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Pan T, Zhang C, Orozco Terwengel P, Wang H, Ding L, Yang L, Hu C, Li W, Zhou W, Wu X, Zhang B. Comparative phylogeography reveals dissimilar genetic differentiation patterns in two sympatric amphibian species. Integr Zool 2024; 19:863-886. [PMID: 37880913 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change is expected to have a profound effect on species distribution. Due to the temperature constraints, some narrow niche species could shift their narrow range to higher altitudes or latitudes. In this study, we explored the correlation between species traits, genetic structure, and geographical range size. More specifically, we analyzed how these variables are affected by differences in fundamental niche breadth or dispersal ability in the members of two sympatrically distributed stream-dwelling amphibian species (frog, Quasipaa yei; salamander, Pachyhynobius shangchengensis), in Dabie Mountains, East China. Both species showed relatively high genetic diversity in most geographical populations and similar genetic diversity patterns (JTX, low; BYM, high) correlation with habitat changes and population demography. Multiple clustering analyses were used to disclose differentiation among the geographical populations of these two amphibian species. Q. yei disclosed the relatively shallow genetic differentiation, while P. shangchengensis showed an opposite pattern. Under different historical climatic conditions, all ecological niche modeling disclosed a larger suitable habitat area for Q. yei than for P. shangchengensis; these results indicated a wider environment tolerance or wider niche width of Q. yei than P. shangchengensis. Our findings suggest that the synergistic effects of environmental niche variation and dispersal ability may help shape genetic structure across geographical topology, particularly for species with extremely narrow distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Pan
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Caiwen Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | | | - Hui Wang
- College of Food and Bioengineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu, China
| | - Ling Ding
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Liuyang Yang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Chaochao Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wengang Li
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Wenliang Zhou
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Xiaobing Wu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory for Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Baowei Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, China
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Tang J, Cui J, Wang G, Jiang Y, Zhou H, Jiang J, Xie F, Wang J, Chen G. Two-Dimensional Amphibian Diversity along a 3500 m Elevational Gradient at the Eastern Edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1723. [PMID: 38929342 PMCID: PMC11200667 DOI: 10.3390/ani14121723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2024] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Amphibians serve as reliable indicators of ecosystem health and are the most threatened group of vertebrates. Studies on their spatial distribution pattern and threats are crucial to formulate conservation strategies. Gongga Mountains, with a peak at 7509 m a.s.l. and running latitudinally, are in the center of the Hengduan Mountains Range and at the eastern steep edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, providing heterogeneous habitats and varied niches for amphibians. In this study, we combined 83 days of field work with information from 3894 museum specimens that were collected over the past 80 years, and identified twenty amphibian species belonging to seven families and twelve genera by morphology. Of these species, seven were listed in the threatened categories of the Red List of China's Biodiversity and thirteen were endemic to China. Ten species were found on the plateau side (western slope) and eleven species were found on the other side close to the Sichuan Basin (eastern slope). Only one species was found on both sides, indicating different community structures horizontally. The species richness was unimodal vertically and peaking at mid elevation on both sides, with the maximum number (ten vs. nine) of species occurring at 3300-3700 vs. 1700-1900 m a.s.l. and in different types of vegetation. The elevation span and body length of species distributed on both slopes did not show significant differences. These findings help to understand the horizontal and vertical distribution pattern of amphibian diversity, laying a foundation for future biogeographical and conservation research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxing Tang
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China;
| | - Jiaxin Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China; (J.C.)
| | - Gang Wang
- College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu 611130, China;
| | - Yong Jiang
- Sichuan Gongga Mountains National Nature Reserve, Kangding 626000, China
| | - Huaming Zhou
- Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Forestry Research Institute, Kangding 626001, China
| | - Jianping Jiang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China; (J.C.)
| | - Feng Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China; (J.C.)
| | - Jie Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China; (J.C.)
| | - Guiying Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China;
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Luo Z, Mowery MA, Cheng X, Yang Q, Hu J, Andrade MCB. Realized niche shift of an invasive widow spider: drivers and impacts of human activities. Front Zool 2022; 19:25. [PMID: 36307847 PMCID: PMC9617396 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-022-00470-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Predicting invasiveness requires an understanding of the propensity of a given species to thrive in areas with novel ecological challenges. Evaluation of realized niche shift of an invasive species in its invasive range, detecting the main drivers of the realized niche shift, and predicting the potential distribution of the species can provide important information for the management of populations of invasive species and the conservation of biodiversity. The Australian redback spider, Latrodectus hasselti, is a widow spider that is native to Australia and established in Japan, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. We used ecological niche models and ordinal comparisons in an integrative method to compare the realized niches of native and invasive populations of this spider species. We also assessed the impact of several climatic predictor variables and human activity on this niche shift. We hypothesized that human impact is important for successful establishment of this anthropophilic species, and that climatic predictor variables may determine suitable habitat and thus predict invasive ranges. Results Our models showed that L. hasselti distributions are positively influenced by human impact in both of the native and invasive ranges. Maximum temperature was the most important climatic variable in predictions of the distribution of native populations, while precipitation seasonality was the most important in predictions of invasive populations. The realized niche of L. hasselti in its invasive range differed from that in its native range, indicating possible realized niche shift. Conclusions We infer that a preference for human-disturbed environments may underlie invasion and establishment in this spider species, as anthropogenic habitat modifications could provide shelters from unsuitable climatic conditions and extreme climatic stresses to the spiders. Because Australia and the countries in which the species is invasive have differing climates, differences in the availability of certain climatic conditions could have played a role in the realized niche shift of L. hasselti. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12983-022-00470-z.
