Ecotone:Ī transition zone between two or more different ecological communities or regions. Divergence-with- gene-flow model of speciation:Ī model explaining the process of species formation (speciation) in which new species diverge in the face of gene flow the movement of genes within a group that results from mating with immigrant individuals. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.Īlso termed species turnover, beta-diversity refers to the change in species as one moves between habitats, communities, or ecosystems. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. Because ecotones are often small in size and relatively rich in biodiversity, conservation efforts in these areas may prove to be an efficient and cost-effective conservation strategy. Some researchers argue that ecotones deserve high-conservation investment, potentially serving as speciation and biodiversity centers. Ecotones are “natural laboratories” for studying a range of evolutionary processes, such as the process by which new species form, also termed speciation. Various studies have shown that species richness and abundances tend to peak in ecotonal areas, though exceptions to these patterns occur. Ecotones have been studied in the past four decades in an ecological context and in recent years are receiving increasing attention in the context of biodiversity conservation. They show a diversity of boundary types that range from natural boundaries (e.g., altitudinal, latitudinal transitions) to human-generated ecotones (e.g., forest clear-cut edges or urban ecotones). They occur at multiple spatial scales, from continental-scale transitions between major biomes to small-scale ecotones where local vegetation communities and microhabitats coincide. Ecotones commonly coincide with areas of sharp climatic transition along environmental gradients. Such gradients are created as a result of spatial shifts in elevation, climate, soil, and many other environmental factors. Ecotones often occur along ecological gradients. Ecotones are areas of transition between ecological communities, ecosystems, or ecological regions (such as Mediterranean and desert).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |