title: The historical biogeography of groupers: Clade diversification patterns and processes.
abstract: Groupers (family Epinephelidae) are a clade of species-rich, biologically diverse reef fishes. Given their ecological variability and widespread distribution across ocean basins, it is important to scrutinize their evolutionary history that underlies present day distributions. This study investigated the patterns and processes by which grouper biodiversity has been generated and what factors have influenced their present day distributions. We reconstructed a robust, time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of Epinephelidae with comprehensive (∼87%) species sampling, whereby diversification rates were estimated and ancestral ranges were reconstructed. Our results indicate that groupers originated in what is now the East Atlantic during the mid-Eocene and diverged successively to form six strongly supported main clades. These clades differ in age (late Oligocene to mid-Miocene), geographic origin (West Atlantic to West Indo-Pacific) and temporal-spatial diversification pattern, ranging from constant rates of diversification to episodes of rapid radiation. Overall, divergence within certain biogeographic regions was most prevalent in groupers, while vicariant divergences were more common in Tropical Atlantic and East Pacific groupers. Our findings reveal that both biological and geographical factors have driven grouper diversification. They also underscore the importance of scrutinizing group-specific patterns to better understand reef fish evolution.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. Electronic address: makayana@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ka Yan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew Thomas
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: John Howard
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choat
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Herwerden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002138:Calibration; D005399:Fishes / Q000145:classification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014329:Tropical Climate
keywords: Ancestral range reconstruction; Climate change cycles; Geological history; Historical biogeography; Molecular dating; Reef fishes