Escarpment evolution drives the diversification of the Madagascar flora

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Yi; Wang, Yanyan; Willett, Sean D.; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; Pellissier, Loic
• 署名单位: Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow & Landscape Research; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-9411
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adi0833
• 发表日期: 2024-02-09
• 页码: 653-658
• 关键词: distribution models; r package; biodiversity; climate; topography; RESOLUTION; diversity; BOUNDARY; DYNAMICS; patterns

摘要

Madagascar exhibits high endemic biodiversity that has evolved with sustained and stable rates of speciation over the past several tens of millions of years. The topography of Madagascar is dominated by a mountainous continental rift escarpment, with the highest plant diversity and rarity found along the steep, eastern side of this geographic feature. Using a process-explicit model, we show that precipitation-driven erosion and landward retreat of this high-relief topography creates transient habitat organization through multiple mechanisms, including catchment expansion, isolation of highland remnants, and formation of topographic barriers. Habitat isolation and reconnection on a million-year timescale serves as an allopatric speciation pump creating the observed biodiversity.