Insights into the importance of areas of climatic stability in the evolution and maintenance of avian diversity in the Mesoamerican dry forests
Vicente J Castillo-Chora, Luis A. Sánchez‐González, Alicia Mastretta‐Yanes, David A. Prieto‐Torres, Adolfo G. Navarro‐Sigüenza
Abstract
Abstract We analysed the phylogeographic structure of five resident bird lineages distributed in the seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) of Mesoamerica to test whether they show patterns of synchronous and geographically coincident genetic divergence during the Quaternary. We generated phylogenetic trees, estimated divergence times and analysed the genetic structure of populations (based on sequences of mitochondrial genes), as well as estimating historical distributions (range extension and areas of long-term climate stability) during the Late Pleistocene. We tested and selected the phylogeographic divergence scenarios that best explain the current divergence patterns of taxa using the Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach. For most species, phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks showed a clear genetic structure associated with geographical distribution. Overall, the divergence times ranged from 0.29–2.0 Mya, suggesting that diversification of populations occurred at different times during the Pleistocene. The palaeodistribution models predicted at least two areas of climatic stability within the current SDTF that probably allowed glacial-interglacial persistence of isolated bird populations along the Mexican Pacific, thus promoting their genetic divergence. The results provide information relevant to the identification of diversification hotspots for the Mesoamerican SDTF avifauna.