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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Understanding And Predicting The Distribution Of Biodiversity In The Atlantic Forest, Andrea Paz Velez
Understanding And Predicting The Distribution Of Biodiversity In The Atlantic Forest, Andrea Paz Velez
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Understanding how biodiversity is distributed in geography is essential for conservation. This requires an understanding of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity: species, their ecological functions, and their evolutionary history. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I devised a study to explore the environmental drivers of biodiversity patterns in Neotropical species. I first investigated broad macroecological patterns in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, combining occurrence data and phylogenetic information from multiple clades of animals and plants (Chapter 1). I discovered that one can accurately predict the accumulation of species richness and phylogenetic diversity based on current climatic descriptors – particularly precipitation – but not …
Spatial And Non-Spatial Patterns Of Genetic Diversity In Neotropical Bats, Andrea J. Calderon Brito
Spatial And Non-Spatial Patterns Of Genetic Diversity In Neotropical Bats, Andrea J. Calderon Brito
Dissertations and Theses
Macroecological studies that predict genetic diversity and its correlation with other biodiversity dimensions are essential to conservation in a rapidly changing environment. However, in bats (order Chiroptera), studies associating abiotic or ecological traits that could help to predict genetic diversity are scarce, even for singular species. In the Neotropics, the highest concentration of mammal and amphibian genetic diversity has been found in the Andes mountains and the Amazon Rainforest, yet it is an open question whether bat genetic diversity is also higher in these regions, or even if any abiotic factors are correlated with bat genetic diversity. Additionally, it is …