Altitudinal range expansion of the indigenous vascular flora of Marion Island

Abstract

Species ranges are expected to expand along their cooler boundaries in response to the rising temperatures associated with current global climate change1. This has been well documented for the poleward expansion of latitudinal ranges in the northern hemisphere2. However, fewer studies have tested for upslope altitudinal range expansion, with a paucity of studies from the southern hemisphere. This study, the first of its kind from the sub-Antarctic, reports that the indigenous vascular flora of Marion Island has expanded its elevational distribution upslope by a mean of 69.62 m (SE = 29.89, 22 species) since 1966, concurrent with a 1.3 °C increase in air temperatures on the island. This was determined by repeating surveys of species' upper altitudinal boundaries conducted in 1965/66(5). There was, however, some level of idiosyncrasy in species' altitudinal range shifts, with ten of the twenty-two species expanding their altitudinal ranges upslope by more than 60 m elevation, and three shifting downslope by a similar magnitude. In consequence, the species richness and community composition have changed across altitude, with the largest increases in species richness and shifts in community composition between 400 and 700 m a.s.l. These findings indicate that the sub-Antarctic vegetation is responsive to changes in climate, in agreement with previous experimental6 and observational studies7 8. Furthermore, despite geographic, climatic and biological differences between the hemispheres 9 10, these results suggest that upslope altitudinal range expansion could be a general biological response to warmer temperatures.