Biodiversity and fauna of Cicadidae in areas along eastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Areas along the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),the transitional regions of the lateral expansion of QTP,are the transitional zones between the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions.These areas contain diverse geographical environment and climate conditions,and are one of the hot spots in the study of global biodiversity.Insects of the family Cicadidae(Insecta:Hemiptera)are excellent subjects for biogeographical and biodiversity studies because of their low dispersal ability caused by the generally long,subterranean pre-adult stage,short adult lifespan and their much less flying capability than other insects.However,our understanding of the biodiversity and fauna of Cicadae in areas along the eastern margin of QTP are extremely limited.The biodiversity and fauna of Cicadidae in areas along the eastern margin of QTP were studied based on information and data from the Entomological Museum of Northwest A & F University and various other institutes as well as the results of related systematic studies.The results showed that 100 species belonging to 46 genera and 3 subfamilies of Cicadidae occured in areas along the eastern margin of QTP,accounting for 59.7％and 29.1％of the known genera and species in China,respectively.Most of them were Oriental species(73 species,73.0％),which were followed by species occurring in both the Palearctic and Oriental Region(21 species,21.0％),and then followed by the endemic species(19 species,19.0％).The endemic species mainly distributed in the southern region along the eastern margin of QTP.10 subregions could be divided into two groups,with a boundary to be the Qinling Mountains and mountainous areas in Southern Gansu Province.The northern subregions belonging to the Palearctic Region comprise the Loess Plateau transition zone(MX+HB)and the northern Tibet transition zone(QZ),which had a low species diversity,and the species occurring there were mainly small-sized cicadas of the subfamily Cicadettinae.The southern subregions belonging to the Oriental Region include the transition zone of western Qinling Mountains(HZ Ⅰ+XN Ⅰ),the transition zone of western Sichuan Basin and Northern Yunnan(HZ Ⅱ+XN Ⅳ),the pleateau-mountain transition zone of the Hengduan Mountains(XN Ⅱ+XN Ⅲ),and the mountainous transition zone of western Yunnan(HN).The species diversity of subregion increases gradually from north to south,with western Sichuan Basin and southern Hengduan Mountains being the biodiversity centers.In regard to the subregions in the southern section,(XNⅠ+HZⅠ)clustered with(HZⅡ+XN Ⅳ)first,and then clustered with(XN Ⅱ+XNⅢ)and HN subsequently.The results indicated that the subregion located at Weastern Yunnan(HN)and the pleateau-mountain transition zone between Southeastern QTP and the Hengduan Mountains(XN Ⅱ+XN Ⅲ)were relatively unique.We revealed that different species of the same taxa in Cicadidae may exhibit obvious differentiation in ecological niches,i.e.,the thermophilic species occurring in the low-altitude mountain-canyon-hill zones and the cold-adapted species in the alpine-subalpine zones.In addition,the distribution range of thermophilic species was relatively wider when compared with that of the cold-adapted species,which usually distribute also in the adjacent eastern and southern regions.In contrast,the cold-adapted species were mostly restricted to habitats of a high altitude in the"subalpine-alpine"zones,and many of them exhibit a"sky-island"distribution pattern,which was especially the case in the southern part of the Hengduan Mountains.The distribution,dispersal,diversification and adaptation of cicadas were severely affected by the massive mountains together with uplifted areas along the margin of QTP(in particular the south section of areas along the eastern margin)combined with the effects of climates.The results expanded our knowledge of the cicada fauna in China and were informative for research of biogeography and the mechanisms of biodiversity formation,maintenance and loss in areas along the eastern margin of QTP.
万方数据
维普
