Inter-basin exchange and repeated headwater capture across the Sierra Madre Occidental inferred from the phylogeography of Mexican stonerollers

Abstract

Aim Geomorphic evolution of river basins can shape the structure and diversity of aquatic communities, but understanding the biological significance of basin evolution can be challenging in semi-arid regions with ephemeral or endorheic conditions and complex drainage configurations such as the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) in North America. In this study, we characterized range-wide patterns of genetic variation in the Mexican stoneroller (Campostoma ornatum) to infer how orogenic and erosional influences on river basin connectivity have given rise to the diverse and largely endemic freshwater communities across the SMO region.Location Twelve drainage basins across northern Mexico and the south-western United States, centred on the SMO.Methods We collected 202 specimens from 98 localities across the range of C. ornatum. We performed phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from one mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and one nuclear (intron S7) gene. Phylogenetic trees were estimated for each data set using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.Results Phylogenetic analyses consistently resolved a monophyletic C. ornatum composed of multiple evolutionary lineages within two markedly divergent clades that differentiate northern drainages from southern drainages in the SMO region. Within-clade patterns of divergence corresponded to fine-scale geographic structure within and among SMO drainage basins. However, the geographic distribution of evolutionary lineages within the northern and southern clades did not always correspond to the geographic configuration of drainage basins. Some subclades encompassed multiple drainages, and individuals from a single drainage were sometimes recovered in multiple subclades. Main conclusions Our findings indicate that a common ancestor of MexicanCampostoma is likely to have entered north-west Mexico through an ancient Rio Grande system that extended as far south as the Rio Nazas and Rio Aguanaval. The geographic orientation of the two strongly divergent clades recovered within C. ornatum provides evidence of long-standing isolation of southern basins from northern basins within the ancestral Rio Grande system, possibly due to the combined influence of tectonic events and increasing regional aridity. Geographic patterns of genetic variation also provide evidence of range expansion from Atlantic to Pacific drainages due to drainage evolution and river capture events, as well as further inter-basin exchange via more recent headwater capture events, hydrological connections and possible anthropogenic introductions.

Phylogeographical Analysis of a Cold-Temperate Freshwater Fish, the Amur Sleeper (Perccottus glenii) in the Amur and Liaohe River Basins of Northeast Asia

“…Strong genetic structure between the Liaohe and Amur River basins revealed in this study could be attributed to vicariance after historical connections by river capture. Our findings suggest that river capture plays an important role in shaping geographic distributions of genetic variation for freshwater fishes and other aquatic organism, as demonstrated by previous studies (e.g., Burridge et al, 2007;Fujita et al, 2011;Hughes et al, 2009;Schönhuth et al, 2011).…”

“…One process of drainage evolution, river capture, refers to the displacement of stream sections between adjacent catchments (Bishop, 1995), and has been demonstrated to be an important driver in shaping geographic distributions of genetic variation for freshwater fishes (e.g., Burridge et al, 2007;Schönhuth et al, 2011). Another historical process, Pleistocene climatic oscillation, has been revealed to be a major factor in driving the formation of genetic divergence for freshwater fishes (Bernatchez and Wilson, 1998;Gao et al, 2012;Seifertová et al, 2012).…”

Biogeography and divergent patterns of body size disparification in North American minnows

“…Such tectonic events may have caused drainage rearrangements and thus facilitated dispersal or induced vicariance. Ongoing headwater erosion and stream captures are known to have facilitated Atlantic-Pacific transitions by minnows in southern Mexico (Schönhuth et al, 2001(Schönhuth et al, , 2006 and central and northern Mexico (Schönhuth et al, 2011(Schönhuth et al, , 2014(Schönhuth et al, , 2015.…”

Connectivity and vagility determine spatial richness gradients and diversification of freshwater fish in North America and Europe

“…There is extensive evidence of past vicariance and dispersal events being significant determinants of North American fish distributions (e.g. Hocutt & Wiley, 1986;Berendzen et al, 2008;Sch€ onhuth et al, 2011;Bossu et al, 2013) with tectonic movements, river capture, glaciation and fluctuating sea levels as important factors affecting connectivity. Consistent with the CDG framework, fish from glaciated areas exhibited higher dispersal and lower genetic diversity and divergence rates than more southern species (Bernatchez & Wilson, 1998), suggesting lower speciation rates in northern regions, a conclusion supported in a recent, more extensive, analysis and by this study.…”