background and objective: uttarakhand region is less explored, but possess a great biodiversity. this diversity can be explored for isolation and characterization of new actinomycetes strains for seeking antimicrobial molecules. it can therefore be predicted that novel bioactive metabolite producing actinomycetes can be discovered to combat multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens. materials and...

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...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY It is generally thought that herbivore pressure is higher at lower elevations where climate is warmer and less seasonal, and that this has led to higher levels of plant defense investment at low elevations. However, the generality of this expectation has been called into question by recent studies. METHODS We tested for altitudinal gradients in insect leaf damage, plant d...

In populations that are distributed across steep environmental gradients, the potential for local adaptation is largely determined by the spatial scale of fitness variation relative to dispersal distance. Since altitudinal gradients are generally characterized by dramatic ecological transitions over relatively short linear distances, adaptive divergence across such gradients will typically requ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The persistence of plants inhabiting restricted alpine areas under climate change will depend upon many factors including levels of genetic variation in adaptive traits, population structure, and breeding system. METHODS Using microsatellite markers, the genetic structure of populations of a relatively common alpine grass, Poa hiemata, is examined across three altitudinal ...

Understanding the geographic patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry is critical for modelling the nutrient fluxes of ecosystems and to predict the responses of ecosystems to global changes. This study aimed to explore the altitudinal patterns and potential drivers of leaf C∶N∶P stoichiometry. We measured the concentrations of leaf C, N and P in 175 plant species as well as soil nu...

In populations that are distributed across steep environmental gradients, the potential for local adaptation is largely determined by the spatial scale of fitness variation relative to dispersal distance. Since altitudinal gradients are generally characterized by dramatic ecological transitions over relatively short linear distances, adaptive divergence across such gradients will typically requ...

Quantifying spatial patterns of species richness is a core problem in biodiversity theory. Spiny frogs of the subfamily Painae (Anura: Dicroglossidae) are widespread, but endemic to Asia. Using spiny frog distribution and body size data, and a digital elevation model data set we explored altitudinal patterns of spiny frog richness and quantified the effect of area on the richness pattern over a...

Altitudinal clines in body size can result from the effects of natural and sexual selection on growth rates and developing times in seasonal environments. Short growing and reproductive seasons constrain the body size that adults can attain and their reproductive success. Little is known about the effects of altitudinal climatic variation on the diversification of Neotropical insects. In centra...

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...