Why Different Sps of one genus in some plants are naturally seen in an altitudanal difference between 250m to 2500m ?
Hello Binoy
Adaptation to particular environment can affect the spatial distribution of the species. Environment and climatic conditions play a major role in their specificity to particular habitat or altitude. For example, Different species of Oak distributed attitudinally Quercus leucotricophora in the lower altitude then Q. floribunda and on the high altitude you will found only Q. semecarpifolia in Western Himalayas because as you move towards high altitude the temperature decreases gradually.
Hope the answer of your question.
Hello Binoy
When members of same group are geographically isolated (isolation technically means the different members are no longer able to undergo sexual reproduction due to the presence of a barrier ie in case of plants the pollen is unable to travel to the stigma of the geographically isolated group) speciation can occur eventually.
Consider this example: seeds of a particular species can flow through the stream or river from mountain top to lower valley region and establish a new colony there. At this point of time both the plants (one on the mountain top (A) and other on the valley (B)) are same. But because of the long distance the pollen of these plants would not have the capacity to travel that long to fertilize each other and they become isolated (sexually) resulting in limited gene flow between these two groups.
Now gradually adaptive mutations better suited for life in the valley (depending on temperature, humidity, soil structure, availability of food, presence of pathogens, pollinators,foraging animals etc) will occur in the B group. Over time(very long time), the accumulation of these mutations in B (occurring independently from A) will result in the formation of a new species.
And now if you take a member from B and go up the mountain and plant in there it will show stunted growth or it may not grow at all (Your plant is now showing altitude specificity).
Hope this helps you
Altitude and resulting temperature difference have high influence in developing character differences. (plants grown in cold climate develop characters like thick cuticle, dense hairy naturse or stunded growth etc). Some genera like Ficus or Euphorbia have higher rate of speciation and have evolved to live in almost all conditions of climate and altitude.
On the reverse there are species with high plasticity also, ie same species adaptable to live in wider range of conditions. Murraya exotica can grow in sea line to high mountains.
ecology is a nice barrier to gene flow, hence speciation
e.g. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/12/2553
Dear, Binoy
It depends on many of the different factors but the most important would
a significant genetic variability in the ancestor of the plant and / or a very large genome plasticity.
Dear Binoy
Speciation is a process which depends on several Ecological factors. depending on the altitude all the ecological factors like the temperature, humidity, light intensity, etc. has been changed. it is also true that ecology is a nice barrier to gene flow. so variation of the altitude checks the process of the gene flow and the process of speciation is varies. so, a particular environment can affect the spatial distribution of the species. as a result of which different Sps of one genus in some plants are naturally seen in an altitudanal difference between 250m to 2500m
I think this paper will have nice and well worked out examples of altitudinal speciation:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v524/n7565/abs/nature14949.html
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