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Citation for Study 15381

Citation title: "Disjunct Distributions of Freshwater Snails testify to a central Role of the Congo System in shaping biogeographical Patterns in Africa".

Study name: "Disjunct Distributions of Freshwater Snails testify to a central Role of the Congo System in shaping biogeographical Patterns in Africa".

This study is part of submission 15381 (Status: Published).

Citation

Schulthei? R., Van bocxlaer B., Riedel F., Von rintelen T., & Albrecht C. 2014. Disjunct Distributions of Freshwater Snails testify to a central Role of the Congo System in shaping biogeographical Patterns in Africa. BMC Evolutionary Biology, .

Authors

• Schulthei? R.
• Van bocxlaer B.
• Riedel F.
• Von rintelen T.
• Albrecht C.

Abstract

Background The formation of the East African Rift System has decisively influenced the distribution and evolution of tropical Africa?s biota by altering climate conditions, by creating basins for large long-lived lakes, and by affecting the catchment and drainage directions of river systems. However, it remains unclear how rifting affected the biogeographical patterns of freshwater biota through time on a continental scale, which is further complicated by the scarcity of molecular data from the largest African river system, the Congo. Results We study these biogeographical patterns using a fossil-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny of the gastropod family Viviparidae. This group allows reconstructing drainage patterns exceptionally well because it disperses very poorly in the absence of existing freshwater connections. Our phylogeny covers localities from major drainage basins of tropical Africa and reveals highly disjunct sister-group relationships between (a) the endemic viviparids of Lake Malawi and populations from the Middle Congo as well as between (b) the Victoria region and the Okavango/Upper Zambezi area. Conclusions The current study testifies to repeated disruptions of the distribution of the Viviparidae during the formation of the East African Rift System, and to a central role of the Congo River system for the distribution of the continent?s freshwater fauna during the late Cenozoic. By integrating our results with previous findings on palaeohydrographical connections, we provide a spatially and temporarily explicit model of historical freshwater biogeography in tropical Africa. Finally, we review similarities and differences in patterns of vertebrate and invertebrate dispersal. Amongst others we argue that the closest relatives of present day viviparids in Lake Malawi are living in the Middle Congo River, thus shedding new light on the origin of the endemic fauna of this rift lake.

Keywords

Freshwater biogeography; East African Rift System; Congo; Lake Malawi; Lake Tanganyika; Zambezi

External links

About this resource

• Canonical resource URI: http://purl.org/phylo/treebase/phylows/study/TB2:S15381
• Other versions: Nexus NeXML
• Show BibTeX reference

  		@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref22867,
  	 author = {Roland  Schulthei? and Bert  Van Bocxlaer and Frank  Riedel and Thomas  von Rintelen and Christian  Albrecht},
  	 title = {Disjunct Distributions of Freshwater Snails testify to a central Role of the Congo System in shaping biogeographical Patterns in Africa},
  	 year = {2014},
  	 keywords = {Freshwater biogeography; East African Rift System; Congo; Lake Malawi; Lake Tanganyika; Zambezi},
  	 doi = {},
  	 url = {http://},
  	 pmid = {},
  	 journal = {BMC Evolutionary Biology},
  	 volume = {},
  	 number = {},
  	 pages = {},
  	 abstract = {Background
  The formation of the East African Rift System has decisively influenced the distribution and evolution of tropical Africa?s biota by altering climate conditions, by creating basins for large long-lived lakes, and by affecting the catchment and drainage directions of river systems. However, it remains unclear how rifting affected the biogeographical patterns of freshwater biota through time on a continental scale, which is further complicated by the scarcity of molecular data from the largest African river system, the Congo. 
  Results
  We study these biogeographical patterns using a fossil-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny of the gastropod family Viviparidae. This group allows reconstructing drainage patterns exceptionally well because it disperses very poorly in the absence of existing freshwater connections. Our phylogeny covers localities from major drainage basins of tropical Africa and reveals highly disjunct sister-group relationships between (a) the endemic viviparids of Lake Malawi and populations from the Middle Congo as well as between (b) the Victoria region and the Okavango/Upper Zambezi area.
  Conclusions
  The current study testifies to repeated disruptions of the distribution of the Viviparidae during the formation of the East African Rift System, and to a central role of the Congo River system for the distribution of the continent?s freshwater fauna during the late Cenozoic. By integrating our results with previous findings on palaeohydrographical connections, we provide a spatially and temporarily explicit model of historical freshwater biogeography in tropical Africa. Finally, we review similarities and differences in patterns of vertebrate and invertebrate dispersal. Amongst others we argue that the closest relatives of present day viviparids in Lake Malawi are living in the Middle Congo River, thus shedding new light on the origin of the endemic fauna of this rift lake.}
  }
  		

• Show RIS reference

  		TY  - JOUR
  ID  - 22867
  AU  - Schulthei?,Roland 
  AU  - Van Bocxlaer,Bert 
  AU  - Riedel,Frank 
  AU  - von Rintelen,Thomas 
  AU  - Albrecht,Christian 
  T1  - Disjunct Distributions of Freshwater Snails testify to a central Role of the Congo System in shaping biogeographical Patterns in Africa
  PY  - 2014
  KW  - Freshwater biogeography; East African Rift System; Congo; Lake Malawi; Lake Tanganyika; Zambezi
  UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
  N2  - Background
  The formation of the East African Rift System has decisively influenced the distribution and evolution of tropical Africa?s biota by altering climate conditions, by creating basins for large long-lived lakes, and by affecting the catchment and drainage directions of river systems. However, it remains unclear how rifting affected the biogeographical patterns of freshwater biota through time on a continental scale, which is further complicated by the scarcity of molecular data from the largest African river system, the Congo. 
  Results
  We study these biogeographical patterns using a fossil-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny of the gastropod family Viviparidae. This group allows reconstructing drainage patterns exceptionally well because it disperses very poorly in the absence of existing freshwater connections. Our phylogeny covers localities from major drainage basins of tropical Africa and reveals highly disjunct sister-group relationships between (a) the endemic viviparids of Lake Malawi and populations from the Middle Congo as well as between (b) the Victoria region and the Okavango/Upper Zambezi area.
  Conclusions
  The current study testifies to repeated disruptions of the distribution of the Viviparidae during the formation of the East African Rift System, and to a central role of the Congo River system for the distribution of the continent?s freshwater fauna during the late Cenozoic. By integrating our results with previous findings on palaeohydrographical connections, we provide a spatially and temporarily explicit model of historical freshwater biogeography in tropical Africa. Finally, we review similarities and differences in patterns of vertebrate and invertebrate dispersal. Amongst others we argue that the closest relatives of present day viviparids in Lake Malawi are living in the Middle Congo River, thus shedding new light on the origin of the endemic fauna of this rift lake.
  L3  - 
  JF  - BMC Evolutionary Biology
  VL  - 
  IS  - 
  ER  -