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Boschman LM, Carraro L, Cassemiro FAS, de Vries J, Altermatt F, Hagen O, Hoorn C, Pellissier L. Freshwater fish diversity in the western Amazon basin shaped by Andean uplift since the Late Cretaceous. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:2037-2044. [PMID: 37857892 PMCID: PMC10697839 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02220-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
South America is home to the highest freshwater fish biodiversity on Earth, and the hotspot of species richness is located in the western Amazon basin. The location of this hotspot is enigmatic, as it is inconsistent with the pattern observed in river systems across the world of increasing species richness towards a river's mouth. Here we investigate the role of river capture events caused by Andean mountain building and repeated episodes of flooding in western Amazonia in shaping the modern-day richness pattern of freshwater fishes in South America, and in Amazonia in particular. To this end, we combine a reconstruction of river networks since 80 Ma with a mechanistic model simulating dispersal, allopatric speciation and extinction over the dynamic landscape of rivers and lakes. We show that Andean mountain building and consequent numerous small river capture events in western Amazonia caused freshwater habitats to be highly dynamic, leading to high diversification rates and exceptional richness. The history of marine incursions and lakes, including the Miocene Pebas mega-wetland system in western Amazonia, played a secondary role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydian M Boschman
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
- Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Luca Carraro
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | | | - Jorad de Vries
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Oskar Hagen
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carina Hoorn
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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2
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Val P, Lyons NJ, Gasparini N, Willenbring JK, Albert JS. Landscape Evolution as a Diversification Driver in Freshwater Fishes. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.788328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The exceptional concentration of vertebrate diversity in continental freshwaters has been termed the “freshwater fish paradox,” with > 15,000 fish species representing more than 20% of all vertebrate species compressed into tiny fractions of the Earth’s land surface area (<0.5%) or total aquatic habitat volume (<0.001%). This study asks if the fish species richness of the world’s river basins is explainable in terms of river captures using topographic metrics as proxies. The River Capture Hypothesis posits that drainage-network rearrangements have accelerated biotic diversification through their combined effects on dispersal, speciation, and extinction. Yet rates of river capture are poorly constrained at the basin scale worldwide. Here we assess correlations between fish species density (data for 14,953 obligate freshwater fish species) and basin-wide metrics of landscape evolution (data for 3,119 river basins), including: topography (elevation, average relief, slope, drainage area) and climate (average rainfall and air temperature). We assess the results in the context of both static landscapes (e.g., species-area and habitat heterogeneity relationships) and transient landscapes (e.g., river capture, tectonic activity, landscape disequilibrium). We also relax assumptions of functional neutrality of basins (tropical vs. extratropical, tectonically stable vs. active terrains). We found a disproportionate number of freshwater species in large, lowland river basins of tropical South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, under predictable conditions of large geographic area, tropical climate, low topographic relief, and high habitat volume (i.e., high rainfall rates). However, our results show that these conditions are only necessary, but not fully sufficient, to explain the basins with the highest diversity. Basins with highest diversity are all located on tectonically stable regions, places where river capture is predicted to be most conducive to the formation of high fish species richness over evolutionary timescales. Our results are consistent with predictions of several landscape evolution models, including the River Capture Hypothesis, Mega Capture Hypothesis, and Intermediate Capture Rate Hypothesis, and support conclusions of numerical modeling studies indicating landscape transience as a mechanistic driver of net diversification in riverine and riparian organisms with widespread continental distributions.
