Ecologia geográfica e evolução de quelônios continentais

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, João Fabrício Mota
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFG
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.bc.ufg.br/tede/handle/tede/8695
• topic: Diversidade beta; Diversificação; Métodos filogenéticos comparativos; Oportunidade ecológica; Quelônios; Riqueza de espécies; Tamanho corporal; Beta diversity; Body size; Diversification; Ecological opportunity; Phylogenetic comparative methods; Species richness; Turtles; CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::ECOLOGIA

Understanding the processes that shape the current distribution patterns of species is one of the main goals of Ecology. In this thesis, we aimed to understand which factors are related to the distribution of the turtle diversity, a group of ectothermic animals whose diversity patterns are still little known, over time and space. To that end, we used distribution data from continental chelonian species, as well as life history information (habitat type and body size), and reconstructed a phylogenetic hypothesis for the group using molecular data. Turtles had a burst of lineage diversification during the irradiation of the Emydidae family, which is probably linked to an event of ecological opportunity. In addition, aquatic animals had higher rates of diversification than terrestrial animals, which helps to explain the current greater diversity of aquatic animals. Turtle richness distribution along the continents is mainly influenced by climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation, but the time when lineages first colonized the continental regions also influences this pattern. Beta diversity among chelonian communities is mainly influenced by the geographical distance between communities, and communities from different biogeographic realms are structured by different drivers. Finally, body size diversity of turtles is also influenced by temperature, and small animals are more common in cold areas.