Global biogeography of reef fishes: a hierarchical quantitative delineation of regions.

ABSTRACT: Delineating regions is an important first step in understanding the evolution and biogeography of faunas. However, quantitative approaches are often limited at a global scale, particularly in the marine realm. Reef fishes are the most diversified group of marine fishes, and compared to most other phyla, their taxonomy and geographical distributions are relatively well known. Based on 169 checklists spread across all tropical oceans, the present work aims to quantitatively delineate biogeographical entities for reef fishes at a global scale. Four different classifications were used to account for uncertainty related to species identification and the quality of checklists. The four classifications delivered converging results, with biogeographical entities that can be hierarchically delineat

SUBMITTER: Kulbicki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875412 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature