Search results for "Biogeography"
showing 10 items of 310 documents
WOODIV, a database of occurrences, functional traits, and phylogenetic data for all Euro-Mediterranean trees
2021
Trees play a key role in the structure and function of many ecosystems worldwide. In the Mediterranean Basin, forests cover approximately 22% of the total land area hosting a large number of endemics (46 species). Despite its particularities and vulnerability, the biodiversity of Mediterranean trees is not well known at the taxonomic, spatial, functional, and genetic levels required for conservation applications. The WOODIV database fills this gap by providing reliable occurrences, four functional traits (plant height, seed mass, wood density, and specific leaf area), and sequences from three DNA-regions (rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA), together with modelled occurrences and a phylogeny for all…
Bioclimatic atlas of the terrestrial Arctic
2023
AbstractThe Arctic is the region on Earth that is warming at the fastest rate. In addition to rising means of temperature-related variables, Arctic ecosystems are affected by increasingly frequent extreme weather events causing disturbance to Arctic ecosystems. Here, we introduce a new dataset of bioclimatic indices relevant for investigating the changes of Arctic terrestrial ecosystems. The dataset, called ARCLIM, consists of several climate and event-type indices for the northern high-latitude land areas > 45°N. The indices are calculated from the hourly ERA5-Land reanalysis data for 1950–2021 in a spatial grid of 0.1 degree (~9 km) resolution. The indices are provided in three subsets…
Molecular inference of a Late Pleistocene diversification shift inNigellas. lat. (Ranunculaceae) resulting from increased speciation in the Aegean ar…
2009
Aim To infer the temporal course and geographical mode of speciation in Mediterranean/Southwest Asian Nigella s. lat. Location Mediterranean Basin, Aegean archipelago. Methods Phylogenies for Nigella L. and Garidella L. (= Nigella s. lat.) were obtained from maximum-likelihood analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Diversification through time was analysed by log lineages-through-time (LTT) plots and survival analyses. Relative node age estimates were regressed against the degree of sympatry between sister clades to infer the predominant mode of geographical speciation in Nigella s. lat. Results The Late Pleistocene radiation of the Nigella arvensis complex in the Aegean r…
Early–middle Jurassic lytoceratid ammonites with constrictions from Morocco: palaeobiogeographical and evolutionary implications.
2008
13 pages; International audience; The ammonite genus Alocolytoceras Hyatt, 1900 is an uncommon lytoceratid with distinctive shell ornament. A set of 58 specimens, recently collected at Amellago in the central High Atlas (Morocco), has enabled us to trace a succession of three species over eight biozones from the Toarcian to the Aalenian. Two specimens from the Lusitanian Basin are added for comparison. Following a review of the genus, based on original specimens and data from the literature, seven species are considered valid. A palaeobiogeographical synthesis of 13 regions demonstrates irregular distribution patterns over time, with a constant presence in the south-west Tethys and an insta…
Evolution, ecology and systematics of Soldanella (Primulaceae) in the southern Apennines (Italy)
2015
Background The populations of Soldanella (Primulaceae) of the southern Apennines (Italy) are unique within the genus for their distribution and ecology. Their highly fragmented distribution range, with three main metapopulations on some of the highest mountains (Gelbison, Sila and Aspromonte massifs) of the area, poses intriguing questions about their evolutionary history and biogeography, and about the possibility of local endemisms. Aims and methods In order to clarify the phylogeny and biogeography of the three metapopulations of Soldanella in the southern Apennines, attributed to S. calabrella to date, and to identify possible local endemisms, a comparative approach based on the study o…
The phylogenetic position and taxonomic status of Sterechinus bernasconiae Larrain, 1975 (Echinodermata, Echinoidea), an enigmatic Chilean sea urchin
2015
15 pages; International audience; Sterechinus is a very common echinoid genus in benthic communities of the Southern Ocean. It is widely distributed across the Antarctic and South Atlantic Oceans and has been the most frequently collected and intensively studied Antarctic echinoid. Despite the abundant literature devoted to Sterechinus, few studies have questioned the systematics of the genus. Sterechinus bernasconiae is the only species of Sterechinus reported from the Pacific Ocean and is only known from the few specimens of the original material. Based on new material collected during the oceanographic cruise INSPIRE on board the R/V Melville, the taxonomy and phylogenetic position of th…
Early Palaeozoic palaeobiogeography and palaeoecology of stylophoran echinoderms
2007
44 pages; International audience; Stylophorans (cornutes, mitrates) represent one of the most diverse classes of Cambro-Ordovician echinoderms. They were freeliving, benthic, non-radiate forms, closely related to asterozoans and crinoids. Taphonomic, sedimentological, and palaeosynecological data provide useful information on key aspects of stylophoran palaeoecology. Such a combined approach suggests that the rarity of stylophorans in proximal environments (above storm-wave base) was probably original and does not exclusively result from the possession of a loosely articulated polyplated calcitic test. Conversely, stylophorans were relatively abundant in deeper settings (below storm-wave ba…
A taxonomic nightmare comes true: phylogeny and biogeography of glassworts (Salicornia L., Chenopodiaceae)
2007
In this study we analysed ETS sequence data of 164 accessions belonging to 31 taxa of Salicornia, a widespread, hygrohalophytic genus of succulent, annual herbs of Chenopodiaceae subfam. Salicornioideae, to investigate phylogenetic and biogeographical patterns and hypothesise about the processes that shaped them. Furthermore, our aim was to understand the reasons for the notorious taxonomic difficulties in Salicornia. Salicornia probably originated during the Miocene somewhere between the Mediterranean and Central Asia from within the perennial Sarcocornia and started to diversify during Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene. The climatic deterioration and landscape-evolution caused by orogenetic…
What is a tree in the Mediterranean Basin hotspot? A critical analysis
2019
Background: Tree species represent 20% of the vascular plant species worldwide and they play a crucial role in the global functioning of the biosphere. The Mediterranean Basin is one of the 36 world biodiversity hotspots, and it is estimated that forests covered 82% of the landscape before the first human impacts, thousands of years ago. However, the spatial distribution of the Mediterranean biodiversity is still imperfectly known, and a focus on tree species constitutes a key issue for understanding forest functioning and develop conservation strategies. Methods: We provide the first comprehensive checklist of all native tree taxa (species and subspecies) present in the Mediterranean-Europ…