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The Influence of Climatic Variability on Morphological Integration, Evolutionary Rates, and Disparity in the Carnivora
- Source :
- The American Naturalist. 191:704-715
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- University of Chicago Press, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Biodiversity is unevenly distributed in space and time. One possible explanation for this is the influence of climate on the ecology, evolution, and morphology of taxa. Here we investigated the link between climatic variability and phenotypic integration, rates of morphological evolution, and disparity (morphological diversity) in three carnivoran clades (Canidae, Felidae, and Mustelidae). We gathered landmark data from the lower jaw and extracted current temperature and precipitation data from range maps. We found a significant negative relationship between climatic variability and integration for canids and felids. Among canids, variability in temperature was the key climatic variable, while in felids it was a combination of variability in temperature and precipitation. In both cases, relatively variable climates were associated with low phenotypic integration. We also found evidence for a negative association between climatic variability and both disparity and rates of morphological evolution in canids and mustelids. Selection can drive the evolution of jaw shape along lines of least resistance defined by patterns of integration, and this study suggests that climate may be a predictor of phenotypic integration. As a result, taxa in more variable regions (e.g., temperate, montane) may be more evolvable and more able to respond to fluctuating environmental conditions over a period of generations.
- Subjects :
- Male
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Ecology
Climate
Ecology (disciplines)
Carnivora
Morphology (biology)
Climatic variability
Biology
Biological Evolution
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
03 medical and health sciences
Phenotype
030104 developmental biology
Taxon
Jaw
Morphological integration
Animals
Female
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15375323 and 00030147
- Volume :
- 191
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The American Naturalist
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....65bd1ce35879c7f46bacca2d38f151b8