On Latitudinal Gradients in Avian Diversity

Species diversity patterns exist on at least three geographical scales: (1) the diversity in a sample drawn from a single community, often called within-habitat diversity; (2) the diversity occurring in a collection of similar habitats within a given region, here referred to as between-habitat diversity; and (3) the total diversity to be found in all the available habitats in a fairly large geographical area. Whittaker (1960) has termed these categories alpha, beta, and gamma diversity, respectively. The tropics contain more bird species than other regions. This statement seems to apply to diversity on all three geographical scales, although there are some exceptions in the case of alpha diversity; i.e., Cody (1966, 1968) has demonstrated that diversity in American grasslands is a function of vegetation structure, with structurally similar grasslands having similar avian diversities at all latitudes. In

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