1
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Capobianco A, Friedman M. Fossils indicate marine dispersal in osteoglossid fishes, a classic example of continental vicariance. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20241293. [PMID: 39137888 PMCID: PMC11321865 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The separation of closely related terrestrial or freshwater species by vast marine barriers represents a biogeographical riddle. Such cases can provide evidence for vicariance, a process whereby ancient geological events like continental rifting divided ancestral geographical ranges. With an evolutionary history extending tens of millions of years, freshwater ecology, and distribution encompassing widely separated southern landmasses, osteoglossid bonytongue fishes are a textbook case of vicariance attributed to Mesozoic fragmentation of the Gondwanan supercontinent. Largely overlooked fossils complicate the clean narrative invoked for extant species by recording occurrences on additional continents and in marine settings. Here, we present a new total-evidence phylogenetic hypothesis for bonytongue fishes combined with quantitative models of range evolution and show that the last common ancestor of extant osteoglossids was likely marine, and that the group colonized freshwater settings at least four times when both extant and extinct lineages are considered. The correspondence between extant osteoglossid relationships and patterns of continental fragmentation therefore represents a striking example of biogeographical pseudocongruence. Contrary to arguments against vicariance hypotheses that rely only on temporal or phylogenetic evidence, these results provide direct palaeontological support for enhanced dispersal ability early in the history of a group with widely separated distributions in the modern day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Capobianco
- GeoBio-Center LMU, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Matt Friedman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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2
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Amador LI, Arias JS, Giannini NP. Historical biogeography of the Neotropical noctilionoid bats (Chiroptera: Noctilionoidea), revisited through a geographically explicit analysis. Cladistics 2024. [PMID: 38703085 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Biogeographic studies have generally relied on methods that use a few, large predefined areas, which may overlook fine-scale patterns. Here we test previous hypotheses about the biogeographic history of a diverse bat clade regarding its association with major Neotropical geological formations, particularly the Antilles, the South American Dry Diagonal, the Andes and the Panamanian land bridge, by applying a recently available method that uses actual distributions instead of predefined areas. We compiled and curated spatially explicit, georeferenced data of 173 bat species (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Noctilionoidea) from the online database Global Biodiversity Information Facility. By taking a previous comprehensive phylogeny as an evolutionary framework, we performed computationally intensive analyses using the Geographically-explicit Event Model. This method uses the observed species distributions to reconstruct the ancestral areas and biogeographic events at each phylogeny node. We found that sympatric speciation was the most frequently reconstructed event, and involved mainly the Panamanian Isthmus and northern South America (SA), but all sympatry reconstructions were different and specific to each node. Allopatric events were important in the Andes; vicariance caused both west/east and north/south disjunctions that went unnoticed previously. Founder events indicated bidirectional dispersal between the mainland and the Antilles since the Miocene, and across the incomplete Panamanian bridge and the SA Dry Diagonal since the early Pliocene. Overall, we found support for previous hypotheses on the influence of major Neotropical paleogeographic events in the diversification of the group, but additionally revealed multi-scale patterns that are embedded within the mainland and were previously overlooked. Our results highlight a trans-isthmian centre of diversification in the biogeographic history of Noctilionoidea including the Panamanian Isthmus and Northern SA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucila I Amador
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo: Fundación Miguel Lillo-CONICET, Miguel Lillo 251, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - J Salvador Arias
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo: Fundación Miguel Lillo-CONICET, Miguel Lillo 251, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Miguel Lillo 205, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Norberto P Giannini
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo: Fundación Miguel Lillo-CONICET, Miguel Lillo 251, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Miguel Lillo 205, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
- Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 77th Street, New York, NY, USA
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3
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Wilson LN, Gardner JD, Wilson JP, Farnsworth A, Perry ZR, Druckenmiller PS, Erickson GM, Organ CL. Global latitudinal gradients and the evolution of body size in dinosaurs and mammals. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2864. [PMID: 38580657 PMCID: PMC10997647 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46843-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Global climate patterns fundamentally shape the distribution of species and ecosystems. For example, Bergmann's rule predicts that homeothermic animals, including birds and mammals, inhabiting cooler climates are generally larger than close relatives from warmer climates. The modern world, however, lacks the comparative data needed to evaluate such macroecological rules rigorously. Here, we test for Bergmann's rule in Mesozoic dinosaurs and mammaliaforms that radiated within relatively temperate global climate regimes. We develop a phylogenetic model that accounts for biases in the fossil record and allows for variable evolutionary dispersal rates. Our analysis also includes new fossil data from the extreme high-latitude Late Cretaceous Arctic Prince Creek Formation. We find no evidence for Bergmann's rule in Mesozoic dinosaurs or mammaliaforms, the ancestors of extant homeothermic birds and mammals. When our model is applied to thousands of extant dinosaur (bird) and mammal species, we find that body size evolution remains independent of latitude. A modest temperature effect is found in extant, but not in Mesozoic, birds, suggesting that body size evolution in modern birds was influenced by Bergmann's rule during Cenozoic climatic change. Our study provides a general approach for studying macroecological rules, highlighting the fossil record's power to address longstanding ecological principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren N Wilson
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
| | - Jacob D Gardner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6EX, UK.
