Future Climate Change Threatens the Genetic Diversity and Distribution of Some South American Freshwater Crustaceans of the Genus Aegla Gislaine Puli, Álvaro Augusto Mainardi, Sandro Santos, Gabriel Correa Costa, Marlise Ladvocat Bartholomei‐Santos Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2026 Climate change significantly threatens biodiversity, particularly in freshwater ecosystems, which host many endemic and threatened species. Among them, aeglids stand out as strictly endemic, ecologically important and highly threatened crustaceans, making them a relevant model for investigating the impacts of climate change on aquatic environments. Here, we assess the impacts of climate change on the geographical distribution, genetic and phylogenetic diversity of four Aegla species ( Aegla alacalufi , Aegla neuquensis , Aegla platensis and Aegla uruguayana ), using ecological niche models (ENMs) and genetic simulations. ENMs incorporated bioclimatic variables and altitude under two Shared Socio‐economic Pathways (SSP2–4.5 and SSP5–8.5) for 2060 and 2100. Genetic and phylogenetic diversities were estimated from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Projected impacts varied significantly among the Aegla species, with the most contrasting results observed between A. platensis and A. uruguayana . Although we projected an increase in the suitable habitat areas of A. platensis across all future climate scenarios, A. uruguayana may experience a substantial loss of suitable habitat, particularly under the SSP5–8.5 scenario, along with a marked reduction in genetic and phylogenetic diversity, with losses of up to 53.13% in unique haplotypes and 49.27% in phylogenetic diversity. These findings reinforce the complexity of species responses to climate change and emphasize the need for species‐specific conservation strategies, particularly for those, like A. uruguayana , at risk of significant habitat loss. By reinforcing the critical impact of climate change, our results provide a foundation for effective conservation efforts, benefiting both Aegla and other freshwater crustaceans facing similar threats in vulnerable ecosystems.
Impact of Pleistocene Climate on Diversification and Distribution of Congeneric Freshwater Crustacean Species Gislaine Puli, Sandro Santos, Bianca Laís Zimmermann, Alberto Senra Gonçalves, Marlise Ladvocat Bartholomei‐Santos Journal of Biogeography, 2025 AimThe climatic oscillations of the glacial–interglacial cycles significantly influenced species diversification, playing an essential role in shaping the current patterns of biodiversity. However, the effects of the Pleistocene climate on species diversification and their current distribution are poorly understood for the Southern Hemisphere and some taxonomic groups, such as invertebrates. Here, we explore the role of Pleistocene climate changes in the diversification and distribution of four species of South American freshwater crustaceans.LocationSouthern South America.TaxonGenus Aegla (Aeglidae).MethodsWe performed phylogenetic analyses, estimated genetic diversity and neutrality indices for Aegla alacalufi, Aegla neuquensis, Aegla platensis and Aegla uruguayana using nuclear and mitochondrial sequences. We used the mitochondrial genes to estimate divergence times, calculate historical demography and reconstruct the ancestral area range. We also estimated current and past potential distributions using ecological niche modelling.ResultsAlthough all species studied had their diversification influenced by Pleistocene glacial cycles, the Patagonian species A. alacalufi and A. neuquensis, which were directly influenced by the glacial ice cap, appear to have benefited from lower sea levels and melting of glaciation ice. As for the species A. platensis and A. uruguayana, their diversification was affected by the dry and cold climate on the continent during the glacial period.Main ConclusionsOur study unveils the intricate interplay between Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and the evolutionary history of freshwater crustaceans in South America. Distinct phylogeographic patterns were observed in Aegla. Some underwent significant diversification due to glaciation, while the cold, arid conditions of the continent shaped others. These findings underscore the crucial role of past climate dynamics in the distribution and genetic diversity of species. As freshwater ecosystems confront escalating threats, our study highlights the urgency for conservation measures and continued research to unveil species' adaptive mechanisms in the face of climate change.
Hidden diversity of Aegla (Decapoda, Anomura) in a priority area for conservation Victor H. S. Mollmann, Marlise L. Bartholomei‐Santos, Gracieli Fernandes, Gislaine Puli, Emerson C. Mossolin, et al. Zoologica Scripta, 2024 Aegla is a genus of freshwater anomuran crabs encompassing 94 described species occurring in meridional South America. Brazil harbours the greatest diversity of species, mainly in its southern region, which becomes a priority area for Aegla conservation due to high species richness and phylogenetic diversity, elevated endemism and threats to the Atlantic Forest. Here, we assessed Aegla richness and distribution in this priority area and tested the hypothesis of crypticism in the region's species. Sampling sites were distributed inside and in the surroundings of five protected areas, covering the major distribution range of several species described for southern Brazil. We applied three species delimitation methods to COI mitochondrial gene data, coupled with phylogenetic and morphological analyses. By integrating species delimitation based on the COI data and traditional taxonomy, we uncovered a high proportion of hidden diversity among Aegla in our study area and identified ten known species besides impressive 17 new putative species. Of these, eight are possible new taxonomic units that do not conform to any known species, and nine are divided into three cryptic groups: Aegla jarai complex, Aegla franciscana complex and Aegla camargoi complex. Most of these species have a narrow spatial distribution, making them highly vulnerable to habitat degradation. Despite the real richness of the genus still being largely unknown, the high diversity revealed here makes our study area the richest known region regarding the number of Aegla species within its distribution, making this area even more worthy for conservation efforts.
Setal morphology of oral apparatus of Aegla longirostri Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994 (Decapoda: Aeglidae) HÉLLEN SBRUZZI, MARLISE LADVOCAT BARTHOLOMEI-SANTOS, SANDRO SANTOS Zootaxa, 2024 The seta, a type of projection of the cuticle in crustaceans, has essential mechanical and sensory functions. Due to the diversity of their morphology and distribution patterns on the articles of different appendages, setae can be helpful as taxonomic characters. To assist future studies on the potential use of setae as a diagnostic character in aeglids, we used scanning electron microscopy to analyze the morphology of setae from the oral apparatus of Aegla longirostri Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994, and compared our data to the literature. We identified nine setal types (simple, serrate, stout serrate, sword, plumose, pappose, comb, serrulate, and cuspidate), of which the last two had not been previously described in adult aeglids. Our results are a first step towards future comparisons of setal morphology in the genus Aegla, which includes cryptic species complexes, to ascertain the usefulness of setae as a character to aid in the description of species of this group, which has a conserved general morphology.
Terrestrial protected areas do not fully shield their streams from exogenous stressors Victor Hugo dos Santos Mollmann, Sandro Santos, Gracieli Fernandes, Emerson Contreira Mossolin, Marcelo Marchet Dalosto, et al. Environmental Conservation, 2022 SummaryProtected areas (PAs) represent a powerful refuge for maintaining and safeguarding biodiversity. Generally, PAs are delineated to protect terrestrial taxa, providing incidental protection to the aquatic ecosystems within their borders. Here, we compare water quality within PAs and non-PAs in southern Brazil, encompassing remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome, to assess whether PAs serve as a buffer from external pressures for aquatic ecosystems within their boundaries. In addition to physicochemical and microbiological water parameters, we analysed 147 pesticide and 31 pharmaceutical compounds in water samples from 33 sites within and outside PAs. The water quality did not differ between PAs and non-PAs but indicated clear pollution from sewage discharges. We found 19 pesticides and five pharmaceuticals in streams within the study area. We detected pesticides in all sampling sites, with the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid present in 91% of them. Our data show that PAs are insufficient means to mitigate the impacts stemming from their catchments, and the running water that reaches their domains already shows signs of anthropogenic interference, which may affect aquatic biodiversity. Protection and management measures require consideration of the whole watershed to protect freshwater habitats and biota.
