Oceanic dispersal

{{short description|Biological dispersal across oceans}}

{{redirects here|Rafting event|using rafts as a sport or leisure activity|Rafting}}

File:Theridion_grallator_colonization_pattern_(Hawaiian_volcano_populations).png through the eastern Hawaii islands]]

Oceanic dispersal is a type of biological dispersal that occurs when terrestrial organisms transfer from one land mass to another by way of a sea crossing. Island hopping is the crossing of an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between islands, as opposed to a single journey directly to the destination. Often this occurs via large rafts of floating vegetation such as are sometimes seen floating down major rivers in the tropics and washing out to sea, occasionally with animals trapped on them.{{cite book | last = Mittermeier | first = R.A. | author-link = Russell Mittermeier | title = Lemurs of Madagascar | edition = 2nd | publisher = Conservation International | year = 2006 | pages = 24–26 | isbn=978-1-881173-88-5|display-authors=etal}} Dispersal via such a raft is sometimes referred to as a rafting event.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160126-the-monkeys-that-sailed-across-the-atlantic-to-south-america |title=The monkeys that sailed across the Atlantic to South America |website=BBC |date=26 January 2016 }} Colonization of land masses by plants can also occur via long-distance oceanic dispersal of floating seeds.{{cite journal | last1 = Won | first1 = H. | last2 = Renner | first2 = S. S. | year = 2006 | title = Dating dispersal and radiation in the gymnosperm Gnetum (Gnetales) – clock calibration when outgroup relationships are uncertain | journal = Systematic Biology | volume = 55 | issue = 4| pages = 610–622 | doi = 10.1080/10635150600812619 | pmid=16969937| doi-access = free }}

History

File:Tsunami Fish in Seaside, Oregon.jpg (Oplegnathus fasciatus) was transported from Japan to the United States inside a fishing boat that was washed out to sea by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.]]

Rafting has played an important role in the colonization of isolated land masses by mammals. Prominent examples include Madagascar, which has been isolated for ~120 million years (Ma), and South America, which was isolated for much of the Cenozoic. Both land masses, for example, appear to have received their primates by this mechanism. According to genetic evidence, the common ancestor of the lemurs of Madagascar appears to have crossed the Mozambique Channel by rafting between 50 and 60 Ma ago.{{cite journal | first = Christian | last = Roos |author2=Schmitz, Jürgen |author3=Zischler, Hans | title = Primate jumping genes elucidate strepsirrhine phylogeny | journal = PNAS | date = July 2004 | volume = 101 | pages = 10650–10654 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0403852101 | pmid = 15249661 | issue = 29 | pmc = 489989 | bibcode=2004PNAS..10110650R| doi-access = free }}{{cite web | url = http://homepage.mac.com/wis/Personal/lectures/human-origins/PrimateEvolution.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090225011846/http://homepage.mac.com/wis/Personal/lectures/human-origins/PrimateEvolution.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2009-02-25 | title = Primate Evolution | access-date = 2008-10-23 | last = Sellers | first = Bill | date = 2000-10-20 | publisher = University of Edinburgh | pages = 13–17}}{{Cite journal | last = Ali | first = J. R. |author2=Huber, M. | title = Mammalian biodiversity on Madagascar controlled by ocean currents | journal = Nature | volume = 463 | issue = 4 Feb. 2010 | pages = 653–656 | date = 2010-01-20 | doi = 10.1038/nature08706 | pmid = 20090678 | bibcode=2010Natur.463..653A| s2cid = 4333977 }} Likewise, the New World monkeys are thought to have originated in Africa and rafted to South America by the Oligocene, when the continents were much closer than they are today. Madagascar also appears to have received its tenrecs (25–42 Ma ago), nesomyid rodents (20–24 Ma ago) and euplerid carnivorans (19–26 Ma ago) by this route and South America its caviomorph rodents (over 30 Ma ago).{{cite journal

| title=Recent advances in South American mammalian paleontology

|author1=Flynn, J. J. |author2=Wyss, A. R. | journal=Trends in Ecology and Evolution

| volume=13 | issue=11| pages=449–454| year=1998

| doi= 10.1016/S0169-5347(98)01457-8 | pmid=21238387

|bibcode=1998TEcoE..13..449F }}{{cite journal| title=South America's Missing Mammals |author1=Flynn, John J. |author2=Wyss, André R. |author3=Charrier, Reynaldo|author-link3=Reynaldo Charrier | journal=Scientific American| volume=296| issue= May| pages= 68–75| year= 2007

|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0507-68 |pmid=17500416 |bibcode=2007SciAm.296e..68F }} Simian primates (ancestral to monkeys) and hystricognath rodents (ancestral to caviomorphs) are believed to have previously rafted from Asia to Africa about 40 Ma ago.{{Cite journal | last1 = Chaimanee | first1 = Y. | last2 = Chavasseau | first2 = O. | last3 = Beard | first3 = K. C. | last4 = Kyaw | first4 = A. A. | last5 = Soe | first5 = A. N. | last6 = Sein | first6 = C. | last7 = Lazzari | first7 = V. | last8 = Marivaux | first8 = L. | last9 = Marandat | first9 = B. | last10 = Swe | first10 = M. | last11 = Rugbumrung | first11 = M. | last12 = Lwin | first12 = T. | last13 = Valentin | first13 = X. | last14 = Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein | last15 = Jaeger | first15 = J. -J. | title = Late Middle Eocene primate from Myanmar and the initial anthropoid colonization of Africa | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1200644109 | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 109 | issue = 26 | pages = 10293–7 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22665790| pmc = 3387043| bibcode = 2012PNAS..10910293C | doi-access = free }}

Among reptiles, several iguanid species in the South Pacific have been hypothesized to be descended from iguanas that rafted {{convert|10000|km}} from Central or South America{{Cite journal

| last = Gibbons | first = J. R. H. | title = The Biogeography of Brachylophus (Iguanidae) including the Description of a New Species, B. vitiensis, from Fiji

| journal = Journal of Herpetology | volume = 15 | issue = 3 | pages = 255–273

| date = Jul 31, 1981 | doi = 10.2307/1563429| jstor=1563429}} (an alternative theory involves dispersal of a putative now-extinct iguana lineage from Australia or Asia{{Cite journal|last1=Noonan|first1=Brice P.|last2=Sites|first2=Jack W.|title=Tracing the origins of iguanid lizards and boine snakes of the pacific|journal=The American Naturalist|volume=175|issue=Jan 2010|pages=61–72|doi=10.1086/648607|issn=1537-5323|pmid=19929634|year=2010|bibcode=2010ANat..175...61N |s2cid=5882832}}). Similarly, a number of clades of American geckos seem to have rafted over from Africa during both the Paleogene and Neogene.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02184.x| title = Coming to America: Multiple origins of New World geckos| journal = Journal of Evolutionary Biology| volume = 24| issue = 2| pages = 231–244| date = 2010-12-03| last1 = Gamble | first1 = T.| last2 = Bauer | first2 = A. M.| last3 = Colli | first3 = G. R.| last4 = Greenbaum | first4 = E.| last5 = Jackman | first5 = T. R.| last6 = Vitt | first6 = L. J.| last7 = Simons | first7 = A. M.| url = http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gambl007/publications/Gamble_etal_2011_jeb.pdf | pmid=21126276 | pmc=3075428}} Skinks of the related genera Mabuya and Trachylepis also apparently both floated across the Atlantic from Africa to South America and Fernando de Noronha, respectively, during the last 9 Ma.{{cite journal | last = Carranza | first = S. | author2 = Arnold, N. E. | title = Investigating the origin of transoceanic distributions: mtDNA shows Mabuya lizards (Reptilia, Scincidae) crossed the Atlantic twice | journal = Systematics and Biodiversity | volume = 1 | issue = 2 | pages = 275–282 | date = 2003-08-05 | url = http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=168963 | doi = 10.1017/S1477200003001099 | bibcode = 2003SyBio...1..275C | s2cid = 55799145 | access-date = 2008-04-04 | archive-date = 2016-08-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160820015246/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online | url-status = dead }} Skinks from the same group have also rafted from Africa to Cape Verde, Madagascar, the Seychelles, the Comoros and Socotra. (Among lizards, skinks and geckos seem especially capable of surviving long transoceanic journeys.) Surprisingly, even burrowing amphisbaenians{{Cite journal | last1 = Vidal | first1 = N. | last2 = Azvolinsky | first2 = A. | last3 = Cruaud | first3 = C. | last4 = Hedges | first4 = S. B. | title = Origin of tropical American burrowing reptiles by transatlantic rafting | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0531 | journal = Biology Letters | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 115–118 | date = 2007-12-11 | pmid = 18077239| pmc =2412945 }} and blind snakes{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0220| title = Blindsnake evolutionary tree reveals long history on Gondwana| journal = Biology Letters| volume = 6| issue = 4| pages = 558–561| date = 2010-03-31| last1 = Vidal | first1 = N.| last2 = Marin | first2 = J.| last3 = Morini | first3 = M.| last4 = Donnellan | first4 = S.| last5 = Branch | first5 = W. R.| last6 = Thomas | first6 = R.| last7 = Vences | first7 = M.| last8 = Wynn | first8 = A.| last9 = Cruaud | first9 = C.| last10 = Hedges | first10 = S. B. | pmid=20356885 | pmc=2936224}} appear to have rafted from Africa to South America.

An example of a bird that is thought to have reached its present location by rafting is the weak-flying South American hoatzin, whose ancestors apparently floated over from Africa.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1007/s00114-011-0849-1| title = Out of Africa: Fossils shed light on the origin of the hoatzin, an iconic Neotropic bird| journal = Naturwissenschaften| volume = 98| issue = 11| pages = 961–966| date = 2011-10-01| last1 = Mayr | first1 = G. | last2 = Alvarenga | first2 = H. | last3 = Mourer-Chauviré | first3 = C. C. | pmid=21964974| bibcode = 2011NW.....98..961M| s2cid = 24210185}}

Colonization of groups of islands can occur by an iterative rafting process sometimes called island hopping. Such a process appears to have played a role, for example, in the colonization of the Caribbean by mammals of South American origin (i.e., caviomorphs, monkeys and sloths).{{Cite journal | doi = 10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93[231:POTAAO]2.0.CO;2| title = Paleogeography of the Antilles and Origin of West Indian Terrestrial Vertebrates1| journal = Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden| volume = 93| issue = 2| pages = 231–244| year = 2006| last1 = Hedges | first1 = S. Blair| s2cid = 198149958| url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/390680}}

A remarkable example of iterative rafting has been proposed for spiders of the genus Amaurobioides.{{cite web | url = https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seafaring-spiders-made-it-around-the-world-in-8-million-years/ | title = Seafaring Spiders Made It around the World—in 8 Million Years | last = Kukso | first = F. | date = 2016-11-08 | website = Scientific American | access-date = 2016-11-10}}{{cite journal|last1= Kuntner|first1=M.|last2= Ceccarelli|first2=F. S.|last3= Opell|first3=B. D.|last4= Haddad|first4=C. R.|last5= Raven|first5=Robert J.|last6= Soto|first6=E. M.|last7= Ramírez|first7=M. J.|title=Around the World in Eight Million Years: Historical Biogeography and Evolution of the Spray Zone Spider Amaurobioides (Araneae: Anyphaenidae)|journal=PLOS ONE|volume= 11|issue= 10|date= 2016-10-12|pages= e0163740|doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0163740|pmid=27732621|pmc=5061358|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1163740C|doi-access=free}} Members of this genus inhabit coastal sites and build silken cells which they seal at high tide; however, they do not balloon. DNA sequence analysis suggests that ancestors of the genus dispersed from southern South America to South Africa about 10 Ma ago, where the most basal clade is found; subsequent rafting events then took the genus eastward with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to Australia, then to New Zealand and finally to Chile by about 2 Ma ago. Another example among spiders is the species Moggridgea rainbowi, the only Australian member of a genus otherwise endemic to Africa, with a divergence date of 2 to 16 Ma ago.{{cite journal|last1=Kuntner|first1=M.|last2=Harrison|first2=S. E.|last3=Harvey|first3=M. S.|last4=Cooper|first4=S. J. B.|last5=Austin|first5=A. D.|last6=Rix|first6=M. G.|title=Across the Indian Ocean: A remarkable example of trans-oceanic dispersal in an austral mygalomorph spider|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=8|year=2017|page=e0180139|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0180139|pmid=28767648|pmc=5540276|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1280139H|doi-access=free}}

However, oceanic dispersal of terrestrial species may not always take the form of rafting; in some cases, swimming or simply floating may suffice. Tortoises of the genus Chelonoidis arrived in South America from Africa in the Oligocene;{{cite journal

| last = Le | first = M. |author2=Raxworthy, C. J. |author3=McCord, W. P. |author4=Mertz, L.

| title = A molecular phylogeny of tortoises (Testudines: Testudinidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes

| journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

| volume = 40 | issue = 2 | pages = 517–531 | date = 2006-05-05

| doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.003 | pmid = 16678445 | bibcode = 2006MolPE..40..517L }} they were probably aided by their ability to float with their heads up, and to survive up to six months without food or fresh water. South American tortoises then went on to colonize the West Indies and Galápagos Islands.

