Neotropics

Neotropics
Name	Neotropics
Biogeographic realm	Neotropical realm

Neotropics The Neotropics constitute a major biogeographic realm encompassing tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, including continental South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and southern North America. As a subject the Neotropics intersects with studies of Amazon Rainforest, Andes Mountains, Galápagos Islands, Caribbean Sea, and conservation initiatives by organizations such as World Wide Fund for Nature and Conservation International. Research on the Neotropics appears in journals like Nature (journal), Science (journal), and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Etymology and Scope

The term derives from neo- (new) combined with tropic, adopted in biogeography by scholars associated with institutions such as the Linnean Society of London and figures like Alfred Russel Wallace and Philip Lutley Sclater, whose regional frameworks paralleled work at the British Museum (Natural History). The scope typically follows boundaries used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and biogeographers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Society. Definitions contrast with realms like the Nearctic realm and draw on taxonomic inventories from museums including the American Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Museum, London.

Geography and Climate

Geographically the region spans features such as the Amazon River, Orinoco River, Paraná River, Patagonia, Yucatán Peninsula, and island chains including the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles. Major mountain systems—Andes Mountains, Sierra Madre del Sur, and Central American Cordillera—shape climatic gradients recorded in datasets used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and modeled by groups at National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency. Climatic regimes range from equatorial monsoon patterns affecting the Amazon Rainforest to tropical savanna regimes in regions studied by researchers at Embrapa and institutions such as University of São Paulo, with El Niño–Southern Oscillation events cataloged by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration influencing precipitation and fire regimes monitored by Global Fire Monitoring Center.

Biodiversity and Endemism

The Neotropics hosts exceptional biodiversity documented in inventories curated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and compiled by taxonomists at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Iconic taxa include families and genera represented in collections at the Field Museum, such as Orchidaceae (orchids), Bromeliaceae (bromeliads), Fabaceae (legumes), Neotropical primates studied at Primate Research Institute (KUPRI), and bird assemblages recorded by the Audubon Society and BirdLife International. High endemism occurs in hotspots recognized by Conservation International like the Atlantic Forest, Madrean pine–oak woodlands, and the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, with species-level descriptions appearing in works associated with Linnean Society of London publications and taxonomic monographs by researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Biogeographic Regions and Ecosystems

Biogeographers partition the region into provinces and ecoregions used by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the United Nations Environment Programme: Amazonia (rainforest), Cerrado (savanna), Pantanal (wetland), Chocó-Darién (moist forest), Llanos (floodplain), and Patagonia (temperate steppe). Island biotas on the Galápagos Islands and Caribbean display adaptive radiations comparable to studies cited in Evolution (journal) and museum monographs from the California Academy of Sciences. Anthropogenic ecosystems include agrosystems documented by Food and Agriculture Organization and urban gradients analyzed in collaborations with University of California, Berkeley and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Evolutionary History and Paleobiology

Phylogenetic and paleontological research by teams at American Museum of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, and universities such as Harvard University and University of Oxford reconstructs patterns including Great American Biotic Interchange after closure of the Panama Isthmus and Cenozoic diversification tied to Andean uplift. Fossil sites like La Venta, Santa Cruz Formation, and Itaboraí Formation yield vertebrate faunas referenced in publications from the Paleontological Society and illustrate lineages of xenarthrans, notoungulates, and caviomorph rodents. Molecular clocks calibrated against fossils in databases curated by GenBank and analyses using software from the Natural History Museum, London provide timelines for radiations of birds, mammals, amphibians, and plants across Neogene and Quaternary intervals, including responses to Pleistocene glaciations discussed at meetings of the International Quaternary Association.

Human History, Indigenous Peoples, and Land Use

Human presence includes archaeological sequences from sites such as Monte Verde, Caral, and Chavín de Huántar, with cultural histories of civilizations like the Inca Empire, Maya civilization, and Taino people studied by scholars at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Institute of Archaeology (Oxford). Contemporary Indigenous nations—Quechua people, Aymara people, Guarani people, Yanomami, and Asháninka—engage with land-tenure and conservation frameworks involving institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank and policy forums such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Land-use change driven by commodity sectors examined by groups at World Resources Institute and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture includes deforestation linked to soy expansion, cattle ranching, logging, and mining projects overseen by state agencies like IBAMA and international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Category:Biogeography