Pub Date : 2023-10-31DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad131
Svitozar Davydenko, Eugene Solyanik, Roman Tretiakov, Oleksandr Kovalchuk, Pavel Gol’din
Abstract There are a few mammalian lineages secondarily adapted to life in water throughout their evolutionary history. Of them, only sirenians and cetaceans evolved as fully aquatic organisms. This transition was accompanied by changes in swimming mode, from foot paddling to tail-powered propulsion, with the forelimbs acting as efficient hydrofoils and the gradual loss of external hindlimbs. Here, we describe an isolated limb from the Middle Eocene of Ukraine, 43–42 Mya, identified as a hindlimb of a fully aquatic cetacean and being the earliest cetacean reported from Europe. It is represented by flattened, jointly articulated bones, identified as the tibia and fibula with a partly reduced knee joint and loose connection to the pes, and by flattened phalanges. This anatomy reveals a hitherto only presumed cetacean morphotype, showing that some of the early fully aquatic cetaceans were four-legged animals with functional hindlimbs that could be involved in advanced styles of swimming. They used either body undulation or lift-based propulsion powered by the tail or feet and could also use a transitional swimming style combining these modes.
{"title":"A cetacean limb from the Middle Eocene of Ukraine sheds light on mammalian adaptations to life in water","authors":"Svitozar Davydenko, Eugene Solyanik, Roman Tretiakov, Oleksandr Kovalchuk, Pavel Gol’din","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad131","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract There are a few mammalian lineages secondarily adapted to life in water throughout their evolutionary history. Of them, only sirenians and cetaceans evolved as fully aquatic organisms. This transition was accompanied by changes in swimming mode, from foot paddling to tail-powered propulsion, with the forelimbs acting as efficient hydrofoils and the gradual loss of external hindlimbs. Here, we describe an isolated limb from the Middle Eocene of Ukraine, 43–42 Mya, identified as a hindlimb of a fully aquatic cetacean and being the earliest cetacean reported from Europe. It is represented by flattened, jointly articulated bones, identified as the tibia and fibula with a partly reduced knee joint and loose connection to the pes, and by flattened phalanges. This anatomy reveals a hitherto only presumed cetacean morphotype, showing that some of the early fully aquatic cetaceans were four-legged animals with functional hindlimbs that could be involved in advanced styles of swimming. They used either body undulation or lift-based propulsion powered by the tail or feet and could also use a transitional swimming style combining these modes.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135976773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-31DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad150
Ruiyao Ma, Yiting Jiang, Dongmei Wan
Abstract Signals conveyed by ornaments can be indicators in the process of sexual selection. Specifically, signals may be superimposed on each other to represent an individual’s quality, convey different information, or offer redundant information. As much of the research in this area has focused on relationships between diverse signals in males, those of females have largely been overlooked. From 2022 to 2023, we tested whether three traits, namely acoustic (song display) and visual ornaments (patch size and carotenoid-based plumage coloration), and morphology (wing and tail length), were interrelated in males and whether visual ornaments and morphology were interrelated in females in a wild population of varied tits (Sittiparus varius). We found that males with brighter and more reddish plumage sang at lower maximum and minimum frequencies, with narrower bandwidths and lower frequency peaks. Similarly, a negative correlation between tail length and carotenoid-based plumage coloration was observed in both sexes. Furthermore, a positive relationship was found between signals within traits. These results highlight the trade-offs in signals between different traits, as well as the consistency within the same traits.
