Complete Rainforest Elevational Gradient Reveals Unusual Diversity Patterns of Non-Volant Mammals in New Guinea

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F25%3A00644323" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/25:00644323 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/67985939:_____/25:00644323 RIV/00216208:11310/25:10508500 RIV/60076658:12310/25:43910569

Result on the web

<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ddi.70127" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ddi.70127</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.70127" target="_blank" >10.1111/ddi.70127</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Complete Rainforest Elevational Gradient Reveals Unusual Diversity Patterns of Non-Volant Mammals in New Guinea

Original language description

Aim: We address a critical gap in the elevational community ecology of tropical non-volant mammals in the Australian and Oceanian zoogeographic realms. Specifically, we document alpha and beta diversity, environmental predictors and community composition of individual clades in relation to their ecology and evolutionary history along an extensive elevational gradient, for the first time in this region. Location: Complete rainforest elevational gradient and subalpine zone of Mount Wilhelm (45-3700 masl), Papua New Guinea. Methods: We conducted extensive sampling using traps (> 21,800 trap-nights) and collaboration with indigenous hunters across nine localities at 500 m intervals along the gradient, from lowland rainforest to subalpine grassland. The marsupial and rodent species were identified using morphological and genetic data. The community variables were correlated with key environmental variables. Results: In total, we recorded 61 marsupial and rodent species. We reveal an unusual pattern for tropical mammals: species richness increased linearly with elevation within continuous forest, then declined sharply in the open subalpine habitat. This contrasts with the mid-elevation richness peak, evident in regional mammal fauna and also common along elevation gradients globally. Community composition was primarily associated with temperature, with a sharp faunal turnover at 1200 masl dividing the assemblages into distinct lowland and highland communities. Main Conclusions: The novel elevational pattern challenges prevailing models and underscores the importance of integrating multiple sampling techniques including collaboration with indigenous hunters, where possible, to accurately capture the full extent of community composition. We highlight the ecological and conservation values of examining complete elevational gradients in tropical ecosystems, as a single Mt. Wilhelm transect encompasses 80% of the regional diversity of non-volant mammals. We suggest that any long rainforest elevational gradient is likely a high conservation priority.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA23-07216S" target="_blank" >GA23-07216S: Interplay between genetics, ecology and symbionts in two adaptive radiations of New Guinean rodents</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Diversity and Distributions

ISSN

1366-9516

e-ISSN

1472-4642

Volume of the periodical

31

Issue of the periodical within the volume

12

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

17

Pages from-to

e70127

UT code for WoS article

001645322800008

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105024566435