| | - John P Wilson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA
| | - Alex Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1RL, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Zackary R Perry
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Patrick S Druckenmiller
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Gregory M Erickson
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA
| | - Chris L Organ
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6EX, UK.
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA.
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4
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Kyriacou RG, Mulhair PO, Holland PWH. GC Content Across Insect Genomes: Phylogenetic Patterns, Causes and Consequences. J Mol Evol 2024; 92:138-152. [PMID: 38491221 PMCID: PMC10978632 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-024-10160-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The proportions of A:T and G:C nucleotide pairs are often unequal and can vary greatly between animal species and along chromosomes. The causes and consequences of this variation are incompletely understood. The recent release of high-quality genome sequences from the Darwin Tree of Life and other large-scale genome projects provides an opportunity for GC heterogeneity to be compared across a large number of insect species. Here we analyse GC content along chromosomes, and within protein-coding genes and codons, of 150 insect species from four holometabolous orders: Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. We find that protein-coding sequences have higher GC content than the genome average, and that Lepidoptera generally have higher GC content than the other three insect orders examined. GC content is higher in small chromosomes in most Lepidoptera species, but this pattern is less consistent in other orders. GC content also increases towards subtelomeric regions within protein-coding genes in Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. Two species of Diptera, Bombylius major and B. discolor, have very atypical genomes with ubiquitous increase in AT content, especially at third codon positions. Despite dramatic AT-biased codon usage, we find no evidence that this has driven divergent protein evolution. We argue that the GC landscape of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera genomes is influenced by GC-biased gene conversion, strongest in Lepidoptera, with some outlier taxa affected drastically by counteracting processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo G Kyriacou
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Peter O Mulhair
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Peter W H Holland
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
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5
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Núñez-Flores M, Solórzano A, Avaria-Llautureo J, Gomez-Uchida D, López-González PJ. Diversification dynamics of a common deep-sea octocoral family linked to the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2024; 190:107945. [PMID: 37863452 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
The deep-sea has experienced dramatic changes in physical and chemical variables in the geological past. However, little is known about how deep-sea species richness responded to such changes over time and space. Here, we studied the diversification dynamics of one of the most diverse octocorallian families inhabiting deep sea benthonic environments worldwide and sustaining highly diverse ecosystems, Primnoidae. A newly dated species-level phylogeny was constructed to infer their ancestral geographic locations and dispersal rates initially. Then, we tested whether their global and regional (the Southern Ocean) diversification dynamics were mediated by dispersal rate and abiotic factors as changes in ocean geochemistry. Finally, we tested whether primnoids showed changes in speciation and extinction at discrete time points. Our results suggested primnoids likely originated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean during the Lower Cretaceous ∼112 Ma, with further dispersal after the physical separation of continental landmasses along the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Only the speciation rate of the Southern Ocean primnoids showed a significant correlation to ocean chemistry. Moreover, the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum marked a significant increase in the diversification of primnoids at global and regional scales. Our results provide new perspectives on the macroevolutionary and biogeographic patterns of an ecologically important benthic organism typically found in deep-sea environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Núñez-Flores
- Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile; Laboratorio Ecología de Abejas, Departamento de Biología y Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.
