Southern Andean Region Research Articles

Medium and large mammals in an Andean National Park in southwestern Colombia

Abstract The Complejo Volcánico Doña Juana – Cascabel National Natural Park is located between the departments of Cauca and Nariño in the southern Andean Region of Colombia. Due to the country’s social challenges and the difficult access to the Doña Juana – Cascabel National Natural Park the biological knowledge concerning groups such as mammals, is based on studies prior to the park’s declaration, reports from park rangers and residents. Between October 2017 and February 2018, eight trail cameras were set up in the Doña Juana – Cascabel National Natural Park and its buffer zone. We reviewed the information captured in these cameras and identified eight mammal species, three of which are new reports for the park. In total, 24 species were reported, including charismatic Andean species such as the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), and the Andean tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). The mammal diversity documented for the park is low (24 species) compared to other Andean areas. Further field work is necessary to complete the species inventories. Nevertheless, this research, to our knowledge is the first effort to study the medium and large mammals of the Doña Juana – Cascabel National Natural Park since its establishment in 2008.

The moon cycle influences reproductive and productive traits in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) from a tropical Andean area

ABSTRACT There is currently innumerable evidence showing that the lunar cycle affects various reproductive aspects in farm animals. However, there is very little information on the effect of the lunar cycle on productive traits in these species. A retrospective study was conducted (2015–2018) to evaluate the influence of the lunar cycle on some reproductive and productive traits in a guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) production system in the southern Andean region of Ecuador. A total of 7352 productive and reproductive records of guinea pig females housed in 3 m2 cages with a breeding male were analyzed. The following variables were considered: offspring sex ratio, litter size per cage, number of weaned guinea pigs, mortality, individual and litter weaning weight of guinea pigs, and calving frequency. The lunar cycle was split into eight periods of ~3.7-d length each. Data were analyzed by logistic regression and general linear model, and means were compared by the least mean squares method of the SAS. The offspring sex ratio was not correlated to the lunar cycle. The lunar cycle at mating and calving influenced the litter size per cage, number of weaned, and mortality of guinea pigs. The individual and litter-weaning weights were influenced by the lunar cycle at calving. The frequency of calving was greater around the new and full moon than in the remaining periods of the lunar cycle. In conclusion, the lunar cycle influenced several productive and reproductive traits in guinea pigs, such as litter size, mortality, number of pups weaned, and individual and litter weaning weights. This valuable information may have practical applications in management of guinea pig production systems.

Phylogeny-based taxonomic revision and niche modelling of the rove beetle genus Loncovilius Germain, 1903 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae)

Abstract Using a phylogenetic analysis as a baseline, we conducted a taxonomic revision of the genus Loncovilius Germain, 1903 which now includes 10 valid species. Of them, six species, all restricted to the southern Andean region, are described as new for science: Loncovilius barclayisp. nov., L. cantharoidessp. nov., L. carlsbergisp. nov., L. hammondisp. nov., L. impunctussp. nov., and Loncovilius variabilissp. nov. A lectotype is designated for Loncovilius edwardsianus and an updated key is provided for the identification of all species of the genus. Apoquediusstat. nov. and Lienturiusstat. nov. initially described as a subgenera, are given a status of separate genera within Amblyopinini. Our phylogeny necessitated the following new combinations: Apoquedius aeneipennis, comb. nov., A. piciformis, comb. nov., Lienturius leiocephalus, comb. nov., Sphingoquedius discoideus, comb. nov. and S. brevis, comb. nov. and Sphingoquedius nanus, comb. nov. The ecological niche modeling analyses predict a substantial contraction of the local distribution range of L. cantharoides, L. edwardsianus, and L. lividipennis during the warmer periods of the future. For L. variabilis most areas are predicted to remain suitable.

Taxonomic review of the Andean crab spiders genus Coenypha Simon, 1895 (Thomisidae: Stephanopinae).

The genus Coenypha Simon, 1895 is composed of species distributed on the Southern Andean Region and Patagonia, and presents remarkable somatic morphologies, such as the flattened habitus, enlarged femora I, and a wide opisthosoma. Molecular and morphology-based phylogenies have revealed the close relationship of this genus with sympatric species previously assigned to Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869. Our recent cladistic analysis extended such preliminary results in recovering numerous morphological characters as synapomorphies of a well-supported clade, thus justifying the transfer of all species of 'Andean Stephanopis' to Coenypha. In the present work, we provide a taxonomic review of these species, update their diagnoses, descriptions and illustrate them through detailed photographs. New distribution records are presented, the male of C. antennata (Tullgren, 1902) is described for the first time, and two new species are described based on both sexes (Coenypha trapezium sp. nov. and Coenypha foliacea sp. nov.). Stephanopis exigua (Nicolet, 1849) is considered a nomen dubium. Stephanopis verrucosa (Nicolet, 1849), Thomisus spectrum Nicolet, 1849, and T. pubescens Nicolet, 1849 are synonymized with Coenypha nodosa (Nicolet, 1849). The synonymy of Thomisus nicoleti Roewer, 1951 (a replaced name for T. cinereus Nicolet, 1849 due to a homonymy) with Misumenops temibilis (Holmberg, 1876) is rejected, and considered together with Stephanopis spissa (Nicolet, 1849), Thomisus variabilis Nicolet, 1849 and Stephanopis maulliniana Mello-Leitão, 1951, synonyms of Coenypha ditissima (Nicolet, 1849); Stephanopis badia Keyserling, 1880 is transferred to Sidymella Strand, 1942.

“Ways of Doing” Pottery in the Cajón Valley (Argentine Northwest) during the First Centuries AD

This article presents an example of ceramic circulation and exchange networks in the southern Andean region during the first centuries AD, derived from the study of the production, circulation, and consumption of the pottery assemblages found in the villages of Cardonal and Bordo Marcial, located in the Cajón Valley in Catamarca, Argentina. Our analysis of the technical, morphological, and design aspects of the ceramics suggested six morphological groups using three representation techniques and 16 paste recipes; we also found that locally manufactured vessels were used together with ceramics of nonlocal origin in similar domestic contexts. In addition, the foreign ceramic materials suggest that there were networks of interaction between Cardonal and Bordo Marcial and other regions, such as the southern Puna, the Hualfín Valley, the Rosario-Lerma Basin, and the San Francisco Valley in northwestern Argentina.

Assessment of Land Surface Schemes from the WRF-Chem for Atmospheric Modeling in the Andean Region of Ecuador

Surface interactions occur near the land–atmosphere interface, thus affecting the temperature, convection, boundary layer, and stability of the atmosphere. A proper representation of surface interactions is a crucial component for numerical atmospheric and air quality modeling. We assessed four land surface schemes—1. 5–layer thermal diffusion scheme (1 5-Layer); 2. unified Noah land surface model (2 Noah); 3. rapid update cycle (3 RUC) land surface model; and 4. Pleim–Xiu land surface model (4 Pleim–Xiu)—from the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem V3.2) model for the purposes of atmospheric modeling in Cuenca, which is a region with a complex topography and land use configuration and which is located in the Southern Andean region, in Ecuador. For this purpose, we modeled the meteorological and air quality variables during September 2014. It was found that the meteorological and short-term air quality variables were better modeled through the 2 Noah scheme. Long-term (mean monthly) air quality variables were better modeled by the 1 5–Layer and 3 RUC options. On average, the 2 Noah scheme was better at modeling meteorology and air quality. In addition, we assessed the 2 Noah scheme combined with the urban canopy model (UCM) (5 Noah UCM), which was developed as an option to represent the urban effects at a subgrid-scale. Results indicated that the performance of the 5 Noah UCM scheme was not better at modeling than the 2 Noah scheme alone. Moreover, the 5 Noah UCM scheme notably decreased the modeling performance for carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. These results complement previous assessments of other schemes, allowing us to recommend a basic configuration of parameters for atmospheric modeling in the Andean region of Ecuador.

How Close Are We to Self-Provisioning? A Look at the Livelihood Strategies of Rural Households in the Southern Andean Region of Colombia

Production for self-provisioning contributes to food security in rural territories; however, studies have indicated that this capacity is limited. We analyzed the impact of livelihood strategies on self-provisioning conditions in 162 rural households in the department of Huila, Colombia. We analyzed: a. source of foods; b. composition of home gardens; c. push and pull factors towards self-provisioning. We found that rural households are 79% dependent on grocery stores for their food. Only 51% of households have a home garden, with limited plant species diversity. Capacity for self-provisioning varies according to the livelihood strategies and capitals endowment of the household. Those households with a greater diversity of agricultural activities have higher capacity for self-provisioning. Conditions that are often the main objective of rural development programs, such as improving the economic income of families, turn out to be contradictory to the capacity to produce the food itself. For example, the larger the area to grow crops or keep livestock and the better the economic income, the greater the external dependence on food.

Energy Modernisation and Regional Reorganisation of the Southern Andes: The Unexpected Materialities of the Southern Peruvian Gas Pipeline

Since 2004, gas operations in Camisea have been restructuring the Peruvian energy system. The pivot of Peruvian energy production has shifted from the high mountains and their water resources to the Andean foothills, and a vast political programme of gas network construction and gas massification was launched in the mid-2000s. This article aims to question the materiality of the energy change implemented in the Southern Andean region of the country, which does not involve renewable energy, but has crystallised around a gas pipeline project and its outcomes (thermal power plants, urban networks, etc.). From an interpretive framework articulating notions of development imaginaries with a critical approach of the materiality of energy modernisation, this article builds its analysis drawing from a variety of sources that combine field work and the vast number of documents published on the project in order to map energy change in this region, and the values associated to it. While the symbolic object of the Southern Peruvian Gas Pipeline is presented in discourses as the triumphant advent of energy modernisation in which the State is the central actor, it has given rise to fragmented energy materialities, and a distorted energy change, moving away from its primary social goal.

Anticipation Mechanism for Cold Wave: Forecast Based Financing a Case Study in the Peruvian Andes

In June 2018, the Peruvian provinces of Arequipa and Puno in the southern Andean region were affected by heavy snowfall, which caused severe damage to people and livelihoods in several communities. Using the Forecast-based Financing approach, the Peruvian Red Cross implemented its pre-defined early action protocol before this event, after receiving an extreme snowfall warning (Level 4) from the Peruvian meteorological service. Here, we provide a case study of the approach and event itself, documenting the decision-making thresholds as well as the actions taken. This warning activated the thresholds established in the protocol, and Peruvian Red Cross prioritized 10 communities for pre-disaster support based on the forecasted severity of the event in combination with vulnerability and exposure information. The activation took place 2 days before the extreme snowfall in the communities, and the Red Cross distributed veterinary kits for 50 heads of cattle per family, tarpaulins, tool kits to install a temporary awning for alpacas to protect them from the cold wind and snow, protection kits for alpaca herders and warm clothing for children under five, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with chronic and infectious diseases in 430 highly vulnerable households. This article presents the results of a household survey following the impact of the extreme snowfall. We document the early actions taken by these communities to protect their livelihoods, health, and assets. The evaluation also presents descriptive statistics of household-level outcomes for households receiving pre-snowfall support and those that did not receive any intervention or only received post-disaster assistance. While most households took action to protect their assets, there were fewer extreme losses of alpaca herds reported in the communities who received the early support, and these communities also reported fewer adults suffering from respiratory illnesses. More in-depth research on this type of early action is necessary on a wider scale, especially to evaluate the utility of different support measures and the necessary quantity of support needed. This case study can inform government, civil society, and humanitarian actors of how early action is happening before disasters occur and provide a direction for further investment in research and practice to make use of hydro-meteorological forecasts for the benefit of the most vulnerable.

