Adult habitat preferences, larval dispersal, and the comparative phylogeography of three Atlantic surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae)

Abstract

A limited ability to use soft bottom habitats may also explain the low (but significant) population structure in A. coeruleus . In contrast, A. bahianus has not been collected over deep sponge bottoms, and rarely settles outside shallow reefs. Overall, adult habitat preferences seem to be the factor that differentiates phylogeographical patterns in these reef-associated species.

A multi-locus assessment of connectivity and historical demography in the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

“…The genetic differentiation within one of these species (Halichoeres bivittatus) was later found to be because of a clade level divergence and argued to be owing to ecological speciation while genetic differentiation within clades was lacking over large areas of the Caribbean Basin (Rocha et al, 2005). A similar result was observed in an earlier study of surgeonfish species, with a lack of genetic differentiation within the confines of the Caribbean Basin (Rocha et al, 2002).…”

Historical biogeography and speciation in the reef fish genus Haemulon (Teleostei: Haemulidae)

“…These two populations are separated by the 2300 km wide Amazon river barrier. Even though their divergence is smaller than that of some surgeonfishes and wrasses influenced by the same barrier (Rocha et al, 2002(Rocha et al, , 2005Rocha, 2004) and there is no difference in morphology or the nuclear genes analyzed, their genetic uniqueness at the mtDNA supports the view that these populations should be regarded as distinct evolutionary units and not as a single, widely distributed panmictic species, and be managed accordingly (Rocha et al, 2007).…”

Cryptic lineage divergence in marine environments: genetic differentiation at multiple spatial and temporal scales in the widespread intertidal goby Gobiosoma bosc

“…Therefore, although several studies have shown that fish population divergence can be consistent with geographic barriers (Rocha, Bass, Robertson, & Bowen, 2002;Shulman & Bermingham, 1995), an increasing number of studies are reporting results that are more consistent with the role of selection in driving speciation through local adaptation (Rocha & Bowen, 2008;Rocha, Robertson, Roman, & Bowen, 2005b;Taylor & Hellberg, 2005). For example, a number of studies in coral reefs have shown that once gene flow is restricted, niche specialization and sexual selection can readily cause divergence and speciation (Rocha et al, 2005b;Streelman, Alfaro, Westneat, Bellwood, & Karl, 2002;Taylor & Hellberg, 2005) even in the presence of gene flow (Crow, Munehara, & Bernardi, 2010;Puebla, Bermingham, & Guichard, 2012).…”