Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research
Journal article, 2018
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.
Biotic diversification
Landscape evolution
Community ecology
Scale
Phylogenetics
Biodiversity
Phylogeny
Phylogeography
Tropics
Biogeography
Author
Alexandre Antonelli
University of Gothenburg
Maria Ariza
University of Gothenburg
James Albert
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Tobias Andermann
University of Gothenburg
Josue Azevedo
University of Gothenburg
Christine Bacon
University of Gothenburg
Soren Faurby
University of Gothenburg
Thais Guedes
University of Gothenburg
Carina Hoorn
University of Amsterdam
Universidad Regional Amazónica
Lucia G. Lohmann
University of Sao Paulo (USP)
University of California
Pavel Matos-Maravi
University of Gothenburg
Camila D. Ritter
University of Gothenburg
Isabel Sanmartin
Real Jardín Botanico
Daniele Silvestro
University of Gothenburg
Marcelo Tejedor
University of Gothenburg
Hans ter Steege
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Hanna Tuomisto
University of Turku
Fernanda P. Werneck
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia
Alexander Zizka
University of Gothenburg
Scott Edwards
Harvard University
University of Gothenburg
Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences
PeerJ
21678359 (eISSN)
Vol. 2018 10 e5644Subject Categories
Didactics
Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Geophysics
DOI
10.7717/peerj.5644
PubMed
30310740