A warming climate is likely to drive species to higher, cooler altitudes. A new study highlights a less obvious, yet crucial way in which their new habitat could differ from the one they leave behind. Mountains are home to many living species, with biodiversity typically peaking at mid-altitudes. Scientists have long struggled to explain why this is the case, invoking factors such as low temperatures at high elevations or human disturbance further down. According to new research, mid-altitudes host the largest number of species because the size and the connectedness of similar habitats are greatest there. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/epfd-tsm020116.php Paper: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/01/25/1518922113
