caa a22 4500 475750837 CHVBK 20180406123523.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170329e20000401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1023/A:1009883300536 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1023/A:1009883300536 Patterns of abundance of a narrow endemic species in a tropical and infertile montane habitat [Elektronische Daten] [Katia Ribeiro, G. Wilson Fernandes] We examined the entire spatial distribution of a narrow endemic shrub (Coccoloba cereifera, Polygonaceae) in Serra do Cipó, Brazil. We tested the hypothesis that a narrow endemic species would show a gradual decline in either size and density towards the edges of its distribution. The contribution of soil specificity and post-fire growth to C.cereifera abundance and distribution were also investigated. C.cereifera showed multimodal and highly aggregated distribution pattern at several scales, from 25m2 to 3000m2 (blocked quadrat variance analyses). This pattern seems to be strongly related to the predominance of clonal recruitment and to the close association of the species to sandfields, which have discrete distribution between gallery forests and rocky outcrops. Population density did not decline towards the edge of the species distribution. Plants near the distribution boundaries had slightly more leaves and more inflorescences per plant (p<0.005), but there was no significant change in the mean number of ramets per clone. The absence of large plants in some populations at the center of the species distribution may be related to the higher frequency of fire in this region, killing aerial plant parts. Nearly all aggregations had inverse-J shaped size-distribution, suggesting effective recruitment of ramets, most frequently via asexual reproduction. Similar patterns of plant abundance may be common in fire-prone habitats characterized by infertile, and well-drained soils since these areas generally have high numbers of endemic plants, with strong soil specificity. Possible mechanisms for the observed pattern are discussed considering current models concerning distribution of abundance of species. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000 Aggregation patterns nationallicence Coccoloba cereifera nationallicence Fire nationallicence Geographic distribution nationallicence Habitat favorability nationallicence Soil specificity nationallicence Ribeiro Katia Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais, DBG/ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 486, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil aut Wilson Fernandes G. Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais, DBG/ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 486, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil aut Plant Ecology Kluwer Academic Publishers 147/2(2000-04-01), 205-217 1385-0237 147:2<205 2000 147 11258 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009883300536 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009883300536 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ribeiro Katia Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais, DBG/ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 486, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Wilson Fernandes G. Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais, DBG/ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CP 486, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Plant Ecology Kluwer Academic Publishers 147/2(2000-04-01), 205-217 1385-0237 147:2<205 2000 147 11258 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer