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Lawson LP, Loader SP, Lyakurwa JV, Liedtke HC. Diversification of spiny-throated reed frogs (Anura: Hyperoliidae) with the description of a new, range-restricted species from the Ukaguru Mountains, Tanzania. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0277535. [PMID: 36730334 PMCID: PMC9894401 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The spiny-throated reed frog species group is a small radiation of Hyperolius frogs from East Africa. Unlike many members of the genus which have relatively wide distributions, these species tend to be small-range endemics found in montane and submontane forests. Recent discovery of a golden-hued frog with the clade-specific traits of spines on their gular discs prompted a morphological and genetic exploration of the distinctness of this new lineage and relationships to other members of the clade. Genetic (mitochondrial and nuclear loci) results resolved many sister-relationships, but deeper nodes in the phylogeny were poorly resolved. A reduced-representation genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) dataset was able to fully resolve the phylogenetic relationships within this clade, placing this new lineage, here named after the mountain range in which is it found-H. ukaguruensis sp. nov., as an early diverging lineage within the group. This new species is distinct from all other spiny-throated reed frogs, necessitating further understanding as a single-mountain endemics vulnerable to habitat loss and potential decline. Morphometric analyses identify clear morphological characteristics that are distinct for the herein described species, most noticeably in that the eyes are significantly smaller than other members of the genus for which we have samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucinda P. Lawson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Zoology, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Simon P. Loader
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - John V. Lyakurwa
- Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - H. Christoph Liedtke
- Ecology, Evolution and Development Group, Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
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Christoph Liedtke H, Lyakurwa JV, Lawson LP, Menegon M, Garrido-Priego M, Mariaux J, Ngalason W, Channing A, Owen NR, Bittencourt-Silva GB, Wilkinson M, Larson JG, Loader SP. Thirty years of amphibian surveys in the Ukagurus Mountains of Tanzania reveal new species, yet others are in decline. AFR J HERPETOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2022.2043945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- H Christoph Liedtke
- Ecology, Evolution and Development Group, Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - John V Lyakurwa
- Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Lucinda P Lawson
- Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Michele Menegon
- Division of Biology & Conservation Ecology, School of Science & the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
- PAMS Foundation, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Marina Garrido-Priego
- Ecology, Evolution and Development Group, Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jean Mariaux
- Natural History Museum of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Wilirk Ngalason
- Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Alan Channing
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Nisha R Owen
- On the EDGE Conservation, London, UK
- The Society for Environmental Exploration (Frontier), London, UK
| | - Gabriela B Bittencourt-Silva
- Ecology, Evolution and Development Group, Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Mark Wilkinson
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Joanna G Larson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Simon P Loader
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
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3
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Portik DM, Blackburn DC, McGuire JA. Macroevolutionary Patterns of Sexual Size Dimorphism Among African Tree Frogs (Family: Hyperoliidae). J Hered 2020; 111:379-391. [DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esaa019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is shaped by multiple selective forces that drive the evolution of sex-specific body size, resulting in male or female-biased SSD. Stronger selection on one sex can result in an allometric body size scaling relationship consistent with Rensch’s rule or its converse. Anurans (frogs and toads) generally display female-biased SSD, but there is variation across clades and the mechanisms driving the evolution of SSD remain poorly understood. We investigated these topics in a diverse family of African treefrogs (Hyperoliidae). Hyperoliids display traits considered rare among amphibians, including sexual dichromatism and protogynous sex change. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we tested if adult ecology, sexual dichromatism, and sex change were predictors of body size or SSD. We also tested whether hyperoliids displayed allometric interspecific body size scaling relationships. We found a majority of hyperoliid taxa display female-biased SSD, but that adult ecology and sexual dichromatism are poor predictors of sex-specific body size and SSD. Regardless of the groupings analyzed (partitioned by clades or traits), we found support for isometric body size scaling. However, we found that sex change is a significant predictor of SSD variation. Species in the Hyperolius viridiflavus complex, which putatively display this trait, show a significant reduction in SSD and are frequently sexually monomorphic in size. Although protogynous sex change needs to be validated for several of these species, we tentatively propose this trait is a novel mechanism influencing anuran body size evolution. Beyond this association, additional factors that shape the evolution of anuran body size and SSD remain elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Portik
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
| | - David C Blackburn
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | - Jimmy A McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
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Kushata JNT, Conradie W, Cherry MI, Daniels SR. Comparison of the mitochondrial phylogeographical structure of a generalist and two specialist frog species reveals contrasting patterns in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn this study, we examined the phylogeographical structure of three frog species (Anhydrophryne rattrayi, Arthroleptis wageri and Cacosternum nanum) in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. The first two species are forest dwelling and exhibit direct development, whereas the last species is a habitat generalist, breeding in open freshwater bodies and exhibiting rapid metamorphosis. Evolutionary relationships were inferred using combined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data [16S rRNA and cytochrome b (Cytb)]. Divergence times were estimated for each species using the combined mtDNA dataset, and population genetic structuring was inferred using haplotype networks and analysis of molecular variance using the rapidly evolving Cytb locus. The two forest-dwelling species (Anhydrophryne rattrayi and Arthroleptis wageri) each revealed two statistically well-supported clades and were characterized by marked genetic differentiation and the general absence of shared maternal haplotypes, indicating no maternal gene flow between conspecific populations; a result corroborated by moderate values of pairwise genetic distance. In contrast, for the generalist species C. nanum, two shallow clades were observed and several haplotypes were shared between localities, indicating moderate maternal gene flow. Diversification in the two forest-dwelling species occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene climatic oscillations and was associated with increased xeric conditions, whereas in C. nanum a recent, Holocene divergence was inferred. Ancient climatic factors thought to be causal in the divergences within each of the three species are discussed. The marked mtDNA differentiation in the two forest specialist species suggests the presence of distinct management units that should be considered in future conservation management decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith N T Kushata
- Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa
| | - Werner Conradie
- Port Elizabeth (Bayworld) Museum, Humewood, South Africa
- School of Natural Resource Management, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George, South Africa
| | - Michael I Cherry
- Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa
| | - Savel R Daniels
- Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa
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Greenwood L, Loader SP, Lawson L, Greenbaum E, Zimkus BM. A new species of Phrynobatrachus (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from the Northern Mountains of Tanzania. J NAT HIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1757171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Greenwood
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Simon P. Loader
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Lucinda Lawson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Life Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Eli Greenbaum
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
| | - Breda M. Zimkus
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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6
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Portik DM, Bell RC, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM, Barratt CD, Branch WR, Burger M, Channing A, Colston TJ, Conradie W, Dehling JM, Drewes RC, Ernst R, Greenbaum E, Gvoždík V, Harvey J, Hillers A, Hirschfeld M, Jongsma GFM, Kielgast J, Kouete MT, Lawson LP, Leaché AD, Loader SP, Lötters S, Meijden AVD, Menegon M, Müller S, Nagy ZT, Ofori-Boateng C, Ohler A, Papenfuss TJ, Rößler D, Sinsch U, Rödel MO, Veith M, Vindum J, Zassi-Boulou AG, McGuire JA. Sexual Dichromatism Drives Diversification within a Major Radiation of African Amphibians. Syst Biol 2020; 68:859-875. [PMID: 31140573 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that sexually dimorphic traits under strong sexual selection, particularly those involved with intersexual signaling, can accelerate speciation and produce bursts of diversification. Sexual dichromatism (sexual dimorphism in color) is widely used as a proxy for sexual selection and is associated with rapid diversification in several animal groups, yet studies using phylogenetic comparative methods to explicitly test for an association between sexual dichromatism and diversification have produced conflicting results. Sexual dichromatism is rare in frogs, but it is both striking and prevalent in African reed frogs, a major component of the diverse frog radiation termed Afrobatrachia. In contrast to most other vertebrates, reed frogs display female-biased dichromatism in which females undergo color transformation, often resulting in more ornate coloration in females than in males. We produce a robust phylogeny of Afrobatrachia to investigate the evolutionary origins of sexual dichromatism in this radiation and examine whether the presence of dichromatism is associated with increased rates of net diversification. We find that sexual dichromatism evolved once within hyperoliids and was followed by numerous independent reversals to monochromatism. We detect significant diversification rate heterogeneity in Afrobatrachia and find that sexually dichromatic lineages have double the average net diversification rate of monochromatic lineages. By conducting trait simulations on our empirical phylogeny, we demonstrate that our inference of trait-dependent diversification is robust. Although sexual dichromatism in hyperoliid frogs is linked to their rapid diversification and supports macroevolutionary predictions of speciation by sexual selection, the function of dichromatism in reed frogs remains unclear. We propose that reed frogs are a compelling system for studying the roles of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of sexual dichromatism across micro- and macroevolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Portik
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Rayna C Bell
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0162, USA
| | - David C Blackburn
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Aaron M Bauer
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
| | - Christopher D Barratt
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel 4056, Switzerland.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 0413, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 0413, Germany
| | - William R Branch
- Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O. Box 11347, Humewood 6013, South Africa.,Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - Marius Burger
- African Amphibian Conservation Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.,Flora Fauna & Man, Ecological Services Ltd. Tortola, British Virgin, Island
| | - Alan Channing
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
| | - Timothy J Colston
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.,Zoological Natural History Museum, Addis Ababa University, Arat Kilo, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Werner Conradie
- Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O. Box 11347, Humewood 6013, South Africa.,School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela University, George Campus, George 6530, South Africa
| | - J Maximilian Dehling
- Department of Biology, Institute of Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany
| | - Robert C Drewes
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Raffael Ernst
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, Dresden 01109, Germany.,Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, Berlin 12165, Germany
| | - Eli Greenbaum
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Václav Gvoždík
- The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Annika Hillers
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany.,Across the River - A Transboundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 164 Dama Road, Kenema, Sierra Leone
| | - Mareike Hirschfeld
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Gregory F M Jongsma
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Jos Kielgast
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Marcel T Kouete
