Table S1 Summary statistics, and their correlations with the neutral parameter ln( ).
2
Adjusted
Summary Statistic
Definition
Reference
R²
S
Species richness.
Magurran (2003)
–
B1=(1/Mi), where for each node i except the root, Mi
Shao & Sokal
B1
0.54
= maximal number of nodes between the node i and
(1990)
the terminal species of the tree subtended by node i.
Shannon's Index. H=-(Ni * ln(Ni))+N * ln(N), where
H
Ni is the abundance of species i and N is the total Magurran (2003)
0.45
abundance of the sample.
Mean number of nodes connecting two individuals in
Dist_node
This paper
0.43
Simpson's index. 1-D=1-(( Ni/N)²).
Magurran (2003)
0.35
Inv(Ni)
(1/Ni)
This paper
0.37
Var(Ni)
Variance of Ni
This paper
0.35
Inv(Ni²)
(1/Ni²).
This paper
0.31
Webb (2000)
0.21
This paper
0.19
This paper
0.17
Sackin (1972)
0.14
This paper
0.11
Colless (1982)
0.11
the subtending phylogenetic tree
1-D
Similar to Webb (2000)’s mean pairwise nodal
Dist_node_spec
distance, except that the phylogeny of the sample
alone is considered.
Variance of the number of nodes connecting two
Var(node)
individuals in the subtending phylogenetic tree
Variance of the number of nodes connecting two
Var(node)_spec
species in the phylogenetic tree of the community.
(Nbar)
Standard variation of Hi, where Hi is the number of
internal nodes between species i and the root
Fourth(Ni)
(((Ni-mean(Ni))4)/S)1/4
(ri-si), where for each node i, ri and si are the
IColless
numbers of terminal species in the two subtrees
1
connected by node i (with ri greater than si).
Mean(Hi), where Hi is the number of internal nodes
Nbar
Sackin (1972)
0.09
This paper
0.06
Webb (2000)
0.06
Faith (1992)
<0.01
This paper
<0.01
between species i and the root.
Mean phylogenetic distance between two individuals
Dist_neighbour
of sister species.
Mean phylogenetic distance between two sister
Dist_neighbour_spec
species
Sum of the branch lengths (lengths are normalized
PD
so that the tree height equals 1).
Variance of the phylogenetic distance between sister
Var(Dist_neigh_spec)
species.
+
Clarke &
Mean phylogenetic distance between two species.
<0.01
Warwick (1998)
Variance of the phylogenetic distance between
Var(Dist_neighbour)
This paper
<0.01
individuals belonging to sister species
Mean phylogenetic distance between two
Chave et al.
individuals.
(2007)
Variance of the phylogenetic distance between
Clarke &
species.
Warwick (2001)
D
+
<0.01
<0.01
Variance of the phylogenetic distance between
Var(Dist)
This paper
<0.01
individuals.
4
References:
Chave, J. Chust, G. & Thébaud, C. (2007). The importance of phylogenetic structure in biodiversity
6
studies. In: Scaling Biodiversity (eds Storch, D., Marquet, P. & Brown, J.H.). Santa Fe Institute
Editions, pp 151-167.
8
Clarke, K.R. & Warwick, R.M. (1998). A taxonomic distinctness index and its statistical properties. J.
Appl. Ecol., 35, 523-531.
2
10
Clarke, K.R. & Warwick, R.M. (2001). A further biodiversity index applicable to species lists: variation
in taxonomic distinctness. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., 216, 265-278.
12
Colless, D.H. (1982). Phylogenetics: the theory and practice of phylogenetic systematics. Syst. Zool.,
31, 100-104.
14
Faith, D.P. (1992). Conservation evaluation and phylogenetic diversity. Biol. Cons., 61, 1-10.
Magurran, A.E. (2003). Measuring biological diversity. Blackwell Science Ltd.
16
Sackin, M.J. (1972). “Good” and “bad” phenograms. Syst. Zool., 21, 225-226.
Shao, K.T. & Sokal, R.R. (1990). Tree balance. Syst. Zool., 39, 266-276.
18
Webb, C.O. (2000). Exploring the phylogenetic structure of ecological communities: an example for
rain forest trees. Am. Nat., 156, 145-155.
3
20
Appendix S1: Simulation algorithm.
Neutral theory and phylogenies
22
In its original formulation, Hubbell’s model considers that speciation events are point-wise
mutations, that is, at each recruitment event in the regional pool, individuals have a small
24
probability of belonging to an altogether new species. This is equivalent to the infinite-alleles
Moran model with mutation in population genetics, where backward mutations are not
26
allowed (Ewens 2004). The infinite-alleles Moran model does not keep track of the
evolutionary relationships among alleles. In our model, for each speciating individual, we do
28
keep track of the species identity from which it descends. This enables us to construct
evolutionary relationships among species.
30
Simulation algorithm
32
We use a modified version of Etienne's (2005) algorithm to reconstruct the subtending
phylogenies of local communities from the knowledge of the neutral parameters and the
34
scaled immigration rate I=m(J-1)/(1-m), where m is the immigration rate, and J is the local
community size. We start by computing the number of immigrating ancestors and recording
36
their numbers of descendants. Individuals are drawn one by one. The jth individual has a
probability I/(j+I-1) of descending from a newly immigrating ancestor and a probability (j-
38
1)/(j+I-1) of descending from an already recorded ancestor. In the latter case, one of the j-1
already tagged individuals is selected at random, and its ancestor is the ancestor of the jth
40
individual. Applying this algorithm, the immigration history for the local community of size J
can be reconstructed. Once the number A of ancestors is known, the forward-in-time
42
algorithm of Stephens (2000) is used to build a dated phylogeny for the A ancestors. This
algorithm starts with two lineages of the same species, and every timestep Tk, where Tk-Tk-1 is
44
an exponentially distributed time with rate parameter k=k(k-1+)/2, and k is the number of
4
lineages, a lineage is chosen at random from the existing k, and it is split in two with
46
probability p=(k-1)/(k-1+). If it is not split (probability 1-p), it is speciating into a lineage of
another species. This algorithm is repeated until there are A+1 lineages and the last event (a
48
lineage split) is deleted so that there is only A lineages at the end (Stephens 2000). This
procedure ensures that this forward coalescent algorithm is equivalent to the backward
50
coalescent: if the algorithm was stopped when there are A lineages, then the coalescent tree
would necessarily end by a lineage split whereas here, it ends either by a speciation event or
52
by a lineage split.
54
References:
Etienne, R.S. (2005). A new sampling formula for neutral biodiversity. Ecol. Lett., 8, 253260.
Ewens, W.J. (2004). Mathematical Population Genetics. Springer, Berlin.
Stephens, M. (2000). Times on trees and the age of an allele. Theor. Popul. Biol., 57, 109119.
56
58
5
60
Appendix S2: Improving the resolution of the phylogeny of Barro Colorado Island’s
tropical tree species.
62
Phylogenetic trees are in newick format, with additional brackets [] indicating remaining
polytomies, and $ symbols indicating the partial resolution of certain clades. A C++ code for
64
randomly resolving this phylogeny, in respecting these partial resolutions is available upon
request.
