Staphylinid diversity and community structure across a neotropical elevation gradient

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dc.contributor.advisorSmith, M. Alex
dc.contributor.authorDolson, Sarah
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-04T15:54:13Z
dc.date.available2018-09-04T15:54:13Z
dc.date.copyright2018-08
dc.date.created2018-08-01
dc.date.issued2018-09-04
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Integrative Biologyen_US
dc.degree.grantorUniversity of Guelphen_US
dc.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen_US
dc.degree.programmeIntegrative Biologyen_US
dc.description.abstractEnvironmental stress from abiotic conditions imposes physiological limits on communities. Stressful conditions can act as environmental filters on the individuals present in an assemblage or taxa available to colonize a given habitat. This can reduce a community’s diversity and make its composition more phylogenetically clustered. I tested this prediction using rove beetles (Staphylinidae, Coleoptera) collected across an elevation gradient in northwestern Costa Rica. Using DNA barcodes and phylogenetic estimates of community structure, I found high species turnover across elevation, and that staphylinid diversity (measured both through barcodes and phylogenetically) increased linearly with elevation. This diversity was negatively related to surface area and temperature, and positively with precipitation. I suggest that historical biogeography, rather than contemporary environmental stress alone, has produced these diversity patterns.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10214/14174
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Guelphen_US
dc.rights.licenseAll items in the Atrium are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subjectPhylogenetic diversityen_US
dc.subjectCosta Ricaen_US
dc.subjectDNA Barcodeen_US
dc.subjectEnvironmental Stressen_US
dc.titleStaphylinid diversity and community structure across a neotropical elevation gradienten_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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