Are Extinctions during Historical Contractions of the Rainforest the Primary Determinants of Current Regional Patterns in Biodiversity?
S. E. Williams Abstract Distribution data on the mammals of the wet tropics have been used to analyse biogeographic patterns in assemblage composition and to correlate patterns of species richness with environmental factors such as climate and vegetation. Multivariate analyses suggest five different geographically separated assemblages of rainforest mammals. The most species-rich is found in the central uplands (Atherton Tableland) with a decrease in species richness to the north and south and with decreasing altitude. The most species-rich areas are characterised by large areas of rainforest with a rounder shape (low shape index), high annual rainfall, consistent rainfall in the dry season and a diversity of rainfall regimes within the area. Multiple-regression analysis suggests that the combination of rainforest area and shape explain the most variance (r2 = 0ยท74) in the patterns of species richness of rainforest mammals. Various measures of habitat diversity are also highly dependen
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