Non-reef environments impact the diversification of extant jacks, remoras and allies (Carangoidei, Percomorpha).
Various factors may impact the processes of diversification of a clade. In the marine realm, it has been shown that coral reef environments have promoted diversification in various fish groups. With the exception of requiem sharks, all the groups showing a higher level of diversity in reefs than in non-reef habitats have diets based predominantly on plankton, algae or benthic invertebrates. Here we explore the pattern of diversification of carangoid fishes, a clade that includes numerous piscivorous species (e.g. trevallies, jacks and dolphinfishes), using time-calibrated phylogenies as well as ecological and morphological data from both extant and fossil species. The study of carangoid morphospace suggests that reef environments played a role in their early radiation during the Eocene. However, contrary to the hypothesis of a reef-association-promoting effect, we show that habitat shifts to non-reef environments have increased the rates of morphological diversification (i.e. size and body shape) in extant carangoids. Piscivory did not have a major impact on the tempo of diversification of this group. Through the ecological radiation of carangoid fishes, we demonstrate that non-reef environments may sustain and promote processes of diversification of different marine fish groups, at least those including a large proportion of piscivorous species.
Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, AFFISH Research Center, Université de Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium bruno.frederich@ulg.ac.be.|Laboratoire d'Océanologie, MARE Center, Université de Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Bruno
0000-0003-3438-0243
B
Frédérich
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino 10125, Italy.
Giuseppe
G
Marramà
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino 10125, Italy.
Giorgio
G
Carnevale
Associazione Italiana per lo Studio della Biodiversità, Pisa 56100, Italy.
Francesco
F
Santini
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D010473:Perciformes / Q000145:classification*; D010802:Phylogeny
HiSSE; carangoid fishes; disparity; habitat shift; morphospace; trait evolution