66
(([([((((Schizolobium_parahybum,(Prioria_copaifera,((Senna_dariensis,(((Enterolobium_scho
68
mburgkii,(Abarema_macradenia,[($(((Inga_laurina,Inga_ruiziana),Inga_punctata),(Inga_oerst
ediana,(Inga_nobilis,Inga_sapindoides)))$,Inga_acuminata,Inga_goldmanii,Inga_marginata,In
70
ga_pezizifera,Inga_spectabilis,Inga_umbellifera)])),Acacia_melanoceras),Tachigalia_versicol
or)),((((Erythrina_costaricensis,Lonchocarpus_heptaphyllus),((((Pterocarpus_belizensis,Ptero
72
carpus_rohrii),Platypodium_elegans),Platymiscium_pinnatum),Andira_inermis)),[(Ormosia_a
mazonica,Ormosia_coccinea,Ormosia_macrocalyx)]),((Dipteryx_oleifera,Myrospermum_frut
74
escens),(Swartzia_simplex_gra,Swartzia_simplex_och)))))),((([((Brosimum_alicastrum,Brosi
mum_guianense),[(Ficus_bullenei,Ficus_colubrinae,Ficus_costaricana,Ficus_insipida,Ficus_
76
maxima,Ficus_obtusifolia,Ficus_popenoei,Ficus_tonduzii,Ficus_trigonata,Ficus_yoponensis)]
,Maquira_guianensis,Perebea_xanthochyma,Poulsenia_armata,Sorocea_affinis)],[((Cecropia_
78
insignis,Cecropia_obtusifolia),Pourouma_bicolor,(Trophis_caucana,Trophis_racemosa))]),(C
eltis_schippii,Trema_micrantha)),Colubrina_glandulosa)),[([([(Croton_billbergianus,((Alchor
80
nea_costaricensis,Alchornea_latifolia),(Adelia_triloba,(Acalypha_diversifolia,Acalypha_macr
ostachya))),((Sapium_glandulosum,Sapium_%27broadleaf%27),Hura_crepitans),Hyeronima_
82
alchorneoides,Margaritaria_nobilis)],((Vismia_baccifera,Vismia_macrophylla),((Marila_laxif
lora,Calophyllum_longifolium),(Chrysochlamis_eclipes,(Symphonia_globulifera,(Garcinia_in
84
termedia,Garcinia_madruno))))),[([(Casearia_aculeata,Casearia_arborea,Casearia_commerson
6
iana,Casearia_guianensis,Casearia_sylvestris)],Hasseltia_floribunda,Lacistema_aggregatum,(
86
Laetia_procera,Laetia_thamnia),Lindackeria_laurina,Lozania_pittieri,Tetrathylacium_johanse
nii,Zuelania_guidonia)],(Cassipourea_elliptica,Erythroxylum_macrophyllum),Cespedesia_spa
88
thulata,Drypetes_standleyi,((Hirtella_americana,Hirtella_triandra),(Licania_hypoleuca,Licani
a_platypus)),(Hybanthus_prunifolius,Rinorea_sylvatica),Spachea_membranacea)],Maytenus_
90
schippii,Sloanea_terniflora)]),([([(Allophylus_psilospermus,[(Cupania_cinerea,Cupania_latifo
lia,Cupania_rufescens,Cupania_seemannii)],(Talisia_nervosa,Talisia_princeps))],(((Anacardi
92
um_excelsum,Astronium_graveolens),(Spondias_mombin,Spondias_radlkoferi)),[(((Protium_
costaricense,Protium_panamense),Protium_tenuifolium),Tetragastris_panamensis,Trattinnicki
94
a_aspera)]),(((Cedrela_odorata,((Trichilia_pallida,Trichilia_tuberculata),(Guarea_grandifolia,
(Guarea_guidonia,Guarea_sp)))),[(Zanthoxylum_acuminatum,Zanthoxylum_ekmanii,Zanthox
96
ylum_panamense,Zanthoxylum_setulosum)]),(Picramnia_latifolia,(Quassia_amara,Simarouba
_amara))))],(((([(Cavanillesia_platanifolia,Ceiba_pentandra,Pseudobombax_septenatum,(Pac
