Caribbean reef fish assemblages are associated with more rapid and recent evolutionary rates

Caribbean reef fish assemblages are associated with more rapid and recent evolutionary rates | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 29 August 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Caribbean reef fish assemblages are associated with more rapid and recent evolutionary rates Authors : Rémy LE GOFF 0009-0002-7827-7096 [email protected] , Theo Gaboriau , Camille Albouy , Loic Pellissier 0000-0002-2289-8259 , and Fabien Leprieur Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175648112.24860841/v1 306 views 191 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract In the tropical marine realm, the increasing concentration of species toward the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) has been extensively studied. The literature provides numerous biogeographical scenarios explaining this pronounced longitudinal diversity gradient. However, most proposed scenarios were investigated on a neutral framework and did not consider the potential influence of trait diversification and diversity-dependence processes. In this study, we use a global data set on tropical reef fish distributions, combined with species traits and a comprehensive Actinopterygii phylogeny, to address this question. We apply a statistical approach that simultaneously accounts for the potential influence of both biotic and abiotic factors on recent speciation rates and trait evolution, and ultimately, on species richness distribution. Our results reveal gradients in speciation rates and trait evolution rates that do not match the spatial distribution of species richness. The Caribbean region, while being fourfold species poor compared to the IAA, displayed the greatest rates of recent speciation. Compared to the IAA, the Caribbean also harbored species with, on average, faster recent rates of body size evolution. Finally, regardless of the biogeographic realm considered (Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, or Tropical Eastern Pacific), species richness was found to strongly constrain trait evolutionary rates related to trophic level. Overall, our findings suggest that the Caribbean region has acted as an evolutionary engine for reef fishes in the recent past, and that diversity-dependent mechanisms may have played a key role in shaping biogeographic patterns of trait evolution related to trophic level in tropical reef fishes. Supplementary Material File (main text_legoff_et_al_v3.docx) Download 2.44 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 29 August 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords diversification isolation longitudinal gradient reef fish trait evolution Authors Affiliations Rémy LE GOFF 0009-0002-7827-7096 [email protected] MARBEC View all articles by this author Theo Gaboriau Universite de Lausanne View all articles by this author Camille Albouy ETH Zurich View all articles by this author Loic Pellissier 0000-0002-2289-8259 ETH Zürich View all articles by this author Fabien Leprieur University of Montpellier View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 306 views 191 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Rémy LE GOFF, Theo Gaboriau, Camille Albouy, et al. Caribbean reef fish assemblages are associated with more rapid and recent evolutionary rates. Authorea . 29 August 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175648112.24860841/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. 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