title: The Araguaia River as an Important Biogeographical Divide for Didelphid Marsupials in Central Brazil.
abstract: The riverine barrier model suggests that rivers play a significant role in separating widespread organisms into isolated populations. In this study, we used a comparative approach to investigate the phylogeography of 6 didelphid marsupial species in central Brazil. Specifically, we evaluate the role of the mid-Araguaia River in differentiating populations and estimate divergence time among lineages to assess the timing of differentiation of these species, using mitochondrial DNA sequence data. The 6 didelphid marsupials revealed different intraspecific genetic patterns and structure. The 3 larger and more generalist species, Didelphis albiventris, Didelphis marsupialis, and Philander opossum, showed connectivity across the Araguaia River. In contrast the genetic structure of the 3 smaller and specialist species, Gracilinanus agilis, Marmosa (Marmosa) murina, and Marmosa (Micoureus) demerarae was shaped by the mid-Araguaia. Moreover, the split of eastern and western bank populations of the 2 latter species is consistent with the age of Araguaia River sediments formation. We hypothesize that the role of the Araguaia as a riverine barrier is linked to the level of ecological specialization among the 6 didelphid species and differences in their ability to cross rivers or disperse through the associated habitat types.
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller). rgrocha@ua.pt.
authors.forename: Rita Gomes
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller).
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller).
authors.forename: Ana Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Loss
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller).
authors.forename: Rasmus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller).
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal (Rocha, Ferreira, and Fonseca); Laboratório de Mastozoologia e Biogeografia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Campus de Maruípe, 29043-900 Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil (Rocha, Loss, and Costa); and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (Heller).
authors.forename: Leonora Pires
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001938:Brazil; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009893:Opossums / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D058974:Phylogeography; D045483:Rivers; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone; Brazilian Shield; Didelphidae; cytochrome b; gallery forests