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DatoValore
TitleExtending Janzen's hypothesis to temperate regions: A test using subterranean ecosystems
AbstractJanzen's hypothesis (1967; American Naturalist) predicts that tropical habitats with reduced thermal seasonality would select for species with narrow thermal tolerance, thereby limiting dispersal among sites of different elevations showing little overlap in temperature. These predictions have so far been tested by confronting tropical and temperate mountain communities, leaving unresolved the question of their generalization to habitats with low thermal seasonality outside the tropics. We provide the first extension of Janzen's hypothesis to temperate habitats, by testing for differences in thermal tolerance and elevational range among congeneric alpine spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Troglohyphantes) occurring along a steep gradient of decreasing thermal seasonality with increasing cave depth. Using species from the same temperate region rather than from distinct biogeographic regions avoids confounding the effects of short- and long-term climatic variability on thermal tolerance and elevational range extent. Following Jansen's assumptions, we predicted that cave habitats with low thermal seasonality would select for narrow thermal tolerance. Also, specialized subterranean species would exhibit both narrower elevational range extents and smaller realized thermal niche breadths. Initially, we showed that thermal seasonality and the overlap in temperature across caves were considerably lower in deep than in shallow cave habitats. Then, we measured thermal tolerance and used morphological traits to quantify the degree of specialization to subterranean life of 11 spider species. We found that thermal tolerance decreased with increasing subterranean specialization. Deep subterranean species reached their critical temperature at 1-4 degrees C above their habitat temperature, whereas shallow subterranean species withstood a twofold larger temperature increase. At last, we demonstrated that a species' elevational range extent and the variation of temperature encountered across its range decreased with increasing specialization to deep subterranean life. Our integrative work, being grounded in organismal and habitat measures, represents the first generalization of Janzen's framework to caves and provides a conceptual framework to disentangle the effect of long-term climate variability on subterranean biodiversity patterns. Extending Janzen's thoughts to a broader range of ecosystems is key to understanding how the ecological specialization-dispersal trade-off may constrain the response of species to climate change. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
SourceFunctional ecology (Print) 33 (9), pp. 1638–1650
Keywordsclimate changeclimate variability hypothesisJanzen's hypothesisrange sizeRapoport's ruleSubterranean biologythermal toleranceWestern Italian Alps
JournalFunctional ecology (Print)
EditorBritish Ecological Society :, Oxford, Regno Unito
Year2019
TypeArticolo in rivista
DOI10.1111/1365-2435.13382
AuthorsMammola, Stefano; Piano, Elena; Malard, Florian; Vernon, Philippe; Isaia, Marco
Text412015 2019 10.1111/1365 2435.13382 ISI Web of Science WOS 000485033200008 climate change climate variability hypothesis Janzen s hypothesis range size Rapoport s rule Subterranean biology thermal tolerance Western Italian Alps Extending Janzen s hypothesis to temperate regions A test using subterranean ecosystems Mammola, Stefano; Piano, Elena; Malard, Florian; Vernon, Philippe; Isaia, Marco Univ Turin; Univ Helsinki; Univ Claude Bernard Lyon 1; Univ Rennes 1 Janzen s hypothesis 1967; American Naturalist predicts that tropical habitats with reduced thermal seasonality would select for species with narrow thermal tolerance, thereby limiting dispersal among sites of different elevations showing little overlap in temperature. These predictions have so far been tested by confronting tropical and temperate mountain communities, leaving unresolved the question of their generalization to habitats with low thermal seasonality outside the tropics. We provide the first extension of Janzen s hypothesis to temperate habitats, by testing for differences in thermal tolerance and elevational range among congeneric alpine spiders Araneae Linyphiidae Troglohyphantes occurring along a steep gradient of decreasing thermal seasonality with increasing cave depth. Using species from the same temperate region rather than from distinct biogeographic regions avoids confounding the effects of short and long term climatic variability on thermal tolerance and elevational range extent. Following Jansen s assumptions, we predicted that cave habitats with low thermal seasonality would select for narrow thermal tolerance. Also, specialized subterranean species would exhibit both narrower elevational range extents and smaller realized thermal niche breadths. Initially, we showed that thermal seasonality and the overlap in temperature across caves were considerably lower in deep than in shallow cave habitats. Then, we measured thermal tolerance and used morphological traits to quantify the degree of specialization to subterranean life of 11 spider species. We found that thermal tolerance decreased with increasing subterranean specialization. Deep subterranean species reached their critical temperature at 1 4 degrees C above their habitat temperature, whereas shallow subterranean species withstood a twofold larger temperature increase. At last, we demonstrated that a species elevational range extent and the variation of temperature encountered across its range decreased with increasing specialization to deep subterranean life. Our integrative work, being grounded in organismal and habitat measures, represents the first generalization of Janzen s framework to caves and provides a conceptual framework to disentangle the effect of long term climate variability on subterranean biodiversity patterns. Extending Janzen s thoughts to a broader range of ecosystems is key to understanding how the ecological specialization dispersal trade off may constrain the response of species to climate change. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. 33 Published version Articolo in rivista British Ecological Society 0269 8463 Functional ecology Print Functional ecology Print Funct. ecol. Print Functional ecology. Print stefano.mammola MAMMOLA STEFANO