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Lucinda P Lawson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA.,Life Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - Adam D Leaché
- Department of Biology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Simon P Loader
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Stefan Lötters
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Arie Van Der Meijden
- CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrario de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, No. 7, 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal
| | - Michele Menegon
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, Science Museum of Trento, Corso del lavoro e della Scienza 3, Trento 38122, Italy
| | - Susanne Müller
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Zoltán T Nagy
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Annemarie Ohler
- Département Origines et Evolution, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7205 ISYEB, 25 rue Cuvier, Paris 75005, France
| | | | - Daniela Rößler
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Ulrich Sinsch
- Department of Biology, Institute of Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany
| | - Mark-Oliver Rödel
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Michael Veith
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Jens Vindum
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Ange-Ghislain Zassi-Boulou
- Institut National de Recherche en Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Brazzaville BP 2400, République du Congo
| | - Jimmy A McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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Turner A, Channing A. Three new species of Arthroleptella Hewitt, 1926 (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) from the Cape Fold Mountains, South Africa. AFR J HERPETOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2017.1324918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Turner
- Scientific Services, CapeNature, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Alan Channing
- University of the Western Cape, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa
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Taboada C, Brunetti AE, Alexandre C, Lagorio MG, Faivovich J. Fluorescent Frogs: A Herpetological Perspective. SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.2994/sajh-d-17-00029.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Taboada
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1405DJR, Argentina
- Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA, Argentina
| | - Andrés E. Brunetti
- Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-903, Brazil
| | - César Alexandre
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA 45662-900, Brazil
| | - María G. Lagorio
- Instituto de Química Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA, Argentina
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA, Argentina
| | - Julián Faivovich
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1405DJR, Argentina
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA, Argentina
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Weirauch C, Forthman M, Grebennikov V, Baňař P. From Eastern Arc Mountains to extreme sexual dimorphism: systematics of the enigmatic assassin bug genus Xenocaucus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Tribelocephalinae). ORG DIVERS EVOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s13127-016-0314-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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10
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Lawson LP, Bates JM, Menegon M, Loader SP. Divergence at the edges: peripatric isolation in the montane spiny throated reed frog complex. BMC Evol Biol 2015; 15:128. [PMID: 26126573 PMCID: PMC4487588 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0384-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Peripatric speciation and peripheral isolation have uncertain importance in species accumulation, and are largely overshadowed by assumed dominance of allopatric modes of speciation. Understanding the role of different speciation mechanisms within biodiversity hotspots is central to understanding the generation of biological diversity. Here, we use a phylogeographic analysis of the spiny-throated reed frogs and examine sister pairings with unbalanced current distributional ranges for characteristics of peripatric speciation. We further investigate whether forest/grassland mosaic adapted species are more likely created through peripatric speciation due to instability of this habitat type. Results We reconstructed a multi-locus molecular phylogeny of spiny-throated reed frogs which we then combined with comparative morphologic data to delimit species and analyze historical demographic change; identifying three new species. Three potential peripatric speciation events were identified along with one case of allopatric speciation. Peripatric speciation is supported through uneven potential and realized distributions and uneven population size estimates based on field collections. An associated climate shift was observed in most potentially peripatric splits. Morphological variation was highest in sexually dimorphic traits such as body size and gular shape, but this variation was not limited to peripatric species pairs as hypothesized. The potentially allopatric species pair showed no niche shifts and equivalent effective population sizes, ruling out peripatry in that speciation event. Two major ecological niche shifts were recovered within this radiation, possibly as adaptations to occupy areas of grassland that became more prevalent in the last 5 million years. Restricted and fluctuating grassland mosaics within forests might promote peripatric speciation in the Eastern Arc Biodiversity Hotspot (EABH). Conclusions In our case study, peripatric speciation appears to be an important driver of diversity within the EABH biodiversity hotspot, implying it could be a significant speciation mechanism in highly fragmented ecosystems. Extensive peripatric speciation in this montane archipelago may explain the abundance of discrete lineages within the limited area of the EABH, as inferred in remote island archipelagos. Future phylogenetic studies incorporating demographic and spatial analyses will clarify the role of peripatric speciation in creating biodiversity hotspots. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0384-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucinda P Lawson
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1025 E. 57th St. Culver Hall 402, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA. .,Life Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH, 45220, USA.
| | - John M Bates
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1025 E. 57th St. Culver Hall 402, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA. .,Life Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605, USA.
| | - Michele Menegon
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, Science Museo of Trento, Via della Scienza e del lavoro, 38122, Trento, Italy.
| | - Simon P Loader
- Biogeography Research Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, 4056, Switzerland.
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