Borneo and Indochina are Major Evolutionary Hotspots for Southeast Asian Biodiversity

Title
Borneo and Indochina are Major Evolutionary Hotspots for Southeast Asian Biodiversity
Publication Date
2014
Author(s)
De Bruyn, Mark
Stelbrink, Bjorn
Maiorano, Luigi
Shoup, Robert
Von Rintelen, Thomas
Morley, Robert J
Hall, Robert
Carvalho, Gary R
Cannon, Charles H
Van Den Bergh, Gerritt
Meijaard, Erik
Metcalfe, Ian
Boitani, Luigi
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1093/sysbio/syu047
UNE publication id
une:16217
Abstract
Tropical Southeast (SE) Asia harbors extraordinary species richness and in its entirety comprises four of the Earth's 34 biodiversity hotspots. Here, we examine the assembly of the SE Asian biota through time and space. We conduct meta-analyses of geological, climatic, and biological (including 61 phylogenetic) data sets to test which areas have been the sources of long-term biological diversity in SE Asia, particularly in the pre-Miocene, Miocene, and Plio Pleistocene, and whether the respective biota have been dominated by 'in situ' diversification, immigration and/or emigration, or equilibrium dynamics. We identify Borneo and Indochina, in particular, as major "evolutionary hotspots" for a diverse range of fauna and flora. Although most of the region's biodiversity is a result of both the accumulation of immigrants and in situ diversification, within-area diversification and subsequent emigration have been the predominant signals characterizing Indochina and Borneo's biota since at least the early Miocene. In contrast, colonization events are comparatively rare from younger volcanically active emergent islands such as Java, which show increased levels of immigration events. Few dispersal events were observed across the major biogeographic barrier of Wallace's Line. Accelerated efforts to conserve Borneo's flora and fauna in particular, currently housing the highest levels of SE Asian plant and mammal species richness, are critically required.
Link
Citation
Systematic Biology, 63(6), p. 879-901
ISSN
1076-836X
1063-5157
Start page
879
End page
901

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