Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Central Chile traditionally has been considered the area located between 30° and
37° south latitude. The analysis of different plant and animal taxa indicates a high
endemism and a close relationship between its austral part and the Subantarctic
subregion. Morrone et al. (1997) carried out a cladistic biogeographic analysis and
a parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) in order to provide a natural regionaliz-
ation of the area.
Central Chile was divided into smaller areas of endemism on the basis of dis-
tributional patterns of species of seven genera of the plant family Asteraceae, a
genus of Buprestidae and three genera of Curculionidae (Coleoptera), and two
genera of Gnaphosidae (Araneae). Four areas of endemism were recognized:
Coquimbo (between 30° and 31°5´), Santiago (between 32° and 34°5´), Curicó
(between 35° and 36°), and Ñuble (between 36°2´ and 37°4´). Given its close re-
lationships with the Subantarctic subregion, it was also considered an “external
pappus-Nassauvia sect. Panargyrum
, Leucheria amoena, and L. cerberoana spe-
cies groups (Asteraceae);
Mendizabalia
(Buprestidae),
Listroderes nodifer
, and
L.
curvipes
species groups; and
Puranius
(Curculionidae), an
Apodrassodes
, and
Echemoides chilensis
species group (Gnaphosidae). Four different methods were
applied: component analysis under assumptions 0, 1, and 2, with options BUILD
and SHARED of Component version 1.5 (Page 1989b); BPA with Hennig86 1.5
(Farris 1988); three area statement analysis with programs TAS (Nelson and
Ladiges 1991b) and Hennig86 1.5 (Farris 1988); and paralogy-free subtree ana-
lysis under assumption 2 with TASS (Nelson and Ladiges 1995) and Hennig86 1.5
(Farris 1988).
Five general area cladograms were obtained. Component analysis under as-
sumptions 0, 1, and 2 produced different sets of resolved area cladograms. The
intersection of all sets did not give a result, but the intersection of some sets under
assumption 1 produced five general area cladograms (
figs. 5.8b
-
5.8f
)
: 1-3, from
most taxa except
Triptilion
and the
Listroderes curvipes
species group; and 4 and
5, from
Triptilion, Calopappus, Nassauvia
sect.
Panargyrum, Leucheria amoena
and
L. cerberoana
species groups, and
Mendizabalia
. BPA led to general area
cladograms 4 and 5 (130 steps, consistency index of 0.84, and retention index
of 0.62;
figs. 5.8e
and
5.8f
). Three area statement analysis under assumption 1
gave cladogram 5 (707 steps, consistency index of 0.65, and retention index of
steps, consistency index of 0.65, and retention index of 0.47;
fig. 5.8b
). Paralogy-
free subtree analysis under assumption 2 gave general area cladogram 1 (eight-
een steps, consistency index of 0.72, and retention index of 0.66;
fig. 5.8b
). The
number of items of error calculated for these general area cladograms was 278
for cladogram 1, 314 for cladogram 2, 326 for cladogram 3, 288 for cladogram
