Biogeographic regionalization of the Neotropical region: New map and shapefile.

We provide a map and shapefile of the 57 biogeographic provinces of the Neotropical region. Recognition of these provinces is based on their endemic species, but their delimitation on the map is based on ecoregions combining climatic, geological, and biotic criteria. These provinces belong to the Antillean, Brazilian and Chacoan subregions, and the Mexican and South American transition zones. We provide a vector file of the biogeographical regionalization by converting the map into a polygon shapefile and a raster file with all provinces.

[Geographic data for Neotropical bats (Chiroptera)]. / Datos geográficos de los murciélagos (Chiroptera) en el Neotrópico.

The global effort to digitize biodiversity occurrence data from collections, museums and other institutions has stimulated the development of important tools to improve the knowledge and conservation of biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) enables and opens access to biodiversity data of 321 million of records, from 379 host institutions. Neotropical bats are a highly diverse and specialized group, and the geographic information about them is increasing since few years ago, but there are a few reports about this topic. The aim of this study was to analyze the number of digital records in GBIF of Neotropical bats with distribution in 21 American countries, evaluating their nomenclatural and geographical consistence at scale of country. Moreover, we evaluated the gaps of information on 1 degrees latitude x 1 degrees longitude grids cells. There were over 1/2 million records, but 58% of them have no latitude and longitude data; and 52% full fit nomenclatural and geographic evaluation. We estimated that there are no records in 54% of the analyzed area; the principal gaps are in biodiversity hotspots like the Colombian and Brazilian Amazonia and Southern Venezuela. In conclusion, our study suggests that available data on GBIF have nomenclatural and geographic biases. GBIF data represent partially the bat species richness and the main gaps in information are in South America.

Toward a biogeographic regionalization of the Nearctic region: Area nomenclature and digital map.

We provide a preliminary nomenclatural proposal and a digital map of the Nearctic region, based on published regionalizations, especially Dice (1943), and applying the International Code of Area Nomenclature. The Nearctic region is comprised of three subregions (one of them with two dominions), one transition zone and 29 provinces. The Arctic subregion, in northern North America and Greenland, includes the Eskimoan, Hudsonian, Aleutian and Sitkan provinces. The Western subregion, in western North America, includes the Californian dominion, with the Californian and Oregonian provinces; and the Rocky Mountain dominion, including the Montanian, Saskatchewan, Palusian, Artemisian, Coloradan, Kansan, Mohavian, Navahonian, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Comanche, and Baja California provinces. The Alleghany subregion, in eastern North America, includes the Illinoian, Canadian, Carolinian, Texan, Austroriparian, and Tamaulipan provinces. The Mexican Transition Zone, situated in the area of overlap with the Neotropical region, includes the Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur and Chiapas Highlands provinces.

Bioclimatic characterization of the world areas of Endemism identified for Mammals.

Areas of endemism (AoE) are identified by the congruence of two or more geographic distribution areas. They represent patterns of distribution resulting from ecological and evolutionary processes and constitute the basic units of biogeographic regionalizations; however, they are not usually environmentally characterized. The 54 world areas of endemism identified for terrestrial mammals were bioclimatically characterized by climate and biome type, using two diversity indices. The climatic characterization shows that tropical climates, mainly Aw (equatorial savannah with dry winter) and Af (equatorial rainforest, fully humid) were the most frequent; included in 32 areas of endemism. The most frequent biomes were the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, which grow at low altitudes. Most of the endemic taxa are located in lowlands, frequently from 0 to 1,000 m of altitude. Our results suggest that AoE are concentrated in tropical latitudes; however, we did not find any correlation between the homogeneity of the climate or the biome and the number of endemic taxa within each AoE. Therefore, we suggest that these AoE could have been mainly shaped by tectonic events, combined with environmental influence.

Mexican biogeographic provinces: Map and shapefiles.

We provide a map of the 14 biogeographic provinces of Mexico based on the ecoregions recognized for the country, which combine climatic, geological and biotic criteria. These provinces belong to the Nearctic region (Californian, Baja Californian, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Desert and Tamaulipas provinces), Neotropical region (Pacific Lowlands, Balsas Basin, Veracruzan and Yucatán Peninsula provinces) and the Mexican transition zone (Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur and Chiapas Highlands provinces). In order to facilitate future biogeographic analyses, we provide a file of the biogeographical regionalisation of Mexico by converting the map into a polygon shapefile and a raster file with all provinces. We also separately provide each of the provinces in vector and raster format. All the maps are in geographical and Lambert Conformal Conic projections.

