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Biotic and abiotic determinants of appendage length evolution in a cave amphipod
- Source :
- Journal of Zoology. 299:42-50
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Subterranean animals are known for their highly evolved phenotypes. They are eyeless, depigmented and possess elongated appendages compared to their surface relatives. Increased antenna and leg length of cave species has traditionally been explained as a consequence of selection for non-visual senses and increased food-finding ability in an environment low in energy. Variation in appendage length between cave species is usually thought to result from differences in time since the colonization of the subterranean habitat. In this study, we analyzed appendage length variation in the Dinaric amphipod species Niphargus croaticus. Relative length of appendages varied substantially among populations. Using multilocus phylogenetic analysis, we showed that the species is nested within highly specialized N. steueri species complex and rejected the time hypothesis. Next, we explored the effects and strength of two environmental factors, water flow and presence of a competing species, N. subtypicus. Populations in caves with flowing water had shorter appendages than populations in cave lakes. Presence of the competing sister species did lead to longer appendages in stagnant water, but had no effect in flowing water. Abiotic factors had a stronger effect than biotic factors, but their relative strength differed among appendage pairs. High variation in appendage length between adjacent population shows that the morphology of cave arthropods is changing quickly and therefore cannot be used to predict species age. Rather than being a general adaptation to cave life, long appendages seem to be associated with the absence of water flow as well as character displacement when in sympatry with ecologically similar competing species.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Appendage
geography
Species complex
education.field_of_study
geography.geographical_feature_category
Biotic component
biology
Water flow
Ecology
Population
biology.organism_classification
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
03 medical and health sciences
030104 developmental biology
Cave
Character displacement
Animal Science and Zoology
education
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Niphargus
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14697998 and 09528369
- Volume :
- 299
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Zoology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........80a482de1b5a235621899f8e9b4f2b9f