Building mountain biodiversity: geological and evolutionary processes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Building mountain biodiversity

T2 - geological and evolutionary processes

AU - Rahbek, Carsten

AU - Borregaard, Michael Krabbe

AU - Antonelli, Alexandre

AU - K. Colwell, Robert

AU - Holt, Ben G.

AU - Nogues, David Bravo

AU - Mac Ørum, Christian

AU - Richardson, Katherine

AU - Rosing, Minik Thorleif

AU - Whittaker, Robert James

AU - Fjeldså, Jon

PY - 2019/9/13

Y1 - 2019/9/13

N2 - Mountain regions are unusually biodiverse, with rich aggregations of small-ranged species that form centers of endemism. Mountains play an array of roles for Earth’s biodiversity and affect neighboring lowlands through biotic interchange, changes in regional climate, and nutrient runoff. The high biodiversity of certain mountains reflects the interplay of multiple evolutionary mechanisms: enhanced speciation rates with distinct opportunities for coexistence and persistence of lineages, shaped by long-term climatic changes interacting with topographically dynamic landscapes. High diversity in most tropical mountains is tightly linked to bedrock geology—notably, areas comprising mafic and ultramafic lithologies, rock types rich in magnesium and poor in phosphate that present special requirements for plant physiology. Mountain biodiversity bears the signature of deep-time evolutionary and ecological processes, a history well worth preserving.

AB - Mountain regions are unusually biodiverse, with rich aggregations of small-ranged species that form centers of endemism. Mountains play an array of roles for Earth’s biodiversity and affect neighboring lowlands through biotic interchange, changes in regional climate, and nutrient runoff. The high biodiversity of certain mountains reflects the interplay of multiple evolutionary mechanisms: enhanced speciation rates with distinct opportunities for coexistence and persistence of lineages, shaped by long-term climatic changes interacting with topographically dynamic landscapes. High diversity in most tropical mountains is tightly linked to bedrock geology—notably, areas comprising mafic and ultramafic lithologies, rock types rich in magnesium and poor in phosphate that present special requirements for plant physiology. Mountain biodiversity bears the signature of deep-time evolutionary and ecological processes, a history well worth preserving.

U2 - 10.1126/science.aax0151

DO - 10.1126/science.aax0151

M3 - Review

C2 - 31515384

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 365

SP - 1114

EP - 1119

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6458

ER -