ArticlePLoS biology2014
Faster speciation and reduced extinction in the tropics contribute to the Mammalian latitudinal diversity gradient.
Article in PLoS biology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers.
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Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed.
- Geology, climate, and competition as drivers of diversification in the neotropical palm genus Geonoma.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Spatial-Scale Evolutionary Bias Sheds Light on the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Diversity patterns in terrestrial tetrapod clades are governed by equilibrium dynamics.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Global Diversity Patterns are Explained by Diversification Rates and Dispersal at Ancient, Not Shallow, Timescales.Systematic biology · 2025Article
- Evolutionary history of ponerine ants highlights how the timing of dispersal events shapes modern biodiversity.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Diversification rates in large-scale moss assemblages along latitudinal and climatic gradients across the world.Plant diversity · 2025Article
- Species Richness and Speciation Rates for all Terrestrial Animals Emerge from a Synthesis of Ecological Theories.Systematic biology · 2025Article
- The latitudinal variation in amphibian speciation rates revisited.Communications biology · 2025Article
- The fate of South America's endemic mammalian fauna in response to the most dramatic Cenozoic climate disruption.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Bioluminescence and repeated deep-sea colonization shaped the diversification and body size evolution of squaliform sharks.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Negative global-scale association between genetic diversity and speciation rates in mammals.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Deep time evolution of the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient: Insights from mechanistic models.PloS one · 2025Article
- Tropical Origin, Global Diversification, and Dispersal in the Pond Damselflies (Coenagrionoidea) Revealed by a New Molecular Phylogeny.Systematic biology · 2024Article
- Comprehensive phylogeny of Pieridae butterflies reveals strong correlation between diversification and temperature.iScience · 2024Article
- The causes of species richness patterns among clades.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Niche conservatism and convergence in birds of three cenocrons in the Mexican Transition Zone.PeerJ · 2024Article
- Genetic drift promotes and recombination hinders speciation on holey fitness landscapes.PLoS genetics · 2024Article
- Drivers of the artiodactyl turnover in insular western Europe at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Same process, different patterns: pervasive effect of evolutionary time on species richness in freshwater fishes.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- The relationship between geographic range size and rates of species diversification.Nature communications · 2023Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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4 authors.
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Abstract
The increase in species richness from the poles to the tropics, referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient, is one of the most ubiquitous biodiversity patterns in the natural world. Although understanding how rates of speciation and extinction vary with latitude is central to explaining this pattern, such analyses have been impeded by the difficulty of estimating diversification rates associated with specific geographic locations. Here, we use a powerful phylogenetic approach and a nearly complete phylogeny of mammals to estimate speciation, extinction, and dispersal rates associated with the tropical and temperate biomes. Overall, speciation rates are higher, and extinction rates lower, in the tropics than in temperate regions. The diversity of the eight most species-rich mammalian orders (covering 92% of all mammals) peaks in the tropics, except that of the Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits, and pikas) reaching a maxima in northern-temperate regions. Latitudinal patterns in diversification rates are strikingly consistent with these diversity patterns, with peaks in species richness associated with low extinction rates (Primates and Lagomorpha), high speciation rates (Diprotodontia, Artiodactyla, and Soricomorpha), or both (Chiroptera and Rodentia). Rates of range expansion were typically higher from the tropics to the temperate regions than in the other direction, supporting the "out of the tropics" hypothesis whereby species originate in the tropics and disperse into higher latitudes. Overall, these results suggest that differences in diversification rates have played a major role in shaping the modern latitudinal diversity gradient in mammals, and illustrate the usefulness of recently developed phylogenetic approaches for understanding this famous yet mysterious pattern.
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