Elevational Range Boundaries
All over the tropics there are very similar and closely-related species that live just above or below each other on mountain slopes. This is most common in the tropics, and is one of the causes of the incredible biodiversity of tropical mountain chains. That said, ecologists still struggle to explain just how it happens and how these invisible boundaries between species are maintained. The two major ideas are that closely-related pairs or groups of species compete intensely with each other, with the better competitor able to occupy the best habitat, while the subordinate species is banished to sub-optimal areas like cold high-elevation cloud forest or tundra. Another idea is that the super-stable climate of the tropics allows species to fine-tune their physiology such that they are largely incapable of travelling outside of a certain elevational/climatic zone.
I am currently testing both of these ideas in two ways. First, by conducting playback experiments to look for and describe evidence that closely related species at different elevations aggressively compete with one another. Second, by using respirometry to measuring how species respond physiologically to a wide range of temperatures, If species that live at different elevations have narrow physiological tolerances tailored specifically to the area they occupy, we would expect them to respond very differently when exposed to high or low temperatures.
I am currently testing both of these ideas in two ways. First, by conducting playback experiments to look for and describe evidence that closely related species at different elevations aggressively compete with one another. Second, by using respirometry to measuring how species respond physiologically to a wide range of temperatures, If species that live at different elevations have narrow physiological tolerances tailored specifically to the area they occupy, we would expect them to respond very differently when exposed to high or low temperatures.