Repeated trends in altitudinal gradients of diversity: How habitat filtering and biotic interactions structure ecological communities
Abstract
1. Understanding how biodiversity is structured along tropical elevational gradients requires disentangling the relative roles of regional evolutionary history and local processes shaping ecological assemblies. Here, Ithomiini butterfly communities were studied along repeated elevational gradients in two Neotropical regions with contrasting evolutionary histories: the Amazonian Andes and the Guiana Shield. The study tested whether similar elevational patterns of taxonomic, mimetic and phylogenetic structure emerge despite distinct regional species pools, and whether abiotic and biotic factors contribute to shaping these patterns. Despite marked regional differences in overall richness, consistent elevational patterns emerged across both regions. Taxonomic and mimetic richness increased with elevation and were accompanied by stronger phylogenetic clustering, indicating that similar habitat filtering processes operate along altitudinal gradients irrespective of regional context. Phylogenetic β-diversity was predominantly driven by lineage turnover, particularly in the Andes, highlighting the role of elevational gradients in promoting replacement of phylogenetically distinct lineages rather than simple species loss. These shared patterns suggest that altitude has a strong and repeatable effect on community structure, with habitat filtering acting locally on regionally distinct species pools. Abiotic factors such as temperature appeared to constrain species distributions at broad spatial scales, whereas biotic interactions acted more locally. In particular, butterfly diversity was positively associated with potential host plant richness.
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BibTeX
@article{fougeray2026repeated,
title = {{Repeated trends in altitudinal gradients of diversity: How habitat filtering and biotic interactions structure ecological communities}},
author = {Raphaël Fougeray and Arlety Roy and Christelle Penager and Guillaume Correa Pimpao and Ronald Mori Pezo and Léo‐paul Charlet and Nino Page and Ombeline Sculfort and Stéphanie Gallusser and Marianne Elias and Melanie Mcclure},
journal = {Journal of Animal Ecology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1111/1365-2656.70265},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05849624v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Repeated trends in altitudinal gradients of diversity: How habitat filtering and biotic interactions structure ecological communities
AU - Raphaël Fougeray
AU - Arlety Roy
AU - Christelle Penager
AU - Guillaume Correa Pimpao
AU - Ronald Mori Pezo
AU - Léo‐paul Charlet
AU - Nino Page
AU - Ombeline Sculfort
AU - Stéphanie Gallusser
AU - Marianne Elias
AU - Melanie Mcclure
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
JO - Journal of Animal Ecology
DO - 10.1111/1365-2656.70265
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05849624v1
AB - 1. Understanding how biodiversity is structured along tropical elevational gradients requires disentangling the relative roles of regional evolutionary history and local processes shaping ecological assemblies. Here, Ithomiini butterfly communities were studied along repeated elevational gradients in two Neotropical regions with contrasting evolutionary histories: the Amazonian Andes and the Guiana Shield. The study tested whether similar elevational patterns of taxonomic, mimetic and phylogenetic structure emerge despite distinct regional species pools, and whether abiotic and biotic factors contribute to shaping these patterns. Despite marked regional differences in overall richness, consistent elevational patterns emerged across both regions. Taxonomic and mimetic richness increased with elevation and were accompanied by stronger phylogenetic clustering, indicating that similar habitat filtering processes operate along altitudinal gradients irrespective of regional context. Phylogenetic β-diversity was predominantly driven by lineage turnover, particularly in the Andes, highlighting the role of elevational gradients in promoting replacement of phylogenetically distinct lineages rather than simple species loss. These shared patterns suggest that altitude has a strong and repeatable effect on community structure, with habitat filtering acting locally on regionally distinct species pools. Abiotic factors such as temperature appeared to constrain species distributions at broad spatial scales, whereas biotic interactions acted more locally. In particular, butterfly diversity was positively associated with potential host plant richness.
SN - 0021-8790
SN - 1365-2656
ER -