Vegetation structure and climate shape mountain arthropod distributions across trophic levels.

Arthropods play a vital role in ecosystems; yet, their distributions remain poorly understood, particularly in mountainous regions. This study delves into the modelling of the distribution of 31 foliar arthropod genera in the French Alps, using a comprehensive approach encompassing multi-trophic sampling, community DNA metabarcoding and random forest models. The results underscore the significant importance of vegetation structure, such as herbaceous vegetation density, and forest density and heterogeneity, along with climate, in shaping the distributions of most arthropods.

Extent of intraspecific trait variability in ecologically central and marginal populations of a dominant alpine plant across European mountains.

Background And Aims: Studying trait variability and restricted gene flow between populations of species can reveal species dynamics. Peripheral populations commonly exhibit lower genetic diversity and trait variability due to isolation and ecological marginality, unlike central populations experiencing gene flow and optimal conditions. This study focused on Carex curvula, the dominant species in alpine acidic meadows of European mountain regions.

Altitudinal Zonation of Green Algae Biodiversity in the French Alps.

Mountain environments are marked by an altitudinal zonation of habitat types. They are home to a multitude of terrestrial green algae, who have to cope with abiotic conditions specific to high elevation, e.g.