The origin of Amazonian biodiversity is addressed in an article published in October 2015 in the review Science. Lizzie Wade, the author, speaks of the Amazon’s biological richness and the various theories related to its emergence.
What gave rise to this impressive biodiversity of the mazon rainforest? This region is the most diverse in the world in terms of plants. For instance, there are 300 species of tree in the eastern part of North America, while in the west of Amazon there are 300 species of tree in a single hectare of forest. Then again, plant diversity is only a part of the whole biodiversity present.
For some scientists, they believe that this rich biology comes from the convulsive geological changes undergone in west Amazon – formation of mountains, shifts in coastlines, changes in river course. The prevailing scenario invokes an incursion of the Carribean Sea into the South American continent. The organisms would have adapted to a mosaic of biomes that went from salt water and fresh water, aquatic and land – thus increasing biodiversity. Others speak of a prior event: the uprising of the Andes on the western edge of the basin.
Many research teams are becoming interested in this great biogeographical challenge. Various research projects are emerging with more collaborations between Europe and South America. An example of a study is the mapping of Amazon populations of birds, butterflies, priamtes and two plant families to better understand how history has shaped the basin biogeography.
The article gives a historical outlook on the emergence of Amazonian biodiversity.
For more details on the article published on the 30th October 2015 in Science.
