Hierarchy in adaptive radiation: A case study using the Carnivora (Mammalia)

Slater, Graham J.; Friscia, Anthony

doi:10.1111/evo.13689

Cited by 99 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 127 publications

(263 reference statements)

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“…An alternative explanation may explain this discrepancy. Recent work has highlighted that size‐related trait evolution may take place closer to the present, at the tips of a phylogeny, as species adapt to modern habitats (Slater and Friscia ), a pattern also recovered in the Pseudomys Division. We hypothesize that the high phylogenetic signal is due to fluctuating selective pressures on body size in changing environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment predicts repeated body size shifts in a recent radiation of Australian mammals*

2019

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Closely related species that occur across steep environmental gradients often display clear body size differences, and examining this pattern is crucial to understanding how environmental variation shapes diversity. Australian endemic rodents in the Pseudomys Division (Muridae: Murinae) have repeatedly colonized the arid, monsoon, and mesic biomes over the last 5 million years. Using occurrence records, body mass data, and Bayesian phylogenetic models, we test whether body mass of 31 species in the Pseudomys Division can be predicted by their biome association. We also model the effect of eight environmental variables on body mass. Despite high phylogenetic signal in body mass evolution across the phylogeny, we find that mass predictably increases in the mesic biome and decreases in arid and monsoon biomes. As per Bergmann's rule, temperature is strongly correlated with body mass, as well as several other variables. Our results highlight two important findings. First, body size in Australian rodents has tracked with climate through the Pleistocene, likely due to several environmental variables rather than a single factor. Second, support for both Brownian motion and predictable change at different taxonomic levels in the Pseudomys Division phylogeny demonstrates how the level at which we test hypotheses can alter interpretation of evolutionary processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment predicts repeated body size shifts in a recent radiation of Australian mammals*

2019

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“…A high post‐K‐Pg rate of body mass evolution is congruent with data from the fossil record (Alroy, ; Raia et al, ), and may represent an evolutionary ‘release’ following the extinction of non‐avian dinosaurs at the end of Cenozoic (Slater, ). Although body size evolution may be a poor proxy for functional traits such as dental characteristics, the high rates of evolution for mammals in the earliest Cenozoic may be indicative of clades movements into high level niches (Slater & Friscia, ). Our new modelling framework, that allows flexibility in the estimation of the time, tempo and mode of trait evolution, therefore provides new insight into body size evolution in the Mammaliaformes.…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MOTMOT: Models of trait macroevolution on trees (an update)

et al. 2020

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The disparity in species’ traits arises through variation in the tempo and mode of evolution over time and between lineages. Understanding these patterns is a core goal in evolutionary biology. Here we present the comprehensively updated r package MOTMOT: Models Of Trait Macroevolution On Trees that contains methods to fit and test models of continuous trait evolution on phylogenies of extant and extinct species. MOTMOT provides functions to investigate a range of evolutionary hypotheses, including flexible approaches to investigate heterogeneous rates and modes of evolution, models of trait change under interspecific competition and patterns of trait change across significant evolutionary transitions such as mass extinctions. We introduce and test novel algorithms of heterogeneous tempo and mode of evolution that allow for phylogeny‐wide shifts in evolution at specific times on a tree. We use these new MOTMOT functions to highlight an exceptionally high rate of mammalian body mass evolution for 10 million years following the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction. These methods provide biologists and palaeontologists with the tools to analyse continuous trait data on phylogenies, including large trees of up to thousands of species.

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“…; Wilson et al. ; Grossnickle and Polly ; Slater ; Slater and Friscia ). However, it is less common for studies to compare the impact of specific ecological pressures on these two types of traits (Santana and Cheung ; Zelditch et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

Grossnickle

2020

Evolution

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Ecological specialization is a central driver of adaptive evolution. However, selective pressures may uniquely affect different ecomorphological traits (e.g., size and shape), complicating efforts to investigate the role of ecology in generating phenotypic diversity. Comparative studies can help remedy this issue by identifying specific relationships between ecologies and morphologies, thus elucidating functionally relevant traits. Jaw shape is a dietary correlate that offers considerable insight on mammalian evolution, but few studies have examined the influence of diet on jaw morphology across mammals. To this end, I apply phylogenetic comparative methods to mandibular measurements and dietary data for a diverse sample of mammals. Especially powerful predictors of diet are metrics that capture either the size of the angular process, which increases with greater herbivory, or the length of the posterior portion of the jaw, which decreases with greater herbivory. The size of the angular process likely reflects sizes of attached muscles that produce jaw movements needed to grind plant material. Further, I examine the impact of feeding ecology on body mass, an oft‐used ecological surrogate in macroevolutionary studies. Although body mass commonly increases with evolutionary shifts to herbivory, it is outperformed by functional jaw morphology as a predictor of diet. Body mass is influenced by numerous factors beyond diet, and it may be evolutionarily labile relative to functional morphologies. This suggests that ecological diversification events may initially facilitate body mass diversification at smaller taxonomic and temporal scales, but sustained selective pressures will subsequently drive greater trait partitioning in functional morphologies.

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Hierarchy in adaptive radiation: A case study using the Carnivora (Mammalia)

Cited by 99 publications

References 127 publications

Environment predicts repeated body size shifts in a recent radiation of Australian mammals*

Environment predicts repeated body size shifts in a recent radiation of Australian mammals*

MOTMOT: Models of trait macroevolution on trees (an update)

Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

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