The slab gap-related Late Cretaceous-Paleocene magmatism of southern Patagonia

The only Late Cretaceous-Paleocene intraplate magmatic unit of southern Patagonia, known as the Las Mercedes basalt, is petrogenetically studied in its geodynamic context. The outcrops of this unit are thin ridges located in a narrow 50 km wide latitudinal strip (∼48 °S) of the central region of the Deseado Massif, generated by pahoeoe-type lava flows that probably covered large ancient streams and rivers. Compositionally the rocks are metaluminous basanites and alkaline and subalkaline basalts uninfluenced by slab-derived components with Mg# ranging from 53.9–65. The origin of this intraplate igneous manifestation would have been related to the opening of a Late Cretaceous-Paleocene trench-perpendicular slab tear of the Aluk subducting plate. This event induced the decompression melting of the sub-slab silica-deficient garnet pyroxenite asthenosphere causing the extrusion of a discrete volume of basalts. The slab anisotropy was generated by the slab-dip change in a transition region from a flattened sector (north of ∼48 °S) related to a large flat-slab (Nalé flat-slab) to one with steeper subduction angle (south of ∼48 °S). Also, this slab tearing would be responsible for the anomalous occurrence of intraplate magmatism located in the same latitudinal strip of the Las Mercedes basalt but in the Andean magmatic arc region, which together represent the only Late Cretaceous igneous activity unrelated to the magmatic arc in central-southern Patagonia and southern Andean region.

The Rayed Head and Stepped Platform: A Core Symbol of the Southern Andean Iconographic Series

This paper will explore various manifestations of the Rayed Head motif that is found on textiles produced by the Nasca, Sihuas, and Pucara cultures during the Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE – 600 CE), in the southern Andean region of South America. The Brooklyn Museum’s famous Nasca mangle, also known as “The Paracas Textile,” features repeating images of the Rayed Head motif on its interior cotton panel. Sihuas mantles also display distinctive manifestations of the motif in the form of a large rectangular head with highly stylized features and surrounded by radiating appendages. The late textile scholar and archaeologist Joerg Haeberli has pointed out many similarities between Sihuas and Nasca textiles such as their weaving techniques and iconography (including the Rayed Head), and has proposed that the valleys of Arequipa and the south coast were linked during the late Early Horizon and Early Intermediate Period, perhaps due to dispersed Nasca enclaves in Arequipa. Utilizing textiles in the Brooklyn Museum and other public and private collections, the author will further explore this regional relationship as well as a similar iconographic correspondence with the Rayed Head motif found on Pucara-style objects associated with the Yaya-Mama (Father-Mother) religious tradition in the Lake Titicaca of Peru and Bolivia.

Analysis of brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for panic discorder

The aim of this study was to determine if a modification made to the traditional treatments for panic disorder (PD) proved to be effective in adjusting to the cultural and economic characteristics of patients in the southern Andean Region of Colombia. A quasi-experimental model was used, measurements were taken before and after treatment and follow-ups took place after 1 and 2 years; the sample was made up of 82 people (47 women and 35 men, with an average age of 34 and 29 years respectively). Results showed a reduction of PD clinical symptoms after the treatment (d>0.8), the significance in all cases was p <0.001 and changes maintained throughout the follow up period. In conclusion, it is posible to draw the treatment closer to the socio-cultural characteristics of patients to whom it is directed and the number of sessions could be reduced maintaining the effectiveness of the treatment.

Cuerpos ardientes.

The prehispanic metallic production in the Southern Andean region adquired a particular identity, which not only was exposed in the manuractured items but in the technological innovations performed. In this presentation it is comment on evidences about a sofisticated procedure for metal casting which was reported in NOA and Northern Chile contexts. It is proposed that the procedure was developed in NOA area and spreaded all around during the Inca ocupation to other metallurgical production centers in the Meridional Andes.