98
hira_sessilis,Pachira_quinata))],(Quararibea_asterolepis,Hampea_appendiculata)),Ochroma_p
yramidale),Sterculia_apetala),((Guazuma_ulmifolia,Theobroma_cacao),((Trichospermum_gal
100
eottii,Luehea_seemannii),((Apeiba_membranacea,Apeiba_hybrid),Apeiba_tibourbou))))),((([(
Chamguava_schippii,[(Eugenia_coloradoensis,Eugenia_galalonensis,Eugenia_nesiotica,Euge
102
nia_oerstediana)],Myrcia_gatunensis,Psidium_friedrichsthalianum)],Vochysia_ferruginea),[(
Miconia_affinis,Miconia_argentea,Miconia_elata,Miconia_hondurensis)]),(Lafoensia_punicif
104
olia,(Terminalia_amazonia,Terminalia_oblonga))),Turpinia_occidentalis)],(([(([(Aegiphila_pa
namensis,(Jacaranda_copaia,(Tabebuia_guayacan,Tabebuia_rosea)),Trichanthera_gigantea)],
106
Solanum_hayesii),((Psychotria_grandis,(Coussarea_curvigemmia,Faramea_occidentalis)),((H
amelia_axillaris,Guettarda_foliacea),[((Pentagonia_macrophylla,(Alseis_blackiana,Macrocne
108
mum_roseum)),[(Randia_armata,Genipa_americana,Amaioua_corymbosa,Alibertia_edulis,To
coyena_pittieri)],Posoqueria_latifolia)])),(Aspidosperma_spruceanum,(Thevetia_ahouai,(Lac
7
110
mellea_panamensis,(Tabernaemontana_arborea,Stemmadenia_grandiflora)))),((Cordia_alliod
ora,Cordia_bicolor),Cordia_lasiocalyx))],(Dendropanax_arboreus,Schefflera_morototoni)),[((
112
Ardisia_fendleri,Stylogyne_turbacensis),(((Chrysophyllum_argenteum,Chrysophyllum_cainit
o),((Pouteria_fossicola,Pouteria_reticulata),Pouteria_stipitata)),Gustavia_superba),Diospyros
114
_artanthifolia)]),(((Coccoloba_coronata,Coccoloba_manzinellensis),Triplaris_cumingiana),G
uapira_standleyana),(Heisteria_acuminata,Heisteria_concinna))],(((((Annona_spraguei,(Guatt
116
eria_dumetorum,Xylopia_macrantha)),(Desmopsis_panamensis,(Mosannona_garwoodii,Uno
nopsis_pittieri))),((Virola_multiflora,Virola_sebifera),Virola_surinamensis)),([(Beilschmiedia
118
_pendula,Cinnamomum_triplinerve,[(Nectandra_cissiflora,Nectandra_lineata,Nectandra_purp
urea,Nectandra_%27fuzzy%27)],[(Ocotea_cernua,Ocotea_oblonga,Ocotea_puberula,Ocotea_
120
whitei)])],(Siparuna_guianensis,Siparuna_pauciflora))),(Piper_cordulatum,Piper_reticulatum)
)),((((Attalea_butyracea,Elaeis_oleifera),Astrocaryum_standleyanum),Oenocarpus_mapora),S
122
ocratea_exorrhiza));
124
References:
Apocynaceae:
126
(Aspidosperma_spruceanum,(Thevetia_ahouai,(Lacmellea_panamensis,(Tabernaemontana_ar
borea,Stemmadenia_grandiflora))))
128
Ref: Potgieter & Albert 2001.
130
NB: Stemmadenia placed next to Tabernaemontana because it belongs to the same tribe.
132
Rubiaceae:
8
134
((Psychotria_grandis,(Coussarea_curvigemmia,Faramea_occidentalis)),((Hamelia_axillaris,G
uettarda_foliacea),[((Pentagonia_macrophylla,
136
(Alseis_blackiana,Macrocnemum_roseum)),[(Randia_armata,Genipa_americana,Amaioua_co
rymbosa,Alibertia_edulis,Tocoyena_pittieri)],Posoqueria_latifolia)]))
138
Ref:
140
Rova et al. 2002.
