RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Potential mammalian species for investigating the past connections between Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.12.24.424335
DO 10.1101/2020.12.24.424335
A1 Fabrício Machado, Arielli
A1 Ritter, Camila Duarte
A1 Miranda, Cleuton Lima
A1 Pereira, Maria João Ramos
A1 Duarte, Leandro
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/12/24/2020.12.24.424335.abstract
AB Much evidence suggests that Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest were connected through at least three dispersion routes in the past: the northeast route, the central route, and the southeast-northwest route. According to previous studies, the southeast-northwest route would have been the most frequently used. However, few studies have assessed the use of these routes based on multiple species. Here we present a compilation of potential mammal species that could have dispersed between the two forest regions to investigate these connections. We evaluate the geographic distributions of mammals occurring in both Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest and the likely connective routes between these forests. We classified the species per habitat occupancy (strict forest specialists, species that prefer forest, or generalists) and compiled the genetic data available for each species to evaluate their potential for phylogeographic studies focusing on genetic exchange between the two forest regions. We found 127 mammalian species occurring in both Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest for which significant genetic data was available. Hence, highlighting their potential for phylogeographic studies investigating the past connections between the two forests. Differently from what was previously proposed, the northeast route showed evidence of past use by more mammal species than the remaining two routes. The central route would have been the second most important in terms of species. Our results show the potential of using mammal species to investigate and bring new insights about the past connections between Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.