Speciation in the Neotropics and the Founder Principle

Abstract

The association of bottleneck effects and speciation patterns observed in South American flies Drosophila paulistorum, lizards Anolis chrysolepis and Mabuya arajara, and frogs in the genus Cycloramphus is briefly examined. Bottleneck effects as con sequences of reduction of population sizes in situ seem to be a relevant factor to speciation, distinct from isolation through large-scale fragmentation, environmental differences, or genetic drift.