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Melo BF, Albert JS, Dagosta FCP, Tagliacollo VA. Biogeography of curimatid fishes reveals multiple lowland-upland river transitions and differential diversification in the Neotropics (Teleostei, Curimatidae). Ecol Evol 2021; 11:15815-15832. [PMID: 34824792 PMCID: PMC8601890 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Neotropics harbors a megadiverse ichthyofauna comprising over 6300 species with approximately 80% in just three taxonomic orders within the clade Characiphysi. This highly diverse group has evolved in tropical South America over tens to hundreds of millions of years influenced mostly by re-arrangements of river drainages in lowland and upland systems. In this study, we investigate patterns of spatial diversification in Neotropical freshwater fishes in the family Curimatidae, a species-rich clade of the order Characiformes. Specifically, we examined ancestral areas, dispersal events, and shifts in species richness using spatially explicit biogeographic and macroevolutionary models to determine whether lowlands-uplands serve as museums or cradles of diversification for curimatids. We used fossil information to estimate divergence times in BEAST, multiple time-stratified models of geographic range evolution in BioGeoBEARS, and alternative models of geographic state-dependent speciation and extinction in GeoHiSSE. Our results suggest that the most recent common ancestor of curimatids originated in the Late Cretaceous likely in lowland paleodrainages of northwestern South America. Dispersals from lowland to upland river basins of the Brazilian and Guiana shields occurred repeatedly across independently evolving lineages in the Cenozoic. Colonization of upland drainages was often coupled with increased rates of net diversification in species-rich genera such as Cyphocharax and Steindachnerina. Our findings demonstrate that colonization of novel aquatic environments at higher elevations is associated with an increased rate of diversification, although this pattern is clade-dependent and driven mostly by allopatric speciation. Curimatids reinforce an emerging perspective that Amazonian lowlands act as a museum by accumulating species along time, whereas the transitions to uplands stimulate higher net diversification rates and lineage diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno F. Melo
- Department of IchthyologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - James S. Albert
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayetteLouisianaUSA
| | - Fernando C. P. Dagosta
- Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas e AmbientaisUniversidade Federal da Grande DouradosDouradosBrazil
| | - Victor A. Tagliacollo
- Museu de ZoologiaUniversidade de São PauloSão PauloBrazil
- Instituto de BiologiaUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaUberlândiaBrazil
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Pérez-Miranda F, Mejia O, López B, Říčan O. Molecular clocks, biogeography and species diversity in Herichthys with evaluation of the role of Punta del Morro as a vicariant brake along the Mexican Transition Zone in the context of local and global time frame of cichlid diversification. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8818. [PMID: 32391194 PMCID: PMC7195834 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Using molecular dated phylogenies and biogeographic reconstructions, the species diversity, biogeography and time frame of evolution of the genus Herichthys were evaluated. In particular, we test the role of Punta del Morro (PdM) as a vicariant brake along the Mexican Transition Zone in the context of local and global time frame of cichlid diversification using several sets of calibrations. Species diversity in Herichthys is complex and the here employed dating methods suggest young age and rapid divergence for many species while species delimitation methods did not resolve these young species including both sympatric species pairs. Based on our molecular clock dating analyses, Herichthys has colonized its present distribution area significantly prior to the suggested vicariance by PdM (10-17.1 Ma vs. 5 to 7.5 Ma). The PdM constraint is in conflict with all other paleogeographic and fossil constraints including novel ones introduced in this study that are, however, congruent among each other. Our study demonstrates that any cichlid datings significantly older or younger than the bounds presented by our analyses and discussion have to be taken as highly questionable from the point of view of Middle American paleogeography and cichlid biogeography unless we allow the option that cichlid biogeography is completely independent from ecological and geological constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Pérez-Miranda
- Laboratorio de Variación Biológica y Evolución, Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Omar Mejia
- Laboratorio de Variación Biológica y Evolución, Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Benjamín López
- Laboratorio de Variación Biológica y Evolución, Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Oldřich Říčan
- Departament of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Craig JM, Kim LY, Tagliacollo VA, Albert JS. Phylogenetic revision of Gymnotidae (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes), with descriptions of six subgenera. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224599. [PMID: 31697735 PMCID: PMC6837465 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity of gymnotid electric fishes has been intensely studied over the past 25 years, with 35 species named since 1994, compared to 11 species in the previous 236 years. Substantial effort has also been applied in recent years to documenting gymnotid interrelationships, with seven systematic studies published using morphological and molecular datasets. Nevertheless, until now, all gymnotids have been assigned to one of just two supraspecific taxa, the subfamily Electrophorinae with one genus Electrophorus and three valid species and the subfamily Gymnotine also with one genus Gymnotus and 43 valid species. This simple classification has obscured the substantial phenotypic and lineage diversity within the subfamily Gymnotine and hampered ecological and evolutionary studies of gymnotid biology. Here we present the most well-resolved and taxon-complete phylogeny of the Gymnotidae to date, including materials from all but one of the valid species. This phylogeny was constructed using a five-gene molecular dataset and a 115-character morphological dataset, enabling the inclusion of several species for which molecular data are still lacking. This phylogeny was time-calibrated using biogeographical priors in the absence of a fossil record. The tree topology is similar to those of previous studies, recovering all the major clades previously recognized with informal names. We propose a new gymnotid classification including two subfamilies (Electrophorinae and Gymnotinae) and six subgenera within the genus Gymnotus. Each subgenus exhibits a distinctive biogeographic distribution, within which most species have allopatric distributions and the subgenera are diverged from one another by an estimated 5–35 million years. We further provide robust taxonomic diagnoses, descriptions and identification keys to all gymnotid subgenera and all but four species. This new taxonomy more equitably partitions species diversity among supra-specific taxa, employing the previously vacant subgenus and subfamily ranks. This new taxonomy renders known gymnotid diversity more accessible to study by highlighting the deep divergences (chronological, geographical, genetic and morphological) among its several clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack M. Craig
