Disentangling the effects of latitudinal and elevational gradients on bee, wasp, and ant diversity in an ancient Neotropical mountain range

Aim: Ancient tropical mountains are megadiverse, yet little is known about the distribution of their species. We aimed to disentangle the effects of latitudinal and elevational gradients on the distribution of species of Aculeata and to understand the effects of climatic variables across different spatial scales of diversity (α, γ, and β-diversity). Location: Campo rupestre in the Espinhaço Mountain Range, Southeast Brazil. Taxon: Bees, wasps, and ants (Aculeata: Hymenoptera) Methods: We used a unique dataset built from sampling species of Aculeata at 24 study sites across 12 mountains, covering 1200 km from south to north and an elevational range of 1000 to 2000 m. We explored the elevational and latitudinal patterns of α (site), γ (mountain), and β-diversity among samples at each location (β Local). We also tested the effect of elevational range on β-diversity in each mountain (β Mountain) and, on a larger scale (β Regional), if β-diversity is influenced by geographical and environme...