Dr. Arantes is an evolutionary biologist who coordinates the cellular and molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology teaching laboratories.
Research Interests
Dr. Arantes is broadly interested in phylogenetics, species delimitation, and the evolution of different species distributed in South America and North America. She coordinates the laboratory component of four different biology courses as an Instructional Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi.
Biography
Dr. Arantes is originally from Brazil and moved to the United States in 2014 to pursue her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Mississippi. Before moving here, she obtained a master’s degree in Ecology at the Universidade de Brasília in 2010. During that time, Dr. Arantes studied the sexual dimorphism and longevity of two Neotropical toad species. Later, during her Ph.D., she focused on studying the evolutionary processes that led to the diversification of the amphibians in the Neotropical savannas of Brazil. After obtaining her Ph.D. in 2019, she worked as a research associate at Garrick’s lab on two different projects: population genetics and distribution range expansion of the Southern Pine Beetle, and comparative phylogeography of Appalachian arthropods.
Publications
Understanding the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity at and below the species level is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Here we explore the spatial and temporal drivers of diversification of the treefrog subgroup Dendropsophus rubicundulus, a subgroup of the D. microcephalus species group, over periods of pronounced geological and climatic changes in the Neotropical savannas that they inhabit. This subgroup currently comprises 11 recognized species distributed across the Brazilian and Bolivian savannas, but the taxonomy has been in a state of flux, necessitating reexamination. Using newly generated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) and mitochondrial 16S sequence data for ∼150 specimens, we inferred phylogenetic relationships, tested species limits using a model-based approach, and estimated divergence times to gain insights into the geographic and climatic events that affected the diversification of this subgroup. Our results recognized at least nine species: D. anataliasiasi, D. araguaya, D. cerradensis, D. elianeae, D. jimi, D. rubicundulus, D. tritaeniatus, D. rozenmani, and D. sanborni. Although we did not collect SNP data for the latter two species, they are likely distinct based on mitochondrial data. In addition, we found genetic structure within the widespread species D. rubicundulus, which comprises three allopatric lineages connected by gene flow upon secondary contact. We also found evidence of population structure and perhaps undescribed diversity in D. elianeae, which warrants further study. The D. rubicundulus subgroup is estimated to have originated in the Late Miocene (∼5.45 million years ago), with diversification continuing through the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, followed by the most recent divergence of D. rubicundulus lineages in the Middle Pleistocene. The epeirogenic uplift followed by erosion and denudation of the central Brazilian plateau throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene, in combination with the increasing frequency and amplitude of climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene, was important for generating and structuring diversity at or below the species level in the D. rubicundulus subgroup.
Cayuela, H., Lemaître, J.-F., Léna, J.-P., …, Arantes, Í.C., Levionnois, P., Reinke, B.A., Vieira, C., Marais, G.A.B., Gaillard, J.-M. and Miller, D.A.W. 2022. Sex-related differences in aging rate are associated with sex chromosome system in amphibians. Evolution. 2:346-356.
Garrick, R.C., Hyseni, C., Arantes, Í.C., Zachos, L.G., Zee, P.C., and Oliver, J.C. 2021. Is phylogeographic congruence predicted by historical habitat stability, or ecological co-associations? Insect Systematics and Diversity. 5 (5), 7.
Garrick, R.C., Arantes, Í.C., Stubbs, M.B. and Havill, N.P. 2021. Weak spatial-genetic structure in a native invasive, the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis), across the eastern United States. PeerJ. 9, e11947.
Garrick R., Hyseni C., and Arantes Í. C. 2020 Efficient summary statistics for detecting lineage fusion from phylogeographic datasets. Journal of Biogeography.
