1. Phenotypic plasticity allows large shifts in the timing of phenology within one single generation and drives phenotypic variability under environmental changes, thus it will enhance the inherent adaptive capacities of plants against future changes of climate. 2. Using five common gardens set along an altitudinal gradient (100–1600 m asl.), we experimentally examined the phenotypic plasticity...

In the context of climate change, the seasonal activity of questing Ixodes ricinus and their infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) were examined in relation to some climatic data along altitudinal gradients in Switzerland. The first study took place in an Alpine area (Valais) from 750 to 1020m above sea level. The other gradient was located on a mountain in the foothills of the ...

Nuclear simple sequence repeats (nSSRs), together with 16 different enzyme loci, were used to analyzegenetic diversity and differentiation among beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) populations along two altitudinalgradients in Hyrcanian forests of Iran. Both enzymes and nSSR analyses revealed a high level ofgenetic diversity in natural populations of F. orientalis. The genetic div...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Studies of local floral adaptation in response to geographically divergent pollinators are essential for understanding floral evolution. This study investigated local pollinator adaptation and variation in floral traits in the rewarding orchid Gymnadenia odoratissima, which spans a large altitudinal gradient and thus may depend on different pollinator guilds along this gradi...

The aim of this study was to investigate, during the summer of the year 2008, the variation in leaf water and photosynthetic characteristics of Eucryphia cordifolia Cav. (Cunoniaceae) along its broad latitudinal distribution in central south Chile (36 degrees to 42 degrees S). The latitudinal variation in water potential (Psi(w)), water potential at saturation (Psipi(sat)), water potential at t...

Although whiteflies Tetraleurodes perseae (Nakahara) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are considered a secondary pest of avocado crops, their presence and the damages that they cause can decrease crop vigor and affect production. The objective of the present work was to determine the population fluctuation and altitudinal distribution of the T. perseae Nakahara whitefly in avocado trees, as well as to ...

Carabid beetles were sampled at five sites, ranging from 1500 m to 3400 m, along a 15 km transect in the cloud forest of Manu National Park, Perú. Seasonal collections during a one year period yielded 77 morphospecies, of which 60% are projected to be undescribed species. There was a significant negative correlation between species richness and altitude, with the number of carabid species decli...

A selection gradient was recently suggested as one possible cause for a clinal distribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes along an altitudinal transect in the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula (Ehinger et al. 2002). One mtDNA haplotype (H1) rare in lowland, became widespread when approaching the altitudinal margin of the distribution. As H1 differs from the main lowland h...

Clinal analysis for fitness-related traits provides a well-known approach to investigate adaptive evolution. Several fitness-related traits (developmental time, thorax length, wing length and wing loading) were measured at two laboratory generations (G7 and G33) of D. buzzatii from an altitudinal gradient from northwestern Argentina, where significant thermal differences persist. Developmental ...

(Relief influence on tree species richness in secondary forest fragments of Atlantic Forest, SE, Brazil). The aim of this work was to explore the relationship between tree species richness and morphological characteristics of relief at the Ibiúna Plateau (SE Brazil). We sampled 61 plots of 0.30 ha, systematically established in 20 fragments of secondary forest (2-274 ha) and in three areas with...