Bremer & Manen 2000.
142
Persson 2000.
NB: Macrocnemum placed next to Alseis because it belongs to the same tribe.
144
Arecaceae:
146
((((Attalea_butyracea,Elaeis_oleifera),Astrocaryum_standleyanum),Oenocarpus_mapora),Soc
ratea_exorrhiza)
148
Ref: Hahn 2002.
150
Annonaceae:
152
([(Annona_spraguei,Guatteria_dumetorum,Xylopia_macrantha)],(Desmopsis_panamensis,(M
osannona_garwoodii,Unonopsis_pittieri)))
154
Ref: Pirie et al. 2006.
156
Anacardiaceae:
158
((Anacardium_excelsum,Astronium_graveolens),(Spondias_mombin,Spondias_radlkoferi))
9
160
Ref: Pell 2004. page 66.
162
Bombacaceae:
(((([(Cavanillesia_platanifolia,Ceiba_pentandra,Pseudobombax_septenatum,(Pachira_sessilis,
164
Pachira_quinata))],(Quararibea_asterolepis,Hampea_appendiculata)),Ochroma_pyramidale),
Sterculia_apetala),((Guazuma_ulmifolia,Theobroma_cacao),((Trichospermum_galeottii,Lueh
166
ea_seemannii),[(Apeiba_membranacea,Apeiba_hybrid,Apeiba_tibourbou)])))
168
Ref:
-Baum et al. 2004.
170
-Alverson et al. 1999.
172
Clusiaceae:
((Vismia_baccifera,Vismia_macrophylla),((Marila_laxiflora,Calophyllum_longifolium),(Chry
174
sochlamis_eclipes,(Symphonia_globulifera,(Garcinia_intermedia,Garcinia_madruno)))))
176
Ref: Gustafsson et al. 2002.
178
Euphorbiaceae:
[(Croton_billbergianus,((Alchornea_costaricensis,Alchornea_latifolia),(Adelia_triloba,(Acaly
180
pha_diversifolia,Acalypha_macrostachya))),((Sapium_glandulosum,
Sapium_broadleaf),Hura_crepitans),Hyeronima_alchorneoides,Margaritaria_nobilis)]
182
Ref: Wurdack et al. 2005.
10
184
For Fabaceae:
186
(Schizolobium_parahybum,(Prioria_copaifera,((Senna_dariensis,(((Enterolobium_schomburg
kii,(Abarema_macradenia,[($(((Inga_laurina,Inga_ruiziana),Inga_punctata),(Inga_oerstediana
188
,(Inga_nobilis,Inga_sapindoides)))$,Inga_acuminata,Inga_goldmanii,Inga_marginata,Inga_pe
zizifera,Inga_spectabilis,Inga_umbellifera)])),Acacia_melanoceras),Tachigalia_versicolor)),((
190
((Erythrina_costaricensis,Lonchocarpus_heptaphyllus),((((Pterocarpus_belizensis,Pterocarpus
_rohrii),Platypodium_elegans),Platymiscium_pinnatum),Andira_inermis)),[(Ormosia_amazon
192
ica,Ormosia_coccinea,Ormosia_macrocalyx)]),((Dipteryx_oleifera,Myrospermum_frutescens
),(Swartzia_simplex_gra,Swartzia_simplex_och))))))
194
Ref:
196
-Wojciechowski, Lavin & Sanderson 2004.
-Inga: Richardson et al. 2001.
198
Meliaceae:
200
(Cedrela_odorata,((Trichilia_pallida,Trichilia_tuberculata),[(Guarea_grandifolia,
Guarea_guidonia,Guarea_sp)]))
202
Ref: Muellner et al. 2003.