| | - Andrés Solórzano
- Escuela de Geología, Departamento de Biología y Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | | | - Daniel Gomez-Uchida
- Genomics in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Laboratory (GEECLAB), Department of Zoology, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Pablo J López-González
- Biodiversidad y Ecología Acuática. Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
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6
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Campoy AN, Rivadeneira MM, Hernández CE, Meade A, Venditti C. Deep-sea origin and depth colonization associated with phenotypic innovations in scleractinian corals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7458. [PMID: 37978188 PMCID: PMC10656505 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43287-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The deep sea (>200 m) is home to a surprisingly rich biota, which in some cases compares to that found in shallow areas. Scleractinian corals are an example of this - they are key species in both shallow and deep ecosystems. However, what evolutionary processes resulted in current depth distribution of the marine fauna is a long-standing question. Various conflicting hypotheses have been proposed, but few formal tests have been conducted. Here, we use global spatial distribution data to test the bathymetric origin and colonization trends across the depth gradient in scleractinian corals. Using a phylogenetic approach, we infer the origin and historical trends in directionality and speed of colonization during the diversification in depth. We also examine how the emergence of photo-symbiosis and coloniality, scleractinian corals' most conspicuous phenotypic innovations, have influenced this process. Our results strongly support an offshore-onshore pattern of evolution and varying dispersion capacities along depth associated with trait-defined lineages. These results highlight the relevance of the evolutionary processes occurring at different depths to explain the origin of extant marine biodiversity and the consequences of altering these processes by human impact, highlighting the need to include this overlooked evolutionary history in conservation plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana N Campoy
- Departamento de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile.
- Laboratorio de Paleobiología, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo, Chile.
- Millennium Nucleus for the Ecology and Conservation of Temperate Mesophotic Reef Ecosystems (NUTME), Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas (ECIM), Las Cruces, Chile.
- Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of the Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
| | - Marcelo M Rivadeneira
- Departamento de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
- Laboratorio de Paleobiología, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo, Chile
| | - Cristián E Hernández
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva y Filoinformática, Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa, Perú
| | - Andrew Meade
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Chris Venditti
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
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7
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Groh SS, Upchurch P, Day JJ, Barrett PM. The biogeographic history of neosuchian crocodiles and the impact of saltwater tolerance variability. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230725. [PMID: 37800151 PMCID: PMC10548099 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Extant neosuchian crocodiles are represented by only 24 taxa that are confined to the tropics and subtropics. However, at other intervals during their 200 Myr evolutionary history the clade reached considerably higher levels of species-richness, matched by more widespread distributions. Neosuchians have occupied numerous habitats and niches, ranging from dwarf riverine forms to large marine predators. Despite numerous previous studies, several unsolved questions remain with respect to their biogeographic history, including the geographical origins of major groups, e.g. Eusuchia and Neosuchia itself. We carried out the most comprehensive biogeographic analysis of Neosuchia to date, based on a multivariate K-means clustering approach followed by the application of two ancestral area estimation methods (BioGeoBEARS and Bayesian ancestral location estimation) applied to two recently published phylogenies. Our results place the origin of Neosuchia in northwestern Pangaea, with subsequent radiations into Gondwana. Eusuchia probably emerged in the European archipelago during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous, followed by dispersals to the North American and Asian landmasses. We show that putative transoceanic dispersal events are statistically significantly less likely to happen in alligatoroids. This finding is consistent with the saltwater intolerant physiology of extant alligatoroids, bolstering inferences of such intolerance in their ancestral lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian S. Groh
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Quality Enhancement Directorate, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Julia J. Day
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul M. Barrett
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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8
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García-Girón J, Chiarenza AA, Alahuhta J, DeMar DG, Heino J, Mannion PD, Williamson TE, Wilson Mantilla GP, Brusatte SL. Shifts in food webs and niche stability shaped survivorship and extinction at the end-Cretaceous. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadd5040. [PMID: 36475805 PMCID: PMC9728968 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add5040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
It has long been debated why groups such as non-avian dinosaurs became extinct whereas mammals and other lineages survived the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction 66 million years ago. We used Markov networks, ecological niche partitioning, and Earth System models to reconstruct North American food webs and simulate ecospace occupancy before and after the extinction event. We find a shift in latest Cretaceous dinosaur faunas, as medium-sized species counterbalanced a loss of megaherbivores, but dinosaur niches were otherwise stable and static, potentially contributing to their demise. Smaller vertebrates, including mammals, followed a consistent trajectory of increasing trophic impact and relaxation of niche limits beginning in the latest Cretaceous and continuing after the mass extinction. Mammals did not simply proliferate after the extinction event; rather, their earlier ecological diversification might have helped them survive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge García-Girón
- Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24007 León, Spain
| | - Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Janne Alahuhta
- Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
| | - David G. DeMar
- Department of Biology, University of Washington and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Jani Heino
- Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT London, UK
| | | | - Gregory P. Wilson Mantilla
- Department of Biology, University of Washington and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Stephen L. Brusatte
- School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE Edinburgh, UK
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9
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Abstract
The fossil record is the best evidence of the characteristics of extinct species, but only a narrow range of traits fossilize or survive the fossilization process. Lacking fossil or other evidence about the past, ancestral states can be reconstructed. Three pieces of information are combined when reconstructing ancestral states: extant or known trait values (data); the evolutionary history, linking the species of interest (phylogeny); and the evolutionary model of trait change. These reconstructed ancestral states can be interpreted as our best guess as to the route evolution took, given the distribution of the trait across species, the relationships among them, and our model of evolution. Because the information we use to reconstruct the past is often not known without error, uncertainty about their true values should be accounted for when reconstructing ancestral states. In this chapter we describe how ancestral states can be reconstructed using a Bayesian framework implemented in the software BayesTraits to account for uncertainty in the phylogenetic tree and the model of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Meade
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
| | - Mark Pagel
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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10
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Chiarenza AA, Mannion PD, Farnsworth A, Carrano MT, Varela S. Climatic constraints on the biogeographic history of Mesozoic dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 32:570-585.e3. [PMID: 34921764 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Dinosaurs dominated Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems globally. However, whereas a pole-to-pole geographic distribution characterized ornithischians and theropods, sauropods were restricted to lower latitudes. Here, we evaluate the role of climate in shaping these biogeographic patterns through the Jurassic-Cretaceous (201-66 mya), combining dinosaur fossil occurrences, past climate data from Earth System models, and habitat suitability modeling. Results show that, uniquely among dinosaurs, sauropods occupied climatic niches characterized by high temperatures and strongly bounded by minimum cold temperatures. This constrained the distribution and dispersal pathways of sauropods to tropical areas, excluding them from latitudinal extremes, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The greater availability of suitable habitat in the southern continents, particularly in the Late Cretaceous, might be key to explaining the high diversity of sauropods there, relative to northern landmasses. Given that ornithischians and theropods show a flattened or bimodal latitudinal biodiversity gradient, with peaks at higher latitudes, the closer correspondence of sauropods to a subtropical concentration could hint at fundamental thermophysiological differences to the other two clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain; Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Alex Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1RL, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Matthew T Carrano
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
| | - Sara Varela
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain
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11
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Tschopp E, Napoli JG, Wencker LCM, Delfino M, Upchurch P. How to Render Species Comparable Taxonomic Units Through Deep Time: a Case Study on Intraspecific Osteological Variability in Extant and Extinct Lacertid Lizards. Syst Biol 2021; 71:875-900. [PMID: 34605923 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syab078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Generally, the species is considered to be the only naturally occurring taxon. However, species recognised and defined using different species delimitation criteria cannot readily be compared, impacting studies of biodiversity through Deep Time. This comparability issue is particularly marked when comparing extant with extinct species, because the only available data for species delimitation in fossils is derived from their preserved morphology, which is generally restricted to osteology in vertebrates. Here, we quantify intraspecific, intrageneric, and intergeneric osteological variability in extant species of lacertid lizards using pairwise dissimilarity scores based on a dataset of 253 discrete osteological characters for 99 specimens referred to 24 species. Variability is always significantly lower intraspecifically than between individuals belonging to distinct species of a single genus, which is in turn significantly lower than intergeneric variability. Average values of intraspecific variability and associated standard deviations are consistent (with few exceptions), with an overall average within a species of 0.208 changes per character scored. Application of the same methods to six extinct lacertid species (represented by 40 fossil specimens) revealed that intraspecific osteological variability is inconsistent, which can at least in part be attributed to different researchers having unequal expectations of the skeletal dissimilarity within species units. Such a divergent interpretation of intraspecific and interspecific variability among extant and extinct species reinforces the incomparability of the species unit. Lacertidae is an example where extant species recognised and defined based on a number of delimitation criteria show comparable and consistent intraspecific osteological variability. Here, as well as in equivalent cases, application of those skeletal dissimilarity values to palaeontological species delimitation potentially provides a way to ameliorate inconsistencies created by the use of morphology to define species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Tschopp
- Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.,Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Italy.,GeoBioTec, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
| | - James G Napoli
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.,Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
| | | | - Massimo Delfino
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Italy.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK
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12
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Canales-Aguirre CB, Ritchie PA, Hernández S, Herrera-Yañez V, Ferrada Fuentes S, Oyarzún FX, Hernández CE, Galleguillos R, Arratia G. Phylogenetic relationships, origin and historical biogeography of the genus Sprattus (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae). PeerJ 2021; 9:e11737. [PMID: 34466280 PMCID: PMC8380030 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The genus Sprattus comprises five species of marine pelagic fishes distributed worldwide in antitropical, temperate waters. Their distribution suggests an ancient origin during a cold period of the earth’s history. In this study, we evaluated this hypothesis and corroborated the non-monophyly of the genus Sprattus, using a phylogenetic approach based on DNA sequences of five mitochondrial genome regions. Sprattus sprattus is more closely related to members of the genus Clupea than to other Sprattus species. We also investigated the historical biogeography of the genus, with the phylogenetic tree showing two well-supported clades corresponding to the species distribution in each hemisphere. Time-calibrated phylogenetic analyses showed that an ancient divergence between Northern and Southern Hemispheres occurred at 55.8 MYBP, followed by a diversification in the Oligocene epoch in the Northern Hemisphere clade (33.8 MYBP) and a more recent diversification in the Southern Hemisphere clade (34.2 MYBP). Historical biogeography analyses indicated that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) likely inhabited the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. These results suggest that the ancestral population of the MRCA diverged in two populations, one was dispersed to the Northern Hemisphere and the other across the Southern Hemisphere. Given that the Eocene was the warmest epoch since the Paleogene, the ancestral populations would have crossed the tropics through deeper cooler waters, as proposed by the isothermal submergence hypothesis. The non-monophyly confirmed for the genus Sprattus indicates that its systematics should be re-evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter A Ritchie
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Sebastián Hernández
- Biomolecular Laboratory, Center for International Programs, Universidad Veritas, San José, Costa Rica.,Sala de Colecciones Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
| | - Victoria Herrera-Yañez
- Laboratorio de Genética y Acuicultura, Departamento de Oceanografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Sandra Ferrada Fuentes
- Laboratorio de Genética y Acuicultura, Departamento de Oceanografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Fernanda X Oyarzún
- Centro i∼mar, Universidad de Los Lagos, Puerto Montt, Chile.,Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile.,Instituto Milenio en Socioecología Costera, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristián E Hernández
- Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva y Filoinformática, Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.,Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa, Perú
| | - Ricardo Galleguillos
- Laboratorio de Genética y Acuicultura, Departamento de Oceanografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Gloria Arratia
- Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, United States of America
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13
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Multiple paths to morphological diversification during the origin of amniotes. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:1243-1249. [PMID: 34312521 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01516-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Early terrestrial vertebrates (amniotes) provide a classic example of diversification following adaptive zone invasion. The initial terrestrialization of vertebrates was closely followed by dietary diversification, as evidenced by a proliferation of craniomandibular and dental adaptations. However, morphological evolution of early amniotes has received limited study, in analyses with restricted taxonomic scope, leaving substantial questions about the dynamics of this important terrestrial radiation. We use novel analyses of discrete characters to quantify variation in evolutionary rates and constraints during diversification of the amniote feeding apparatus. We find evidence for an early burst, comprising high rates of anatomical change that decelerated through time, giving way to a background of saturated morphological evolution. Subsequent expansions of phenotypic diversity were not associated with increased evolutionary rates. Instead, variation in the mode of evolution became important, with groups representing independent origins of herbivory evolving distinctive, group-specific morphologies and thereby exploring novel character-state spaces. Our findings indicate the importance of plant-animal interactions in structuring the earliest radiation of amniotes and demonstrate the importance of variation in modes of phenotypic divergence during a major evolutionary radiation.
