Multivariate morphometrics, quantitative genetics, and neutral theory: Developing a “modern synthesis” for primate evolutionary morphology

Cramon‐Taubadel, Noreen von

doi:10.1002/evan.21761

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 109 publications

(272 reference statements)

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“…As a result of integration, correlated responses to selection can result in phenotypic changes in some traits that are merely a consequence of covariation with other traits under selection (Gould and Lewontin, 1979;Wagner, 1984;Price and Langen, 1992;Parsons et al, 2015). Understanding how developmental processes lead to correlated responses to selection is pivotal to distinguishing adaptive changes from those that are non-adaptive, or potentially even maladaptive, in analyses of phylogeny, ancestral relationships and evolutionary change within lineages (Gould and Lewontin, 1979;Riska, 1986;von Cramon-Taubadel, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection for increased tibia length in mice alters skull shape through parallel changes in developmental mechanisms

Unger

Devine

Hallgrímsson

et al. 2021

eLife

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Bones in the vertebrate cranial base and limb skeleton grow by endochondral ossification, under the control of growth plates. Mechanisms of endochondral ossification are conserved across growth plates, which increases covariation in size and shape among bones, and in turn may lead to correlated changes in skeletal traits not under direct selection. We used micro-CT and geometric morphometrics to characterize shape changes in the cranium of the Longshanks mouse, which was selectively bred for longer tibiae. We show that Longshanks skulls became longer, flatter, and narrower in a stepwise process. Moreover, we show that these morphological changes likely resulted from developmental changes in the growth plates of the Longshanks cranial base, mirroring changes observed in its tibia. Thus, indirect and non-adaptive morphological changes can occur due to developmental overlap among distant skeletal elements, with important implications for interpreting the evolutionary history of vertebrate skeletal form.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection for increased tibia length in mice alters skull shape through parallel changes in developmental mechanisms

Unger

Devine

Hallgrímsson

et al. 2021

eLife

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“…Although a recently proposed model-bound approach for understanding morphological evolution of the human skull considers not only statistical analysis of form, but also quantitative genetics and explicit evolutionary hypotheses, like neutral theory [10], morphological integration is typically studied by analyzing the covariation among morphological traits [11]. Nonetheless, this integration is not absolute but organized in units that are relatively independent while participating to generate a structure that act as functional whole.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These independent units are nevertheless integrated internally, and are operationally known as modules [7]. Even though the majority of the studies on modularity and integration have focused on variation among individuals within populations, there are more levels of variation that exhibit modularity and integration [9], deriving from distinct sources such as genetic variation, phenotypic plasticity, fluctuating asymmetry, evolutionary change, among others [10,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological consequences of artificial cranial deformation: Modularity and integration

Püschel

Frieß²,

Manríquez

2020

PLoS ONE

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The cranium is an anatomically complex structure. One source of its complexity is due to its modular organization. Cranial modules are distinct and partially independent units that interact substantially during ontogeny thus generating morphological integration. Artificial Cranial Deformation (ACD) occurs when the human skull is intentionally deformed, through the use of different deforming devices applied to the head while it is developing. Hence, ACD provides an interesting example to assess the degree to which biomechanical perturbations of the developing neurocranium impact on the degree of morphological integration in the skull as a whole. The main objective of this study was to assess how ACD affects the morphological integration of the skull. This was accomplished by comparing a sample of non-deformed crania and two sets of deformed crania (i.e. antero-posterior and oblique). Both developmental and static modularity and integration were assessed through Generalized Procrustes Analysis by considering the symmetric and asymmetric components of variation in adults, using 3D landmark coordinates as raw data. The presence of two developmental modules (i.e. viscero and neurocranium) in the skull was tested. Then, in order to understand how ACD affects morphological integration, the covariation pattern between the neuro and viscerocranium was examined in antero-posterior, oblique and non-deformed cranial categories using Partial Least-Squares. The main objective of this study was to assess how ACD affects the morphological integration of the skull. This was accomplished by comparing a sample of deformed (i.e. antero-posterior and oblique) and non-deformed crania. Hence, differences in integration patterns were compared between groups. The obtained results support the modular organization of the human skull in the two analyzed modules. The integration analyses show that the oblique ACD style differentially affects the static morphological integration of the skull by increasing the covariance between neuro and viscerocranium in a more constrained way than in antero-posterior and non-deformed skulls. In addition, the antero-posterior ACD style seems to affect the developmental integration of the skull by directing the covariation pattern in a more defined manner as compared to the other cranial categories.

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“…The increase in morphological diversity during this period, coincident with the appearance of agriculture, was interpreted as evidence of gene flow (Delgado, 2012(Delgado, , 2015(Delgado, , 2017. The discrepancy between genetics and cranial morphology regarding the amount of diversity deserves attention since a certain degree of convergence would, in principle, be expected from both markers because they are neutral and are affected by similar evolutionary forces (Zichello et al, 2018;von Cramon-Taubadel, 2019). In this specific case, the discrepancy requires additional investigation but, given that some of the cranial phenotypes investigated are very plastic and could reflect a range of adaptations/plasticity rather than exclusively population history (Delgado, submitted), the evolutionary diversification viewed during the initial late Holocene would be likely an effect of natural selection (Delgado, 2017).…”

Section: Decreasing Genetic Diversity Over Time and Evidence Of Gene Driftmentioning

confidence: 99%

A paleogenetic perspective of the Sabana de Bogotá (Northern South America) population history over the Holocene (9000–550 cal BP)

Delgado

Rodríguez

Kassadjikova

et al. 2021

Quaternary International

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On the basis of distinct lines of evidence, detailed reconstructions of the Holocene population history of the Sabana de Bogotá (SB) region, Northern South America, have been performed. Currently, there exist two competing models that support temporal continuity or, alternatively, divergence. Despite recent research that lends support to the population discontinuity model, several discrepancies remain, calling for other kinds of evidences to be explored for a more detailed picture of Holocene biocultural evolution.In this study, we analyze the mitochondrial genetic diversity of 30 individuals (including 15 newly reported complete mitochondrial genomes) recovered from several archaeological sites spanning from the late Pleistocene (12,164 cal BP) until the final late Holocene (2,751 cal BP) along with published data from the region dating ~9,000-550 cal BP in order to investigate diachronic genetic change. Genetic diversity and distance indices were calculated, and demographic models tested in an approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) framework to evaluate whether patterns of genetic affinities of the SB prehispanic populations support genetic continuity or discontinuity. The results show that mitochondrial genomes of the complete dataset fall within the Native American haplogroups A2, B2, C1b, D1 and D4h3a. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity declined over time with further evidence of genetic drift and remarkable reduction of genetic diversity during the final late Holocene. Inter-population distances and the exact test of population differentiation, as well as demographic simulations show no population differentiation and population continuity over time. Consequently, based on the analyzed data, we cannot reject the genetic continuity in the SB region as a plausible population history scenario. However, the restriction of the analyses to the Hyper Variable Region 1 of the mitochondrial genome, and the very low sample size both constitute significant limitations to infer evolutionary history.

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Multivariate morphometrics, quantitative genetics, and neutral theory: Developing a “modern synthesis” for primate evolutionary morphology

Cited by 15 publications

References 109 publications

Selection for increased tibia length in mice alters skull shape through parallel changes in developmental mechanisms

Selection for increased tibia length in mice alters skull shape through parallel changes in developmental mechanisms

Morphological consequences of artificial cranial deformation: Modularity and integration

A paleogenetic perspective of the Sabana de Bogotá (Northern South America) population history over the Holocene (9000–550 cal BP)

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