Data from: Extinction as a driver of avian latitudinal diversity gradients

The role of historical factors in driving latitudinal diversity gradients
is poorly understood. Here we used an updated global phylogeny of
terrestrial birds to test the role of three key historical factors –
speciation, extinction and dispersal rates – in generating latitudinal
diversity gradients for eight major clades. We fit a model that allows
speciation, extinction and dispersal rates to differ, both with latitude
and between the New and Old World. Our results consistently support
extinction (all clades had lowest extinction where species richness was
highest) as a key driver of species richness gradients across each of
eight major clades. In contrast, speciation and dispersal rates showed no
consistent latitudinal patterns across replicate bird clades, and thus are
unlikely to represent general underlying drivers of latitudinal diversity
gradients.