title: Pelagic larval duration predicts extinction risk in a freshwater fish clade.
abstract: Pelagic larval duration (PLD) can influence evolutionary processes ranging from dispersal to extinction in aquatic organisms. Using estimates of PLD obtained from species of North American darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae), we demonstrate that this freshwater fish clade exhibits surprising variation in PLD. Comparative analyses provide some evidence that higher stream gradients favour the evolution of shorter PLD. Additionally, similar to patterns in the marine fossil record in which lower PLD is associated with greater extinction probability, we found a reduced PLD in darter lineages was evolutionarily associated with extinction risk. Understanding the causes and consequences of PLD length could lead to better management and conservation of organisms in our increasingly imperiled aquatic environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, , Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Benjamin P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Keck
authors.forename: Crystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruble
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petty
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Shute
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rakes
authors.forename: C Darrin
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hulsey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005399:Fishes; D005580:Fossils; D005618:Fresh Water; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012306:Risk; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: adaptation; larval development; life history; macroevolution