Gabriel Soares Araujo
@gov.br
Coordenação de Biodiversidade / Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia / Researcher
EDUCATION
B.Sc. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Biological Sciences, 2010-2015
M.Sc. Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Zoology, 2016-2018
PhD candidate NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Environmental Sciences and Conservation, 2019-
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Animal Science and Zoology, Environmental Science, Genetics
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Isadora Cord, Gabriel S. Araujo, Fernanda C. Silva, Yan R. Kurtz, Claudia R. Rocha, Hudson T. Pinheiro, Luiz A. Rocha, and Sergio R. Floeter
The Royal Society
With their simplified and isolated communities, oceanic islands are considered ‘natural laboratories’ for biogeographic and evolutionary studies. Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), St Paul’s Rocks, Ascension and St Helena islands are nearly equidistant from South America and Africa. While St Paul’s Rocks is typically associated with the Brazilian Province, Ascension and St Helena are commonly treated as a unified biogeographical entity despite being separated by approximately 1300 km of open ocean. Using an expert-validated, rigorously curated dataset on Atlantic reef fishes, we demonstrate that these three islands constitute a cohesive biogeographic unit, sharing 46 species found nowhere else in the Atlantic. By integrating time-calibrated phylogenies and distributional data, we reconstructed dispersal routes of 88 MAR fishes, revealing predominant western Atlantic origins and a pronounced eastern influence among endemics. Divergence estimates for two Ascension endemics may predate the islands’ emergence, highlighting the potential roles of seamounts and eustatic sea-level changes in shaping biotic persistence and diversification. Trait analysis revealed that MAR fishes are typically larger, occupy wider depth ranges and are more often pelagic spawners and rafters than MAR endemics and their coastal counterparts. Our findings underscore the complex biogeographic and evolutionary processes structuring the reef fish communities of the tropical MAR islands.
Gabriel Soares Araujo, Cláudio L. S. Sampaio, Luiz A. Rocha, and Carlos E. L. Ferreira
Wiley
AbstractA new species of the soapfish genus Rypticus is described based on 14 specimens from the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The new species was previously misidentified as the greater soapfish, R. saponaceus, due to their similar appearance. However, it differs from R. saponaceus in several key characteristics, including a comparatively shorter head, snout and upper jaw, and a deeper body. Molecular data, obtained from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene, strongly suggest the monophyly of the new species and support its description as new.
Gabriel S Araujo, Yan R Kurtz, Ivan Sazima, Pedro Hollanda Carvalho, Sergio R Floeter, Anderson Vilasboa, Matheus M Rotundo, Carlos E L Ferreira, João Pedro Barreiros, Diane E Pitassy,et al.
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Abstract Tetraodontidae is the most speciose family of Tetraodontiformes and is represented by fish popularly known as pufferfishes. They are characterized by modified jaws with four dental plates and the ability to inflate their bodies. Tetraodontids are distributed throughout the world and have a wide range of habitat use. One of its genera, Sphoeroides, shows a biogeographical pattern, with 19 of its 21 species restricted to coastal regions of the Americas. Although represented in large-scale phylogenies, the evolutionary history and biogeography of the genus have not been explored in detail. The present study aims to understand the historical and biogeographic processes that shaped the evolutionary history of Sphoeroides. Including samples from all biogeographic regions of its occurrence, we reconstruct a phylogenetic/biogeographic history hypothesis for the genus. Our results show that Sphoeroides is a paraphyletic group comprising Colomesus; indicate a central role of the biogeographic barriers of the Atlantic Ocean in the diversification of the genus; and identified a cryptic species in Brazilian waters, formally known as S. spengleri, described here through integrative taxonomy. We also propose nomenclatural changes given the position of Colomesus deeply nested within Sphoeroides.
Gabriel S. Araujo, Luiz A. Rocha, Naomi S. Lastrucci, Osmar J. Luiz, Fabio Di Dario, and Sergio R. Floeter
Wiley
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.
Antônio B. Anderson, Thiago M. J. Fiuza, Gabriel S. Araujo, Angela M. Canterle, Luiza M. C. Canto, Renato H. A. Freitas, Otto B. F. Gadig, and Sergio R. Floeter
Wiley
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 bycatch by trawling fishing boats to the edge of extinction. Despite governmental initiatives of conservation, the species is still caught and commercialized along the Brazilian coast. Herein, we report three rare aggregations events for the Brazilian coast of P. horkelii inside the only nearshore no-entry Brazilian Marine Protected Area and discuss strategies for its protection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
G S Araujo, A Vilasboa, M R Britto, G Bernardi, S von der Heyden, A Levy, and S R Floeter
Oxford University Press (OUP)
AbstractHere we present the first phylogeny of the genus Scartella based on mitochondrial data. The analysis strongly corroborates the validity of all species of the genus and shows that Scartella cristata, a species with a disjunct distribution, is a lineage complex comprising five clades: two in Caribbean waters, another in the East Atlantic/Mediterranean and two in Brazil. Brazilian clades occur in sympatry from Rio de Janeiro to Rio Grande do Sul states (southern Brazil). One clade (BRA 1) is unique to Brazil, while the other (BRA 2) is closely related to the eastern Atlantic lineage. Possible explanations for this pattern include both natural and anthropic mechanisms.
Daniel Fernando Almeida, Gabriel Soares Araujo, Marcelo R. Britto, and Cláudio Luis Santos Sampaio
Springer Science and Business Media LLC