Physiological variation in amethyst sunbirds (Chalcomitra amethystina) over an altitudinal gradient in winter

Physiological variation in amethyst sunbirds (Chalcomitra amethystina) over an altitudinal gradient in winter.

Flexibility of metabolic rates within a species allows for the colonization of different habitats along an altitudinal and thus temperature gradient. The distribution range of amethyst sunbirds (Chalcomitra amethystina) within southern Africa includes an altitudinal gradient from the Drakensberg to the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. We expected that over this altitudinal gradient amethyst sunbirds wou...

Transcriptomic variation and plasticity in rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) along an altitudinal gradient.

As modern genomic tools are developed for ecologically compelling models, field manipulation experiments will become important for establishing the role of functional genomic variation in physiological acclimation and evolutionary adaptation along environmental clines. High-altitude habitats expose individuals to hypoxic and thermal stress, necessitating physiological acclimation, which may res...

Gene regulatory variation mediates flowering responses to vernalization along an altitudinal gradient in Arabidopsis.

Steep environmental gradients provide ideal settings for studies of potentially adaptive phenotypic and genetic variation in plants. The accurate timing of flowering is crucial for reproductive success and is regulated by several pathways, including the vernalization pathway. Among the numerous genes known to enable flowering in response to vernalization, the most prominent is FLOWERING LOCUS C...

Causes of variation in biotic interaction strength and phenotypic selection along an altitudinal gradient.

Understanding the causes of variation in biotic interaction strength and phenotypic selection remains one of the outstanding goals of evolutionary ecology. Here we examine the variation in strength of interactions between two seed predators, common crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) and European red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), and mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) at and below tree limit in the Pyre...

Phenotypic Variation Inmorus Alba L. along Altitudinal Gradient