Niche conservatism and convergence in birds of three cenocrons in the Mexican Transition Zone.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The niche conservatism hypothesis postulates that physiological and phylogenetic factors constrain species distributions, creating richness hotspots with older lineages in ancestral climatic conditions. Conversely, niche convergence occurs when species successfully disperse to novel environments, diversifying and resulting in areas with high phylogenetic clustering and endemism, low diversity, and lower clade age. The Mexican Transition Zone exhibits both patterns as its biotic assembly resulted from successive dispersal events of different biotic elements called cenocrons. We test the hypothesis that biogeographic transitionallity in the area is a product of niche conservatism in the Nearctic and Typical Neotropical cenocrons and niche convergence in the Mountain Mesoam

SUBMITTER: Lizardo V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10768671 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature