Topics in phylogeography of Aplastodiscus (Amphibia; Anura; Hylidae)

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest deforestation during the last centuries caused, beyond extinctions and loss of populations, reduction of genetic diversity from the remaining species. This biome is actually restricted to 11% of its original size. Given its high species diversity, works on phylogeography of Atlantic Forest species are scare. The genus Aplastodiscus include 15 species of anurans, most of them occur in the Atlantic Forest in streams and associated environments. A recent study on taxonomy of the group brought advances in the knowledge of intra-specific limits, allowing the rise of phylogeographic questions. Our goals are as follows: i) to describe how the genetic diversity is structured in Aplastodiscus species groups, to date genetic breaks, and to infer clade ages; ii) investigate if the dada can be explained by abiotic factors such as hydrographic basins; iii) test if the Aplastodiscus genetic structure follows the current hypothesis of Atlantic Forest genetic breaks; iv) investigate the connection between the Atlantic Forest and the Brazilian Cerrado using Aplastodiscus as an example; v) suggest areas for conservation of anurans from Atlantic Forest streams. We will include molecular data for several populations and use modern techniques on phylogeography to reach our goals. Our results should provide better understanding on speciation patterns of anurans from Atlantic Forest, new data on Atlantic Forest history itself, and provide support to conservation actions on anurans from streams in the Atlantic Forest.