The dispersal of semiaquatic species is likely to occur similarly. The dispersal of anthracotheres from Asia to Africa about 40 Ma ago, and the much more recent dispersal of hippos (relatives and possible descendants of anthracotheres) from Africa to Madagascar may have occurred by floating or swimming. Ancestors of the Nile crocodile are thought to have reached the Americas from Africa 5 to 6 Ma ago.{{cite journal|last1= Oaks|first1= J.R.|title=A time-calibrated species tree of Crocodylia reveals a recent radiation of the true crocodiles |journal= Evolution |volume= 65|issue= 11|year= 2011|pages= 3285–3297|doi= 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01373.x|pmid= 22023592|s2cid= 7254442|doi-access= free}}{{cite journal|last10= Wu|first10=X.-B.|last9= Zhang|first9=B.-W.|last8= Deng|first8=Y.-P.|last7= Ouyang|first7=J.-H.|last6= Jiang|first6=X.-Y.|last5= Lee|first5=P.-S.|last4= Yan|first4=P.|last3= Zhang|first3=H.-B.|last2= Miao|first2=J.-S.|last1= Pan|first1=T.|title= Near-complete phylogeny of extant Crocodylia (Reptilia) using mitogenome-based data|journal= Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |year= 2020|volume=191|issue=4|pages=1075–1089|doi= 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa074}}

Observation

The first documented example of colonization of a land mass by rafting occurred in the aftermath of hurricanes Luis and Marilyn in the Caribbean in 1995. A raft of uprooted trees carrying fifteen or more green iguanas was observed by fishermen landing on the east side of Anguilla – an island where they had never before been recorded.{{cite journal|last=Lawrence|first=E.|date=1998-10-15|title=Iguanas ride the waves|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/news981015-3}} The iguanas had apparently been caught on the trees and rafted {{cvt|200|mi}} across the ocean from Guadeloupe, where they are indigenous.{{cite journal|last1= Censky|first1=E. J.|last2= Hodge|first2=K.|last3= Dudley|first3= J.|journal= Nature|title= Over-water dispersal of lizards due to hurricanes|volume= 395|issue= 6702|date= 1998-10-08|page= 556|doi=10.1038/26886|bibcode= 1998Natur.395..556C|s2cid=4360916|doi-access= free}}{{cite news | last = Yoon | first = C. K. | title = Hapless iguanas float away and voyage grips biologists | work = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/08/us/hapless-iguanas-float-away-and-voyage-grips-biologists.html | date = 1998-10-08}} Examination of the weather patterns and ocean currents indicated that they had probably spent three weeks at sea before landfall. This colony began breeding on the new island within two years of its arrival.

The advent of human civilization has created opportunities for organisms to raft on floating artifacts, which may be more durable than natural floating objects. This phenomenon was noted following the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami in Japan, with about 300 species found to have been carried on debris by the North Pacific Current to the west coast of North America (although no colonizations have been detected thus far).{{cite journal|last1= Chown|first1=S. L.|title= Tsunami debris spells trouble|journal= Science|volume= 357|issue= 6358|year= 2017|pages= 1356|doi= 10.1126/science.aao5677|pmid=28963243|bibcode= 2017Sci...357.1356C|s2cid=206663774}}{{cite journal|last1= Carlton|first1=J. T.|last2= Chapman|first2=J. W.|last3= Geller|first3=J. B.|last4= Miller|first4=J. A.|last5= Carlton|first5=D. A.|last6= McCuller|first6=M. I.|last7= Treneman|first7=N. C.|last8= Steves|first8=B. P.|last9= Ruiz|first9=G. M.|title= Tsunami-driven rafting: Transoceanic species dispersal and implications for marine biogeography|journal= Science|volume= 357|issue= 6358|year= 2017|pages= 1402–1406|doi= 10.1126/science.aao1498|pmid=28963256|bibcode=2017Sci...357.1402C|doi-access= free}}

See also

References

{{reflist|2}}

Further reading

  • {{cite web

| last = de Queiroz | first = A. | title = Evolution's Stowaways | work = The Scientist | publisher = LabX Media Group

| date = 2014-01-01

| url = http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/38709/title/Evolution-s-Stowaways/

| access-date = 2014-01-16}}

  • {{cite book|author=de Queiroz, A.|title=The Monkey's Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life|url=https://archive.org/details/monkeysvoyagehow0000dequ|url-access=registration|date=7 January 2014|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-02051-5|oclc=858975420}}

{{speciation}}

{{evolution}}

Category:Biogeography

Category:Biological evolution

Category:Evolutionary biology

Category:Speciation

Category:Oceans