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Rapid biological speciation driven by tectonic evolution in New Zealand
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 17:29 authored by Craw, D, Upton, P, Christopher BurridgeChristopher Burridge, Wallis, GP, Waters, JMCollisions between tectonic plates lead to the rise of new mountain ranges that can separate biological populations and ultimately result in new species. However, the identification of links between tectonic mountain-building and biological speciation is confounded by environmental and ecological factors. Thus, there are surprisingly few well-documented examples of direct tectonic controls on terrestrial biological speciation. Here we present examples from New Zealand, where the rapid evolution of 18 species of freshwater fishes has resulted from parallel tectonic landscape evolution. We use numerical models to reconstruct changes in the deep crustal structure and surface drainage catchments of the southern island of New Zealand over the past 25 million years. We show that the island and mountain topography evolved in six principal tectonic zones, which have distinct drainage catchments that separated fish populations. We use new and existing, phylogenetic analyses of freshwater fish populations, based on over 1,000 specimens from more than 400 localities, to show that fish genomes can retain evidence of this tectonic landscape development, with a clear correlation between geologic age and extent of DNA sequence divergence. We conclude that landscape evolution has controlled on-going biological diversification over the past 25 million years.
History
Publication title
Nature GeoscienceVolume
9Pagination
140-144ISSN
1752-0894Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Nature Publishing GroupPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
© 2016 Macmillan PublishersRepository Status
- Restricted