AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how climate factors like temperature and precipitation, along with productivity, influence the species richness of terrestrial tetrapods worldwide.
- Using a geographically weighted path analysis, researchers mapped these effects and found that temperature and precipitation had more significant direct impacts than productivity.
- The findings suggest that species richness is largely determined by climatic effects on species' physiological limits rather than just energy availability, with reptiles showing unique responses based on latitude.
Article Abstract
Aim: We aimed to dissect the spatial variation of the direct and indirect effects of climate and productivity on global species richness of terrestrial tetrapods.
Location: Global.
Time Period: Present.
Major Taxa Studied: Terrestrial tetrapods.
Methods: We used a geographically weighted path analysis to estimate and map the direct and indirect effects of temperature, precipitation and primary productivity on species richness of terrestrial tetrapods across the globe.
Results: We found that all relationships shift in magnitude, and even in direction, among taxonomic groups, geographical regions and connecting paths. Direct effects of temperature and precipitation are generally stronger than both indirect effects mediated by productivity and direct effects of productivity.
Main Conclusions: Richness gradients seem to be driven primarily by effects of climate on organismal physiological limits and metabolic rates rather than by the amount of productive energy. Reptiles have the most distinct relationships across tetrapods, with a clear latitudinal pattern in the importance of temperature versus water.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8457120 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.13357 | DOI Listing |
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