The dual role of Amazonian rivers in the generation and maintenance of avian diversity

Naka, Luciano N.; Brumfield, Robb T.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar8575

Cited by 110 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…Moraes et al, ; Naka & Brumfield, ). Our work shows that the rivers indeed act as barriers restricting gene flow (Cowman & Bellwood, ; Naka & Brumfield, ). However, with the divergence times of each river varying, and the relative divergence times differing between species, our work supports the contention that the barriers represented by rivers may be much more dynamic than classic views of vicariant histories promoted by river formation (Lynch et al, ; Ribas et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…impediments to dispersal; Cowman & Bellwood, ), at least for taxa whose current ranges post‐date the origin of the river barriers (e.g. Moraes et al, ; Naka & Brumfield, ). Our work shows that the rivers indeed act as barriers restricting gene flow (Cowman & Bellwood, ; Naka & Brumfield, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, divergence times were too recent to support a vicariant history directly linked to the formation and establishment of Amazonian rivers (even if mutation rates were an order of magnitude lower than the ones applied here). Moreover, the relative timing of divergence differed among taxa, suggesting the lack of a common history affecting them at the local level of individual rivers (Table ; see also Naka & Brumfield, ). Interestingly, the degree of differentiation consistently varied between taxa, which is not an artifact of any corresponding difference in the genetic diversities of the respective taxa (Figure and Table S4 in Appendix S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is, an alternative to the vicariant model of divergence envisioned under the classic RBH is that divergence may be initiated by dispersal events across rivers (see Smith et al, ). Lastly, the same river may be involved in the generation and maintenance of species diversity differently, acting as both a primary and secondary barrier (Naka & Brumfield, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing main Amazonian rivers as barriers across time and space within widespread taxa

Pirani

Werneck

Thomaz

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Present Amazonian diversity patterns can result from many different mechanisms and, consequently, the factors contributing to divergence across regions and/or taxa may differ. Nevertheless, the river‐barrier hypothesis is still widely invoked as a causal process in divergence of Amazonian species. Here we use model‐based phylogeographic analyses to test the extent to which major Amazonian rivers act similarly as barriers across time and space in two broadly distributed Amazonian taxa. Local Amazon rain forest. Taxon The lizard Gonatodes humeralis (Sphaerodactylidae) and the tree frog Dendropsophus leucophyllatus (Hylidae). Methods We obtained RADseq data for samples distributed across main river barriers, representing main Areas of Endemism previously proposed for the region. We conduct model‐based phylogeographic and genetic differentiation analyses across each population pair. Results Measures of genetic differentiation (based on FST calculated from genomic data) show that all rivers are associated with significant genetic differentiation. Parameters estimated under investigated divergence models showed that divergence times for populations separated by each of the 11 bordering rivers were all fairly recent. The degree of differentiation consistently varied between taxa and among rivers, which is not an artifact of any corresponding difference in the genetic diversities of the respective taxa, or to amounts of migration based on analyses of the site‐frequency spectrum. Main conclusions Taken together, our results support a dispersal (rather than vicariance) history, without strong evidence of congruence between these species and rivers. However, once a species crossed a river, populations separated by each and every river have remained isolated—in this sense, rivers act similarly as barriers to any further gene flow. This result suggests differing degrees of persistence and gives rise to the seeming contradiction that the divergence process indeed varies across time, space and species, even though major Amazonian rivers have acted as secondary barriers to gene flow in the focal taxa.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing main Amazonian rivers as barriers across time and space within widespread taxa

