Aim We evaluate the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic validity of Atlantic species of Labrisomus , identifying the lineages currently assigned to L. nuchipinnis , and assessing the role of biogeographic barriers in shaping the evolutionary history and geographic distribution of the genus. Location Atlantic Ocean. Taxon Labrisomus . Methods We assembled an extensive mitochondrial and nuclear DNA dataset of Atlantic speci...

Aim To incorporate phylogenetic relationships into Atlantic marine biogeography, investigating how evolutionary history and environmental conditions interact to shape biodiversity patterns at ocean‐basin scales, and to assess how phylogenetic metrics can inform predictions of ecological vulnerability under climate change. Location Atlantic Ocean. Time Period Last glacial maximum to 2100. Major Taxa Studied Reef‐associated ray‐...

Planktivorous reef fishes are thought to possess unique morphological traits to feed on small, evasive prey. Despite the multitude of family-level studies addressing this hypothesis, results remain inconclusive. Our goal, therefore, was to determine whether specialised traits and patterns of morphological convergence are congruent across a comprehensive phylogeny of reef-associated fishes. We measured 15 morphological traits f...

A diverse array of animals has evolved the ability to use tools (e.g., primates, parrots, octopus, crabs, and wasps), but the factors leading to tool use evolution are poorly understood. Fishes could provide insight into these factors via comparison of ecological and morphological differences between tool-using and non-tool-using species. Anvil use is one example of tool use by fish: the fish holds a hard-shelled prey item in...

Aim The role of ecological specialisation in shaping biogeographic and evolutionary patterns remains unresolved. To date, few studies have quantitatively examined consumer niche breadth at a global scale. We describe global biogeographic and diversification patterns of specialisation, measured using trophic and thermal niches, for a highly diverse assemblage of consumers: reef fishes. First, we investigated the confluence of s...

Human activities and climate change have accelerated species losses and degradation of ecosystems to unprecedented levels. Both theoretical and empirical evidence suggest that extinction cascades contribute substantially to global species loss. The effects of extinction cascades can ripple across levels of ecological organization, causing not only the secondary loss of taxonomic diversity but also functional diversity erosion....

Aim Functional diversity encapsulates whole‐community responses to environmental gradients mediated by species traits. Under trait convergence, similar responses may cause distantly related taxa to exhibit spatially correlated functional diversity. We investigated whether similar responses of reef fish, coral and algal functional richness and disparity to the environment produce spatially correlated functional diversity patter...

The South Mid Atlantic Ridge comprises three main oceanic islands in the equatorial and tropical portions of the Atlantic Ocean. These islands are isolated from each other and equidistant from both the continental margins of South America and Africa, sharing common patterns but with different types of human use and pressures. Moreover, the areas beyond national jurisdiction between those islands are visited and exploited by di...

Aim The Island Biogeography Theory (IBT) and its multiple extensions explain species diversity patterns in insular systems. However, how these theories can predict the functional diversity patterns in island systems remains challenging. Here, we evaluated the predictions of the IBT, the General Dynamic Theory of Oceanic Island Biogeography (GDM) and the Glacial‐sensitive model of Island Biogeography (GSM) considering the funct...

The TimeFISH database provides the first public time‐series dataset on reef fish assemblages in the southwestern Atlantic (SWA), comprising 15 years of data (2007–2022) based on standardized Underwater Visual Censuses (UVCs). The rocky reefs covered by our dataset are influenced by pronounced seasonal cycles of ocean temperatures with warm tropical waters from the Brazil Current in the summer (~27°C) and colder waters from the...

Aim The Amazon‐Orinoco plume is the major biogeographical barrier between the Great Caribbean and the Brazilian Province. No study has so far addressed the influence of this barrier in a broad chrono‐phylogenetic context. Here, we evaluate the effects of the Amazon‐Orinoco plume barrier on the patterns of diversification of Western Atlantic reef fishes through time. Location Tropical Western Atlantic. Taxon Reef Fishes (Percom...

Aim Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β‐diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β‐diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay...

Aim Exploring the relationships between the different facets of beta diversity and both past and current environmental conditions can unveil the processes that have shaped spatial patterns of biodiversity. In the marine realm, large‐scale patterns and processes of beta diversity have been less investigated. Our study aimed to investigate the patterns and drivers of multiple facets of beta diversity and its components, contrast...

Brazilian endemic batoid elasmobranch populations have declined dramatically in the past 40 years due to anthropic activities ( e.g ., overfishing). The Brazilian guitarfish, Pseudobatos horkelii , included in the IUCN red list of endangered species [Critically Endangered (CR)], has been captured as by‐catch by trawling fishing boats to the edge of extinction. Despite governmental conservation initiatives, the species is still...