Quaternary range dynamics in alpine plants

The Quaternary climate fluctuations profoundly affected range and demographic dynamics of high-mountain species. Two alternative hypotheses, interglacial contraction and interglacial expansion, have been proposed to describe range shifts of cold-adapted species in response to climate changes. Whether a species expanded its range during cold periods (interglacial contraction) or during warm periods (interglacial expansion) is expected to depend on the species' habitat preference. Here, we test these hypotheses using eight alpine plant species that differ in their habitat preferences (one insect and one wind-pollinated species each in four main alpine habitat types).

第四纪气候波动深刻影响了高山物种的分布范围与种群动态。目前已提出两种对立假说——间冰期收缩假说（interglacial contraction）与间冰期扩张假说（interglacial expansion）——用以阐释耐寒物种响应气候变化时的分布范围变迁模式。一个物种究竟是在冷期扩张分布范围（对应间冰期收缩假说），还是在暖期扩张分布范围（对应间冰期扩张假说），其分布范围扩张的时期预期将由该物种的生境偏好决定。本研究选取8种生境偏好各异的高山植物对上述假说进行检验：四种主要高山生境类型中，每类均包含1种虫媒传粉与1种风媒传粉物种。