Microgeographic Morphophysiological Divergence in an Amazonian Soil Mite

Habitat‐linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island‐endemic bird species

“…Recent evidence indicates that adaptive divergence driven by strong divergent selection is also possible in highly mobile animals with significant levels of dispersal and gene flow (e.g., Hohenlohe et al, 2010; Mikles et al, 2020; Nacci et al, 2016; Torres‐Dowdall et al, 2012; Urban et al, 2017). While many studies clearly demonstrate phenotypic and genetic variation consistent with hypotheses of microgeographic adaptive evolution (e.g., Charmantier et al, 2016; Maciejewski et al, 2020; Pequeno et al, 2021), determining the environmental factors and evolutionary and genetic mechanisms driving these patterns remains a difficult challenge (Barrett & Hoekstra, 2011; Hoban et al, 2016). Studies that are successful at showing both genomic evidence of divergent selection and a genetic basis to diverging phenotypes at fine spatial scales are generally restricted to traits controlled by few genes of large effect (e.g., Laurent et al, 2016; Linnen et al, 2013; Nosil et al, 2018; Pfeifer et al, 2018).…”