Historical Biogeography of Caribbean Plants Revises Regional Paleogeography

Roncal, Julissa; Nieto-Blázquez, María Esther; Cardona, A.; Bacon, Christine D.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-31167-4_20

Cited by 37 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 106 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Concerning palaeogeography, the publication of Garrocq et al (2021), as well as the regional bathymetric data (Appendix S2), indicates that the southern and central Aves Ridge was submerged at the time when it was supposedly exposed. With the land-bridge model refuted, geologically, we assert that overwater dispersal is the best available explanation to account for the colonization record of any components of the Greater Antillean biota, including invertebrates (Crews & Esposito, 2020) and plants (Roncal et al, 2020). As a consequence, future models explaining the -c) are based upon molecular-clock-derived diversification instants with the mainland 'sister' taxa (red dots, stem times) and in many cases the oldest subsequent cladogenetic events on the island group (blue dots, crown times), plus, where available, fossil records (magenta triangles); in all cases the uncertainty limits are shown.…”

Section: Con Clud Ing S Tatementsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Colonizing the Caribbean: New geological data and an updated land‐vertebrate colonization record challenge the GAARlandia land‐bridge hypothesis

Ali

2021

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past three decades, the hypothesized mid‐Cenozoic GAARlandia walkway (34 ± 1 Ma) has featured prominently in discussions on Caribbean biogeography. However, a fundamental issue has been a lack of geological and geophysical data from the Aves Ridge with which to evaluate the proposal. Consequently, opinions have been based purely on biological data, mainly from molecular‐clock studies but also from fossils and taxonomic composition. For whatever reasons, a polarization of views has occurred; some champion the land‐bridge to explain the colonizations of the island group, whereas others prefer over‐water dispersal. We examine the hypothesis drawing upon an updated compilation of land‐vertebrate colonizations (35 clades: 6 amphibian, 6 mammal and 23 reptile) plus a newly published geological study of the Aves Ridge and the adjacent Grenada Basin (to the east). The former indicates that the colonizations were heavily filtered and assembled in a piecemeal fashion consistent with over‐water dispersal; a mid‐Cenozoic ecological corridor would likely have led to a richer assemblage with a wider variety of components. The latter, which draws upon drill‐core and seismic data, indicates that the southern and central Aves Ridge was submerged at the aforesaid time. With the GAARlandia hypothesis geologically falsified, many biogeographical scenarios that have been proposed for the Greater Antillean biota now require re‐evaluation.

show abstract

Section: Con Clud Ing S Tatementsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Colonizing the Caribbean: New geological data and an updated land‐vertebrate colonization record challenge the GAARlandia land‐bridge hypothesis

Ali

2021

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Caribbean region is a hotspot of biodiversity with high priority for conservation due to its remarkable biological richness and high levels of endemism (>70% for Caribbean flowering plants; Acevedo‐Rodríguez & Strong, 2012; Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, Da Fonseca, & Kent, 2000; Roncal, Nieto‐Blázquez, Cardona, & Bacon, 2020; Santiago‐Valentin & Olmstead, 2004). Historically, Caribbean islands have played a crucial role as crossroads between continental America, Europe and Africa, resulting in multiple introductions of alien species over centuries as well as changes in land use and biota composition (Lugo, 2004; Rojas‐Sandoval et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Island biogeography of native and alien plant species: Contrasting drivers of diversity across the Lesser Antilles

Rojas‐Sandoval

Ackerman

Tremblay

2020

Diversity and Distributions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, islands with a biogeographic history of lying near continental areas may be more resistant to the establishment of new species than those isolated far from mainland (Moser et al, 2018). Islands across the Caribbean show strong species affinities with both North and South America because of their shared biogeographic history, which largely results from their proximity to these two continental regions (Roncal et al, 2020). Therefore, we might expect Caribbean islands to be more diverse and therefore more resistant to the establishment of introduced species, including those that are potentially invasive (i.e., species spreading rapidly into new areas; terminology follows Blackburn et al, 2011) than more isolated islands in ocean basins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Species in Puerto Rico: The View From El Yunque

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Native flora and fauna of Puerto Rico have a long biogeographic connection to South America. Theory and empirical evidence suggest that islands, particularly those distantly isolated from the mainland, should be more susceptible to naturalizations and invasions of non-native species than continental areas. Anthropogenic disturbances can facilitate accidental and deliberate introductions of non-native species. In this study, we asked: What is the current status of introduced species within El Yunque National Forest (EYNF), the largest and most well-conserved forest area of Puerto Rico? To address this question, we reviewed the literature and surveyed local experts to identify introduced plant and animal taxa that are behaving as invaders within EYNF. We hypothesized that well-conserved forest areas within EYNF would be more resistant to invasions than disturbed areas along roads and ruderal areas with a long history of human activity. We found that there is only partial evidence that supports our hypothesis and this evidence is strongest in vascular plants, but not for the other taxonomic groups analyzed. Our combined results showed that currently the more ubiquitous invasive species in EYNF include some mammals (feral cat, rat, and mongoose) and some invertebrates (earthworms, mosquito, and Africanized honeybee). For many taxa, there is little information to thoroughly test our hypothesis, and thus more detailed surveys of the status of non-native and invasive species in EYNF are needed.

show abstract

Historical Biogeography of Caribbean Plants Revises Regional Paleogeography

Cited by 37 publications

References 106 publications

Colonizing the Caribbean: New geological data and an updated land‐vertebrate colonization record challenge the GAARlandia land‐bridge hypothesis

Colonizing the Caribbean: New geological data and an updated land‐vertebrate colonization record challenge the GAARlandia land‐bridge hypothesis

Island biogeography of native and alien plant species: Contrasting drivers of diversity across the Lesser Antilles

Invasive Species in Puerto Rico: The View From El Yunque

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About