Emerging large-scale datasets coupled with statistical advances have provided new insights into the processes that generate the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG). But many of these studies run into an old, if often underappreciated, problem: The interpretation of the data critically depends on the consistent application of criteria to define what constitutes a species. This is particularly pernicious for the LDG because good species have been easier to recognize in temperate than in tropical regions. We provide evidence that this latitudinal taxonomy gradient exists, discuss how this potentially impacts inferences about latitudinal variation in ecoevolutionary processes such as population differentiation and speciation, and provide a roadmap for how to mitigate taxonomic biases in the study of biodiversity patterns.

新兴的大规模数据集加上统计的进步，为生成纬度多样性梯度 (LDG) 的过程提供了新的见解。但是，这些研究中的许多都遇到了一个古老的、即使经常被低估的问题：对数据的解释严重依赖于对定义物种构成的标准的一致应用。这对 LDG 尤其有害，因为温带地区比热带地区更容易识别优质物种。我们提供证据表明这种纬度分类梯度存在，讨论这如何潜在地影响关于生态进化过程（如种群分化和物种形成）中纬度变化的推论，并为如何减轻生物多样性模式研究中的分类偏差提供路线图。