Evolution of endemism on a young tropical mountain

Merckx VS 1 , Hendriks KP 1 , Beentjes KK 1 , Mennes CB 1 , Becking LE 1 , Peijnenburg KT 1 Show all authors , Afendy A 2 , Arumugam N 2 , de Boer H 1 , Biun A 3 , Buang MM 3 , Chen PP 1 , Chung AY 4 , Dow R 1 , Feijen FA 1 , Feijen H 1 , Feijen-van Soest C 1 , Geml J 1 , Geurts R 5 , Gravendeel B 1 , Hovenkamp P 1 , Imbun P 3 , Ipor I 6 , Janssens SB 7 , Jocqué M 8 , Kappes H 1 , Khoo E 4 , Koomen P 9 , Lens F 1 , Majapun RJ 4 , Morgado LN 1 , Neupane S 10 , Nieser N 1 , Pereira JT 4 , Rahman H 2 , Sabran S 4 , Sawang A 2 , Schwallier RM 1 , Shim PS 3 , Smit H 1 , Sol N 1 , Spait M 3 , Stech M 1 , Stokvis F 1 , Sugau JB 4 , Suleiman M 2 , Sumail S 3 , Thomas DC 1 , van Tol J 1 , Tuh FY 3 , Yahya BE 2 , Nais J 3 , Repin R 3 , Lakim M 3 , Schilthuizen M 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands
  • 2 Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 3 Sabah Parks, Lot 45 &46, Level 1-5, Blok H, KK Times Square, 88806 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 4 Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, P.O. Box 1407, 90175 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 5 Wageningen University, Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, 6700AP Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • 6 Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 7 Botanic Garden Meise, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium
  • 8 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
  • 9 Natuurmuseum Fryslân, Schoenmakersperk 2, 8911 EM Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
  • 10 EEB Department, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043, USA
Nature, 2015 Aug 20;524(7565):347-50.
PMID: 26266979 DOI: 10.1038/nature14949

Abstract

Tropical mountains are hot spots of biodiversity and endemism, but the evolutionary origins of their unique biotas are poorly understood. In varying degrees, local and regional extinction, long-distance colonization, and local recruitment may all contribute to the exceptional character of these communities. Also, it is debated whether mountain endemics mostly originate from local lowland taxa, or from lineages that reach the mountain by long-range dispersal from cool localities elsewhere. Here we investigate the evolutionary routes to endemism by sampling an entire tropical mountain biota on the 4,095-metre-high Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. We discover that most of its unique biodiversity is younger than the mountain itself (6 million years), and comprises a mix of immigrant pre-adapted lineages and descendants from local lowland ancestors, although substantial shifts from lower to higher vegetation zones in this latter group were rare. These insights could improve forecasts of the likelihood of extinction and 'evolutionary rescue' in montane biodiversity hot spots under climate change scenarios.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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