Forest Site Classification in the Southern Andean Region of Ecuador: A Case Study of Pine Plantations to Collect a Base of Soil Attributes

Forest site classification adapted to the respective site conditions is one prerequisite for sustainable silviculture. This work aims to initiate the forest site classification for pine plantations in the southern Andean region of Ecuador. Forest productivity, estimated by the dominant height of 20-year-old trees (DH20), was related to data from climate, topography, and soil using 23 plots installed in pine plantations in the province of Loja. Forest site productivity was classified as: low (class C: 13.4 m), middle (class B: 16.6 m), and high (Class A: 22.3 m). Strong determinants to differentiate the forest site classes were: the short to medium term available Ca and K stocks (organic layer + mineral soil standardized to a depth of 60 cm), soil acidity, the C:N ratio, clay and sand content, forest floor thickness, altitude, and slope. The lowest forest productivity (Class C) is mainly associated with the lowest short to medium term available K and Ca stocks. Whereas, in site classes with the highest forest productivity, pines could benefit from a more active microbial community releasing N and P, since the soil pH was about 1 unit less acidic. This is supported by the lowest forest floor thickness and the narrowest C:N ratio.

The socio-ritual organisation of the upper Limarí Valley: Two rock art traditions, one landscape

The Limarí Valley stands within Central Northern Chile and forms part of the foothills of the western Southern Andean region. In terms of altitude, much of the upper reaches of the valley stands over 1000 m above sea level. The natural environment comprises mainly semi-arid scrubland. During later prehistoric times, the Limarí Valley would have provided an important access route between the Pacific Ocean and communities occupying the valley (and its tributary valleys to the north and south). It is within the upper reaches of the valley that prehistoric rock art is located in a variety of locates including rock shelters and open-air sites. Many sites show that both painting and engraving techniques have been applied. This diverse media, along with changes in style, composition and subject matter reflects at two different chronological phases: hunter-gatherers and agrarian communities.In this short paper we compare the socio-ritual organisation of landscape among these two communities that at different times occupied this semi-arid area. Despite the aridity of this landscape, water appears to be the main focus for ritual activity among hunter-gatherers, especially within the secluded upland side valleys. Whilst hunter-gatherer rock art is associated with settlement, agrarian rock art relates to route-ways and the movement of people; here panels appear to act as markers within a transitional landscape. Fieldwork has revealed that hunter-gatherer rock art was usually placed close to flowing water, whilst agrarian rock art sites were located in isolated places, and with no apparent relationship with water. Both hunter-gatherer and agrarian communities are paradoxically contradicting each other in that hunter-gatherer rock art is metaphorically sedentary and agrarian rock art is fluid.Both regimes show how two different ways to engaged with arid places in the Southern Andean region; one related with water and the other with the movement of people and commodities. Both are key aspects to how communities utilised the same landscape, but in different ways and at different times.

El modernismo brasileño en la Vanguardia Latinoamericana

Mendonca Teles, G. & Muller-Bergh, K. (Eds.). (2015). Vanguardia Latinoamericana. Historia, critica y documentos [Tomo VI, Brasil]. Frankfurt am Main/Madrid: Vervuert/Iberoamericana. Following the publication of the volumes of work dedicated to the literature of Mexico and Central America (Tome I), Caraibas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles (Tome II), South America, the North Andean region (Tome III), South America, Southern Andean region (Tome IV), and South America, Chile and the Plata countries (Tome V), the Latin-American Vanguard Collection. History, review and documents dedicates his sixth tome (Iberoamericana Editorial Vervuert, 2015), authored, coordinated and organized by Gilberto Mendonca Teles and Klaus Muller-Bergh, to the Brazilian literary production in the period of nineteenth century Modernism.

Comprehensive Survey of Domiciliary Triatomine Species Capable of Transmitting Chagas Disease in Southern Ecuador.

