Data from: The imprint of Cenozoic migrations and evolutionary history on the biogeographic gradient of body size in New World mammals

Ecology, evolution and historical events all contribute to biogeographic patterns, but studies integrating them are scarce. Here we focus on how biotic exchanges of mammals during the Late Cenozoic have contributed to current geographic body size patterns. We explore differences in the environmental correlates and phylogenetic patterning of body size between the groups of mammals participating and not participating in past biotic exchanges. Both the association of body size with environmental predictors and its phylogenetic signal were stronger for groups that immigrated into North or South America than for indigenous groups. This pattern, which held when extinct clades were included in the analyses, can be interpreted based on the length of time that clades have had to diversify and occupy niche space. Moreover, we identify a role for historical events such as Cenozoic migrations on configuring contemporary mammal body size patterns and illustrate where these influences have been strongest for New World mammals.

生态学、演化与历史事件共同塑造了生物地理格局，但整合三者的研究仍较为匮乏。本研究聚焦晚新生代哺乳动物的生物交流如何促成当前的地理体型格局。我们对比了参与过往生物交流与未参与该交流的哺乳动物类群，二者在体型的环境关联特征与系统发育（phylogenetic）格局上均存在差异。相较于土著类群，迁入北美或南美的类群，其体型与环境预测因子的关联强度，以及系统发育信号（phylogenetic signal）均更为显著。该模式在分析纳入灭绝分支（clade）时依然成立，可通过类群实现多样化并占据生态位空间的时长予以阐释。此外，我们证实了新生代迁移等历史事件在塑造当代哺乳动物体型格局中的作用，并阐明了这些影响在新大陆（New World）哺乳动物中最为显著的区域。