title: BIOGEOGRAPHY. The dispersal of alien species redefines biogeography in the Anthropocene.
abstract: It has been argued that globalization in human-mediated dispersal of species breaks down biogeographic boundaries, yet empirical tests are still missing. We used data on native and alien ranges of terrestrial gastropods to analyze dissimilarities in species composition among 56 globally distributed regions. We found that native ranges confirm the traditional biogeographic realms, reflecting natural dispersal limitations. However, the distributions of gastropods after human transport are primarily explained by the prevailing climate and, to a smaller extent, by distance and trade relationships. Our findings show that human-mediated dispersal is causing a breakdown of biogeographic barriers, and that climate and to some extent socioeconomic relationships will define biogeography in an era of global change.
authors.affiliation: CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Cátedra REFER-Biodiversidade, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal. Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Museumsmeile Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany. ccapinha@cibio.up.pt.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capinha
authors.affiliation: Division of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty Centre of Biodiversity, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Essl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Hanno
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seebens
authors.affiliation: Division of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty Centre of Biodiversity, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.affiliation: CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Cátedra REFER-Biodiversidade, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Henrique Miguel
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000502:physiology*; D038622:Internationality; D058865:Introduced Species; D058974:Phylogeography