Data set used in Differences in co-divergence reveals that community-wide diversification in the mountains of southwest China during the Pleistocene varied among species

Mountains of Southwest China (MSWC) is a biodiversity hotspot with highly complex and unusual terrain. However, with the majority of studies focusing on the biogeographic consequences of massive mountain building, the Quaternary legacy of biodiversity for the MSWC has long been overlooked. Here, we took a statistical comparative phylogeography approach to examine factors that shaped community-wide diversification. With data from 30 vertebrate species, the results reveal spatially concordant genetic structure, and temporally clustered co-divergence events associated with river barriers during severe glacial cycles. This indicates the importance of riverine barriers in the phylogeographic history of the MSWC vertebrate community. We conclude that the repeated glacial cycles are associated with temporal synchrony of divergence patterns that are themselves structured by the heterogeneity of the montane landscape has of the MSWC. This orderly process of diversifications has profound implications for conservation by highlighting the relative independence of different geographic areas in which communities have responded similarly to climate changes and calls for further comparative phylogeographic investigations to reveal the connection between biological traits and divergence pulses in this biodiversity hotspot.

中国西南山地（Mountains of Southwest China, MSWC）是一处生物多样性热点区域，拥有极为复杂独特的地形。然而，由于绝大多数研究聚焦于大型造山运动带来的生物地理影响，该区域的第四纪生物多样性遗留问题长期遭到忽视。本研究采用统计比较系统地理学方法，探究驱动群落整体物种分化的相关因素。基于30种脊椎动物的数据集，研究结果揭示了空间上一致的遗传结构，以及与极端冰期阶段河流屏障相关的时间聚集性共分化事件。这表明河流屏障在中国西南山地脊椎动物群落的系统地理历史中具有重要意义。本研究最终得出结论：反复发生的冰期与分化模式的时间同步性存在关联，而该同步性本身又受中国西南山地的景观异质性所塑造。这种有序的物种分化过程对生物保护具有深远意义：它凸显了不同地理区域的相对独立性——这些区域的群落对气候变化呈现出相似的响应模式——同时呼吁开展更多比较系统地理学研究，以揭示该生物多样性热点地区内生物性状与分化脉冲之间的关联。