Diversification dynamics in the Neotropics through time, clades and biogeographic regions
- Real Jardín Botánico, Spain
- University of California, Davis, United States
- Université de Montpellier, UMR 5554 CNRS, France
- Royal Botanic Gardens, United Kingdom
- University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Abstract
The origins and evolution of the outstanding Neotropical biodiversity are a matter of intense debate. A comprehensive understanding is hindered by the lack of deep-time comparative data across wide phylogenetic and ecological contexts. Here, we quantify the prevailing diversification trajectories and drivers of Neotropical diversification in a sample of 150 phylogenies (12,512 species) of seed plants and tetrapods, and assess their variation across Neotropical regions and taxa. Analyses indicate that Neotropical diversity has mostly expanded through time (70% of the clades), while scenarios of saturated and declining diversity account for 21% and 9% of Neotropical diversity, respectively. Five biogeographic areas are identified as distinctive units of long-term Neotropical evolution, including Pan-Amazonia, the Dry Diagonal, and Bahama-Antilles. Diversification dynamics do not differ across these areas, suggesting no geographic structure in long-term Neotropical diversification. In contrast, diversification dynamics differ across taxa: plant diversity mostly expanded through time (88%), while a substantial fraction (43%) of tetrapod diversity accumulated at a slower pace or declined toward the present. These opposite evolutionary patterns may reflect different capacities for plants and tetrapods to cope with past climate changes.
Data availability
The chronogram dataset and the diversification results are archived in Dryad (72). All other data used or generated in this manuscript are presented in the manuscript, or its supplementary material.
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The Origins and Drivers of Neotropical DiversityDryad Digital Repository, doi:10.5061/dryad.kwh70rz4w.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-LABX-25-01)
- Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Frédéric Delsuc
- Fabien Condamine
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-CE31-0009)
- Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Frédéric Delsuc
- Fabien Condamine
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2020-120145GA-I00)
- Andrea S Meseguer
Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid, Atraccion de Talento (2019-T1/AMB-12648)
- Andrea S Meseguer
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2019-108109GB-I00)
- Ricarda Riina
Swedish Research Council (2019-05191)
- Alexandre Antonelli
Natural Environment Research Council (NE/S014470/1)
- Guillaume Chomicki
Swiss Orchid Foundation
- Oscar A Pérez Escobar
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (IJCI-2017-32301)
- Andrea S Meseguer
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2022, Meseguer et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Diversification dynamics in the Neotropics through time, clades and biogeographic regions
eLife 11:e74503.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.74503
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