Biogeography, phylogeography and diversification patterns of anuran species widespread in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

• Grant number: 05/52727-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Duration: December 01, 2005 - January 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics
• Principal Investigator: João Miguel de Barros Alexandrino
• Grantee: João Miguel de Barros Alexandrino
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The understanding of the processes underlying patterns of biological diversity is fundamental for long-term conservation of ever-evolving biodiversity. It can theoretically be achieved with molecular studies of wild populations that seek to reveal biogeographical histories of species i.e. phylogeography. Such studies have usually confirmed theoretical predictions that species' biogeographical histories have been impacted in the quaternary by dramatic climatic fluctuations. While there are now excellent reviews about the evolutionary processes that have determined diversity in temperate North America and Europe and, to a much lesser extent, tropical Australia, Africa and South America, much remains unknown about the neotropics. The Brazilian Atlantic forest is a mega diversity hotspot but little is known about the evolutionary processes that led to this extraordinarily diverse ecosystem. Phylogeographical studies are only now emerging and will be essential in unveiling the evolutionary history of tax in one of the most threatened biomes in the world. We here propose a phylogeographical study of six anuran species widely distributed in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. By using amphibians as model organisms: 1) we will collect and compare mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data, morphological and call data from multiple populations of forest-associated amphibian species; and 2) we will use the tools of comparative phylogeography and phylogenetic combined with paleoclimate modeling to study patterns of biological diversity and to test hypotheses about their causal processes in the poorly known Brazilian Atlantic forest. We will specifically examine if species' geographies followed the fluctuations in the habitats of the Atlantic forest throughout the quaternary and to which extent will our findings fit with current hypotheses of Pleistocene refuge. The knowledge of amphibian evolutionary history in the Brazilian Atlantic forest will inform decision making about setting up prioritary areas for long-term conservation. (AU)

Scientific publications

(14)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BRUNES, T. O.; VAN DE VLIET, M. S.; LOPES, S.; ALEXANDRINO, J.; HADDAD, C. F. B.; SEQUEIRA, F.. Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Neotropical leaf-frog Phyllomedusa burmeisteri and cross-species amplification. Genetics and Molecular Research, v. 12, n. 1, p. 242-247, 2013. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

BRUNES, TULIANA O.; THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; SEQUEIRA, FERNANDO. Ancient divergence and recent population expansion in a leaf frog endemic to the southern Brazilian Atlantic forest. ORGANISMS DIVERSITY & EVOLUTION, v. 15, n. 4, p. 695-710, DEC 2015. (11/51392-0, 08/50928-1, 13/50741-7, 05/52727-5)

GIOVANELLI, JOAO G. R.; DE SIQUEIRA, MARINEZ FERREIRA; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Modeling a spatially restricted distribution in the Neotropics: How the size of calibration area affects the performance of five presence-only methods. ECOLOGICAL MODELLING, v. 221, n. 2, p. 215-224, JAN 24 2010. (05/52727-5)

DENISE DE CERQUEIRA ROSSA-FERES; RICARDO JANNINI SAWAYA; JULIÁN FAIVOVICH; JOÃO GABRIEL RIBEIRO GIOVANELLI; CINTHIA AGUIRRE BRASILEIRO; LUIS SCHIESARI; JOÃO ALEXANDRINO; CÉLIO FERNANDO BAPTISTA HADDAD. Anfíbios do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil: conhecimento atual e perspectivas. Biota Neotropica, v. 11, p. 47-66, 2011-12-00. (05/52727-5, 01/13341-3, 08/50928-1, 04/04820-3, 08/57939-9)

BANDEIRA, LUCAS N.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.. Geographical variation in head shape of a Neotropical group of toads: the role of physical environment and relatedness. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 179, n. 2, p. 23-pg., 2017-02-01. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1, 13/50741-7)

BANDEIRA, LUCAS N.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.. Geographical variation in head shape of a Neotropical group of toads: the role of physical environment and relatedness. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 179, n. 2, p. 354-376, FEB 1 2017. (13/50741-7, 05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

BRUNES, TULIANA O.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; BAETA, DELIO; ZINA, JULIANA; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; SEQUEIRA, FERNANDO. Species limits, phylogeographic and hybridization patterns in Neotropical leaf frogs (Phyllomedusinae). ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA, v. 43, n. 6, p. 586-604, NOV 2014. (08/50928-1, 13/50741-7, 05/52727-5, 12/25370-2)

THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; ZAMUDIO, KELLY R.; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Barriers, rather than refugia, underlie the origin of diversity in toads endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Molecular Ecology, v. 23, n. 24, p. 6152-6164, DEC 2014. (05/52727-5, 13/50741-7)

FUSINATTO, LUCIANA A.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; BRUNES, TULIANA O.; ROCHA, CARLOS F. D.; SEQUEIRA, FERNANDO. Cryptic Genetic Diversity Is Paramount in Small-Bodied Amphibians of the Genus Euparkerella (Anura: Craugastoridae) Endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. PLoS One, v. 8, n. 11, NOV 1 2013. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

FUSINATTO, L. A.; LOPES, S.; SILVA-FERREIRA, A.; ALEXANDRINO, J.; HADDAD, C. F. B.; ROCHA, C. F. D.; SEQUEIRA, F.. Development of microsatellite markers for the Neotropical endemic Brazilian Guanabara frog, Euparkerella brasiliensis, through 454 shotgun pyrosequencing. Genetics and Molecular Research, v. 12, n. 1, p. 230-234, 2013. (05/52727-5)

THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; ZAMUDIO, KELLY R.; GIOVANELLI, JOAO G. R.; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; BALDISSERA, JR., FLAVIO A.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Phylogeography of endemic toads and post-Pliocene persistence of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 55, n. 3, p. 1018-1031, JUN 2010. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

BRUNES, TULIANA O.; SEQUEIRA, FERNANDO; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Gene and species trees of a Neotropical group of treefrogs: Genetic diversification in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and the origin of a polyploid species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 57, n. 3, p. 1120-1133, DEC 2010. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

THOME, MARIA TEREZA C.; ZAMUDIO, KELLY R.; HADDAD, CELIO F. B.; ALEXANDRINO, JOAO. Delimiting genetic units in Neotropical toads under incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization. BMC Evolutionary Biology, v. 12, DEC 11 2012. (05/52727-5, 08/50928-1)

GIOVANELLI‚ J.G.R.; HADDAD‚ C.F.B.; ALEXANDRINO‚ J.. Predicting the potential distribution of the alien invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Brazil. Biological Invasions, v. 10, n. 5, p. 585-590, 2008. (01/13341-3, 05/52727-5)