Divergence in reproductive traits between closely related species that co-occur contributes to speciation by reducing interspecific gene flow. In flowering plants, greater floral divergence in sympatry than allopatry may reflect reproductive character displacement (RCD) by means of divergent pollinator-mediated selection or mating system evolution. However, environmental filtering (EF) would prevail for floral traits under stronger selection by abiotic factors than pollination, and lead to sympatric taxa being more phenotypically similar. We determine whether floral UV pigmentation and size show signatures of RCD or EF using a biogeographically informed sister taxa comparison. We determine whether 35 sister pairs in the Potentilleae tribe (Rosaceae) are allopatric or sympatric and confirm that sympatric sisters experience more similar bioclimatic conditions, an assumption of the EF hypothesis. We test whether interspecific differences are greater in allopatry or sympatry while accounting for divergence time. For UV pigmentation, sympatric sisters are more phenotypically similar than allopatric ones. For flower size, sympatric sisters show increased divergence with time since speciation but allopatric ones do not. We conclude that floral UV pigmentation shows a signature of EF, whereas flower size shows a signature of RCD. Discordant results between the traits suggest that the dominant selective agent differs between them.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.13042 | DOI Listing |
Zootaxa
October 2024
The megophryid genus Oreolalax is comprised of 19 species, most of which are endemic to China. A single species, Oreolalax sterlingae, is the only member of the genus known from Vietnam. During fieldwork on Mount Po Ma Lung in the Hoang Lien Range of northwest Vietnam, we encountered individuals of both Oreolalax sterlingae and another, morphologically divergent species of Oreolalax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFR Soc Open Sci
October 2024
CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado da Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal.
Competitive dietary and morphological divergence among co-occurring species are fundamental aspects of ecological communities, particularly on islands. Cabo Verde (~570 km west of continental Africa) hosts several endemic reptiles descended from common ancestors, with sympatric species exhibiting wide morphological variation and competing for limited resources. To explore the mechanisms of resource partitioning between coexisting species, DNA metabarcoding was used to compare the diets of large and small skinks, and , in sympatric and allopatric contexts on Fogo Island and in a more competitive context on the small and resource-poor Cima Islet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Phylogenet Evol
October 2024
Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia.
Disentangling the genomic intricacies underlying speciation and the causes of discordance between sources of evidence can offer remarkable insights into evolutionary dynamics. The ant-eating spider Zodarion nitidum, found across the Middle East and Egypt, displays yellowish and blackish morphs that co-occur sympatrically. These morphs additionally differ in behavioral and physiological features and show complete pre-mating reproductive isolation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile the presence of morphologically cryptic species is increasingly recognized, we still lack a useful understanding of what causes and maintains co-occurring cryptic species and its consequences for the ecology, evolution, and conservation of communities. We sampled 724 corals from five habitat zones (the fringing reef, back reef, and fore reef at 5, 10, and 20 m) at four sites around the island of Moorea, French Polynesia. Using validated genetic markers, we identified six sympatric species of , most of which cannot be reliably identified based on morphology: (42.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Fish Biol
October 2024
Laboratório de Citogenética, Centro de Ciĉncias Biológicas e da Saúde, Cascavel, Brazil.
The Doradidae fishes constitute one of the most diverse groups of Neotropical freshwater environments. Acanthodoradinae is the oldest lineage and the sister group to all other thorny catfishes, and it includes only the genus Acanthodoras. The diversity of Acanthodoras remains underestimated, and the use of complementary approaches, including genetic studies, is an important step to better characterize this diversity and the relationships among the species within the genus.
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