Rainfall and temperature variation does not explain arid species diversity in outback Australia

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Lochran Traill
  • Barry W. Brook
  • Thomas C. Wanger
  • Siobhan C. de Little
Abstract: Steps toward conserving biodiversity should start at understanding the components across spatial scales and a determination of the drivers of these. Here we determine additive species diversity for arid South Australia, based on over 50 years of survey data. Elevation and soil data were sourced through the Australian Government, and climate data from the WorldClim database. Alternative hypotheses relating the effect of climatic and environmental parameters to diversity were tested using generalized linear models and ranked according to information-theoretic statistics. Total species richness for the region was 1824, similar to all arid regions. α-diversity values were low, relative to the contributions made by β-diversity toward total γ-diversity, similar to additive diversity indices for nonarid biomes. There was a lack of statistical support for our hypothesis that regional spatial variation in arid region diversity can be explained by climate topography. Arid South Australian species diversity appears to be largely driven by environmental parameters at the localized scale – beyond the resolution of available survey data. Heterogeneity in habitat, provided by mountainous regions, likely contributes toward the high β-diversity values. Our research is the first application of the additive (not multiplicative) approach toward understanding diversity within arid Australia. Keywords: additive diversity, arid biome, South Australia, generalized linear models, global climate models, species richness
Original languageEnglish
JournalResearch and Reports in Biodiversity Studies
Volume3
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 08.07.2013

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Digital ultraviolet therapy
  2. How Does Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Relate to the Fulfilment of Basic Psychological Needs During Teaching Practicum?
  3. Freie Berufe im Mikrozensus II - Einkommen und Einkommensverteilung
  4. Diagrammieren/diagrammatische Praxis
  5. Entrepreneurship in conventions, place-making, and spaces of creativity
  6. Introduction
  7. Influence of spectrally selective solar cells on microalgae growth in photo-bioreactors
  8. On anisotropic tensile mechanical behavior of Al-Cu-Li AA2198 alloy under different ageing conditions
  9. Learning settings to face climate change
  10. The Volkskrant building
  11. The Microstructure of the Great Export Collapse in German Manufacturing Industries, 2008/2009
  12. Incorporation of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Management
  13. Power and control on the waterfront
  14. "Performing Life"
  15. Love in Paramyth
  16. Crossmodal Associations Between Olfaction and Vision
  17. Investigation On The Influence Of Remanufacturing On Production Planning And Control – A Systematic Literature Review
  18. Rezension von Jutta Ecarius
  19. Vegetation mapping in central Asian dry eco-systems using Landsat ETM+.
  20. §50 Windenergie auf See
  21. Who is doing asylum in Niger? State bureaucrats’ perspectives and strategies on the externalization of refugee protection
  22. Guidance for assessing interregional ecosystem service flows
  23. Fair enough!
  24. Rogier van der Weydens Bladelin-Altar
  25. Noah's ark or world wild web? Cultural perspectives in global scenario studies and their function for biodiversity conservation in a changing world
  26. The valuation of ecosystem services
  27. Mathematical Prerequisites for STEM Programs
  28. Beyond Personalization and Anonymity:
  29. Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery
  30. Reflecting trends in the academic landscape of sustainable energy using probabilistic topic modeling
  31. Neighborhood Techologies