radiation of the clownfishes has two geographical replicates

• Published in: Journal of biogeography Vol. 41; no. 11; pp. 2140 - 2149
• Main Authors: Litsios, Glenn, Pearman, Peter B, Lanterbecq, Déborah, Tolou, Nathalie, Salamin, Nicolas, Bellwood, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Scientific Publications 01.11.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; John Wiley & Sons Ltd; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adaptive radiation; Anemonefish; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biodiversity; Biogeography; Biological and medical sciences; Central Pacific Ocean; coral reefs; diversification; DNA; Ecological genetics; ecological speciation; Evolution; fish; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geography; GeoSSE; Indian Ocean; Indo-Australian Archipelago; indole acetic acid; lakes; Marine ecology; mutualism; nucleotide sequences; Oceans; Phylogenetics; phylogeny; range expansion; Reef fish biodiversity and evolution; Sea water ecosystems; Speciation; Synecology; Indian Ocean; Eastern Africa; Pacific Ocean; Australia; Oceania; range expansion; Indo-Australian Archipelago; Indian Ocean; ecological speciation; Biogeography; Diversification; Mutualism; Anemonefish; Marine environment; Expansion; Speciation; Central Pacific Ocean; GeoSSE
• ISSN: 0305-0270; 1365-2699
• DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12370

AIM: The study of adaptive radiations provides an evolutionary perspective on the interactions between organisms and their environment, and is necessary to understand global biodiversity. Adaptive radiations can sometimes be replicated over several disjunct geographical entities, but most examples are found on island or in lakes. Here, we investigated the biogeographical history of the clownfishes, a clade of coral reef fish with ranges that now span most of the Indo‐Pacific Ocean, in order to explore the geographical structure of an unusual adaptive radiation. LOCATION: Indian Ocean, Indo‐Australian Archipelago (IAA) and Central Pacific Ocean. METHODS: We generated DNA sequence data comprising seven nuclear markers for 27 of the 30 clownfish species. We then inferred a Bayesian phylogeny and reconstructed the biogeographical history of the group using three different methods. Finally, we applied a biogeographical model of diversification to assess whether diversification patterns differ between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. RESULTS: The phylogenetic tree is highly supported and allows reconstruction of the biogeographical history of the clade. While most species arose in the IAA, one clade colonized the eastern shores of Africa and diversified there. We found that the diversification rate of clownfishes does not differ between the main radiation and the African clade. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The clownfishes first appeared and diversified in the IAA. Following a colonization event, a geographically independent radiation occurred in the Indian Ocean off East Africa. This rare example of replicated adaptive radiation in the marine realm provides intriguing possibilities for further research on ecological speciation in the sea.