Microevolutionary dynamics show tropical valleys are deeper for montane birds of the Atlantic Forest

Author(s)

Thom, Gregory ^{[1, 2]} ; Gehara, Marcelo ^{[3, 4]} ; Smith, Brian Tilston ^[1] ; Miyaki, Cristina Y. ^[2] ; do Amaral, Fabio Raposo ^[5]

Affiliation

^[1] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Dept Ornithol, Cent Pk West 79th St, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Genet & Biol Evolut, Rua Matao, 277, Cidade Univ, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Sackler Inst Comparat Genom, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[4] Rutgers Univ Newark, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, 195 Univ Ave, Newark, NJ 07102 - USA

^[5] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ecol & Biol Evolut, Rua Prof Artur Riedel 275, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS; v. 12, n. 1 NOV 1 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Tropical mountains hold more biodiversity than their temperate counterparts, and this disparity is often associated with the latitudinal climatic gradient. However, distinguishing the impact of latitude versus the background effects of species history and traits is challenging due to the evolutionary distance between tropical and temperate assemblages. Here, we test whether microevolutionary processes are linked to environmental variation across a sharp latitudinal transition in 21 montane birds of the southern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. We find that effective dispersal within populations in the tropical mountains is lower and genomic differentiation is better predicted by the current environmental complexity of the region than within the subtropical populations. The concordant response of multiple co-occurring populations is consistent with spatial climatic variability as a major process driving population differentiation. Our results provide evidence for how a narrow latitudinal gradient can shape microevolutionary processes and contribute to broader scale biodiversity patterns. There are many hypotheses for why the tropics are more biodiverse than higher latitudes. Phylogenomic analyses of 21 montane birds finds that tropical birds disperse less and have more genetically structured populations than their counterparts at higher latitudes, possibly due to a larger elevational climate gradient in the tropics (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50143-7 - Comparative multilocus phylogeography of three species of Poospiza (Aves, Passeriformes): exploring the history of the montane Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Fábio Sarubbi Raposo do Amaral
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/25720-7 - Comparative phylogeography of montane bird species from southern Atlantic Forest: Integrating evolutionary and ecological traits in the study of community assemblage
• Grantee: Gregory Thom e Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 18/03428-5 - Dimensions US-BIOTA-Sao Paulo: traits as predictors of adaptive diversification along the Brazilian Dry Diagonal
• Grantee: Vera Nisaka Solferini
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50297-0 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: a multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/23155-4 - Comparative multilocus phylogeography of three species of Poospiza (Aves, Passeriformes): exploring the history of the montane Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Fábio Sarubbi Raposo do Amaral
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - BIOTA - Young Researchers
• FAPESP's process: 18/17869-3 - Comparative phylogeography of montane bird species from southern Atlantic Forest: Integrating evolutionary and ecological traits in the study of community assemblage
• Grantee: Gregory Thom e Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor