Local endemism within the Western Ghats-sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot.
نویسندگان
چکیده
The apparent biotic affinities between the mainland and the island in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot have been interpreted as the result of frequent migrations during recent periods of low sea level. We show, using molecular phylogenies of two invertebrate and four vertebrate groups, that biotic interchange between these areas has been much more limited than hitherto assumed. Despite several extended periods of land connection during the past 500,000 years, Sri Lanka has maintained a fauna that is largely distinct from that of the Indian mainland. Future conservation programs for the subcontinent should take into account such patterns of local endemism at the finest scale at which they may occur.
منابع مشابه
Biodiversity in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats.
WE READ WITH INTEREST THE REPORT “LOCAL endemism within the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot” by F. Bossuyt et al. (15 Oct. 2004, p. 479), which documents patterns of diversification in selected vertebrate and invertebrate lineages from Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats region of western India. Although these two areas have long been united as a single biogeographic unit (1), and more...
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Science
دوره 306 5695 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2004