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Recent past connections between Amazonian and Atlantic forests by comparative phylogeography and paleodistribution models for didelphid mammals

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Abstract

Despite the current disjoint distribution of Amazonian and Atlantic forests, evidence suggests past historical connections. Here we investigated the historical connections between three didelphid mammal species from Amazonian and Atlantic forests (Caluromys philander, Marmosa demerarae, and M. murina) using comparative phylogeography and paleodistribution models. We generated ecological niche models from the present until the Pliocene to evaluate changes in distributions over time, focusing on the previously suggested connection routes. We inferred divergence times between populations of each species using the mitochondrial Cytochrome b, estimated the phylogeographic relationships with haplotype networks, and calculated the genetic distances. All species exhibited populations that were separated between the Amazonian and Atlantic forests around 1–2 million years ago, while some populations showed more recent divergences. Paleodistributions were more extensive for periods predating the estimated times of divergence for all species, becoming narrower after this period. We suggest that the climatic oscillations during the onset of the Pleistocene largely influenced the phylogenetic structuring of these forest-dwelling species. This led to the separation of populations currently restricted to Amazonian or Atlantic forests. Our findings also point to repeated connections over time, with both North- and South-Eastern routes compatible with ancient connections. This represents the first simultaneous evaluation of past connections between Amazonian and Atlantic forests combining phylogeographic inferences with paleodistribution models for didelphid marsupials. We suggested the relation of the responses to past climate change, such as increases in the paleodistribution, and species resilience.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Renan Maestri, Fabricio Villalobos and Thales R. O. de Freitas for critical revision on manuscript, Rafael Nascimento Leite by samples. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their detailed and constructive comments that helped us to improve this manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). AFM received a CNPq fellowship (Grant 141008/2016-4). This research was supported by CNPq/FAPEAM/SISBIOTA (Rede BioPHAM) 563348/2010 to IPF, MA and MNFS. LD research has been supported by a CNPq Productivity Fellowship (Grant 307527/2018-2). LD is a member of the National Institute for Science and Technology (INCT) in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, supported by MCTIC/CNPq (proc. 465610/2014-5) and FAPEG (proc. 201810267000023). CLM (150588/2021-6) and AFM (370542/2021-5) are grateful to CNPq for the financial support PROTAX 22/2020 coordinated by IPF. CDR acknowledged the Mulago Foundation for the support provided to Instituto Juruá and JARA thanks CNPq (PCI 300564/2023-6).

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AFM contributed to conceptualization, data curation, data analysis, writing—proofreading, and editing. MNFS and IPF contributed to obtaining data, writing—proofreading, and editing the manuscript. MA contributed to the conceptualization, writing—proofreading, and editing of the manuscript. MSN contributed to obtaining data and analyses. CLM contributed to writing—proofreading and editing the manuscript. JARA contributed to data analysis, writing—proofreading, and editing of the manuscript. WTP contributed to data analysis, writing—proofreading, and editing of the manuscript. CDR contributed to proofreading and editing the manuscript. LD contributed to the conceptualization, writing—proofreading, and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arielli Fabrício Machado.

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Fabrício Machado, A., Da Silva, M.N.F., Farias, I.P. et al. Recent past connections between Amazonian and Atlantic forests by comparative phylogeography and paleodistribution models for didelphid mammals. Evol Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-024-10292-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-024-10292-6

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