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Lesley Y. Kim
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, United States of America
| | | | - James S. Albert
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, United States of America
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6
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Antonelli A, Ariza M, Albert J, Andermann T, Azevedo J, Bacon C, Faurby S, Guedes T, Hoorn C, Lohmann LG, Matos-Maraví P, Ritter CD, Sanmartín I, Silvestro D, Tejedor M, ter Steege H, Tuomisto H, Werneck FP, Zizka A, Edwards SV. Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5644. [PMID: 30310740 PMCID: PMC6174874 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of "trans-disciplinary biogeography," which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow's ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Antonelli
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Organismic Biology and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - María Ariza
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Laboratory Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Team “Ecologie, Evolution, Symbiose”, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - James Albert
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA
| | - Tobias Andermann
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Josué Azevedo
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Christine Bacon
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Thais Guedes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil
- Museum of Zoology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carina Hoorn
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Universidad Regional Amazonica IKIAM, Napo, Ecuador
| | - Lúcia G. Lohmann
- Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Pável Matos-Maraví
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Camila D. Ritter
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Daniele Silvestro
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marcelo Tejedor
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología, Puerto Madryn, Guatemala
| | - Hans ter Steege
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Systems Ecology, Free University, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Hanna Tuomisto
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Alexander Zizka
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Scott V. Edwards
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Organismic Biology and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Gothenburg Centre for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Landis MJ. Biogeographic Dating of Speciation Times Using Paleogeographically Informed Processes. Syst Biol 2017; 66:128-144. [PMID: 27155009 PMCID: PMC5837510 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syw040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Standard models of molecular evolution cannot estimate absolute speciation times alone, and require external calibrations to do so, such as fossils. Because fossil calibration methods rely on the incomplete fossil record, a great number of nodes in the tree of life cannot be dated precisely. However, many major paleogeographical events are dated, and since biogeographic processes depend on paleogeographical conditions, biogeographic dating may be used as an alternative or complementary method to fossil dating. I demonstrate how a time-stratified biogeographic stochastic process may be used to estimate absolute divergence times by conditioning on dated paleogeographical events. Informed by the current paleogeographical literature, I construct an empirical dispersal graph using 25 areas and 26 epochs for the past 540 Ma of Earth's history. Simulations indicate biogeographic dating performs well so long as paleogeography imposes constraint on biogeographic character evolution. To gauge whether biogeographic dating may be of practical use, I analyzed the well-studied turtle clade (Testudines) to assess how well biogeographic dating fares when compared to fossil-calibrated dating estimates reported in the literature. Fossil-free biogeographic dating estimated the age of the most recent common ancestor of extant turtles to be from the Late Triassic, which is consistent with fossil-based estimates. Dating precision improves further when including a root node fossil calibration. The described model, paleogeographical dispersal graph, and analysis scripts are available for use with RevBayes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Landis
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Arbour JH, López-Fernández H. Continental cichlid radiations: functional diversity reveals the role of changing ecological opportunity in the Neotropics. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20160556. [PMID: 27512144 PMCID: PMC5013758 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive radiations have been hypothesized to contribute broadly to the diversity of organisms. Models of adaptive radiation predict that ecological opportunity and ecological release, the availability of empty ecological niches and the response by adapting lineages to occupy them, respectively, drive patterns of phenotypic and lineage diversification. Adaptive radiations driven by 'ecological opportunity' are well established in island systems; it is less clear if ecological opportunity influences continent-wide diversification. We use Neotropical cichlid fishes to test if variation in rates of functional evolution is consistent with changing ecological opportunity. Across a functional morphological axis associated with ram-suction feeding traits, evolutionary rates declined through time as lineages diversified in South America. Evolutionary rates of ram-suction functional morphology also appear to have accelerated as cichlids colonized Central America and encountered renewed opportunity. Our results suggest that ecological opportunity may play an important role in shaping patterns of morphological diversity of even broadly distributed lineages like Neotropical cichlids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Hilary Arbour
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 Department of Biology, University of Washington, Kincaid Hall, Seattle, WA 206-221-7568, USA Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
| | - Hernán López-Fernández
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
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