Entangled Aeglidae (Decapoda, Anomura): Additional evidence for cryptic species Bianca L. Zimmermann, Ivanice Buzatto, Sandro Santos, Federico Giri, Franco Teixeira de Mello, et al. Zoologica Scripta, 2021 Cryptic species are a major challenge for morphologically based species identification. Molecular approaches to species delimitation can be a valuable tool to provide preliminary taxonomic hypotheses and significantly complements morphological taxonomy. In South America, the freshwater crabs of the genusAeglahave sparked much interest as they are key species in the often‐endangered freshwater ecosystems and themselves are often considered endangered species. Morphological similarity amongAeglaspecies is not always positively correlated with genetic relatedness and growing evidence suggests that several putative single taxa are actually assemblages of cryptic species. We coupled broad geographically sampling (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) with multilocus (COI,16SandANT) phylogenies to investigate the diversity ofAegla uruguayana. Our species delimitation analyses suggested that 19 aeglid populations form a well‐supported clade, although individuals from 10 populations possibly represent a complex of cryptic species. The significant amount of cryptic diversity found in aeglids seem to rely on several factors, including habitat fragmentation, life history features, morphological stasis, convergent evolution and recent divergence. The search for new diagnostic characters and the description of the cryptic species that remain unnamed will probably be the next challenge for this unique group of crustaceans.
No evidence for Wolbachia infection (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales) in the threatened freshwater crustacean aegla leach, 1820 (Decapoda: Anomura: Aeglidae) Gislaine Puli, Andrielli P Maria, Bianca L Zimmermann, Sandro Santos, Marlise L Bartholomei-Santos Journal of Crustacean Biology, 2021 Wolbachia bacteria (Alphaproteobacteria, Rickettsiales) are worldwide endosymbionts infecting arthropods and nematodes, which, among other effects, interfere with reproduction and the mitochondrial DNA polymorphism of their hosts. Among crustaceans, the bacteria have been mainly found in isopods, but its complete range of hosts is still unknown. We investigated the presence of Wolbachia in 10 species of AeglaLeach, 1820, a freshwater anomuran endemic to southern South America. We found no evidence for the presence of the bacteria, ensuring the reliability of studies employing mitochondrial DNA as molecular markers in aeglids.
Detection of genetic polymorphism among and within Echinococcus granulosus strains by heteroduplex analysis of a microsatellite from the U1 snRNA genes. Genetics and Molecular Research Gmr, 2006
Isolation and characterization of microsatellites from the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus Parasitology, 2003
Genetic susceptibility to bleomycin: A twin study Revista De Ciencias Biomedicas, 1995
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Future Climate Change Threatens the Genetic Diversity and Distribution of Some South American Freshwater Crustaceans of the Genus Aegla G Puli, ÁA Mainardi, S Santos, GC Costa, ML Bartholomei‐Santos Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 36 (1), e70286 , 2026 2026
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Setal morphology of oral apparatus of Aegla longirostri Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994 (Decapoda: Aeglidae). H Sbruzzi, ML Bartholomei-Santos, S Santos Zootaxa 5403 (1), 51-64 , 2024 2024 Citations: 2
Impact of Pleistocene Climate on Diversification and Distribution of Congeneric Freshwater Crustacean Species G Puli, S Santos, BL Zimmermann, AS Gonçalves, ... Journal of Biogeography , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Terrestrial protected areas do not fully shield their streams from exogenous stressors VH dos Santos Mollmann, S Santos, G Fernandes, EC Mossolin, ... Environmental Conservation 49 (4), 215-224 , 2022 2022 Citations: 12
Entangled Aeglidae (Decapoda, Anomura): additional evidence for cryptic species BL Zimmermann, I Buzatto, S Santos, F Giri, F Teixeira de Mello, ... Zoologica Scripta 50 (4), 473-484 , 2021 2021 Citations: 9
Raising the water temperature: consequences in behavior and biochemical biomarkers of the freshwater crab Aegla longirostri (Crustacea, Anomura) C Cerezer, JW Leitemperger, AMB do Amaral, BC Ferreira, AT Marins, ... Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27, 45349-45357 , 2020 2020 Citations: 15
No evidence for Wolbachia infection (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales) in the threatened freshwater crustacean Aegla (Decapoda: Anomura: Aeglidae) G Puli, AP Maria, BL Zimmermann, S Santos, ML Bartholomei-Santos The Journal of Crustacean Biology 40 (1), 141-144 , 2020 2020 Citations: 2
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Phylogeography reveals unexpectedly low genetic diversity in a widely distributed species: the case of the freshwater crab Aegla platensis (Decapoda: Anomura) BL Zimmermann, MS Crivellaro, CB Hauschild, ML Bartholomei-Santos, ... Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 123 (3), 578-592 , 2018 2018 Citations: 18
Looks can be deceiving: species delimitation reveals hidden diversity in the freshwater crab Aegla longirostri (Decapoda: Anomura) MS Crivellaro, BL Zimmermann, ML Bartholomei-Santos, KA Crandall, ... Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182 (1), 24-37 , 2018 2018 Citations: 39
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
ORDER within the chaos: Insights into phylogenetic relationships within the Anomura (Crustacea: Decapoda) from mitochondrial sequences and gene order rearrangements MH Tan, HM Gan, YP Lee, S Linton, F Grandjean, ML Bartholomei-Santos, ... Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 127, 320-331 , 2018 2018.0 Citations: 141
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Intraspecific variation in A egla longirostri (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) revealed by geometric morphometrics: evidence for ongoing speciation? AB Marchiori, ML Bartholomei-Santos, S Santos Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 112 (1), 31-39 , 2014 2014.0 Citations: 54
Aegla manuinflata, a new species of freshwater anomuran (Decapoda: Anomura: Aeglidae) from Brazil, determined by morphological and molecular characters S Santos, G Bond-Buckup, M Perez-Losada, ML Bartholomei-Santos, ... Zootaxa 2088 (1), 31-40 , 2009 2009.0 Citations: 43
New species and records of the genus Aegla Leach, 1820 (Crustacea, Anomura, Aeglidae) from the west-central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil S Santos, CG Jara, ML Bartholomei-Santos, M Pérez-Losada, ... Nauplius 21 (2), 211-223 , 2013 2013.0 Citations: 42
Isolation and characterization of microsatellites from the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus ML Bartholomei-Santos, LS Heinzelmann, RP Oliveira, G Chemale, ... Parasitology 126 (6), 599-605 , 2003 2003.0 Citations: 40
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Three New Species of Aeglidae ( Aegla ) from Paraná State, Brazil S Santos, G Bond-Buckup, L Buckup, ML Bartholomei-Santos, ... Journal of Crustacean Biology 35 (6), 839-849 , 2015 2015.0 Citations: 36
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Phylogeography reveals unexpectedly low genetic diversity in a widely distributed species: the case of the freshwater crab Aegla platensis (Decapoda: Anomura) BL Zimmermann, MS Crivellaro, CB Hauschild, ML Bartholomei-Santos, ... Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 123 (3), 578-592 , 2018 2018.0 Citations: 18
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High genetic differentiation of Aegla longirostri (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura) populations in southern Brazil revealed by multi-loci microsatellite analysis ML Bartholomei-Santos, PA Roratto, S Santos Genetics and Molecular Research 10 (4), 4133-4146 , 2011 2011.0 Citations: 18
Priority areas for conservation within four freshwater ecoregions in South America: A scale perspective based on freshwater crabs (Anomura, Aeglidae) AS Gonçalves, GC Costa, G Bond‐Buckup, ML Bartholomei‐Santos, ... Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 28 (5), 1077-1088 , 2018 2018.0 Citations: 16
Raising the water temperature: consequences in behavior and biochemical biomarkers of the freshwater crab Aegla longirostri (Crustacea, Anomura) C Cerezer, JW Leitemperger, AMB do Amaral, BC Ferreira, AT Marins, ... Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27, 45349-45357 , 2020 2020.0 Citations: 15
Genética e suas aplicações: identificando o conhecimento presente entre concluintes do ensino médio DS Temp, ML Bartholomei-Santos Ciência e Natura 36 (3), 358-372 , 2014 2014.0 Citations: 15
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