Historical relationships of the Mexican cloud forests: a preliminary vicariance model applying Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity to vascular plant taxa

Mexican cloud forests, situated between 600 and 3000 m of elevation, exhibit a remarkable high biotic diversity. They follow a fragmented pattern, similar to that of an archipelago, that makes them suitable to vicariance modelling. A Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE) was applied to the presence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biogeography 1999-11, Vol.26 (6), p.1299-1305
Main Authors: Luna Vega, Isolda, Alcántara Ayala, Othón, Espinosa Organista, David, Morrone, Juan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Archipelagos
biogeografía
Biogeography
Biological and medical sciences
Bosques mesófilos de montaña
Cladistics
Cloud forests
Coleoptera
endemicity
endemismos
Flora
Floral Frequencies
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mexico
Modeling
México
Parsimony
plantas vasculares
Synecology
Taxa
Terrestrial ecosystems
Vascular plants
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Summary:Mexican cloud forests, situated between 600 and 3000 m of elevation, exhibit a remarkable high biotic diversity. They follow a fragmented pattern, similar to that of an archipelago, that makes them suitable to vicariance modelling. A Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE) was applied to the presence/absence of 1267 species of vascular plants (gymnosperms, angiosperms, and pteridophytes) from twenty-four patches of Mexican cloud forests, in order to postulate a preliminary hypothesis of relationships. The single cladogram obtained grouped the twenty-four cloud forests into five clades. These results indicate that the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre del Sur, and Serranías Meridionales floristic provinces do not represent natural units. A preliminary vicariance model is presented to explain the sequence of fragmentation of the Mexican cloud forests.
ISSN:0305-0270
1365-2699
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2699.1999.00361.x