What makes the Sino-Himalayan mountains the major diversity hotspots for pheasants?

• Published in: Journal of biogeography Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 640 - 651
• Main Authors: Cai, Tianlong, Fjeldså, Jon, Wu, Yongjie, Shao, Shimiao, Chen, Youhua, Quan, Qing, Li, Xinhai, Song, Gang, Qu, Yanhua, Qiao, Gexia, Lei, Fumin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.03.2018; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Africa; Biodiversity; Biodiversity hot spots; biogeography; Colonization; diversification rate; Diversity drivers; Ecology; energetic constraints; Evolution; Mathematical models; Model testing; Mountains; multiple colonizations; Net Primary Productivity; niche diversity; Niches; Oligocene; Oligocene epoch; Phasianidae; pheasants; Phylogeny; primary productivity; Productivity; Sino‐Himalayas; Speciation; Species diversity; Species richness; structural equation modeling; time‐for‐speciation effect; Himalaya Mountains; Africa

Aim: The Sino-Himalayas have higher species richness than adjacent regions, making them a global biodiversity hotspot. Various mechanisms, including ecological constraints, energetic constraints, diversification rate (DivRate) variation, time-for-speciation effect and multiple colonizations, have be...