{"title":"Multiple ornaments: trade-offs and redundancy in signalling functions in male and female varied tits (<i>Sittiparus varius</i>)","authors":"Ruiyao Ma, Yiting Jiang, Dongmei Wan","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad150","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Signals conveyed by ornaments can be indicators in the process of sexual selection. Specifically, signals may be superimposed on each other to represent an individual’s quality, convey different information, or offer redundant information. As much of the research in this area has focused on relationships between diverse signals in males, those of females have largely been overlooked. From 2022 to 2023, we tested whether three traits, namely acoustic (song display) and visual ornaments (patch size and carotenoid-based plumage coloration), and morphology (wing and tail length), were interrelated in males and whether visual ornaments and morphology were interrelated in females in a wild population of varied tits (Sittiparus varius). We found that males with brighter and more reddish plumage sang at lower maximum and minimum frequencies, with narrower bandwidths and lower frequency peaks. Similarly, a negative correlation between tail length and carotenoid-based plumage coloration was observed in both sexes. Furthermore, a positive relationship was found between signals within traits. These results highlight the trade-offs in signals between different traits, as well as the consistency within the same traits.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135975524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad158
{"title":"Correction to: <i>Ganoderma</i> from Cuba: an approach to some species based on morphology and phylogenetic analyses","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad158","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136104760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-25DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad139
Zhong Li, Yingying Ye, Jiji Li, Baoying Guo
Abstract The clam Macridiscus multifarius is ecologically and economically important in the coastal regions of China. In this study, the IIB-RAD method was used to investigate the population diversity and structure of M. multifarius along the coast of China. Genomic DNA was extracted, sequenced, and subjected, resulting in 110.88 Gb of clean reads. Analysis showed that the M. multifarius populations along the coast of China exhibited a moderate to high level of genetic diversity (mean: HO = 0.272, HE = 0.365, π = 0.390, and FIS = 0.268). Further analysis of high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms was used to generate a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree, principal component analysis, and FST values. The results revealed that there is no notable genetic differentiation among the nine M. multifarius populations south of the Yangtze River estuary. However, the Yancheng population shows clear genetic differentiation compared with the other nine populations, possibly linked to the barrier effect of the Yangtze dilution water and ocean current system. We believe that these results provide genetic insights for fisheries management to plan fisheries policies for M. multifarius and conserve natural resources.
{"title":"The genetic diversity and population structure of <i>Macridiscus multifarius</i> along the coast of China using IIB-RAD sequencing","authors":"Zhong Li, Yingying Ye, Jiji Li, Baoying Guo","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad139","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The clam Macridiscus multifarius is ecologically and economically important in the coastal regions of China. In this study, the IIB-RAD method was used to investigate the population diversity and structure of M. multifarius along the coast of China. Genomic DNA was extracted, sequenced, and subjected, resulting in 110.88 Gb of clean reads. Analysis showed that the M. multifarius populations along the coast of China exhibited a moderate to high level of genetic diversity (mean: HO = 0.272, HE = 0.365, π = 0.390, and FIS = 0.268). Further analysis of high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms was used to generate a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree, principal component analysis, and FST values. The results revealed that there is no notable genetic differentiation among the nine M. multifarius populations south of the Yangtze River estuary. However, the Yancheng population shows clear genetic differentiation compared with the other nine populations, possibly linked to the barrier effect of the Yangtze dilution water and ocean current system. We believe that these results provide genetic insights for fisheries management to plan fisheries policies for M. multifarius and conserve natural resources.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-25DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad146
Todd W Pierson, Carlos D Camp, Jadin Cross, Jessica A Wooten, John B Jensen, Matt J Elliott
Abstract The complex topography of mountainous landscapes can create biogeographical barriers and promote allopatric speciation—even among morphologically cryptic species. However, these biogeographical barriers may not be permanent, and secondary contact between previously independently evolving populations can result in hybridization and introgression. In this study, we used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data to re-examine a classic example of cryptic species in the Appalachian Mountains: the slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) species complex. This group of morphologically similar terrestrial salamanders includes 14 species with parapatric distributions across the eastern USA. We focused on the Chattahoochee slimy salamander (P. chattahoochee) in northern Georgia and used a series of complementary phylogenomic and population genomic analyses to evaluate spatial genetic structure within this species and admixture with at least four other species of parapatric woodland salamanders. Our results highlight the utility of genomic data in clarifying species boundaries and underline the difficulty of species delimitation in organisms with complex evolutionary histories.