BackgroundChagas disease is endemic to the southern Andean region of Ecuador, an area with one of the highest poverty rates in the country. However, few studies have looked into the epidemiology, vectors and transmission risks in this region. In this study we describe the triatomine household infestation in Loja province, determine the rate of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in triatomines and study the risk factors associated with infestation.Methodology/Principal FindingsAn entomological survey found four triatomine species (Rhodnius ecuadoriensis, Triatoma carrioni, Panstrongylus chinai, and P. rufotuberculatus) infesting domiciles in 68% of the 92 rural communities examined. Nine percent of domiciles were infested, and nymphs were observed in 80% of the infested domiciles. Triatomines were found in all ecological regions below 2,200 masl. We found R. ecuadoriensis (275 to 1948 masl) and T. carrioni (831 to 2242 masl) mostly in bedrooms within the domicile, and they were abundant in chicken coops near the domicile. Established colonies of P. chinai (175 to 2003 masl) and P. rufotuberculatus (404 to 1613 masl) also were found in the domicile. Triatomine infestation was associated with surrogate poverty indicators, such as poor sanitary infrastructure (lack of latrine/toilet [w = 0.95], sewage to environment [w = 1.0]). Vegetation type was a determinant of infestation [w = 1.0] and vector control program insecticide spraying was a protective factor [w = 1.0]. Of the 754 triatomines analyzed, 11% were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and 2% were infected with T. rangeli.Conclusions/SignificanceTo date, only limited vector control efforts have been implemented. Together with recent reports of widespread sylvatic triatomine infestation and frequent post-intervention reinfestation, these results show that an estimated 100,000 people living in rural areas of southern Ecuador are at high risk for T. cruzi infection. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic, sustained, and monitored vector control intervention that is coupled with improvement of socio-economic conditions.

Ennealophus tucumanensis (Tigridieae: Iridaceae), a new species from Argentina

A new species of Ennealophus of the tribe Tigridieae (E. tucumanensis Huaylla) from the southern Andean region of South America is described and illustrated. This species is recognised by its inner tepals being oblong with rounded margins and coloured blue with a darker blue spot at the base of the tepals, and style branches centrally sinuate with lateral ridges.

Impactos de El Niño y La Niña en las lluvias del Perú (1965-2007)

Los impactos de El Niño (EN) y La Niña (LN) en las lluvias del Perú son evaluados utilizando datos de lluvias mensuales (1965-2007) de 155 estaciones distribuidos sobre las tres vertientes hidrográficas del Perú: 85 en la del Pacífico (VP), 21 en la del Lago Titicaca (VT) y 49 en la del Amazonas (VA). En una primera etapa, clasificamos los eventos El Niño y La Niña utilizando el Índice Troup de Oscilación del Sur (IOS) sobre la base de años hidrológicos (septiembre a agosto). Con esta información, los años se clasificaron en El Niño fuerte (ENF), El Niño moderado (ENM), La Niña moderada (LNM) y La Niña fuerte (LNF). Los resultados muestran que sólo durante los eventos ENF y LNF se observa un alto porcentaje de estaciones con anomalías significativas de precipitación y sobre todo localizadas en la VP y VT durante el periodo de diciembre a mayo. Nuestro análisis confirma que la parte norte de la VP presenta un aumento de las lluvias durante ENF, mientras que la región sur andina de la VP presenta disminución (aumento) de lluvias durante ENF (LNF). La VT, por su parte, presenta un importante déficit de lluvias durante ENF. La variación de la precipitación en la VA en cambio, es más sensible a los eventos de LNF, durante los cuales se observan lluvias más importantes de lo normal. En una segunda etapa, se analizan los principales modos de variabilidad interanual de las lluvias en el Perú utilizando la técnica de funciones ortogonales empíricas (EOF). Los resultados son relacionados con la variabilidad de la temperatura superficial del mar y los índices IOS, E y C del Pacífico ecuatorial. Se encontró que el principal modo de variabilidad de las lluvias (CP1, 37% de la varianza total) está asociado a los dos eventos EN extraordinarios (1983 y 1998), lo cual generó abundantes lluvias en el norte de la VP y sequías en la VT y la VA. Por su parte, el segundo modo de variabilidad de las lluvias (CP2, 25%) se correlaciona con las anomalías de la temperatura superficial del mar en el Pacífico ecuatorial central, condiciones frías en esta región (LN) causan más lluvias de lo normal en la región Andina de la VP, la VT y en la VA. En conclusión, se observa que la variabilidad del océano Pacífico no permite explicar la totalidad de la variabilidad pluviométrica en el Perú, por lo cual se describe como perspectiva considerar otras regiones como el Océano Atlántico Tropical.