204
Moraceae:
206
(Sorocea_affinis,((((Perebea_xanthochyma,Poulsenia_armata),Maquira_guianensis),[(Ficus_b
ullenei,Ficus_colubrinae,Ficus_costaricana,Ficus_insipida,Ficus_maxima,Ficus_obtusifolia,Fi
11
208
cus_popenoei,Ficus_tonduzii,Ficus_trigonata,Ficus_yoponensis)]),(Brosimum_alicastrum,Br
osimum_guianense)))
210
Ref: Datwyler & Weiblen 2004.
212
References:
214
216
218
220
222
224
226
228
230
232
234
236
238
240
242
244
246
248
250
Alverson, W.S., Whitlock, B.A., Nyffeler, R., Bayer, C. & Baum, D.A. (1999). Phylogeny of
the core Malvales: evidence from ndhF sequence data. Am. J. Bot., 86, 1474-1486.
Baum, D.A., Dewitt Smith, S., Yen, A., Alverson, W.S., Nyffeler, R., Whitlock, B.A. &
Oldham, R.L. (2004). Phylogenetic relationships of Malvatheca (Bombacoideae and
Malvoideae; Malvaceae sensu lato) as inferred from plastid DNA sequences. Am. J. Bot.,
91, 1863-1871.
Bremer, B. & Manen, J.-F. (2000). Phylogeny and classification of the subfamily Rubioideae
(Rubiaceae). Plant Syst. Evol., 225, 43-72.
Datwyler, S.L. & Weiblen, G.D. (2004). On the origin of the fig: phylogenetic relationship of
Moraceae from ndhF sequences. Am. J. Bot., 91, 767-777.
Gustafsson, M.H.G., Bittrich, V. & Stevens, P.F. (2002). Phylogeny of Clusiaceae based on
rbcL sequences. Int. J. Plant. Sci., 163, 1045-1054.
Hahn, W.J. (2002). A phylogenetic analysis of the Arecoid line of palms based on plastid
DNA sequence data. Mol. Phyl. Evol., 23, 189-204.
Muellner, A.N., Samuel, R., Johnson, S.A., Cheek, M., Pennington, T.D. & Chase, M.W.
(2003). Molecular phylogenetics of Meliaceae (Sapindales) based on nuclear and plastid
DNA sequences. Am. J. Bot., 90, 471-480.
Pell, S.K. (2004). Molecular systematics of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). PhD thesis.
Louisiana State University.
Persson, C. (2000). Phylogeny of the Neotropical Alibertia group (Rubiaceae), with emphasis
on the genus Alibertia, inferred from ITS and 5S ribosomal DNA sequences. Am. J. Bot.,
87, 1018-1028.
Pirie, M.D., Chatrou, L.W., Mols, J.B., Erkens, R.H.J. & Oosterhof, J. (2006). ‘Andeancentred’ genera in the short-branch clade of Annonaceae: testing biogeographical
hypotheses using phylogeny reconstruction and molecular dating. J. Biogeog., 33, 31-46.
Potgieter, K. & Albert, V.A. (2001). Phylogenetic relationships within Apocynaceae s.l. based
on trnL Intron and trnL-F Spacer and propagule characters. Ann. Miss. Bot. Gard., 88, 523549.
Richardson, J.E., Pennington, R.T., Pennington, T.D. & Hollingsworth, P.M. (2001). Rapid
diversification of a species-rich genus of neotropical rain forest trees. Science, 293, 22422245.
Rova, J.H.E., Delprete, P.G., Andersson, L. & Albert, V.A. (2002). A trnL-F cpDNA
sequence study of the Condamineeae-Rondeletieae-Sipaneeae complex with implications on
the phylogeny of the Rubiaceae. Am. J. Bot., 89, 145-159.
Wojciechowski, M.F., Lavin, M. & Sanderson, M.J. (2004). A phylogeny of legumes
(Leguminosae) based on analysis of the plastid matK gene resolves many well-supported
subclades within the family. Am. J. Bot., 91, 1846-1862.
