Abstract
Spatial microscale adaptive divergence was demonstrated in darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) between the south-facing slope (SFS) and north-facing slope (NFS) at Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel. Both slopes share the same geology and macroclimate, but dramatically differ in microclimate. We identified 42 species and 34 genera of darkling beetles from a microsite. Species, genera richness and abundance were significantly higher on the warmer, drier, climatically more fluctuating and biotically more heterogeneous SFS. The data indicate that the species on the more xeric SFS have on average a smaller range than those on the more temperate NFS, as predicted by Rapoport's rule.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 367-377 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Arid Environments |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1997 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:For financial support for this research we thank the Ministry of Science for grants 1426 and 4147 (to E. Nevo and L. Blaustein), the Israeli Discount Bank Chair of Evolutionary Biology, and the Ancell-Teicher Research Foundation for Genetics and Molecular Evolution.
Keywords
- Evolution
- Israel
- Microgeography
- Rapoport's rule
- Tenebrionidae
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Earth-Surface Processes