Browsing by Author "Congiu, Leonardo"
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- Multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the genus Atherina (Pisces: Atherinidae)Publication . Francisco, Sara Martins; Congiu, Leonardo; von der Heyden, Sophie; Almada, Vítor CarvalhoSand-smelts are small fishes inhabiting inshore, brackish and freshwater environments and with a distribution in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, extending south into the Indian Ocean. Here, we present a broad phylogenetic analysis of the genus Atherina using three mitochondrial (control region, 12S and 16S) and two nuclear markers (rhodopsin and 2nd intron of S7). Phylogenetic analyses fully support the monophyly of the genus. Two anti-tropical clades were identified, separating the South African Atherina breviceps from the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Atherina’ species. In European waters, two groups were found. The first clade formed by a well supported species-pair: Atherina presbyter (eastern Atlantic) and Atherina hepsetus (Mediterranean), both living in marine waters; a second clade included Atherina boyeri (brackish and freshwater environments) and two independent lineages of marine punctated and non-punctated fishes, recently proposed as separate species. Sequence divergence values strongly suggest multiple species within the A. boyeri complex.
- Phylogenetic relationships of the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean forms of Atherina (Pisces, Atherinidae)Publication . Francisco, Sara Martins; Congiu, Leonardo; Stefanni, Sergio; Castilho, Rita; Brito, Alberto; Ivanova, P. P.; Levy, André; Cabral, Henrique; Kilias, Georgio; Doadrio, Ignacio; Almada, Vítor CarvalhoInexistente
- Phylogeography and demographic history of Atherina presbyter (Pisces: Atherinidae) in the North-eastern Atlantic based on mitochondrial DNAPublication . Francisco, Sara Martins; Castilho, Rita; Soares, Miguel; Congiu, Leonardo; Brito, Alberto; Vieira, Maria Natividade; Almada, Vítor CarvalhoA fragment of the mitochondrial control region was used to assess phylogeographic patterns and historical demography of the sand-smelt Atherina presbyter in the North-eastern Atlantic, covering its geographical range. A striking result is the highly marked diVerentiation between the Canary Islands population and western European ones. A genetic structure among European populations of A. presbyter was revealed, with a pattern of isolation-by-distance or a gradient eVect at a scale of hundreds kilometres, an uncommon pattern likely related to the biological and life-history traits of the sand-smelt. The northern European populations present a much lower genetic diversity when compared to southern populations, which is consistent with a recent colonization from southern populations. The results showed signs of Pleistocene signatures, with the population age estimates for the European populations being clearly older than the Last Glacial Maximum (18,000 years bp). Nevertheless, paleotemperature reconstructions show that the sand-smelt could not have inhabited the western European shores during the last glacial phase.