DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6m668
title: Data from: Climatic and geographic barriers drive distributional patterns of bird phenotypes within peninsular India

description: Modern phylogenetic data provide unparalleled ability to test
 biogeographic paradigms, often suggested by differences in species
 distribution patterns. However, such approaches have been applied less at
 regional scales, particularly in Asia. In the absence of such data, we
 examine if concordance of distributional patterns for phenotypes
 (subspecies) suggest potential biogeographic barriers for birds in
 peninsular India. Specifically, we examine climatic and physical factors
 that might limit phenotype distributions in this region. Various physical,
 vegetation and climatic barriers were demarcated to identify potential
 biogeographic units within peninsular India. We then collated occurrence
 of endemic or disjunctly distributed species and subspecies within these
 units using published range maps. We also quantified turnover between
 potential units, allowing us to identify significant biogeographic
 barriers. Three time-step climate data (Last Glacial Maxima, mid-Holocene
 and present) enabled us to examine differences between these potential
 biogeographic regions through time. The Palk Straits, followed by the Goa
 Gap (∼ 16°N) and the Godavari River emerged as the major barriers in this
 region. The Palk Straits and Godavari are physical barriers while Goa Gap
 appears to be a climate-mediated ecological divide. Mountain barriers like
 the Palghat Gap are not the most significant barriers as previously
 thought. Climatically intermediate regions appeared unstable in the past
 and showed inconsistent affinities to different geographic units across
 families. We suggest that relative climatic stability of the wet regions
 of the southern western Ghats could be responsible for high subspecies
 endemism here. Our approach provides hypotheses that can be tested with
 comparative multi-species phylogeographic data in the future.
description: Presence Absence
 matrixDistributions of bird
 phenotypes of peninsular India that are either endemic, disjunctly
 distributed or those that have distinct race/subspecies within Indian
 Peninsula or Sri Lanka.Final
 matrix.csvPresent
 BioclimVariables used to
 quantify the present climate and topography of units within Peninsular
 India and Sri Lanka. Provided data include the bioclimatic variables
 ('bio1' to 'bio19'), as extracted from the
 'WorldClim' database (for definitions see:
 http://www.worldclim.org/bioclim). Further information about WorldClim at
 Hijmans, R.J., S.E. Cameron, J.L. Parra, P.G. Jones and A. Jarvis, 2005.
 Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas.
 International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965-1978.
 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.1276. The variables Altitude-MIN,
 Altitude-MAX, and Range are from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
 Data available from the U.S. Geological Survey.Present.xlsxMid-HoloceneVariables used to quantify the mid- Holocene climate and topography of units within Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Provided data include the bioclimatic variables ('mb1' to 'mb19'), as extracted from the 'WorldClim' database (for definitions see: http://www.worldclim.org/bioclim). Further information about WorldClim at Hijmans, R.J., S.E. Cameron, J.L. Parra, P.G. Jones and A. Jarvis, 2005. Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965-1978. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.1276. The variables Altitude-MIN, Altitude-MAX, and Range are from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Data available from the U.S. Geological Survey.midholo.xlsxLGMVariables used to quantify the climate and topography of Peninsular India and Sri Lanka during the Last Glacial Maxima. Provided data include the bioclimatic variables ('lgm1' to 'lgm19'), as extracted from the 'WorldClim' database (for definitions see: http://www.worldclim.org/bioclim). Further information about WorldClim at Hijmans, R.J., S.E. Cameron, J.L. Parra, P.G. Jones and A. Jarvis, 2005. Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965-1978. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.1276. The variables Altitude-MIN, Altitude-MAX, and Range are from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Data available from the U.S. Geological Survey.