Researchers analyzed the geographic origins of 4,450 species of plants and animals to study the evolution of biodiversity in the American tropics, which span from Mexico to southern South America, and report a high level of biotic interchange among all regions, with Amazonia being the primary source of diversity and providing more than 2,800 lineages to other regions, primarily Mesoamerica and northern South America; the findings highlight the role of dispersal in the assembly of regional biotas.
###
Article #17-13819: "Amazonia is the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity," by Alexandre Antonelli et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexandre Antonelli, University of Gothenburg, SWEDEN; tel: +46703989570; e-mail: alexandre.antonelli@bioenv.gu.se
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences