LYONS, S.K.; University of California, Santa Barbara: The effects of elevation on two aspects of local community structure of late Pleistocene mammals Previous work examining the effect of elevation on species responses to climate change has shown that elevation has an ameliorating effect on range shifts. Because vegetation zones shift with elevation as climate changes, […]

NAVAS, C.A.; Universidade de S�o Paulo: Physiology of high-elevation amphibians: relationships with behavior and ecological challenge A well supported macro-ecological trend is the reduction of biological diversity along altitudinal gradients. Although tropical amphibians conform to this pattern, this taxon exhibits various species, genera and families that are significantly represented at elevations higher than 3000 m. […]

HAMMOND, KA*; CHMURA, CA; RUSSELL, GA; ORTIZ, S; UC. Riverside and White Mountain Research Station: Genetic and phenotypic responses of small mammals to life at high altitudes Because of their small size and high energy demands, small mammals living at high altitude face several important challenges. Energy demands are greater because of low ambient temperatures, […]

WAKE, D; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Effects of altitudinal gradients on salamander biodiversity in tropical America Salamanders are abundant in Middle America and in Colombia but almost nowhere else in the tropics. The areas of greatest abundance are characterized by extreme topographic diversity and by unstable and shifting geology. Elevational transects from Veracruz, Mexico, to […]

ANGERT, A. L.; SCHEMSKE, D. W.; Michigan State University: Trade-offs and the evolution of altitude range limits in monkeyflowers Every species occupies a restricted geographic area. Sometimes geographic distributions stop at obvious barriers such as land � water interfaces, but more frequently, distributions stop at seemingly arbitrary points along continuous environmental gradients. Ecologists often correlate […]

ALTSHULER, Douglas L.; DUDLEY, Robert; California Institute of Technology; University of California, Berkeley: The physiology and biomechanics of bird flight across elevations. Many birds fly at high altitude, either during long-distance flights or by virtue of residence in high elevation habitats. Among the many environmental features that vary with altitude, five may have significant consequences […]

EDWARDS, J.S.; univ of Washinton: Sustenance of arthropod populations at high altitude The high alpine habitat occupies a small fraction of Earth’s total land area. About 20% lies above 1 kilometer, and relatively little of this entails steep altitudinal gradients that bring lowland and alpine environments into proximity. On a broad scale the habitat is […]

DILLON, M.E.*; FRAZIER, M.R.; DUDLEY, R.; Univ. of Washington; Univ. of Washington; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Physiological and biomechanical performance of arthropods at high altitude A variety of physical parameters that impinge on arthropod physiology exhibit substantial variation with altitude, including temperature, air density, and oxygen partial pressure. Changes in these parameters relative to sea-level […]

EVANS-OGDEN, L.J.; MARTIN, K.; University of British Columbia; University of British Columbia: Impacts of Elevation on Life History High elevation habitats are ecologically challenging environments, and relatively few species have evolved life histories specifically adapted to such habitats. Ecological conditions at high elevations, such as extremes in climate, protracted breeding seasons, and fluctuations in food […]

FJELDS�, J.; RAHBEK, C.; Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen; Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen: Diversification of a speciose Neotropical bird group from lowlands to highlands The process of diversification since the upper Tertiary was studied by linking together well-resolved phylogenies and species distributions for tanagers (Aves, Thraupini). Most species representing early phylogenetic branching are broadly […]