The elevational patterns of mammalian richness in the Himalayas

doi:10.17520/biods.2017324

Abstract

Abstract:

Studies of the distribution of biodiversity are hotspots in ecology and biogeography. Mountain ecosystems, which contain high habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity, play an important role in biodiversity conservation. The Himalayas are located in the southern rim of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The complicated geological topography, vast elevational gradients (100-8,844 m), significant vertical climatic zonation, and diverse biodiversity make it an ideal study area for biodiversity distribution research. By combining field data and data from museum records and literature, 313 mammal species were found for each 100 m elevational band along the gradient from 100 to 6,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the Himalayas. Most of the elevational species richness patterns were hump-shaped. Species richness of the overall mammals peaked at an elevation of 900-1,400 m. Species composition along the elevational gradient in the Himalayas can be classified into five groups (100-1,500 m, 1,500-2,000 m, 2,000-3,000 m, 3,000-4,200 m and 4,200-6,000 m a.s.l.) using UPGMA clustering of elevation-based species assemblages, which was similar to the divisions of the vertical vegetation zone. The distribution of mammals is uneven, with low diversity found in the northern slope of the Himalayas and high diversity in the southern slope; the valleys on south slope of the Himalayas that contain higher biodiversity are biological corridors connecting the northern and southern fauna. To maintain the exchange of biodiversity, we should sustainably strengthen protection to the valley ecosystems.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/SWDY201802010

Key words: Himalayas, mammal species diversity, elevational patterns, distribution

Yiming Hu, Jianchao Liang, Kun Jin, Zhifeng Ding, Zhixin Zhou, Huijian Hu, Zhigang Jiang. The elevational patterns of mammalian richness in the Himalayas[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2018, 26(2): 191-201.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2017324

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2018/V26/I2/191

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Generalized topographic map of the Himalaya Mountains and Tibetan Plateau. The black dashed lines with shadow represent boundaries of the study area. Black dashed lines represent boundaries between the western, central, and eastern Himalaya Mountains. Black dots represent field survey areas, from left to right are: Gyirong County, Nyalam County, Tingri County, Dinggyê County, Yadong County, Lhozhag County, Cona County and Lhünzê County, respectively. NP, Nanga Parbat; NB, Namche Barwa.

Fig. 2 Elevational patterns of mammal species richness for different distribution range subsets in the Himalaya Mountains. a, All mammals; b, Endemic mammals; c, Non-endemic mammals; d-g, Mammals in the first, second, third and fourth range size classes, respectively.

Fig. 3 Elevational patterns of mammal species richness for different biological habits and body size subsets in the Himalaya Mountains. a, All mammals; b, Chiroptera; c, Non-volant mammals; d, Non-volant small mammals; e, Non-volant large and medium mammals.

Table 1 Polynomial regressions for the mammal species richness along the elevational gradients in the Himalaya Mountains for each species subsets

物种分组 Species groups	物种数 Number of species	一阶 Order 1		二阶 Order 2
物种分组 Species groups	物种数 Number of species	R²	∆AICc	R²	∆AICc
总体 All mammals	312	0.8772	12,550	0.9215	0
特有种 Endemic mammals	72	0.2935	5,236	0.7948	0
非特有种 Non-endemic mammals	240	0.9030	1,573	0.9102	0
分布幅一组 First range	90	0.7380	1,594.7	0.8478	0
分布幅二组 Second range	153	0.8287	3,201.6	0.8726	0
分布幅三组 Third range	58	0.6379	5,977	0.8482	0
分布幅四组 Fourth range	11	0.3018	356.537	0.9289	0
飞行哺乳动物 Chiroptera	80	0.8075	1,995.6	0.8675	0
非飞行哺乳动物 Non-volant mammals	232	0.7592	24,569	0.9254	0
非飞行小型哺乳动物 Non-volant small mammals	127	0.6295	9,999.2	0.8751	0
非飞行大中型哺乳动物 Non-volant large and medium mammals	105	0.8619	3,453.9	0.9557	0

Fig. 4 Dendrograms resulting from UPGMA hierarchical clustering of 100 m elevational band assemblages based on βsim dissimilarity matrices for mammal species richness along the elevational gradient in the Himalayas. The agglomerative coefficient is 0.993. The numerals of x-axis represent the 59 100 m elevational bands. For example, “1” means 100-200 m a.s.l. The values of y-axis are dissimilarity (βsim). Cluster leaves of different colors represent different cluster assignments.

Fig. 5 Terrain (a) and the species richness pattern of mammals (b) in the Himalaya Mountains

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