Estudos evolutivos em marsupiais didelfídeos dos gêneros Cryptonanus, Gracilinanus e Marmosa (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) usando dados morfológicos e moleculares

Os marsupiais neotropicais formam uma comunidade de pequenos mamíferos de grande importância no equilíbrio dos ecossistemas sul-americanos. Sabe-se que algumas dessas espécies possuem uma marcada estrutura genética espacial, com diferentes linhagens genéticas ocorrendo em diferentes porções de suas distribuições. Assim, o presente estudo busca aprofundar o conhecimento sobre a variação genética e morfológica de espécies de marsupiais didelfídeos para entender sua origem, estrutura populacional, bem como avaliar a existência de novas linhagens genéticas em áreas pouco estudadas. A tese está composta por três manuscritos, cada um abordando um dos gêneros de marsupial investigado neste estudo: Cryptonanus, Gracilinanus e Marmosa. O objetivo geral do trabalho foi compreender os processos evolutivos responsáveis pela diversificação em nível genético e morfológico em marsupiais didelfídeos na América do Sul. Para Cryptonanus as árvores filogenéticas construídas a partir de dados moleculares de dois genes mitocondriais, Cytb e COI, foram essenciais para identificar de maneira não-ambígua os seis espécimes avaliados neste estudo, dois dos quais mostraram-se como uma nova linhagem mitocondrial de Cryptonanus agricolai para o Nordeste do Brasil, no cerrado maranhense, em uma localidade onde não havia registro da espécie. No caso de Gracilinanus, utilizamos ferramentas biogeográficas e de genética de populações para entender a distribuição geográfica dessas espécies ao longo dos últimos milhões de anos. A origem do gênero foi datada para o Mioceno médio, quando as espécies começaram a se diversificar para suas distribuições atuais. Uma abordagem comparativa entre G. agilis e G. microtarsus sugeriu evidências de expansão populacional recente (~21.300 anos atrás) para G. agilis, que habita florestas secas, mas não para G. microtarsus, que ocorre na Mata Atlântica brasileira. Esse resultado sugere que enquanto G. microtarsus foi mais resiliente à provável redução da cobertura florestal ocorrida durante os ciclos glaciais do Pleistoceno, G. agilis foi exposta a uma maior instabilidade ecológica, principalmente no bioma Caatinga. Para o gênero Marmosa, analisamos dados craniométricos de M. (M.) murina e M. (Micoureus) spp. buscando identificar diferenças na forma craniana em diferentes contextos ecológicos (Floresta Amazônica, Mata Atlântica e Diagonal aberta). Em geral, as análises de variação canônica para cada uma das vistas cranianas (dorsal, lateral e ventral) indicaram diferenças significativas entre grupos ecológicos para ambos os subgêneros, sendo as duas principais diferenças entre Floresta Amazônica vs. Mata Atlântica, e entre o sul vs. norte do rio São Francisco, na Mata Atlântica. Os resultados mostram que os padrões históricos de fragmentação ambiental parecem mais importantes para explicar a variação morfológica em Marmosa e Micoureus do que processos adaptativos associados às características ecológicas gerais de cada bioma.Neotropical marsupials form a community of small mammals of greatest importance in maintaining ecological equilibrium in South-American ecosystems. It is known that some of these species show a marked spatial genetic structure, with different genetic lineages occurring in different parts of their distributions. The present study aspires to contribute to the knowledge about the genetic and morphological variation of didelphid marsupials in order to understand its origin, population structure, and to evaluate the occurrence of new genetic lineages in poorly studied regions. The thesis is composed of three manuscripts, each involving one of the marsupial genera investigated here: Cryptonanus, Gracilinanus and Marmosa. The general aim of the study was to understand the evolutionary processes causing genetic and morphological diversification of didelphid marsupials in South America. For Cryptonanus, phylogenetic trees build from two mitochondrial genes, Cytb and COI, were essential to identify unambiguously the six specimens evaluated in this study, two of which showed a new mitochondrial lineage for C. agricolai from Northeastern Brazil, in the savannah (Cerrado) of the Maranhão state, in a locality with no previous record for this species. For Gracilinanus, we used biogeographic and population genetic tools to understand the distribution of these species along the last million years. The origin of the genus dated from the Middle Miocene, since when the species started to diversify into their current distributions. A comparative analysis including G. agilis and G. microtarsus showed evidence of a recent (~21,300 years ago) population expansion for G. aglis, which occurs in dry forests, but not for G. microtarsus, which occurs in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This result suggests that the latter species was more resilient to the likely reduction in forest cover during the Pleistocene glacial cycles, G. agilis was exposed to higher ecological instability, especially in the Caatinga biome. For Marmosa, we analyzed craniometric data from M. (M.) murina and M. (Micoureus) spp. aiming to identify differences in cranial form among different ecological settings (Amazon Forest, Atlantic Forest, Open Diagonal). In general, the canonical variation analysis for each of the cranial views (dorsal, lateral, ventral) indicated significant differences between ecological groups for both subgenera, the two major differences being between the Amazon and the Atlantic forests, and between the southern and northern margins of the São Francisco River, in the Atlantic Forest. These results show that the historical patterns of environment fragmentation seem more important in explaining morphological variation in Marmosa than adaptive processes associated to the different general ecological features of each biome

New records and a new mtDNA lineage of Cryptonanus agricolai (Moojen, 1943) (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) from Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil

Cryptonanus agricolai (Moojen, 1943) is a small didelphid widely distributed across of central and northeastern Brazil and in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. A recent phylogeographic study of this species identified three major mtDNA clades with strong geographic structure. Here, we present new records of C. agricolai in northeastern Brazil, including the first report for Maranhão state. We also identify a novel mtDNA lineage, sister to one of the three major clades, in some specimens from Maranhão, indicating that C. agricolai is morphologically and genetically more variable than previously recognized

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data