Congruence among taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of mangrove crabs in the Southwestern Atlantic

Author(s)

Teles, Jeniffer Natalia ; Peres, Pedro Augusto ; Jimenez, Lais Coutinho Zayas ; Mantelatto, Fernando Luis ; Quimbayo, Juan Pablo

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Marine Biology; v. 171, n. 1, p. 13-pg., 2024-01-01.

Abstract

Unraveling the spatial distribution and the factors that modulate biodiversity can help us better understand community dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Here, we tested the hypothesis that taxonomic diversity (TD), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) follow a latitudinal trend driven by environmental factors, and investigated the associations among these metrics in mangrove crabs (11 species in the Ocypodidae family) of the Southwestern Atlantic (7,000 km along the Brazilian coast). Based on occurrence data, species traits, and phylogenetic information, we calculated diversity indices (TD, FD and PD) for 3 degrees grid cells (latitude/longitude, approx. 333 km edge length) along the coast of Brazil. We built models to investigate whether latitude and nine environmental factors influence taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic indices of mangrove crabs in the Southwestern Atlantic. We also investigated the correlation among diversity indices TD x FD x PD. We observed a congruence in the latitudinal patterns of TD, FD, and PD of mangrove crabs along the Southwestern Atlantic. Specifically, we observed that all indices have higher values at intermediate latitudes, which are congruent to habitat transition zones along the Southwestern Atlantic coast. Our results also showed that air temperature, chlorophyll, and nitrate concentration are the main environmental factors that influence taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of mangrove crabs in this region. When analyzing the correlation between indices, our results suggest that targeting conservation efforts towards one specific diversity component can lead to preserving other types of diversity, at least considering our system and the set of species analyzed. This study highlights the usage of multiple metrics to unveil large-scale biodiversity patterns in one of the most abundant groups in mangrove forests, the crabs. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/13685-5 - Integrative analysis of the Brazilian fauna of decapod crustaceans: taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, spermiotaxonomy, morphology of post-embryonic development, ecology and conservation
• Grantee: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/09279-4 - Linking climate change and the past, present, and future of fish communities
• Grantee: Juan Pablo Quimbayo Agreda
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 21/08075-6 - Training of specialized human resources in the molecular taxonomy field: decapod crustaceans as a training model
• Grantee: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/21380-0 - Climate drivers of reef fish functional diversity in the Atlantic Ocean
• Grantee: Juan Pablo Quimbayo Agreda
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/12376-6 - Relation between genetic diversity, reproductive aspects and habitat: a comparative and integrated study among species of marine crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura)
• Grantee: Pedro Augusto da Silva Peres
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate