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Phylogenetic and Environmental Insights Into the Biogeography of the Western Blacknose Dace, Rhinichthys obtusus.

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Title: Phylogenetic and Environmental Insights Into the Biogeography of the Western Blacknose Dace, Rhinichthys obtusus.
Authors: Rodriguez, Adelina1,2 (AUTHOR) amrodriguez@wesleyan.edu, Earley, Timothy S.2 (AUTHOR), Taylor, Samuel3 (AUTHOR), Dowling, Thomas E.4 (AUTHOR), Harris, Phillip M.5 (AUTHOR), Wright, Jeremy6 (AUTHOR), Machado‐Allison, Antonio2 (AUTHOR), Chernoff, Barry1,2,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Ecology & Evolution (20457758). Jun2026, Vol. 16 Issue 6, p1-21. 21p.
Subject Terms: *Freshwater fishes, *Watersheds, *Species distribution, Phylogeography, Mitochondrial DNA, Fish evolution, Pleistocene Epoch
Geographic Terms: North America, Midwest (U.S.), Great Lakes (North America)
Abstract: Phylogeographical patterns in North American freshwater fish are linked to the evolution of drainage configurations and have been shaped by the Pleistocene glaciations, especially throughout the Mississippi River drainage and eastern North America. This study investigated the recent phylogeographical history of Rhinichthys obtusus, Western Blacknose Dace, by integrating mitochondrial genomic DNA phylogenetics with geologic and paleoclimate data. This monophyletic species, recently determined to be genetically distinct from its sister species Rhinichthys atratulus, represents an important model to study the phylogeographic history of a North American stream fish in depth. Maximum‐Likelihood and Bayesian analysis trees based on full consensus mitochondrial genomes resolved three major clades of R. obtusus: An Eastern Great Lakes clade, a Southeast clade, and an Upper Midwest clade. Our phylogenetic analyses suggested these three clades diverged 2–1.5 million years ago during the Pre‐Illinoian glaciations, when the advancing ice sheet altered river systems and landscapes and broke up populations, constricting ancestral populations of R. obtusus to refugia in the Interior and Eastern Highland regions. Based on present and historical MaxEnt species distribution models as well as geologic evidence, recolonization into the Eastern Great Lakes and Upper Midwest regions may have primarily occurred from around 15 to 12 thousand years ago as glaciers retreated, habitat suitability increased, and river connections appeared. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the evolutionary history of Rhinichthys, and to a broader discussion of freshwater fish phylogeography in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Abstract:Phylogeographical patterns in North American freshwater fish are linked to the evolution of drainage configurations and have been shaped by the Pleistocene glaciations, especially throughout the Mississippi River drainage and eastern North America. This study investigated the recent phylogeographical history of Rhinichthys obtusus, Western Blacknose Dace, by integrating mitochondrial genomic DNA phylogenetics with geologic and paleoclimate data. This monophyletic species, recently determined to be genetically distinct from its sister species Rhinichthys atratulus, represents an important model to study the phylogeographic history of a North American stream fish in depth. Maximum‐Likelihood and Bayesian analysis trees based on full consensus mitochondrial genomes resolved three major clades of R. obtusus: An Eastern Great Lakes clade, a Southeast clade, and an Upper Midwest clade. Our phylogenetic analyses suggested these three clades diverged 2–1.5 million years ago during the Pre‐Illinoian glaciations, when the advancing ice sheet altered river systems and landscapes and broke up populations, constricting ancestral populations of R. obtusus to refugia in the Interior and Eastern Highland regions. Based on present and historical MaxEnt species distribution models as well as geologic evidence, recolonization into the Eastern Great Lakes and Upper Midwest regions may have primarily occurred from around 15 to 12 thousand years ago as glaciers retreated, habitat suitability increased, and river connections appeared. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the evolutionary history of Rhinichthys, and to a broader discussion of freshwater fish phylogeography in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:20457758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.73849