Trait and phylogenetic diversity provide insights into community assembly of reef-associated shrimps (Palaemonidae) at different spatial scales across the Chagos Archipelago.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystem and one of the most threatened by global climate change impacts. The vast majority of diversity on reefs is comprised of small invertebrates that live within the reef structure, termed the cryptofauna. This component of biodiversity is hugely understudied, and many species remain undescribed. This study represents a rare analysis of assembly processes structuring a distinct group of cryptofauna, the Palaemonidae, in the Chagos Archipelago, a reef ecosystem under minimal direct human impacts in the central Indian Ocean. The Palaemonidae are a diverse group of Caridae (infraorder of shrimps) that inhabit many different niches on coral reefs and are of particular interest because of their varied habitat associations. Phylogenetic and trait

SUBMITTER: Head CEI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5916300 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature