title: Build-up of the Himalayan avifauna through immigration: a biogeographical analysis of the Phylloscopus and Seicercus warblers.
abstract: The Himalayan mountain range is one of the most species-rich areas in the world, harboring about 8% of the world's bird species. In this study, we compare the relative importance of immigration versus in situ speciation to the build-up of the Himalayan avifauna, by evaluating the biogeographic history of the Phylloscopus/Seicercus warblers, a speciose clade that is well represented in Himalayan forests. We use a comprehensive, multigene phylogeny in conjunction with dispersal-vicariance analysis to discern patterns of speciation and dispersal within this clade. The results indicate that virtually no speciation has occurred within the Himalayas. Instead, several speciation events are attributed to dispersal into the Himalayas followed by vicariance between the Himalayas and China/Southeast Asia. Most, perhaps all, of these events appear to be pre-Pleistocene. The apparent lack of speciation within the Himalayas stands in contrast to the mountain-driven Pleistocene speciation suggested for the Andes and the East African mountains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ulf@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Ulf S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alström
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: Per G P
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Ericson
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sundberg
authors.forename: Trevor D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003710:Demography; D017753:Ecosystem; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D010802:Phylogeny; D020308:Songbirds / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*