Abstract
Extant coelacanths (Latimeria chalumnae) were first discovered in the western Indian Ocean in 1938; in 1998, a second species of coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis, was discovered off the north coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, expanding the known distribution of the genus across the Indian Ocean Basin. This study uses ecological niche modeling techniques to estimate dimensions of realized niches of coelacanths and generate hypotheses for additional sites where they might be found. Coelacanth occurrence information was integrated with environmental and oceanographic data using the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP) and a maximum entropy algorithm (Maxent). Resulting models were visualized as maps of relative suitability of sites for coelacanths throughout the Indian Ocean, as well as scatterplots of ecological variables. Our findings suggest that the range of coelacanths could extend beyond their presently known distribution and suggests alternative mechanisms for currently observed distributions. Further investigation into these hypotheses could aid in forming a more complete picture of the distributions and populations of members of genus Latimeria, which in turn could aid in developing conservation strategies, particularly in the case of L. menadoensis.
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Abbreviations
- ENM:
-
Ecological niche modeling
- GARP:
-
Genetic algorithm for rule-set prediction
- GBIF:
-
Global biodiversity information facility
- OBIS:
-
Ocean biogeographic information system
- MESS:
-
Multivariate environmental similarity surface
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Andrés Lira-Noriega for his input on and assistance with this project. Thanks to Aimee Stewart and Kris McNyset for generously sharing their processed World Ocean Atlas data layers, and to Ed Wiley and colleagues in the KU Biodiversity Institute Ichthyology Division, for their enthusiasm and support. Thanks are also due to T.G. Bornman and colleagues at the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity for allowing us use of coelacanth submersible sighting coordinates, and to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
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Owens, H.L., Bentley, A.C. & Peterson, A.T. Predicting suitable environments and potential occurrences for coelacanths (Latimeria spp.). Biodivers Conserv 21, 577–587 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0202-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0202-1