áreas de endemimmo de los mamíferos (mamMalia)neotroiicales / Areas of Endemism of the Neotropical Mammals (Mammalia)

La identificación de las áreas de endemismo es un paso fundamental en los análisis de biogeografía evolutiva. Las áreas de endemismo han sido definidas por la congruencia de dos o más áreas de distribución, en donde se asume de manera general que los taxones endémicos tienen una respuesta geográfica similar a factores históricos y ambientales. Los mamíferos tienen alta diversidad en el Neotrópico y muchos de ellos han evolucionado en conjunto con esta región biogeográfica. Sin embargo, hay pocas hipótesis de áreas de endemismo que puedan ser relacionadas con la evolución de los mamíferos en el Neotrópico. En este estudio se identificaron las áreas de endemismo de los mamíferos neotropicales a partir del análisis de una matriz de 2052 taxones (familias, géneros y especies). Para ello se aplicó una búsqueda de áreas de endemismo con el método de Análisis de Endemicidad a una cuadrícula de 2° latitud-longitud. Se identificaron 101 áreas de endemismo y 498 taxones endémicos, las áreas coincidieron parcialmente con 65 patrones biogeográficos identificados por otros autores. La región Neotropical está compuesta por nueve áreas de endemismo y mostró múltiples límites, que sugieren un patrón dinámico. Se identificaron dos áreas complejas de intercambio biótico que coincidieron con las zonas de transición Mexicana y Sudamericana. La congruencia de las áreas de endemismo de mamíferos con otros esquemas biogeográficos sugiere que estas áreas han sido formadas tanto por factores históricos como ecológicos. Por otra parte, las incongruencias de las áreas de endemismo soportan un sistema biogeográfico no jerarquizado.

The identification of areas of endemism is an essential step in analyses of evolutionary biogeography. Areas of endemism have been defined by the congruency of two or more distributional areas, where there is a general assumption that the endemic taxa have a similar geographic response to historical and environmental factors. Mammals are highly diverse in the Neotropics, and most of them have evolved together with that biogeographical region. However, there are few hypotheses of areas of endemism that may be related with the evolution of the mammals in the Neotropics. We analyzed a matrix of 2052 taxa (families, genera and species) to identify the areas of endemism of the Neotropical mammals. The search of areas of endemism was performed using the Analysis of Endemicity method in a grid of 2° latitude -longitude. The analysis resulted in 101 areas and 498 endemic taxa, the areas partially matched with 65 biogeographical patterns previously identified by other authors. The Neotropical region is composed of nine areas of endemism and showed multiples boundaries, these characteristics suggest a dynamic pattern. Two complex areas of biotic interchange corresponded with the Mexican and Southamerican transitional zones. On one side, the congruence of areas of endemism of mammals with other biogeographical patterns suggests that historical and ecological factors have shaped the structure of those areas. On the other side, the incongruence of some areas of endemism supports a biogeographical system without hierarchy.

Datos geográficos de los murciélagos (Chiroptera) en el Neotrópico / Geographic data for Neotropical bats (Chiroptera)

The global effort to digitize biodiversity occurrence data from collections, museums and other institutions has stimulated the development of important tools to improve the knowledge and conservation of biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) enables and opens access to biodiversity data of 321 million of records, from 379 host institutions. Neotropical bats are a highly diverse and specialized group, and the geographic information about them is increasing since few years ago, but there are a few reports about this topic. The aim of this study was to analyze the number of digital records in GBIF of Neotropical bats with distribution in 21 American countries, evaluating their nomenclatural and geographical consistence at scale of country. Moreover, we evaluated the gaps of information on 1° latitude x 1° longitude grids cells. There were over 1/2 million records, but 58% of them have no latitude and longitude data; and 52% full fit nomenclatural and geographic evaluation. We estimated that there are no records in 54% of the analyzed area; the principal gaps are in biodiversity hotspots like the Colombian and Brazilian Amazonia and Southern Venezuela. In conclusion, our study suggests that available data on GBIF have nomenclatural and geographic biases. GBIF data represent partially the bat species richness and the main gaps in information are in South America.

Los esfuerzos globales para digitalizar los datos de ocurrencia de la biodiversidad en colecciones, museos y otras instituciones han estimulado el desarrollo de herramientas para mejorar el conocimiento y conservación de la biodiversidad. La “Global Biodiversity Information Facility” GBIF permite el acceso a más de 321 millones de registros, alojados en 379 instituciones. Los murciélagos neotropicales son un grupo muy diverso y especializado y la información geográfica del grupo se ha incrementado desde hace unos años, pero son pocos los reportes acerca del tema. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el número de registros disponibles en GBIF de los murciélagos neotropicales de 21 países de América. Por lo tanto, se evaluó la consistencia del nombre científico y la calidad geográfica a escala de país. Además, se evaluaron vacíos de información sobre una grilla de 1° latitud y 1° longitud. Hubo cerca de 1/2 millón de registros, de los cuales el 58% no incluyeron coordenadas geográficas; el 52% pasaron las dos evaluaciones. Se estimó que el 54% del área geográfica analizada no tiene registros; los vacíos están en centros de biodiversidad como la Amazonía y la Patagonia. En conclusión nuestros resultados sugieren que los datos disponibles en GBIF tienen sesgos geográficos y en los nombres científicos. Los datos de GBIF representan parcialmente las riquezas de murciélagos, además los principales vacíos de información se encuentran en América del Sur.

Cladistic biogeographic analysis suggests an early Caribbean diversification in Mexico.

