Tropical rainforest versus savannah: Biome-specific landscape structure mediates adaptive strategies and resilience to environmental change
- 1Flinders University
Abstract
As ecosystems face rapid environmental change, understanding the interplay between landscape structure, genetic diversity, and adaptive potential is critical for predicting resilience. We investigated how biome-specific connectivity and environmental heterogeneity mediate adaptive strategies and resilience in the tropical rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida splendida) across contrasting rainforest and savannah ecosystems in tropical Australia. Using an integrative framework combining genomic, morphological, and environmental analyses, we inferred that hydroclimatic variation has been a key driver of genetic and phenotypic divergence. Rainforest populations exhibited strong local adaptation to fragmented, stable environments, while savannah populations showed less genomic differentiation and morphological divergence, patterns consistent with weaker local adaptation. We hypothesise that greater reliance on phenotypic plasticity may facilitate adaptive responses in savannah populations, reflecting their exposure to more connected and variable environments. Variance partitioning highlighted the contrasting roles of neutral and adaptive processes across biomes, with implications for managing resilience in freshwater systems under climate change. Our findings underscore the trade-offs between connectivity, local adaptation, and plasticity, providing a model for understanding adaptation and resilience across diverse ecosystems.
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BibTeX
@misc{gates2026tropical,
title = {{Tropical rainforest versus savannah: Biome-specific landscape structure mediates adaptive strategies and resilience to environmental change}},
author = {K. Gates and J. Sandoval-Castillo and C. Brauer and P. Unmack and M. Laporte and L. Bernatchez and L. B. Beheregaray},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.21.753388},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.21.753388v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Tropical rainforest versus savannah: Biome-specific landscape structure mediates adaptive strategies and resilience to environmental change
AU - K. Gates
AU - J. Sandoval-Castillo
AU - C. Brauer
AU - P. Unmack
AU - M. Laporte
AU - L. Bernatchez
AU - L. B. Beheregaray
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.21.753388
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.21.753388v1
AB - As ecosystems face rapid environmental change, understanding the interplay between landscape structure, genetic diversity, and adaptive potential is critical for predicting resilience. We investigated how biome-specific connectivity and environmental heterogeneity mediate adaptive strategies and resilience in the tropical rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida splendida) across contrasting rainforest and savannah ecosystems in tropical Australia. Using an integrative framework combining genomic, morphological, and environmental analyses, we inferred that hydroclimatic variation has been a key driver of genetic and phenotypic divergence. Rainforest populations exhibited strong local adaptation to fragmented, stable environments, while savannah populations showed less genomic differentiation and morphological divergence, patterns consistent with weaker local adaptation. We hypothesise that greater reliance on phenotypic plasticity may facilitate adaptive responses in savannah populations, reflecting their exposure to more connected and variable environments. Variance partitioning highlighted the contrasting roles of neutral and adaptive processes across biomes, with implications for managing resilience in freshwater systems under climate change. Our findings underscore the trade-offs between connectivity, local adaptation, and plasticity, providing a model for understanding adaptation and resilience across diverse ecosystems.
ER -