Testing the Species pool hypothesis for mire vegetation: exploring the influence of pH specialists and habitat history
The Evolutionary species pool hypothesis (ESPH) predicts that historically more common habitats will be richer in species because they have had greater opportunity for the evolution of suitably adapted species. We explored the relationship between mire species richness and pH, an important environme...
Saved in:
Published in | Oikos Vol. 116; no. 8; pp. 1311 - 1322 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Copenhagen
Copenhagen : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.08.2007
Blackwell Publishing Ltd Blackwell |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | The Evolutionary species pool hypothesis (ESPH) predicts that historically more common habitats will be richer in species because they have had greater opportunity for the evolution of suitably adapted species. We explored the relationship between mire species richness and pH, an important environmental variable in mires, in two regions that differ in habitat pH distribution: the West Carpathians and Bulgaria. Mire habitats in both the West Carpathians and Bulgaria demonstrate support for the ESPH prediction that habitats with more common pH values host more species. We also explored the influence of habitat history by examining the distribution of generalists and specialists along gradients of habitat pH, using extensive community-level vegetation data from European mires in these two regions. We found a striking pattern with the distribution of pH-specialists having three distinct peaks in both regions, whereas the total species pool peaked in near neutral pH habitats in both regions. Because the peaks in specialist richness do not correspond to regional pH distribution patterns, we hypothesize that historical explanations may be important, and that habitats currently rich in pH-specialists may have historically acted as pleniglacial refugia for many mire species. Our findings support the general predictions of the ESPH, but further suggest that historical processes such as patterns of glacial refugia, may significantly influence contemporary species distributions and the diversity of plant species in mire habitats. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.15637.x istex:329B8D4D60CFAD8FF7148312907E576290B1286F ArticleID:OIK15637 ark:/67375/WNG-HJLX6LZV-J |
ISSN: | 0030-1299 1600-0706 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.15637.x |