Functional and phylogenetic structure of mammals along elevational gradients in the Central and East Himalayas

Abstract

Mountain ecosystems are critical hotspots of global biodiversity, yet the dynamics of community assembly along their elevational gradients are not well understood. This gap is primarily due to the complexity of environmental and biotic interactions that influence species distribution and community structure. Although extensive research has been conducted on certain taxa, such as small mammals and bats, comprehensive studies encompassing entire mammal assemblages are lacking. Our research aims to bridge this gap by examining the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, as well as the assemblage structures of mammal communities across elevational gradients in the Central and East Himalayas, exploring how diverse ecological and evolutionary processes impact community assembly. We analyzed mammal elevational diversity patterns using species richness, functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD). We compared the observed values of community structure, such as mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) and mean pairwise functional distance (MFD), with null-model corrected effect sizes to identify patterns and processes of community assembly. Using structural equation modeling and hierarchical partitioning, we investigated the relationships between climate, productivity, and various facets of diversity, describing the organization of each component across different elevations. Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity generally decreased with elevation but showed varied patterns such as mid-elevation peaks, low-elevation plateaus, or monotonic declines across different regions. Richness-controlled functional diversity increased towards mid-low elevations and decreased at higher elevations in both regions, whereas richness-controlled phylogenetic diversity lacked consistent patterns. Phylogenetic structures tended to cluster from mid to high elevations, indicating closer relationships than those observed in random communities, likely due to significant environmental turnover near tree lines. Functional structure showed greater clustering at high elevations and increased over-dispersion at lower elevations, suggesting that species are more functionally similar than expected at higher elevations and more diverse at lower elevations. Our results revealed that environmental factors, evolutionary histories, and trait-driven ecological processes collectively shape species richness along these gradients. Our results showed incongruent community structures across phylogenetic and functional diversity. Generally, functional traits are closely linked to environmental conditions, reducing the chance of observing traits that are misaligned with their surroundings. Species with similar ecological roles or distinct evolutionary lineages often show convergent adaptations to highland environments. Additionally, our findings emphasize that community assembly varies with the biogeography and diversification history of individual mountain ranges, complicating the development of a generalized theory. Using multiple measures is important for accurate community structure assessments and effective conservation planning, as variable elevational patterns exist across different diversity dimensions.