{"title":"Revisiting a cryptic species complex: interspecific gene flow among woodland salamanders in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, USA","authors":"Todd W Pierson, Carlos D Camp, Jadin Cross, Jessica A Wooten, John B Jensen, Matt J Elliott","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad146","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The complex topography of mountainous landscapes can create biogeographical barriers and promote allopatric speciation—even among morphologically cryptic species. However, these biogeographical barriers may not be permanent, and secondary contact between previously independently evolving populations can result in hybridization and introgression. In this study, we used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data to re-examine a classic example of cryptic species in the Appalachian Mountains: the slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) species complex. This group of morphologically similar terrestrial salamanders includes 14 species with parapatric distributions across the eastern USA. We focused on the Chattahoochee slimy salamander (P. chattahoochee) in northern Georgia and used a series of complementary phylogenomic and population genomic analyses to evaluate spatial genetic structure within this species and admixture with at least four other species of parapatric woodland salamanders. Our results highlight the utility of genomic data in clarifying species boundaries and underline the difficulty of species delimitation in organisms with complex evolutionary histories.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134973331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-21DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad048
Lucas C Majure, Lucas F Bacci, Eldis R Bécquer, Walter S Judd, Teodoro Clase, J Dan Skean, Fabián A Michelangeli
Abstract The Greater Antilles are renowned as a biodiversity hotspot and known to be geologically complex, which has led, in part, to the generation of organismal diversity in this area. One of the most species-rich montane groups within the Greater Antilles is the tribe Miconieae (Miconia s.l.) of the Melastomataceae, with ca. 325 species found there. The most diverse clade of Miconia in the Caribbean, the Caribbean clade, composes roughly half of that diversity, with an estimated 160 species, nearly all of which are endemic to the Greater Antilles. It is unclear how that diversity has been generated through time or where it originated, but we now have sufficiently well-sampled and robust datasets to test these patterns. Using a custom-built plastome dataset, we generated a robust phylogenetic hypothesis for 106 of the 160 Caribbean clade members and tested biogeographical patterns among the islands. Our results suggest that the Caribbean clade originated in the mid-Miocene, probably from a South American ancestor, and diversified substantially on the island of Cuba before repeatedly dispersing across other parts of the Greater Antilles, especially into nearby Hispaniola and then, to a lesser extent, into Jamaica, Puerto Rico and, finally, into the Lesser Antilles.
{"title":"Biogeography and diversification of the Caribbean clade of <i>Miconia</i> (Melastomataceae): a Cuban origin underlies one of the largest Antillean radiations","authors":"Lucas C Majure, Lucas F Bacci, Eldis R Bécquer, Walter S Judd, Teodoro Clase, J Dan Skean, Fabián A Michelangeli","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad048","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Greater Antilles are renowned as a biodiversity hotspot and known to be geologically complex, which has led, in part, to the generation of organismal diversity in this area. One of the most species-rich montane groups within the Greater Antilles is the tribe Miconieae (Miconia s.l.) of the Melastomataceae, with ca. 325 species found there. The most diverse clade of Miconia in the Caribbean, the Caribbean clade, composes roughly half of that diversity, with an estimated 160 species, nearly all of which are endemic to the Greater Antilles. It is unclear how that diversity has been generated through time or where it originated, but we now have sufficiently well-sampled and robust datasets to test these patterns. Using a custom-built plastome dataset, we generated a robust phylogenetic hypothesis for 106 of the 160 Caribbean clade members and tested biogeographical patterns among the islands. Our results suggest that the Caribbean clade originated in the mid-Miocene, probably from a South American ancestor, and diversified substantially on the island of Cuba before repeatedly dispersing across other parts of the Greater Antilles, especially into nearby Hispaniola and then, to a lesser extent, into Jamaica, Puerto Rico and, finally, into the Lesser Antilles.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135511670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-20DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad066
Benjamin F Scott, Allison J Shultz, Kevin J Burns
Abstract Plumage coloration arises from a complex concert of selection pressures incorporating regional ecology, the light environment and genomic architecture. Here, we analyse the evolution of coloration in cardinals and grosbeaks (Cardinalidae) from the avian visual perspective and test the relative roles of life-history traits in shaping plumage evolution. We incorporate life-history data from three separate sources to analyse the correlated evolution of plumage coloration and ecological and habitat classifications for males and females. Our results show that males and females evolve under different axes of selection and that correlations with life-history traits differ between the sexes. We find that preferences for semi-open, fragmented habitat are correlated with male, but not female, plumage complexity. We also find that migration, long heralded as a driver of sexual dichromatism, is correlated with reduced plumage complexity in females, but not significantly correlated with male plumage coloration. Finally, our results showcase that user-defined categorical metrics can influence or, potentially, even mislead the interpretation of results, highlighting the need to measure habitat quantitatively rather than with subjective, categorical metrics.
{"title":"The impact of habitat and migration on plumage colour in Cardinalidae","authors":"Benjamin F Scott, Allison J Shultz, Kevin J Burns","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad066","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Plumage coloration arises from a complex concert of selection pressures incorporating regional ecology, the light environment and genomic architecture. Here, we analyse the evolution of coloration in cardinals and grosbeaks (Cardinalidae) from the avian visual perspective and test the relative roles of life-history traits in shaping plumage evolution. We incorporate life-history data from three separate sources to analyse the correlated evolution of plumage coloration and ecological and habitat classifications for males and females. Our results show that males and females evolve under different axes of selection and that correlations with life-history traits differ between the sexes. We find that preferences for semi-open, fragmented habitat are correlated with male, but not female, plumage complexity. We also find that migration, long heralded as a driver of sexual dichromatism, is correlated with reduced plumage complexity in females, but not significantly correlated with male plumage coloration. Finally, our results showcase that user-defined categorical metrics can influence or, potentially, even mislead the interpretation of results, highlighting the need to measure habitat quantitatively rather than with subjective, categorical metrics.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135568081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-19DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad054
Ernesto Testé, Majela Hernández-Rodríguez, Salvador Guzmán Díaz, Alejandro Palmarola, Emily Veltjen, Eldis R Bécquer, Fabián A Aldaba-Nuñez, Marie-Stephanie Samain, Luis R González Torres, Thierry Robert
Abstract Evolutionary biologists recognize that understanding the phylogenetic history of closely related species is challenging without considering their population genetics history. The taxonomy of Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba has long been debated, with several changes in taxon delimitations. All these taxonomic revisions were based exclusively on leaf morphological characteristics of a few individuals, limiting their ability to elucidate taxon boundaries. Recent studies have focused on conservation genetics and species delimitation of Cuban magnolias, based on ecological, morphological and genetic data. Here, we use full plastome sequences and microsatellite data to infer phylogenetic relationships and potential historical migration events among species in Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba. Bayesian phylogeny and TreeMix were used to understand the phylogenetic relationships. Based on this, Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba does not comprise a monophyletic group. The data continue to show a highly supported unresolved species complex in the taxa of Magnolia subsect. Talauma from north-eastern Cuba. From a taxonomic point of view, our results do not entirely support the most recent taxonomic review proposed for the family in Cuba.
{"title":"Evolutionary history of <i>Magnolia</i> sect. <i>Talauma</i> (Magnoliaceae) in Cuba","authors":"Ernesto Testé, Majela Hernández-Rodríguez, Salvador Guzmán Díaz, Alejandro Palmarola, Emily Veltjen, Eldis R Bécquer, Fabián A Aldaba-Nuñez, Marie-Stephanie Samain, Luis R González Torres, Thierry Robert","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad054","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Evolutionary biologists recognize that understanding the phylogenetic history of closely related species is challenging without considering their population genetics history. The taxonomy of Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba has long been debated, with several changes in taxon delimitations. All these taxonomic revisions were based exclusively on leaf morphological characteristics of a few individuals, limiting their ability to elucidate taxon boundaries. Recent studies have focused on conservation genetics and species delimitation of Cuban magnolias, based on ecological, morphological and genetic data. Here, we use full plastome sequences and microsatellite data to infer phylogenetic relationships and potential historical migration events among species in Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba. Bayesian phylogeny and TreeMix were used to understand the phylogenetic relationships. Based on this, Magnolia sect. Talauma in Cuba does not comprise a monophyletic group. The data continue to show a highly supported unresolved species complex in the taxa of Magnolia subsect. Talauma from north-eastern Cuba. From a taxonomic point of view, our results do not entirely support the most recent taxonomic review proposed for the family in Cuba.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135666902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-19DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad130
Bernardo Reyes-Tur, Roberto Alonso Bosch, Eldis R Bécquer, José Ángel García-Beltrán
Abstract The West Indies can be considered as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution, and the Caribbean Islands constitute one of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots. Within the region, Cuba is the largest island and is crucial to gaining an understanding of the origin and evolutionary history of Caribbean flora and fauna. This paper provides an introduction to a Special Issue of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society on current Cuban plant and animal biodiversity, with an emphasis on evolutionary biology and biogeography. The present issue includes 10 contributions and addresses a wide diversity of species and taxonomic groups, study levels, and research tools. This collection of articles not only provides an integrative vision of Cuba’s biodiversity and the potential patterns and processes involved in its evolutionary history, but could also provide food for future research on its biodiversity from an evolutionary perspective.
{"title":"Cuba: biodiversity, conservation and evolution","authors":"Bernardo Reyes-Tur, Roberto Alonso Bosch, Eldis R Bécquer, José Ángel García-Beltrán","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad130","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The West Indies can be considered as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution, and the Caribbean Islands constitute one of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots. Within the region, Cuba is the largest island and is crucial to gaining an understanding of the origin and evolutionary history of Caribbean flora and fauna. This paper provides an introduction to a Special Issue of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society on current Cuban plant and animal biodiversity, with an emphasis on evolutionary biology and biogeography. The present issue includes 10 contributions and addresses a wide diversity of species and taxonomic groups, study levels, and research tools. This collection of articles not only provides an integrative vision of Cuba’s biodiversity and the potential patterns and processes involved in its evolutionary history, but could also provide food for future research on its biodiversity from an evolutionary perspective.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135668069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-19DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad142
Yuxuan Zhao, Michelle T Guzik, William F Humphreys, Christopher H S Watts, Steven J B Cooper, Emma Sherratt
Abstract Over the last 5 million years, numerous species of Australian stygobiotic (subterranean and aquatic) beetles have evolved underground following independent colonization of aquifers by surface ancestors, providing a set of repeated evolutionary transitions from surface to subterranean life. We used this system as an ‘evolutionary experiment’ to investigate whether relaxed selection has provided a source of variability for adaptive radiations into ecosystems containing open niches and whether this variability underpins phenotypic evolution in cave animals. Linear and landmark-based measurements were used to quantify the morphology of subterranean species from different aquifers, compared to interstitial and closely related aquatic surface species. Subterranean dytiscids were observed to be morphologically distinct, suggesting they have a different lifestyle compared to their surface relatives. However, variation in the measured traits was much greater in the subterranean species, and unstructured, showing no evidence of clustering that would indicate adaptation to specific niches. Furthermore, a previously identified pattern of repeated nonoverlapping size variation in beetles across aquifers was not correlated with repeated body shape evolution. The observed variability across body shape and limb traits provides support for the hypothesis that relaxed selection and neutral evolution underlie the phenotypic evolution in these species.
{"title":"Evolutionary transition from surface to subterranean living in Australian water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) through adaptive and relaxed selection","authors":"Yuxuan Zhao, Michelle T Guzik, William F Humphreys, Christopher H S Watts, Steven J B Cooper, Emma Sherratt","doi":"10.1093/biolinnean/blad142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad142","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Over the last 5 million years, numerous species of Australian stygobiotic (subterranean and aquatic) beetles have evolved underground following independent colonization of aquifers by surface ancestors, providing a set of repeated evolutionary transitions from surface to subterranean life. We used this system as an ‘evolutionary experiment’ to investigate whether relaxed selection has provided a source of variability for adaptive radiations into ecosystems containing open niches and whether this variability underpins phenotypic evolution in cave animals. Linear and landmark-based measurements were used to quantify the morphology of subterranean species from different aquifers, compared to interstitial and closely related aquatic surface species. Subterranean dytiscids were observed to be morphologically distinct, suggesting they have a different lifestyle compared to their surface relatives. However, variation in the measured traits was much greater in the subterranean species, and unstructured, showing no evidence of clustering that would indicate adaptation to specific niches. Furthermore, a previously identified pattern of repeated nonoverlapping size variation in beetles across aquifers was not correlated with repeated body shape evolution. The observed variability across body shape and limb traits provides support for the hypothesis that relaxed selection and neutral evolution underlie the phenotypic evolution in these species.","PeriodicalId":55373,"journal":{"name":"Biological Journal of the Linnean Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135666731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}