Biogeography of Amazon birds: rivers limit species composition, but not areas of endemism.

ABSTRACT: Amazonian rivers are usually suggested as dispersal barriers, limiting biogeographic units. This is evident in a widely accepted Areas of Endemism (AoEs) hypothesis proposed for Amazonian birds. We empirically test this hypothesis based on quantitative analyses of species distribution. We compiled a database of bird species and subspecies distribution records, and used this dataset to identify AoEs through three different methods. Our results show that the currently accepted Amazonian AoEs are not consistent with areas identified, which were generally congruent among datasets and methods. Some Amazonian rivers represent limits of AoEs, but these areas are not congruent with those previously proposed. However, spatial variation in species composition is correlated with largest Amazonian riv

SUBMITTER: Oliveira U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5462822 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature