Biogeografía 6
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Bulletin of the Systematic and Evolutionary Biogeographical Association BIOGEOGRAFÍA 6 DICIEMBRE, 2013 ISSN 2151-0466 CONTENT Editorial 2 Lead article. The tumbesian center of endemism: Biogeography, diversity and conservation. Christian R. Loaiza S. 4 Focus article. Revalorando la historia de los taxones en la reconstrucción biogeográfica. Lead article. Análisis espacial de los murciélagos del neotrópico: Ana Laura Silva 20 explorando datos y patrones. Elkin Noguera-Urbano 11 Focus Article. Los nodos: El aporte de la panbiogeografía al entendimiento de la biodiversidad. César Miguel Talonia and Tania Escalante 30 Forum. Into the Storm: A personal retrospective on panbiogeography. J. Grehan 43 Book review. Molecular Panbiogeography of the Tropics by Michael Heads, a post-review. R. Wills Flowers 54 Book review. La enseñanza de la Sistemática en Latinoamérica: un nuevo recurso disponible. Matorral seco espinoso Adolfo G. Navarro 59 Foto: Christian R. Loaiza S. Guideline for authors 63 BIOGEOGRAFÍA 6 t has become fashionable among certain research circles in biogeography EDITORIAL to openly declare opposing research programs persona non grata for the I entire discipline. There is nothing new in such, but what has changed in recent years is the view that suppression is a legitimate and respectable scientific activity to be made in the public, rather than private, domain. Given the diversity of biogeographic endeavors as noted in the literature by various commentators, efforts to limit the discourse of biogeography are troubling as they presuppose a single methodological and conceptual Truth above all others – a perspective that is contrary to the very nature of science as an open ended process of discovery. Biogeografía is a publication that offers a forum for all biogeographic perspectives. In this endeavor, Biogeografía stands out as an alternative to many traditional publications where editorial or reviewer attitudes may set publication polity. For those interested in biogeography for its own sake, Biogeografía represents an opportunity to publish without prejudice to biogeographic approach or philosophy. It is also a publication that encourages input from students of biogeography of all ages aiming the promotion of the development of biogeography in the Americas in particular as well as the growth and diversity of biogeography globally. Now in its sixth year, the current volume of Biogeografía presents a diverse platform through two Lead Articles that address specific areas of biogeographic application and interpretation, two Focus Articles that address general principles and methods on biogeography, one Forum Article, and two Book Reviews. The first Lead Article by Christian Loaiza reviews the diversity and taxonomic composition of the equatorial dry forest known as the Tumbesian region or Tumbesian center of endemism in Ecuador and Peru. The biotic diversity of mammal families and their endemic representatives are characterized and evidence is presented for geographic subdivisions based on various plant and animal groups. Adequate training of specialists for different groups of flora and fauna is considered urgent as much of the diversity in this region has still not been fully quantified or studied. In the second Lead Article, Elkin Noguera- Urbano examines geographic data on bat species for 21 countries in the Neotropics to characterize the species diversity of individual countries to examine BIOGEOGRAFÍA 6 3 broad patterns between the low and high latitudes. Four countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, are notable for their high concentration of records while the greatest latitudinal diversity was centered on Ecuador. However, issues over geographic and taxonomic consistency are seen to remain important challenges to establishing an approach that accurately characterizing bat diversity within and across different countries. The Focus Article section begins with an examination of the history of phylogenetic approaches to biogeography by Ana Silva-Galicia who looks at the issues involved with interpretations of dispersal and vicariance, and contrasting studies of individual taxa and entire biotas. Some of the methodological challenges inherent in efforts to integrate phylogenetic and biogeographic information into single analyses are illustrated in this paper by an outline of the principles and their limitations for two quantitative biogeographic programs: vicariance inference program (VIP) and spatial evolutionary and ecological vicariance analysis (SEEVA). The second Focus article by César Miguel-Talonia and Tania Escalante consider the problems and challenges involved in the application of the panbiogeographic concept of the node in biogeographic analysis. Specific geomorphological correlations for nodes in Mexico are cited with respect to the Mexican Transition Zone, the Volcanic Belt, and Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The general implications of the nodal approach for Mexican biodiversity are discussed. In the Forum Article, John Grehan presents the first part of a personal account of his experiences with the exploration of panbiogeography. In the first Book Review, Wills Flowers suggests that readers will find much to ponder and many new ideas in Molecular Panbiogeography of the Tropics by Michael Heads. This ‘post-review’ also includes critical appraisal of some previously published reviews. The second Book Review by Adolfo Navarro-Sigüenza highlights Juan Morrone’s book Sistemática Fundamentos, métodos, aplicaciones as much needed textbook in Latin America. John Grehan Tania Escalante César Miguel-Talonia Elkin Noguera-Urbano Ivonne Garzón-Orduña Editors, SEBA Bulletin, 2013 4 BIOGEOGRAFÍA 6 The Tumbesian center of endemism: biogeography, LEAD ARTICLE diversity and conservation Christian R. Loaiza S. The equatorial dry forest also called the Tumbesian region or Tumbesian center of endemism, is a natural region of Ecuador and Peru (Fig. 1) constituted by ecosystems of tropical dry forest and located in the coastal region of the equatorial Pacific, between southwestern Ecuador and northern Peru (Best & Kessler 1995). This region encompasses several provinces in centeral and southwestern Ecuador, of which the provinces of Azuay, Loja and El Oro are prominent for their endemic flora and fauna. Other important provinces that will be highlighted here are: Cañar, Chimborazo, Guayas, Manabí and Santa Elena. In the north of Peru, the Tumbesian region extends along the coast through the departments of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, north from La Libertad, and along Fig. 1 Ecoregions of tropical dry forest in Ecuador the lower floor of the valley of the Marañon. and Peru. These two areas are connected through the pass of Porculla (2100 m), the lowest elevation in in the valley of Marañon, it extends between low Peruvian Andes. elevations up to 2800 meters of elevation. At a geographic level, the Tumbesian This natural region in turn has been region comprises a wide coastal strip of 135.000 subdivided into three regions recognized km2 between 0º 30' S up to and 5º S, from the internationally by the World Wildlife Fund and peninsula of Santa Elena (Ecuador) to the middle accepted as valid by several specialists and basin of the Chicama River (La Libertad), and in biogeographers (Best & Kessler 1995): the valley of the Marañón to 9º S. In the Ecuadorian dry forest Departament of Tumbes, the Tumbesian Region Marañon dry forest extends between sea level and the western Tumbes - Piura dry forest slopes of the Pacific basin to about 1500 m, and Subsequent to the classification of Best BIOGEOGRAFÍA 6 5 Semideciduous dry forest, Low montane dry forest, South interandean dry forest, North interandean dry forest and Oriental interandean dry forest. Finally, floristic and biogeographic analysis, based on groups of characteristic flora of the dry forests of Ecuador and Peru, resulted in the designation of three biogeographic districts (Loaiza & Morrone 2011), that bring together the plant formations proposed by Aguirre et al. (2006) under the system proposed by Morrone (2001). BIODIVERSITY In terms of biodiversity, the Tumbesian region is mainly characterized by its high levels of en- demism, and for this reason it has been Melocactus bellavistensis recognized by several agencies and institutions Foto: Christian R. Loaiza S. as one of the major sites of conservation importance for birds around the world (Best & & Kessler (1995), a new biogeographic analysis Kessler 1995). This biodiversity has been based on the patterns of distribution of the South strongly favored by the equatorial location in the American biota served to establish a new ar- región, by the low altitude of the andes in rangement based on biogeographic provinces. northern Peru and southern Ecuador, and the One of the most relevant classifications on this influence of two ocean currents: Humboldt and theme was proposed by Morrone (2001), who El Niño. These currents have generated ideal brought together the equatorial dry forests in conditions of humidity and temperature, that three biogeographic provinces: Arid Ecuador, combined with the rugged topography have Western Ecuador and Tumbes - Piura. Other contributed to the origin and development of a studies, framed in the types of vegetation of a wide variety of climates and vegetation types particular type of altitudinal range resulted in the (Emck et al. 2006). These conditions so allowed classification of plant formations of dry forests geographic isolation over small geographic proposed by Aguirre, et al. (2006).