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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
This paper presents an analysis of the distributional
patterns of blenniids (Pisces: Blenniidae)
in the north-eastern Atlantic. Two peaks of
species diversity were found, both in terms of
number of species and number of endemics: one
in the tropical African coast and another in the
Mediterranean Sea. A cluster analysis of similarity
values (Jaccard coefficient) among the eastern
Atlantic zoogeographical areas, revealed the
following groups: a north temperate group, a
tropical group formed by the tropical African
coast and Mauritania, another group formed by
the islands of Cape Verde, a south temperate group
(South Africa), and a southern Atlantic group
formed by the islands of Ascension and St Helena.
Within the north temperate group, the subgroups
with higher similarities were: Azores and
Madeira, Canary Islands and Morocco, and the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of the
Iberian Peninsula. Based on affinity indices, the
probable directions of faunal flows were inferred.
The tropical coast of Africa and the Mediterranean
emerged from this analysis as probable
speciation centres of the north-eastern Atlantic
blenniid fauna. The Mediterranean may have
also acted as a refuge during glacial periods.
Description
Keywords
Blenniid fishes Distributional patterns Eastern atlantic Macaronesia Mediterranean Speciation centres Species diversity Zoogeography
Citation
Global Ecology & Biogeography, 10, 411-422