A Global-Scale Mid-Domain Effect Cannot Explain the Latitudinal Gradient in Species Richness
| Autor: | Thomas W. Fieldsend |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Population Dynamics Biodiversity Context (language use) 050905 science studies General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Domain (mathematical analysis) 03 medical and health sciences Species Specificity Animals Fundamental pattern Ecosystem General Environmental Science Simple (philosophy) Ecology Applied Mathematics 05 social sciences General Medicine Adaptation Physiological Biological Evolution Philosophy Philosophy of biology 030104 developmental biology Geography Species richness 0509 other social sciences General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Scale (map) |
| Zdroj: | Acta Biotheoretica. 68:271-274 |
| ISSN: | 1572-8358 0001-5342 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10441-019-09361-z |
| Popis: | The latitudinal gradient in species richness is perhaps the most fundamental pattern of biodiversity, yet a satisfactory explanation for its existence remains elusive. A geometric "mid-domain effect" is often cited as having potential to help explain the latitudinal gradient in species richness, but the logic underpinning this hypothesis is apparently built on two incorrect assumptions: (1) that a given great circle-usually the Equator-can constitute the geometric "mid-domain" of the Earth's surface, and (2) that geophysical or bioclimatic boundaries are of geometric relevance in the context of a global-scale mid-domain effect. This article gives a brief overview of the relevant literature and history of thought on the subject, and describes in clear and simple terms why a global-scale mid-domain effect cannot arise, and thus cannot possibly represent a mechanistic basis for the latitudinal gradient in species richness. Explicit acknowledgement of this fact is of great importance, as it allows us to dispense with a commonly cited hypothesis for the latitudinal gradient in species richness. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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