The Great American Biotic Interchange has been the predominant paradigm for explaining biotic diversification in the Nearctic/Neotropical overlap or Mexican Transition Zone, which is commonly explained by the collision of the North and South American continental plates, which began in the Oligocene and fused both landmasses. In the most far-reaching cladistic biogeographical analysis of the area to date, evidence has been found supporting the existence of a remnant Caribbean region extending from eastern Mexico to southeastern USA, a hypothesis that challenges current views of the Great American Biotic Interchange and the Mexican Transition Zone. We show herein that an older terrane, which has drifted to the present day positions of Yucatan and Cuba, may be biogeographically linked to an early 'Gondwanan' biota of the Paleocene (ca. 60 Ma). The evidence indicates an east-west biotic divide in Mexico, existing before the collision and formation of Central America. The south-north division of the country, previously recognized by several authors as associated with the Great American Biotic Interchange and the Mexican Transition Zone, is of a younger age.

Ecological niche models and patterns of richness and endemism of the southern Andean genus Eurymetopum (Coleoptera, Cleridae) / Modelos de nicho ecológico y patrones de riqueza y endemismo del género andino austral Eurymetopum (Coleoptera, Cleridae)

Eurymetopum is an Andean clerid genus with 22 species. We modeled the ecological niches of 19 species with Maxent and used them as potential distributional maps to identify patterns of richness and endemicity. All modeled species maps were overlapped in a single map in order to determine richness. We performed an optimality analysis with NDM/VNDM in a grid of 1º latitude-longitude in order to identify endemism. We found a highly rich area, located between 32º and 41º south latitude, where the richest pixels have 16 species. One area of endemism was identified, located in the Maule and Valdivian Forest biogeographic provinces, which extends also to the Santiago province of the Central Chilean subregion, and contains four endemic species (E. parallelum, E. prasinum, E. proteus, and E. viride), as well as 16 non-endemic species. The sympatry of these phylogenetically unrelated species might indicate ancient vicariance processes, followed by episodes of dispersal. Based on our results, we suggest a close relationship between these provinces, with the Maule representing a complex area.

Eurymetopum es un género de cléridos andinos con 22 especies. Modelamos los nichos ecológicos de 19 especies con Maxent y los utilizamos como mapas de distribución potencial para identificar patrones de riqueza y endemismo. Todos los mapas de las especies se superpusieron en un mapa único para determinar la riqueza. Realizamos un análisis de optimalidad con NDM/VNDM en una cuadrícula de 1º de latitud-longitud para identificar el endemismo. Hallamos un área de mayor riqueza, localizada entre los 32º y 41º de latitud sur, donde los pixeles más ricos poseen 16 especies. Se identificó un área de endemismo en las provincias biogeográficas del Maule y el Bosque Valdiviano, la cual se extiende también a la provincia de Santiago de la subregión Chilena Central, y que contiene cuatro especies endémicas (E. parallelum, E. prasinum, E. proteus y E. viride), así como 16 especies no endémicas. La simpatría de estas especies filogenéticamente no relacionadas podría indicar antiguos procesos de vicarianza, seguidos de episodios de dispersión. Con base en nuestros resultados, sugerimos una relación cercana entre estas provincias, representando el Maule un área compleja.

Areas of endemism of mexican terrestrial mammals: a case study using species ecological niche modeling, parsimony analysis of endemicity and goloboff fit

Se identificaron áreas de endemismo de mamíferos terrestres de México, usando modelos de nicho ecológico proyectados como distribuciones potenciales de especies, con el fin de comparar su desempeño respecto a análisis previos que usan datos puntuales de ocurrencia, incorporando el ajuste de Goloboff al Análisis de Parsimonia de Endemismos (PAE) para mejorar la identificación de áreas de endemismo. Se desarrollaron seis PAE, combinados o no con el ajuste de Goloboff (k=0 y 2) usando distribuciones potenciales de especies de 429 mamíferos terrestres sobrepuestas a 248 y 232 cuadros de 1° de latitud-longitud a lo largo del país. Se utilizaron los índices de consistencia (CI) y retención (RI) para identificar especies endémicas, posiblemente endémicas y características. Con base en el cladograma de consenso estricto con k=0, se identificaron siete áreas de endemismo definidas por dos o más especies: el Altiplano Mexicano, la Península de Baja California (con un patrón de endemismo anidado en el sur y el norte), Chiapas (con un patrón de endemismo anidado en el sur y el norte), la Costa Pacífica Mexicana, el Istmo de Tehuantepec, la Sierra Madre Occidental y la Península de Yucatán. Los cladogramas de PAE usando distribuciones potenciales de las especies mostrarón una mejor resolución que aquellos producidos con datos de ocurrencia puntual, mostrando consensos con menor número de pasos y alto número de sinapomorfías. El ajuste de Goloboff (k) permitió menor pesado individual de especies "con ruido", incrementando el número de sinapomorfías en los cladogramas, e identificando más áreas de endemismo. Los cladogramas con k=0 tuvieron el mayor número de sinapomorfías, mientras que k=2 permitió obtener un menor número de cladogramas.