Patterns of species richness and biogeographic regionalization of the avifaunas of the seasonally dry tropical forest in Mesoamerica

Abstract

Biogeographic patterns of avifaunas associated with seasonally dry tropical forests in Mesoamerica are poorly understood despite their high levels of species richness and endemism. Through the parsimony analysis of endemicity, we analyzed biogeographic relationships of 650 resident species of birds associated with seasonally dry tropical forests from Mexico to Panama, based on potential distributions obtained through ecological niche modeling. Results show two general avifaunal groups, east and west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Patterns of biogeographic distribution and species richness also helped illuminate the importance of key areas for birds associated to this habitat in the region.

Los patrones biogeográficos de las avifaunas asociadas a los bosques tropicales estacionalmente secos en Mesoamérica están pobremente entendidos, a pesar de que estas áreas poseen una gran riqueza de especies y endemismo. Analizamos las relaciones biogeográficas con base en distribuciones potenciales, hechas a partir de modelos del nicho ecológico usando el análisis de parsimonia de endemismos, de 650 especies de aves residentes asociadas a los bosques tropicales estacionalmente secos desde México hasta Panamá. Los resultados muestran dos grupos generales de la avifauna, al este y oeste del Istmo de Tehuantepec. El contexto biogeográfico y la riqueza de especies resalta también la importancia de áreas clave para las aves asociadas a este tipo de hábitat en la región.

Keywords:

• biogeography
• Mesoamerica
• parsimony analysis of endemicity
• species richness patterns
• seasonally dry tropical forests

Acknowledgments

We thank E. Martínez-Meyer, C. Arizmendi, J. J. Morrone, O. R. Rojas-Soto, J. A. Meave, and two anonymous reviewers for their important comments on the manuscript. We thank Alejandro Gordillo for logistical support with the “Atlas de las Aves de México” data. The scientific collections of the following institutions that allowed access to their databases: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia; American Museum of Natural History, New York; Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, St Paul; British Museum (Natural History), Tring; Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa; Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburg; Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca; Colección Nacional de Aves, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City; Colección Ornitológica, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey; Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, Ithaca; Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington; Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver; Department of Zoology, Manchester Museum, Manchester; El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Chetumal; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville; Fort Hays State College, Hays; Instituto de Ecología y Alimentos, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria; Instituto de Historia Natural y Ecología, Tuxtla Gutiérrez; Iowa State University, Aimes; Laboratorio Natural Las Joyas, Universidad de Guadalajara, Autlán; Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles; Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology, Baton Rouge; Michigan State University, East Lansing; Moore Laboratory of Zoology, Occidental College, Pasadena; Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, Milan; Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria, Genoa; Museo Civico Federico Craveri di Storia Naturale, Bra; Museo de La Biodiversidad Maya, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Campeche; Museo de las Aves de México, Saltillo; Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City; Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Mexico City; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid; Museo Regionali Di Scienze Naturali Torino, Turin; Museo Zoologico “La Specola”, Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze; Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de la Ville de Genève, Geneva; Museum für Naturkunde, Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin; Museum Mensch und Natur, Munich; Muséum Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge; Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkley; Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna; Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm; Natuurhistorische Musem, Leiden; Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven; Red Mexicana de Información Sobre Biodiversidad, Mexico City; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego; Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt; Sistema Nacional de Información sobre Biodiversidad, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico City; Southwestern College, Winfield; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart; State Darwin Museum of Natural History, Moscow; Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collections, College Station; Übersee-Museum, Bremen; United States National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada; Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia; University of Arizona, Tucson; University of British Columbia Museum of Zoology, Vancouver; University of California Los Angeles, Santa Monica; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence; University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; University of Oklahoma, Norman; Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, San Pablo; Zoological Institute and Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg; Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, Moscow; Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn. We are also grateful for funding from CONABIO (CE-015), CONACYT (R27965 and 152060), SEMARNAT-CONACyT (C01-0265), and DGAPA-UNAM (IN 233002, 216408, 208906). CARM acknowledges the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) and the Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, UNAM for the graduate studies scholarship, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for the support given by the Young Researchers Award 2011.