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* Using the Greenfin Darter fish as a case study, the study shows that erosion of different rock types led to separate evolutionary paths for fish lineages, particularly in areas with metamorphic rock.
* The findings suggest that geological changes can drive species divergence even in stable (tectonically inactive) mountainous environments, long after tectonic activity has subsided.
Article Abstract
The high levels of biodiversity supported by mountains suggest a possible link between geologic processes and biological evolution. Freshwater biodiversity is high not only in tectonically active settings but also in tectonically quiescent montane regions such as the Appalachian Mountains. We show that erosion through different rock types drove allopatric divergence between lineages of the Greenfin Darter (), a fish species endemic to rivers draining metamorphic rocks in the Tennessee River basin in the United States. In the past, metamorphic rock preferred by was more widespread, but as erosion exposed other rock types, lineages of this species were progressively isolated in tributaries farther upstream, where metamorphic rock remained. Our results suggest a geologic mechanism for initiating allopatric diversification in mountains long after tectonic activity ceases.
