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Scale-Dependent Coherence of Terrestrial Vertebrate Biodiversity with Environment
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  • Conor O'Malley,
  • Gareth Roberts,
  • Philip Mannion,
  • Jan Hackel,
  • Yanghua Wang
Conor O'Malley
Imperial College London

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Gareth Roberts
Imperial College London
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Philip Mannion
University College London Department of Earth Sciences
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Jan Hackel
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
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Yanghua Wang
Imperial College London
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Abstract

Disentangling contributions from environmental variables is crucial for explaining global biodiversity patterns. We use wavelet power spectra to separate wavelength-dependent trends across Earth’s surface. Spectra reveal scale- and location-dependent coherence between species richness and topography (E), annual precipitation (Pn), temperature (Tm) and temperature range (ΔT). >97% of richness of carnivorans, bats, songbirds, hummingbirds and amphibians resides at wavelengths >~103 km. 30-69% is generated at scales >~104 km. At these scales, richness across the Americas is anti-correlated with E and ΔT, and positively correlated with Pn and Tm. Carnivoran richness is incoherent with ΔT, suggesting insensitivity to temperature seasonality. Conversely, amphibian richness is anti-correlated with ΔT at large scales. At scales <~103 km, richness is highest within the tropics. Terrestrial plateaux exhibit coherence between carnivoran richness and E at scales ~103 km, reflecting contributions of orogeny/epeirogeny to biodiversity. Similar findings result from transects across other continents. Scale-dependent sensitivities of vertebrate populations to climate are revealed.