Generalized tracks, area cladograms and tectonics in the Caribbean

Abstract

Aim To test the 'naturalness', or integrity as a biogeographical unit, of the Caribbean subregion.Location A wide geographical range in the Caribbean (32°N, 115°W; 10°S, 56°W). As units of analysis, 43 biogeographical provinces were used: 24 assigned to the Caribbean subregion, and 19 provinces situated north and south of this subregion, which were used as outgroup areas.Methods We analysed 895 plant and animal taxa distributed in the Caribbean. We used parsimony analysis of endemicity with progressive character elimination (PAE-PCE) to identify generalized tracks and nodes, and parsimony analysis of paralogy-free subtrees to infer their historical relationships. ResultsWe obtained 10 generalized tracks and five nodes from the panbiogeographical analysis and 14 most parsimonious general area cladograms from the cladistic biogeographical analysis. In general terms, the results of both analyses are congruent, reflecting a similar history of vicariant events in the Caribbean area.Main conclusions Panbiogeographical and cladistic biogeographical analyses reflected a similar history of vicariant events in the Caribbean: the Caribbean subregion as it is currently defined does not represent a 'natural' biogeographical unit; the Isthmus of Tehuantepec might not represent a conspicuous biogeographical barrier; and the biogeographical relevance of the Isthmus of Panama exceeds the last 3 million years, which is the time it has operated as a connection between North and South America.

Track analysis of the Nearctic region: Identifying complex areas with mammals

“…The main nine nodes are located in the Chiapas Highlands province (Morrone et al., ) and one in Central America, both being node‐diverse geographical areas. Other plant and animal taxa coincide in the location of their nodes in southern Chiapas (Echeverry & Morrone, ; see also their Appendix 3). On the other hand, most of the nodes resulting from the intersection of the nested Mesoamerican and Neotropic GTs are located in highlands, mainly in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt and Sierra Madre del Sur provinces (Morrone et al., ) in the Mexican transition zone, although there are nodes in Pacific lowlands as well.…”

“…Some of the GTs are located mainly in lowlands and plains, such as California, Columbia Plateau, Mexican Plateau, and Neotropic, while others include mainly mountainous areas (e.g., Mesoamerican and Southern Rocky Mountains). There are few published panbiogeographic analyses including North America with which to compare our results (Campos‐Soldini, García, & Safenraiter, ; Contreras‐Medina, Luna, & Morrone, ; Mercado‐Salas, Pozo, Morrone, & Suárez‐Morales, ; Palma‐Ramírez, Goyenechea, & Castillo‐Cerón, ) as well as some South American studies (Echeverry & Morrone, ; Quijano‐Abril, Callejas‐Posada, & Miranda‐Esquivel, ). In general, all published analyses coincided with western and central differentiated patterns in the Nearctic region and the Mesoamerican and Neotropical patterns.…”

“…For Echeverry and Morrone (), the Mesoamerican GT ends at the Motagua–Polochic Fault Zone, the boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates, and they suggest that this GT is a major barrier, emphasizing the plate boundary area, a transformal fault zone and possibly an alternative boundary between the Nearctic and Neotropical biotas. The Mesoamerican pattern was also proposed by Morrone and Márquez ().…”

Revisión y análisis panbiogeográfico de las Hymenophyllaceae de las Yungas meridionales de Argentina (Selva Tucumano-Boliviana)

“…Además las Hymenophyllaceae, por su alta dependencia de la humedad ambiental, no sobrepasarían barreras biogeográficas como pueden ser los océanos, las montañas y, en particular, las regiones áridas representada en la región por la Zona de Transición Sudamericana. De acuerdo al enfoque Panbiogeográfico, los eventos tectónicos y climáticos son la mayor fuerza de los cambios geográficos y fragmentación de los componentes bióticos ancestrales (Echeverry & Morrone 2013). Hennequin et al (2006) han demostrado que Hymenophyllum posee una distribución ancestral gondwánica, y que luego sufrió eventos vicariantes que se corresponden a la secuencia de fragmentación del supercontinente Gondwana en cuatro regiones: América del Sur, África, Madagascar-India y la Antártida-Australia-Nueva Zelanda-Nueva Caledonia.…”

Análisis panbiogeográfico del género Galianthe subgénero Ebelia (Rubiaceae)

“…En el enfoque de la Panbiogeografía, los eventos tectónicos (vicarianza tectónica) y climáticos (vicariaza dinámica) constituyen la mayor fuerza de los cambios geográficos y fragmentación de las biotas ancestrales (Echeverry & Morrone 2013). Las relaciones distribucionales de la biota del Cono Sur se vieron afectadas principalmente por fenómenos climáticos y geomorfológicos, que comenzaron durante la segunda parte del Neógeno (Crisci et al 2001& Ponce et al 2002.…”