Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel.
BACKGROUND: Local natural laboratories, designated by us as the "Evolution Canyon" model, are excellent tools to study regional and global ecological dynamics across life. They present abiotic and biotic contrasts locally, permitting the pursuit of observations and experiments across diver...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-01-01
|
Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2664475?pdf=render |
id |
doaj-146de81f473142f3ba8d5bbecfd8baa2 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-146de81f473142f3ba8d5bbecfd8baa22020-11-25T01:57:35ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-01-0144e521410.1371/journal.pone.0005214Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel.Shmuel RazSion RetzkinTomás PavlícekAdam HoffmanHagay KimchiDan ZehaviAvigdor BeilesEviatar NevoBACKGROUND: Local natural laboratories, designated by us as the "Evolution Canyon" model, are excellent tools to study regional and global ecological dynamics across life. They present abiotic and biotic contrasts locally, permitting the pursuit of observations and experiments across diverse taxa sharing sharp microecological subdivisions. Higher solar radiation received by the "African savannah-like" south-facing slopes (AS) in canyons north of the equator than by the opposite "European maquis-like" north-facing slopes (ES) is associated with higher abiotic stress. Scorpions are a suitable taxon to study interslope biodiversity differences, associated with the differences in abiotic factors (climate, drought), due to their ability to adapt to dry environments. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Scorpions were studied by the turning stone method and by UV light methods. The pattern observed in scorpions was contrasted with similar patterns in several other taxa at the same place. As expected, the AS proved to be significantly more speciose regarding scorpions, paralleling the interslope patterns in taxa such as lizards and snakes, butterflies (Rhopalocera), beetles (families Tenebrionidae, Dermestidae, Chrysomelidae), and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results support an earlier conclusion stating that the homogenizing effects of migration and stochasticity are not able to eliminate the interslope intra- and interspecific differences in biodiversity despite an interslope distance of only 100 m at the "EC" valley bottom. In our opinion, the interslope microclimate selection, driven mainly by differences in insolance, could be the primary factor responsible for the observed interslope pattern.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2664475?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shmuel Raz Sion Retzkin Tomás Pavlícek Adam Hoffman Hagay Kimchi Dan Zehavi Avigdor Beiles Eviatar Nevo |
spellingShingle |
Shmuel Raz Sion Retzkin Tomás Pavlícek Adam Hoffman Hagay Kimchi Dan Zehavi Avigdor Beiles Eviatar Nevo Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Shmuel Raz Sion Retzkin Tomás Pavlícek Adam Hoffman Hagay Kimchi Dan Zehavi Avigdor Beiles Eviatar Nevo |
author_sort |
Shmuel Raz |
title |
Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. |
title_short |
Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. |
title_full |
Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. |
title_fullStr |
Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower Nahal Oren microsite, Mt. Carmel, Israel. |
title_sort |
scorpion biodiversity and interslope divergence at "evolution canyon", lower nahal oren microsite, mt. carmel, israel. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2009-01-01 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Local natural laboratories, designated by us as the "Evolution Canyon" model, are excellent tools to study regional and global ecological dynamics across life. They present abiotic and biotic contrasts locally, permitting the pursuit of observations and experiments across diverse taxa sharing sharp microecological subdivisions. Higher solar radiation received by the "African savannah-like" south-facing slopes (AS) in canyons north of the equator than by the opposite "European maquis-like" north-facing slopes (ES) is associated with higher abiotic stress. Scorpions are a suitable taxon to study interslope biodiversity differences, associated with the differences in abiotic factors (climate, drought), due to their ability to adapt to dry environments. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Scorpions were studied by the turning stone method and by UV light methods. The pattern observed in scorpions was contrasted with similar patterns in several other taxa at the same place. As expected, the AS proved to be significantly more speciose regarding scorpions, paralleling the interslope patterns in taxa such as lizards and snakes, butterflies (Rhopalocera), beetles (families Tenebrionidae, Dermestidae, Chrysomelidae), and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results support an earlier conclusion stating that the homogenizing effects of migration and stochasticity are not able to eliminate the interslope intra- and interspecific differences in biodiversity despite an interslope distance of only 100 m at the "EC" valley bottom. In our opinion, the interslope microclimate selection, driven mainly by differences in insolance, could be the primary factor responsible for the observed interslope pattern. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2664475?pdf=render |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT shmuelraz scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT sionretzkin scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT tomaspavlicek scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT adamhoffman scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT hagaykimchi scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT danzehavi scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT avigdorbeiles scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael AT eviatarnevo scorpionbiodiversityandinterslopedivergenceatevolutioncanyonlowernahalorenmicrositemtcarmelisrael |
_version_ |
1724973990806552576 |