2017/09/05 by Christelle Tougard, Carmen Rosa GARCÍA-DÁVILA, Uwe Römer +9 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Fish biology, ecology, and behavior #Fish Biology and Ecology Studies #Genetic diversity and population structure
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0182618
openalex publication_date 2017/09/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Evaluating biodiversity and understanding the processes involved in diversification are noticeable conservation issues in fishes subject to large, sometimes illegal, ornamental trade purposes. Here, the diversity and evolutionary history of the Neotropical dwarf cichlid genus Apistogramma from several South American countries are investigated. Mitochondrial and nuclear markers are used to infer phylogenetic relationships between 31 genetically identified species. The monophyly of Apistogramma is suggested, and Apistogramma species are distributed into four clades, corresponding to three morphological lineages. Divergence times estimated with the Yule process and an uncorrelated lognormal clock dated the Apistogramma origin to the beginning of the Eocene (≈ 50 Myr) suggesting that diversification might be related to marine incursions. Our molecular dating also suggests that the Quaternary glacial cycles coincide with the phases leading to Apistogramma speciation. These past events did not influence diversification rates in the speciose genus Apistogramma, since diversification appeared low and constant through time. Further characterization of processes involved in recent Apistogramma diversity will be necessary.