Plate tectonics drive tropical reef biodiversity dynamics

Area of Science:

• Paleogeography and Marine Ecology
• Tectonic Influences on Biodiversity

Background:

• The Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana altered shallow tropical seas and marine basin configurations.
• The relationship between tropical reef distribution, plate tectonics, and marine biodiversity remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the links between plate tectonic processes, tropical reef availability, and marine biodiversity patterns.
• To model the emergence and movement of marine diversity hotspots over the past 140 million years.

Main Methods:

• Developed a spatial diversification model constrained by absolute plate motions over 140 million years.
• Utilized a mechanistic model based on habitat-driven diversification and dispersal.

Main Results:

• The model successfully predicted the emergence and movement of diversity hotspots on tropical reefs.
• Spatial dynamics of tropical reefs explained marine fauna diversification in the Tethyan Ocean (Cretaceous-Cenozoic).
• Identified an eastward migration of marine lineages to the Indo-Australian Archipelago during the Miocene.

Conclusions:

• Plate tectonics is a major driver of tropical marine shallow reef biodiversity dynamics.
• Habitat-driven diversification and dispersal models accurately predict current biodiversity patterns for corals and fishes.