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Karst dolines provide diverse microhabitats for different functional groups in multiple phyla
- Source :
- Scientific Reports, Scientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2019)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Nature Publishing Group UK, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Fine-scale topographic complexity creates important microclimates that can facilitate species to grow outside their main distributional range and increase biodiversity locally. Enclosed depressions in karst landscapes (‘dolines’) are topographically complex environments which produce microclimates that are drier and warmer (equator-facing slopes) and cooler and moister (pole-facing slopes and depression bottoms) than the surrounding climate. We show that the distribution patterns of functional groups for organisms in two different phyla, Arthropoda (ants) and Tracheophyta (vascular plants), mirror this variation of microclimate. We found that north-facing slopes and bottoms of solution dolines in northern Hungary provided key habitats for ant and plant species associated with cooler and/or moister conditions. Contrarily, south-facing slopes of dolines provided key habitats for species associated with warmer and/or drier conditions. Species occurring on the surrounding plateau were associated with intermediate conditions. We conclude that karst dolines provide a diversity of microclimatic habitats that may facilitate the persistence of taxa with diverse environmental preferences, indicating these dolines to be potential safe havens for multiple phyla under local and global climate oscillations.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Range (biology)
Climate
Biodiversity
Microclimate
lcsh:Medicine
Karst
doline
phyla
Article
microclimates
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Animals
Ecosystem
lcsh:Science
mulitple phyla
geography
Hungary
Multidisciplinary
Plateau
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology
Ants
lcsh:R
Climate-change ecology
Temperature
Humidity
15. Life on land
Tracheophyta
030104 developmental biology
Taxon
Habitat
Biogeography
Environmental science
lcsh:Q
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
global climate
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20452322
- Volume :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b6af9c741c73436947c049b5b23cdefa