12
252
Wurdack, K.J., Hoffmann, P. & Chase, M.W. (2005). Molecular phylogenetic analysis of
uniovulate Euphorbiaceae (Euphorbiaceae sensu stricto) using plastid rbcL and trnL-F DNA
sequences. Am. J. Bot., 92, 1397-1420.
254
13
Appendix S3: Compatibility with neutral theory of the imbalance levels of 2,000
256
published phylogenies.
258
Treebase extraction and phylogenetic trees preprocessing:
We extracted 2,000 published phylogenies from Treebase (http://www.treebase.org/)
260
(Accession numbers 705 to 2704, the 704 first trees in Treebase are not numbered in the same
way which renders their automatic retrieval less easy) using the R package apTreeshape
262
(Bortolussi et al. 2006). Following the method of Blum and François (2006), we
automatically removed putative outgroups used to reconstruct these phylogenies. This was
264
done by detecting subtrees descending directly from the root and having only one or two
species (R scripts available upon request). If the trees contained polytomies, they were
266
randomly resolved using the routine “multi2di” of the R package APE (Paradis et al. 2004).
Out of these 2,000 trees, 1,660 contained more than 5 species, and these were used to
268
compute the statistic B1.
270
Neutral simulations:
For each observed value S of the species richness in the 1,660 trees, we simulated neutral
272
trees of the same richness produced under Hubbell’s model with various  values (C++ code
available upon request). As decreases, the regional pool size necessary to produce a given
274
species richness increases. To avoid computer memory saturation, we fixed 1,000,000 as a
limit to this size, and stopped simulations when we reached this limit. Specifically, we started
276
by simulating 30 phylogenies with equal to 1,000. We then repeated this simulation step
after dividing by 2, until the 1,000,000 limit was reached. For each of these simulated
278
neutral trees, we computed the B1 statistic. For each richness value, all these neutral simulated
values of B1 formed a range consistent with the neutral assumption.
14
280
282
References:
284
Blum, M.G.B. & François, O. (2006). Which random processes describe the tree of life? A
large-scale study of phylogenetic tree imbalance. Syst. Biol., 55, 685-691.
286
Bortolussi, N., Durand, E., Blum, M.G.B. & François, O. (2006). apTreeshape: statistical
analysis of phylogenetic tree shape. Bioinformatics, 22, 363-364.
288
Paradis, E., Claude, J. & Strimmer, K. (2004). APE: Analyses of Phylogenetics and Evolution
in R language. Bioinformatics, 20, 289-290.
290
15
292
Appendix S4: Computation of the regional pool sizes for the four tropical tree plots.
294
This computation is based on the comparison with Latimer et al. (2005)’s results. They
consider the regional pool for fynbos to be the Cape Floristic Region which extends over
296
50000 km². They further report a density of 0.1, 0.25, 4 and 8 individuals per m² for trees,
large shrubs, shrubs and shrublets respectively. Thus, if one assumes that trees, large shrubs,
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shrubs and shrublets occupy one quarter of the area each, this leads to an average density of
2.6 individuals per m², and eventually to a regional pool size of Jfynbos = 1.3*1011 individuals.
300
According to Latimer et al. (2005), speciation rates should be larger in the fynbos than in
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tropical trees. This implies that the regional pool sizes for tropical trees observed in a plot
should be larger than (plot / fynbos) * Jfynbos. We used the value reported in the text of Latimer
304
et al. (2005) of 697 for fynbos.To convert, these sizes in number of individuals, we used a
density for tropical trees of 500 individuals per ha.
Plot
plot
Minimal Pool Size
( * 1000 km²)
BCI
571
2130
La Planada
345
1287
Pasoh
534
1992
Lambir
2491
9292
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For comparison, Fine & Ree (2006) report a value of 9220000 km² for the Neotropics, and of
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5903000 km² for the Asian Tropics. This means that regional pools for tropical trees extend
over continental scales.
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