Update: Updated DIVA program

ISSN 1948-6596 news and update update Updated DIVA program Botanists have long been stuck on the flora agenda, collecting and cataloging plants, and eventually producing narrative explanations of distributions. With increased data access and new analytic tools, the approach is now rapidly chang- ing towards synthesis of more general character. A recent paper in PNAS, by Alexandre An- tonelli and colleagues improves the standard set of tools for biogeographic reconstruction. The core of this paper is a molecular phylogeny of the coffee family (Rubiaceae), with broad taxon sam- pling but main focus on the Neotropics. The in- credible biodiversity of this region is often ex- plained from the extent and geological age of its rainforests, and from niche conservatism, whereby the once-widespread tropical biomes became restricted to low latitudes after the global cooling at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. The Andes is often assumed to have played a big role in South America, although it is poorly under- stood, first of all because the orogeny was often considered as a single, time-limited event. Little attention has been given to the fact that discrete geological structures were uplifted at different times, and to how the mountains affected the cli- mate of adjacent lowlands and constrained disper- sal within the lowlands. Montane biotas are often assumed to be young, recruited from adjacent lowlands, but mountains also seem to play a role as crates of biodiversity and dispersal centers. The study presents standard parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis and a likelihood estimation of evolutionary time. Building on Ron- quist’s DIVA program, Johan Nylander developed a new tool for biogeographic reconstruction, which uses a Bayesian sample of highly probable trees, thereby generating credibility support val- ues for alternative relationships. Thus, even with partially resolved trees and incomplete taxon sampling, the method provides very stable recon- structions of ancestral areas for the different phy- logenetic nodes. The combined chronogram and bio- geographic analysis demonstrates: (1) an old world origin of the Rubiaceae with dispersal to North America, before the opening of the North Atlantic in the Eocene, and (2) then to South America (which rejects the former view of Gond- wanic origin). (3) During late Oligocene to early Miocene, when the Amazon drained west through a Western Andean Portal, radiation took place in what is now the northern Andes and Amazonia, while the southern Andean region was out of reach. (4) From the mid-Miocene the Andes was connected as a continuous dispersal avenue, but at the same time it was isolated from the eastern Amazonian lowlands by marine incursions from the north and enormous wetlands. (5) Finally, when the present Amazonian drainage pattern to the Atlantic was established in the upper Mio- cene, there was a strong flora exchange through- out the tropical South American lowlands. Alto- gether, the study reveals a clear sequence of events of dispersal and diversification in distinct areas. The analytic approach has been used also in two recent studies of transoceanic dispersal in birds, and we must expect many further examples to follow. Antonelli, A., Nylander, J.A.A., Persson, C. & Sanmartin, I. (2009) Tracing the impact of the Andean uplift on Neotropical plant evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 106, Jon Fjeldsa Natural History Museum of Denmark, Univer- sity of Copenhagen, Denmark e-mail: jfjeldsaa@snm.ku.dk http://snm.ku.dk/english/staffsnm/staff/profile/? id=75192 Edited by Camilla Flojgaard © 2009 the authors; journal compilation © 2009 The International Biogeography Society — frontiers of biogeography 1.1, 2009