Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research.

Alexandre Antonelli ,Hans Ter Steege ,Lúcia G Lohmann ,Marcelo F Tejedor ,Pável Matos‐Maraví ,Thaís Guedes ,María Oliva Rodríguez Ariza ,James S Albert ,Daniele Silvestro ,Fernanda P Werneck ,Christine D Bacon ,Søren Faurby ,Carina Hoorn ,Tobias Andermann ,Alexander Zizka ,Hanna Tuomisto ,Camila Duarte Ritter ,Isabel Sanmartín ,Josué A R Azevedo ,Scott V Edwards

doi:10.7717/peerj.5644

Abstract

The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of “trans-disciplinary biogeography,” which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow’s ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life.

Highlights

Antonelli et al: Neotropical biodiversity Abstract: The outstanding biodiversity found in the American tropics has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT PATTERNS OF NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY? 67 68 Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life across all levels of biological organization (Gaston & Spicer, 69 2004)
As such, understanding Neotropical biodiversity patterns and the processes associated with its origin and maintenance is complex (Magurran, 2013)

Summary

FUNDING STATEMENT

The workshop ‘Origins of Biodiversity’ was funded by Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg. Density maps for geo-referenced species 1979 occurrences available from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility for four organism groups 1980 between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (23.5 °S to 23.5 °N), showing the main spatial biases of 1981 taxonomic sampling. 1988 Fig. 3 The complex topography of South America. This map highlights the topographic differences 1989 across the continent, major mountain chains and river basins. 1996 Fig. 4 Main evolutionary and ecological processes contributing to the formation of species richness. Note the hierarchical organization of processes resulting in species richness, 2000 with evolutionary processes occurring over regional to continental spatiotemporal scales and ecological 2001 processes occurring over local scales.

Drivers of diversification

Biotic interactions