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14
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de Alencar LRV, Quental TB. Linking population-level and microevolutionary processes to understand speciation dynamics at the macroevolutionary scale. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5828-5843. [PMID: 34141187 PMCID: PMC8207422 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Although speciation dynamics have been described for several taxonomic groups in distinct geographic regions, most macroevolutionary studies still lack a detailed mechanistic view on how or why speciation rates change. To help partially fill this gap, we suggest that the interaction between the time taken by a species to geographically expand and the time populations take to evolve reproductive isolation should be considered when we are trying to understand macroevolutionary patterns. We introduce a simple conceptual index to guide our discussion on how demographic and microevolutionary processes might produce speciation dynamics at macroevolutionary scales. Our framework is developed under different scenarios: when speciation is mediated by geographical or resource-partitioning opportunities, and when diversity is limited or not. We also discuss how organismal intrinsic properties and different overall geographical settings can influence the tempo and mode of speciation. We argue that specific conditions observed at the microscale might produce a pulse in speciation rates even without a pulse in either climate or physical barriers. We also propose a hypothesis to reconcile the apparent inconsistency between speciation measured at the microscale and macroscale, and emphasize that diversification rates are better seen as an emergent property. We hope to bring the reader's attention to interesting mechanisms to be further studied, to motivate the development of new theoretical models that connect microevolution and macroevolution, and to inspire new empirical and methodological approaches to more adequately investigate speciation dynamics either using neontological or paleontological data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tiago Bosisio Quental
- Departamento de EcologiaInstituto de BiociênciasUniversidade de São PauloSão PauloBrazil
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15
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Miles MC, Goller F, Fuxjager MJ. Physiological constraint on acrobatic courtship behavior underlies rapid sympatric speciation in bearded manakins. eLife 2018; 7:e40630. [PMID: 30375331 PMCID: PMC6207423 DOI: 10.7554/elife.40630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Physiology's role in speciation is poorly understood. Motor systems, for example, are widely thought to shape this process because they can potentiate or constrain the evolution of key traits that help mediate speciation. Previously, we found that Neotropical manakin birds have evolved one of the fastest limb muscles on record to support innovations in acrobatic courtship display (Fuxjager et al., 2016a). Here, we show how this modification played an instrumental role in the sympatric speciation of a manakin genus, illustrating that muscle specializations fostered divergence in courtship display speed, which may generate assortative mating. However, innovations in contraction-relaxation cycling kinetics that underlie rapid muscle performance are also punctuated by a severe speed-endurance trade-off, blocking further exaggeration of display speed. Sexual selection therefore potentiated phenotypic displacement in a trait critical to mate choice, all during an extraordinarily fast species radiation-and in doing so, pushed muscle performance to a new boundary altogether.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Franz Goller
- University of UtahSalt Lake CityUnited States
- Institute for ZoophysiologyUniversity of MünsterGermany
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16
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Organ C. Biogeography across the ages. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:412-413. [PMID: 29403078 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0486-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chris Organ
- Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Honors College , Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA.
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