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Morphological Variation and Its Environmental Correlates in the Taihangshan Swelled-Vented Frog across the Qinling Mountains. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12182328. [PMID: 36139189 PMCID: PMC9495075 DOI: 10.3390/ani12182328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Amphibians have weak dispersal abilities and are sensitive to environmental changes, resulting in their disproportionately high risk of extinction, with many species’ populations rapidly declining. Therefore, it is critical for amphibian conservation to understand their adaptive potential by exploring how amphibians respond to environmental changes based on morphological variations. Our results showed that morphological traits of Feirana taihangnica significantly differed among ages. Along with the increase in annual mean temperature, snout-vent length showed an anti-hump trend, indicating no support for Bergmann’s rule. Mean ultraviolet-B of the highest and lowest months were positively and negatively correlated with head width, thigh length and tibia width, respectively. The present study can help understand the effects of environmental changes on morphological variations of this mountain frog species and its adaptive potential, providing important implications for species conservation. Abstract The Taihangshan swelled-vented frog (Feirana taihangnica), an endemic species to the Qinling Mountains, central China, has experienced a dramatic population decline over the last few decades. The aim of this work was to quantify morphological variation in F. taihangnica across the Qinling Mountains and examine environmental correlates of this variation of morphological traits. We implemented a hierarchical partitioning to estimate the independent contribution of each environmental variable on morphological variations. Temperature seasonality was the greatest contributor in variations of snout-vent length (SVL) and head width, and ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation of the lowest month was the most influential on both thigh length and tibia width. Then, we used generalized additive models to analyze the relationship between each environmental factor and morphological trait variations. Along the increasing of annual mean temperature, SVL decreased firstly and then increased, indicating no support for Bergmann’s rule. Furthermore, SVL was negatively correlated with annual precipitation, while positively with temperature seasonality. The mean UV-B of the highest and lowest months was positively and negatively correlated with head width, thigh length and tibia width, respectively. The results of this study help us to understand adaptive potential of this mountain frog species via morphological variations in the light of environmental changes.
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Structural Connectivity of Asia’s Protected Areas Network: Identifying the Potential of Transboundary Conservation and Cost-Effective Zones. ISPRS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEO-INFORMATION 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/ijgi11070408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Human activities can degrade landscape connectivity and disrupt ecological flows, jeopardising the functional integrity of processes. This study presents a quantitative assessment of Asia’s protected areas’ (PAs) structural connectivity using landscape metrics, as well as analyses of the Cost-Effective Zones’ (CEZs). Using nine landscape metrics, we assessed connectivity at zonal (country borders and interior), national, regional, and geographical (islands and continent) levels. The results showed that the structural connectivity of Asia’s PAs network measured by a Connectance index was very low (0.08% without country borders and 9.06% for the average country analysis). In general, connectivity was higher within borders (0.36%) than within the countries (0.22%). Islands exhibited significantly higher Area-weighted mean patch area, Proximity index and Largest patch index, suggesting more integrity and connectiveness. When comparing Asian regions, Western Asia presented the lowest values for Percentage of landscape and Proximity index. We found that only 15% of the CEZs in Asia were under PAs designation, and more CEZs are located in the interior, but the majority with the highest priority was in the borders (9%). We advocate that expanding PAs coverage, specifically targeting areas that increase connectivity (e.g., through transboundary PAs), should be a priority to maintain their ecological function.
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Yang S, Wang X, Hu J. Mountain frog species losing out to climate change around the Sichuan Basin. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:150605. [PMID: 34592288 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate changes that are expected to cause habitat fragmentation and loss and, ultimately, local extirpations. However, little is known about how the interaction between climate change and fragmentation may impede the ability of amphibians to adapt to climate change. Here, we used the iconic mountain frog Quasipaa boulengeri as an indicator species to extrapolate climate-driven shifts in its habitat availability and connectivity in central and southern China according to the minimum and maximum representative concentration pathways. The models projected an average habitat loss of 36%-71% and the in situ and ex situ climate-change refugia to be 29%-64% and 5%-18% of the present-day suitable habitats, respectively. An increase in habitat fragmentation was reflected in a 51% decrease in core patch size, a 9% increase in the mean least-cost path (LCP) length, and a 19% increase in the cost-weighted distance. These climate-driven shifts varied spatially around the Sichuan Basin, with those in the southeast of the Basin being the most pronounced habitat and connectivity losses and those along the Basin being relatively optimistic. The effectiveness of refugia may only be maintained through a narrow passageway along the southern Sichuan Basin because of the presence of LCPs over time. Our results emphasize the need to understand how climate change and connectivity will jointly affect the distribution of mountain amphibians and to accordingly adopt conservation strategies. Further, our findings highlight the importance of identifying and preserving climate-change refugia and habitat connectivity for species persistence and conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengnan Yang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaoyi Wang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junhua Hu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
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Leskova OV, Frakes RA, Markwith SH. Impacting habitat connectivity of the endangered Florida panther for the transition to utility‐scale solar energy. J Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olena V. Leskova
- Department of Geosciences Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton FL USA
| | | | - Scott H. Markwith
- Department of Geosciences Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton FL USA
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