| An analysis of a long-term comparative study of species-rich assemblages of first-order consumers (110 species of adult butterflies) across time and space is presented. Field research was conducted in the Marble Mountain Wilderness in the center of the Klamath Mountains Province, a subregion of the Californian Floristic Region well-known for its high level of endemism. Sixty-five long-term monitoring stations were established based on modified gradient analysis. Monitoring spanned 15 yr, a segment of time between ecological succession and stasis that included high-water El Nino years and low-water La Nina years.; A statistical method, using bootstrap resampling procedures, was developed to estimate temporal dynamics (or turnover) without assuming sample extinction, equilibrium, or distance from source. This method was developed for complex, open, mainland environments. Two measures of temporal dynamics were calculated: mean absolute and mean proportional rates of species accumulation. Study sites were classified with respect to temporal dynamics and ranged across a continuum from low to high. Species richness was found to be independent of temporal dynamics. Cryptic biodiversity hotspots were defined as those sites high in species richness that are overlooked in short-term environmental assessment because the species are distributed more evenly over time. Static biodiversity hotspots were defined as those sites high in species richness that are readily identified in short-term environmental assessments.; The next step addressed the question of whether temporal dynamics can be systematically predicted; ie, is there a statistically significant geographic component to temporal dynamics of mobile organisms? Twelve abiotic characteristics were examined using a series of linear models (analysis of variance and analysis of co-variance). Statistically significant results revealed that meta-sedimentary/meta-volcanic and plutonic rock formations have high temporal dynamics for both mean absolute and proportional rates of species accumulation, and lacustrine/alluvial substrates have low temporal dynamics. The next significant predictors for the proportional rate of species accumulation (in order of importance) were: precipitation, landscape topography, and aquatic habitat. The next most significant predictors for absolute rate of species accumulation (in order of importance) were: soil depth, water collecting/water spreading geomorphology, and elevation. These rates, I believe, are driven by vegetation dynamics. |
