20% of marine and continental families went extinct. Contemporaneously, profound paleobiogeographical changes occurred in most oceanic domains including a disruption of ammonite provincialism during the Early Toarcian. Here, we quantitatively reappraise the structure and evolution of paleobiogeographical patterns displayed by ammonite faunas before, during, and after the biological crisis, over a time-interval including 13 biochronozones. The high-resolution study presented here involves the use of hierarchical Cluster Analyses, non-metric M…
Gauging scale effects and biogeographical signals in similarity distance decay analyses: an Early Jurassic ammonite case study.
2016
17 pages; International audience; In biogeography, the similarity distance decay (SDD) relationship refers to the decrease in compositional similarity between communities with geographical distance. Although representing one of the most widely used relationships in biogeography, a review of the literature reveals that: (1) SDD is influenced by both spatial extent and sample size; (2) the potential effect of the phylogenetic level has yet to be tested; (3) the effect of a marked biogeographical structuring upon SDD patterns is largely unknown; and (4) the SDD relationship is usually explored with modern, mainly terrestrial organisms, whereas fossil taxa are seldom used in that perspective. U…
Phylogeography, evolutionary history and effects of glaciations in a species (Zootoca vivipara) inhabiting multiple biogeographic regions
2018
[Aim]: During glaciations, the distribution of temperate species inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere generally contracts into southern refugia; and in boreo‐alpine species of the Northern Hemisphere, expansion from Northern refugia is the general rule. Little is known about the drivers explaining vast distributions of species inhabiting multiple biogeographic regions (major biogeographic regions defined by the European Environmental Agency). Here we investigate the fine‐scale phylogeography and evolutionary history of the Eurasian common lizard (Zootoca vivipara), the terrestrial reptile with the world's widest and highest latitudinal distribution, that inhabits multiple biogeographic region…
A new genus for the eastern dwarf galagos (Primates: Galagidae).
2017
13 pages; International audience; The family Galagidae (African galagos or bushbabies) comprises five genera: EuoticusGray, 1872; GalagoGeoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1796; GalagoidesSmith, 1833; OtolemurCoquerel, 1859; and SciurocheirusGray, 1872, none of which is regarded as monotypic, but some (Euoticus and Otolemur) certainly qualify as oligotypic. We argue for the recognition of a sixth genus, if the taxonomy is to reflect galagid evolution accurately. Genetic evidence has consistently demonstrated that the taxa currently referred to the genus Galagoides are not monophyletic but form two clades (a western and an eastern clade) that do not share an exclusive common ancestor; we review 20 years…
Staying cool: preadaptation to temperate climates required for colonising tropical alpine-like environments.
2018
Plant species tend to retain their ancestral ecology, responding to temporal, geographic and climatic changes by tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to novel conditions. Nevertheless, transitions into different environments or biomes still seem to be common. Especially intriguing are the tropical alpine-like areas found on only the highest mountainous regions surrounded by tropical environments. Tropical mountains are hotspots of biodiversity, often with striking degrees of endemism at higher elevations. On these mountains, steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity within small spaces coincide with astounding species diversity of great conservation value. The …
Phylogeographic patterns of steppe species in Eastern Central Europe: a review and the implications for conservation
2016
The phylogeography of species associated with European steppes and extrazonal xeric grasslands is poorly understood. This paper summarizes the results of recent studies on the phylogeography and conservation genetics of animals (20 taxa of beetles, butterflies, reptiles and rodents) and flowering plants (18 taxa) of such, "steppic" habitats in Eastern Central Europe. Most species show a similar phylogeographic pattern: relatively high genetic similarity within regional groups of populations and moderate-to-high genetic distinctiveness of populations from currently isolated regions located in the studied area. This distinctiveness of populations suggests a survival here during glacial maxima…
Parallel diversifications of Cremastosperma and mosannona (annonaceae), tropical rainforest trees tracking neogene upheaval of South America
2018
Much of the immense present day biological diversity of Neotropical rainforests originated from the Miocene onwards, a period of geological and ecological upheaval in South America. We assess the impact of the Andean orogeny, drainage of Lake Pebas and closure of the Panama isthmus on two clades of tropical trees ( Cremastosperma , ca 31 spp.; and Mosannona , ca 14 spp.; both Annonaceae). Phylogenetic inference revealed similar patterns of geographically restricted clades and molecular dating showed diversifications in the different areas occurred in parallel, with timing consistent with Andean vicariance and Central American geodispersal. Ecological niche modelling approaches show phyloge…