Abstract
Although fish range sizes are expected to be associated with species dispersal ability, several studies failed to find a clear relationship between range size and duration of larval stage as a measure of dispersal potential. We investigated how six characteristics of the adult phase of fishes (maximum body length, growth rate, age at first maturity, life span, trophic level and frequency of occurrence) possibly associated with colonization ability correlate with range size in both freshwater and marine species at global scale. We used more than 12 million point records to estimate range size of 1829 freshwater species and 10068 marine species. As measures of range size we used both area of occupancy and extent of occurrence. Relationships between range size and species traits were assessed using Canonical Correlation Analysis. We found that frequency of occurrence and maximum body length had a strong influence on range size measures, which is consistent with patterns previously found (at smaller scales) in several other taxa. Freshwater and marine fishes showed striking similarities, suggesting the existence of common mechanisms regulating fish biogeography in the marine and freshwater realms.
Highlights
To enlarge its distributional range, a species must reach a new, previously unoccupied area, and succeed in colonizing it
Frequency distribution plots of geographic range sizes expressed as area of occupancy (AOO) revealed that most geographic ranges tend to be relatively small in both marine and freshwater fish species (Fig. 1)
Canonical Correlation Analysis (CANCOR) results obtained using a combined measure of extent of occurrence (EOO) and those obtained by decomposing it in two separate measures of latitudinal and longitudinal range were almost identical
Summary
To enlarge its distributional range, a species must reach a new, previously unoccupied area, and succeed in colonizing it. The first process (dispersal) is mainly related to the species ability to cross unfavorable areas [1], whereas, the second (colonization) is determined by environmental constraints and species ecological requirements [2,3]. Both processes are fundamental in determining species range size, so that a species with a high dispersal ability, but with low adaptability to new environments, may have a restricted range. A positive relationship between dispersal potential and range size is expected [5], yet several studies failed in finding a clear relationship between duration of the larval stage and range size in marine fishes [9] These studies investigated only reef fish communities, which are problematic for various reasons. It is difficult to establish if results obtained for reef fishes can be comparable to those obtained for species with different ecology, such as migratory (oceanodromous, anadromous, catadromous, potamodromous, amphidromous), demersal, and pelagic species
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