Panbiogeografía y modelos digitales de elevación: un caso de estudio con roedores en la Faja Volcánica Transmexicana

Abstract

This paper proposes an adequacy to the panbiogeographic method using digital elevation models (DEM). The distributions of 12 species of rodents from the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (TVB) were analyzed, and the results were compared using a three-dimensional model. Individual tracks for the 12 species were draw employing an automated tool which identifi ed three generalized tracks. On the other hand, upon the base of a contour lines map, a raster DEM was built, a rate of increase of distance in the topology was calculated, and the individual tracks were measured on the DEM. Additionally, the length of each individual track was calculated on a vector DEM, where differences in the topology of one track compared to the two-dimensional track were observed. The other eleven tracks did not show any changes, which could means that the actual panbiogeographic analyses in two-dimensions had represented adequately the patterns of the taxonomic groups studied. However, it is necessary to keep making modifi cations to the method in order to approach as near as possible to the reality, mainly in areas with high altitudinal heterogeneity.