Historical biogeography of fishes from coastal basins of Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The Amazonian ichthyofauna is one of the most diverse in the world, yet fishes from the adjacent coastal basins of Maranhão State in Northeastern Brazil remain poorly known. We use phylogeographic, community phylogenetic and phylogenetic beta diversity methods to study the biogeographic history of fishes from the coastal basins of Maranhão State. We report a total of 160 fish species from the basins of the Maranhão region, representing a 93% increase over results of previous studies. All the fish species assemblages from Maranhão are polyphyletic, with only a few putative sister species pairs inhabiting the region. The modern watershed divides among Maranhão basins do not form substantial barriers to dispersal for freshwater fish species, and are more effectively modelled as biogeographic islands than as biogeographic provinces. In combination these results suggest that the Maranhão ichthyofauna was assembled under the influence of several macroevolutionary (extinction, dispersal) and landscape evolution processes, during the Miocene and Pliocene, as well as by the modern ecological characteristics of the region. The results indicate that the distinctive geological and climatic conditions and history of Northeastern Brazil strongly constrained the formation of aquatic faunas in coastal basins of Maranhão State.

Diversification of Prochilodus in the eastern Brazilian Shield: Evidence from complete mitochondrial genomes (Teleostei, Prochilodontidae)

“…However, it is unclear which biogeographic events are related to the diversification of Prochilodus from the Rio São Francisco and those from adjacent basins (i.e., Paraná‐Paraguay system and Pardo/Jequitinhonha rivers) or the geologic factors potentially driving speciation processes. Although some studies have tested the influence of geomorphological structures (e.g., faults and lineaments) in the current distribution of several freshwater fish taxa (Abreu et al, 2019; Buckup, 2011; Ribeiro, 2006), few empirical studies have addressed biogeographic hypotheses along the eastern Brazilian Shield (Camelier & Zanata, 2014; Pereira et al, 2013; Wendt et al, 2019), and none of these studies have directly combined time‐calibrated phylogenies and geological evidence to explain species diversification in the eastern Brazilian Shield.…”

New records of the occurrence of Megaleporinus macrocephalus () (Characiformes, Anostomidae) from the basins of the Itapecuru and Mearim rivers in Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil

“…No records of M. macrocephalus species were obtained during previous studies in the Itapecuru and Mearim rivers (Soares, 2005;Barros et al, 2011;Fraga et al, 2012;Nascimento et al, 2016;Abreu et al, 2019). It seems likely that the species was exhaust accidentally during the rainy season, when the tanks of local fish farms overflow and become connected with the tributaries of the two basins.…”

Ecologia Filogenética De Comunidades De Peixes De Riacho Neotropicais

“…Estudos também evidenciam como eventos geológicos, como a mudança de um riacho de cabeceira de uma bacia para outra ou a formação das drenagens atuais, promovem a dispersão de peixes entre áreas contíguas e a homogeneização da diversidade filogenética (Aquino & Colli 2017, Abreu et al 2019, Craig et al 2020.…”

“…Neste artigo, discutiremos os principais conceitos que baseiam a ecologia filogenética, revisamos como a história evolutiva estrutura a variação ecológica de peixes em nível de organismo e de comunidades, bem como apresentamos o potencial destes conceitos para auxiliar no entendimento dos padrões das comunidades de peixes de riachos Neotropicais. Também sumarizamos os principais resultados encontrados neste contexto, apesar do baixo número de artigos que abordem a temática até onde conhecemos: dois artigos sobre sinal filogenético (Roa-Fuentes et al 2015, Keppeler & Winemiller 2020, oito sobre estrutura de comunidades (Aquino & Colli 2017, Abreu et al 2019, Bowen & Winemiller 2019, Craig et al 2020, Nakamura et al 2017, Roa-Fuentes et al 2019 e nenhum com uma abordagem diretamente filogenética na conservação. Em seguida, na seção Aspectos Metodológicos, apresentaremos as principais ferramentas que podem ser aplicadas para o estudo da ecologia filogenética, incluindo a construção de árvores filogenéticas, métodos comparativos de atributos das espécies e análises da estrutura das comunidades.…”