Pirani

Werneck

Thomaz

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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“…The Andes mountain range (Weir & Price, ), the Amazonian rivers (Ribas, Aleixo, Aleixo, Nogueira, Miyaki, & Cracraft, ), and the habitat fragmentations associated with Pliocene and Pleistocene glacial cycles (i.e, the refuge hypothesis; Haffer, ) are among the main vicariant forces evoked to explain the origin of Neotropical diversity. Recent comparative studies show that phylogeographical patterns shared among codistributed taxa divided by the same barrier cannot be explained only by a common vicariant event (Brumfield, ; Naka & Brumfield, ; Oswald et al, ; Smith et al, ). Instead, evolutionary histories are idiosyncratic and depend largely on the biological attributes of species, such as ecology and dispersal ability, resulting in different and asynchronous responses to a shared evolutionary driver (Burney & Brumfield, ; Garg, Chattopadhyay, Wilton, Malia Prawiradilaga, & Rheindt, ; Harvey, Aleixo, Ribas, & Brumfield, ; Smith et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting evolutionary histories in Neotropical birds: Divergence across an environmental barrier in South America

et al. 2019

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Avian diversity in the Neotropics has been traditionally attributed to the effect of vicariant forces promoting speciation in allopatry. Recent studies have shown that phylogeographical patterns shared among codistributed species cannot be explained by a single vicariant event, as species responses to a common barrier depend on the biological attributes of each taxon. The open vegetation corridor (OVC) isolates Amazonia and the Andean forests from the Atlantic Forest, creating a notorious pattern of avian taxa that are disjunctly codistributed in these forests. Here, we studied and compared the evolutionary histories of Ramphotrigon megacephalum and Pipraeidea melanonota, two passerines with allopatric populations east and west of the OVC that represent different subspecies. These species differ in their biological attributes: R. megacephalum is a sedentary, forest specialist mostly confined to bamboo understorey, whereas P. melanonota is a seasonal migrant and generalist species that ranges in a variety of closed and semi‐open environments. We performed genetic and genomic analyses, complemented with the study of coloration and behavioural differentiation, to assess population divergence across the OVC. We found that the evolutionary histories of both R. megacephalum and P. melanonota have been shaped by this environmental barrier. However, these species responded in different and asynchronous manners to the establishment of the OVC and to past connections between the currently isolated South American forests, which can be mostly explained by their distinct ecologies and dispersal abilities. Our results support the fact that the biological attributes of species can make their evolutionary histories idiosyncratic.

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The role of biogeographical barriers on the historical dynamics of passerine birds with a circum‐Amazonian distribution

Bolívar‐Leguizamón,

Bocalini,

Silveira

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Common distributional patterns have provided the foundations of our knowledge of Neotropical biogeography. A distinctive pattern is the “circum‐Amazonian distribution”, which surrounds Amazonia across the forested lowlands south and east of the basin, the Andean foothills, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. The underlying evolutionary and biogeographical mechanisms responsible for this widespread pattern of avian distribution have yet to be elucidated. Here, we test the effects of biogeographical barriers in four species in the passerine family Thamnophilidae by performing comparative demographic analyses of genome‐scale data. Specifically, we used flanking regions of ultraconserved regions to estimate population historical parameters and genealogical trees and tested demographic models reflecting contrasting biogeographical scenarios explaining the circum‐Amazonian distribution. We found that taxa with circum‐Amazonian distribution have at least two main phylogeographical clusters: (1) Andes, often extending into Central America and the Tepuis; and (2) the remaining of their distribution. These clusters are connected through corridors along the Chaco–Cerrado and southeastern Amazonia, allowing gene flow between Andean and eastern South American populations. Demographic histories are consistent with Pleistocene climatic fluctuations having a strong influence on the diversification history of circum‐Amazonian taxa, Refugia played a crucial role, enabling both phenotypic and genetic differentiation, yet maintaining substantial interconnectedness to keep considerable levels of gene flow during different dry/cool and warm/humid periods. Additionally, steep environmental gradients appear to play a critical role in maintaining both genetic and phenotypic structure.

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The dual role of Amazonian rivers in the generation and maintenance of avian diversity

Abstract: We use comparative phylogeography to investigate the role of Amazonian rivers in the origin and maintenance of avian diversity.

Cited by 110 publications

References 79 publications

Testing main Amazonian rivers as barriers across time and space within widespread taxa

Testing main Amazonian rivers as barriers across time and space within widespread taxa

Contrasting evolutionary histories in Neotropical birds: Divergence across an environmental barrier in South America

The role of biogeographical barriers on the historical dynamics of passerine birds with a circum‐Amazonian distribution

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