Planktivores as trophic drivers of global coral reef fish diversity patterns.

ABSTRACT: One of the most prominent features of life on Earth is the uneven number of species across large spatial scales. Despite being inherently linked to energetic constraints, these gradients in species richness distribution have rarely been examined from a trophic perspective. Here we dissect the global diversity of over 3,600 coral reef fishes to reveal patterns across major trophic groups. By analyzing multiple nested spatial scales, we show that planktivores contribute disproportionally to the formation of the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) marine biodiversity hotspot. Besides being "hotter" at the hotspot, planktivorous fishes display the steepest decline in species numbers with distance from the IAA when compared to other trophic groups. Surprisingly, we did not detect differences in d

SUBMITTER: Siqueira AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7936278 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature