Biology subjects

Ramos Pereira, M. J. V. d. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Ramos Pereira, M. J. V. d. C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

There and Back to the Present: An Evolutionary Tale on Biological Diversity

Ecologists often agree on the importance of macroevolution for niche-mediated distribution of biological diversity along environmental gradients. Yet, macroevolutionary diversification and dispersal in time and space generate uneven geographic distribution of phylogenetic pools, which affects the imprint let by macroevolution on local species pools. In this article we introduce an individual-based simulation approach coupled to Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) that allows to parameterize the adaptation rate of species niche positions along the evolution of a monophyletic lineage, and the intensity of dispersal limitation, associated with the distribution of biological diversity between assemblages potentially connected by dispersal (metacommunity). The analytical tool was implemented in an R package called mcfly. We evaluated the statistical performance of the analytical framework using simulated datasets, which confirmed the suitability of the analysis to estimate adaptation rate and dispersal limitation parameters. Further, we evaluated the role played by niche evolution and dispersal limitation on species diversity distribution of Phyllostomidae bats across the Neotropics. The framework proposed here shed light on the links between niche evolution, dispersal limitation and the distribution of biological diversity, and thereby improved our understanding of evolutionary imprints on ecological patterns. Perhaps more importantly, it offers new possibilities for solving the eco-evolutionary puzzle.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

What and When Local Predictors Drive Tadpole Diversity in Subtropical Temporary Ponds?

We evaluated seasonal variation in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity and redundancy of tadpoles in 401 points of 10 ponds in southern Brazil. We predicted i) congruent patterns between all components of diversity and environmental descriptors; ii) stronger effects of environment in the diversity components in seasons when the water level in ponds is low; iii) diversity components to be influenced by distinct sets of environmental factors in different periods. Predictions were tested using Linear Mixed Models. We observed positive influence of water depth on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity, as well as on functional redundancy during periods when the water level in ponds is high. Phylogenetic redundancy was not explained by any of the selected environmental variables. When the water level in ponds is low none of the environmental descriptors affects any of the diversity components. Environmental filtering seems to strongly influence tadpole community structure in temporary ponds, at least in periods when water depth gradients create a variety of micro-habitats allowing diverse sets of species to settle and co-occur. These species sets are then filtered according to their swimming and foraging abilities along the depth gradient, where intermediate depths should contain the greatest tadpole diversity.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Taxonomic and functional anuran beta diversity of the subtropical metacommunity respond differentially to environmental and spatial predictors

The relative contributions of environmental and spatial predictors in the patterns of taxonomic and functional anuran beta diversity were examined in 33 ponds of a metacommunity along the coast of south Brazil. Anurans exhibit limited dispersion ability and have physiological and behavioural characteristics that narrow their relationships with both environmental and spatial predictors. So, we expected that neutral processes and, in particular, niche-based processes could have similar influence on the taxonomic and functional beta diversity patterns. Variation partitioning and distance-based methods (db-RDA) were conducted with presence/absence and abundance data to examine taxonomic and functional facets and components (total, turnover and nestedness-resultant) in relation to environmental and spatial predictors. Processes determining metacommunity structure were similar between the components of beta diversity but differed among taxonomic and functional diversity. While taxonomic beta diversity was further accounted by environmental predictors, functional beta diversity responded more strongly to spatial predictors. These patterns were more evident when assessed through abundance data. These opposing patterns were contrary to what we had predicted, suggesting that while there is a taxonomic turnover mediated by environmental filters, the spatial distance promotes the trait dissimilarity between sites. Our results reinforce the idea that studies aiming to evaluate the patterns of structure in metacommunities should include different facets of diversity so that better interpretations can be achieved.

ecology↗