Brazilian marine phylogeography: A literature synthesis and analysis of barriers

Author(s)

Martins, Nuno T. ; Macagnan, Leonardo B. ; Cassano, Valeria ; Gurgel, Carlos Frederico D.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Molecular Ecology; v. 31, n. 21, p. 17-pg., 2022-09-25.

Abstract

In the last 30 years a plethora of phylogeography studies have been published targeting Brazilian marine species. To date, several historical and extant physical and ecological processes have been identified as drivers of allopatric, sympatric and parapatric population genetic differentiation detected along the Brazilian coast. Examples of extant physical barriers include the split of the South Equatorial Current into the Brazil and North Brazil boundary currents, the mouth of major rivers (e.g., Amazon, Sao Francisco and Doce rivers) and coastal upwellings. Examples of historical barriers include the Vitoria-Trindade seamount chain promoting genetic differentiation during periods of glacial maxima and lower sea levels. Examples of ecological speciation include adaptations to different substrata, resource use and reproductive biology. We used published data to build data sets and generalized additive models to identify patterns of spatial phylogeographical concordance across multiple taxa and markers. Our results identify Cape Sao Roque as the most dominant extant barrier to gene flow along the Brazilian coast, followed by the Vitoria-Trindade seamount chain and Cape Santa Marta. Cape Santa Marta is the northern winter limit of the Rio da Plata plume and is intermittently influenced by the Malvinas Current. This study provides a novel explicit quantitative approach to comparative phylogeography that recognizes four Brazilian phylogeographical regions delimited by processes associated with barriers to gene flow. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/06085-1 - Diversity and phylogeny of the Laurencia complex (Rhodophyta) in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean
• Grantee: Valéria Cassano
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants