Patterns and processes in geographic range size in coral reef fishes

Ruttenberg, Benjamin I.; Lester, Sarah

doi:10.1017/cbo9781316105412.012

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our spatially explicit model provides evidence that two traits used as a proxy of dispersal, spawning mode and adult mobility, are indeed related to dispersal ability and to range sizes in tropical reef fishes. The importance of dispersal ability in explaining range size variation has often been questioned, due to mixed results of several correlational studies (Lester & Ruttenberg, ; Luiz et al, ; Ruttenberg & Lester, ). Our model shows that high dispersal rates generate distributions where many species have large ranges, whereas low dispersal leads to the emergence of a large proportion of small ranged species, consistent with a positive relationship between dispersal and range size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple spatially explicit neutral model explains the range size distribution of reef fishes

Alzate

Janzen

Bonte

et al. 2019

Global Ecol Biogeogr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim The great variation in range sizes among species has fascinated ecologists for decades. Reef‐associated fish species live in highly spatially structured habitats and adopt a wide range of dispersal strategies. We consequently expect species with greater dispersal ability to occupy larger ranges. However, empirical evidence for such a positive relationship between dispersal and range size remains scarce. Here, we unveil the role of dispersal on the range size distribution of reef‐associated fishes using empirical data and a novel spatially explicit model. Location Tropical Eastern Pacific. Major taxa studied Reef‐associated fishes. Time period Underlying records are from the 20th and 21st centuries. Methods We estimated range size distributions for all reef‐associated fishes separated into six guilds, each with different dispersal abilities. We used a one‐dimensional spatially explicit neutral model, which simulates the distribution of species along a linear and contiguous coastline, to explore the effect of dispersal, speciation and sampling on the distribution of range sizes. Our model incorporates biologically important long‐distance dispersal events with a fat‐tailed dispersal kernel and also adopts a more realistic gradual “protracted” speciation process than originally used in neutral theory. We fitted the model to the empirical data using an approximate Bayesian computation approach, with a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm. Results Stochastic birth, death, speciation and dispersal events alone can accurately explain empirical range size distributions for six different guilds of tropical, reef‐associated fishes. Variation in range size distributions among guilds are explained purely by differences in dispersal ability with the best dispersers being distributed over larger ranges. Main conclusions Neutral processes and guild‐specific dispersal ability provide a general explanation for both within‐ and across‐guild range size variation. Our results support the theoretically expected, but empirically much debated, hypothesis that high dispersal capacity promotes the establishment of large range size.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple spatially explicit neutral model explains the range size distribution of reef fishes

Alzate

Janzen

Bonte

et al. 2019

Global Ecol Biogeogr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In spite of the obvious theoretical importance of dispersal as a potential determinant of range size (especially for organisms living in highly spatially clustered habitats), supporting empirical evidence has so far been surprisingly limited in both terrestrial (Dennis, Donato, Sparks, & Pollard, ; Edwards & Westoby, ; Gaston & Blackburn, ; Gutierrez & Menendez, ; Juliano, ; Kavanaugh, ; Malmqvist, ; McCauley, Davis, Werner, & Robeson, ) and marine organisms (Bonhomme & Planes, ; Brothers & Thresher, ; Hansen, ; Jablonski & Lutz, ; Jones, Caley, & Munday, ; Lester & Ruttenberg, ; Lester et al, ; Luiz et al, ; Mora et al, ; Mora, Chittaro, Sale, Kritzer, & Ludsin, ; Nanninga & Manica, ; Ruttenberg & Lester, ; Thresher & Brothers, ; Thresher, Colin, & Bell, ; Victor & Wellington, ; Wellington & Victor, ; Zapata & Herrón, ). Our study illustrates several reasons why it is difficult to find a definite answer to the question of whether or not dispersal is an important determinant of species range sizes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another possible reason why our results contrast with other studies that did not find strong links between traits that affect dispersal ability and range size is that mechanisms underlying range expansion in the TEP might differ from mechanisms that predominate in other regions. First, all oceans basins differ in size, shape, geographical barriers, habitat availability, and configuration, which can influence the maximum range that species can attain (Ruttenberg & Lester, ). In the TEP, the reef habitat available for reef fishes is mostly distributed along the coast in a semicontinuous manner (except for two wide stretches of sand that act as dispersal barriers or filters) and around the few oceanic islands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because reef fishes are usually confined to discrete, often isolated habitats, dispersal is expected to be a particularly strong determinant of range sizes (Leis, ; Victor, ). However, evidence for the existence of a relationship between dispersal ability and geographical range size in reef fishes is mixed at best (reviewed in Lester & Ruttenberg, ; Ruttenberg & Lester, ). Pelagic larval duration (PLD), which is the time period fish larvae spend in the water column prior to settlement, thus a proxy of dispersal (the longer the PLD the greater the dispersal ability), has shown to correlate poorly with range sizes, which has led others to question the importance of dispersal (Lester, Ruttenberg, Gaines, & Kinlan, ; Mora et al, ) and to suggest that other life‐history traits are better predictors of range size (Luiz et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Incomplete datasets obscure associations between traits affecting dispersal ability and geographic range size of reef fishes in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Alzate

Plas

Zapata

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dispersal is thought to be an important process determining range size, especially for species in highly spatially structured habitats, such as tropical reef fishes. Despite intensive research efforts, there is conflicting evidence about the role of dispersal in determining range size. We hypothesize that traits related to dispersal drive range sizes, but that complete and comprehensive datasets are essential for detecting relationships between species’ dispersal ability and range size. We investigate the roles of six traits affecting several stages of dispersal (adult mobility, spawning mode, pelagic larval duration (PLD), body size, aggregation behavior, and circadian activity), in explaining range size variation of reef fishes in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP). All traits, except for PLD (148 species), had data for all 497 species in the region. Using a series of statistical models, we investigated which traits were associated with large range sizes, when analyzing all TEP species or only species with PLD data. Furthermore, using null models, we analyzed whether the PLD‐subset is representative of the regional species pool. Several traits affecting dispersal ability were strongly associated with range size, although these relationships could not be detected when using the PLD‐subset. Pelagic spawners (allowing for passive egg dispersal) had on average 56% larger range sizes than nonpelagic spawners. Species with medium or high adult mobility had on average a 25% or 33% larger range, respectively, than species with low mobility. Null models showed that the PLD‐subset was nonrepresentative of the regional species pool, explaining why model outcomes using the PLD‐subset differed from the ones based on the complete dataset. Our results show that in the TEP, traits affecting dispersal ability are important in explaining range size variation. Using a regionally complete dataset was crucial for detecting the theoretically expected, but so far empirically unresolved, relationship between dispersal and range size.

show abstract

“…6). This reconstruction shows that for labrids, range size appears constrained by the geography and size of ocean basins (reviewed by Ruttenberg & Lester, 2015). For example, fishes from Atlantic or Tropical East Pacific (TEP) clades (e.g.…”

Section: (2) Range Size and Biogeographymentioning

confidence: 94%

Phylogenetic perspectives on reef fish functional traits

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Functional traits have been fundamental to the evolution and diversification of entire fish lineages on coral reefs. Yet their relationship with the processes promoting speciation, extinction and the filtering of local species pools remains unclear. We review the current literature exploring the evolution of diet, body size, water column use and geographic range size in reef-associated fishes. Using published and new data, we mapped functional traits on to published phylogenetic trees to uncover evolutionary patterns that have led to the current functional diversity of fishes on coral reefs. When examining reconstructed patterns for diet and feeding mode, we found examples of independent transitions to planktivory across different reef fish families. Such transitions and associated morphological alterations may represent cases in which ecological opportunity for the exploitation of different resources drives speciation and adaptation. In terms of body size, reconstructions showed that both large and small sizes appear multiple times within clades of mid-sized fishes and that extreme body sizes have arisen mostly in the last 10 million years (Myr). The reconstruction of range size revealed many cases of disparate range sizes among sister species. Such range size disparity highlights potential vicariant processes through isolation in peripheral locations. When accounting for peripheral speciation processes in sister pairs, we found a significant relationship between labrid range size and lineage age. The diversity and evolution of traits within lineages is influenced by trait-environment interactions as well as by species and trait-trait interactions, where the presence of a given trait may trigger the development of related traits or behaviours. Our effort to assess the evolution of functional diversity across reef fish clades adds to the burgeoning research focusing on the evolutionary and ecological roles of functional traits. We argue that the combination of a phylogenetic and a functional approach will improve the understanding of the mechanisms of species assembly in extraordinarily rich coral reef communities.

show abstract

Patterns and processes in geographic range size in coral reef fishes

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

A simple spatially explicit neutral model explains the range size distribution of reef fishes

A simple spatially explicit neutral model explains the range size distribution of reef fishes

Incomplete datasets obscure associations between traits affecting dispersal ability and geographic range size of reef fishes in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Phylogenetic perspectives on reef fish functional traits

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About