The ecology and evolution of key innovations

Stroud, James T.; Losos, Jonathan B.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2022.09.005

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Afterall, the peripheral regions of trait space beyond the Pareto front although sparsely filled are not completely devoid of species. Instead, we suggest that while trade-offs constrain most species to occur within the triangular Pareto front (17,18), a relaxation of, or escape from, these trade-offs due perhaps to geographical isolation from competitors or key innovations (57,58), allows some lineages to persist beyond the Pareto front. In any case, release from these constraints appears to be sufficiently rare or fleeting so as not to disrupt the overall triangular structure of morphospace.…”

Section: Evolutionary Dynamics Of a Bounded Morphospacementioning

confidence: 83%

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Sayol,

Reijenga,

Tobias

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The capacity of organisms to adapt to vacant niches or changing environments is limited by physical constraints on morphological evolution. Substantial progress has been made in identifying how these constraints shape the form and function of producers (plants), but our understanding of evolutionary limits in consumers (animals) remains highly limited, in part because the requisite data have not been available at sufficient scale. Using morphometric measurements for all birds, we demonstrate that observed variation is highly restricted, both for beak shape and overall body shape, to triangular regions of morphospace with clearly defined boundaries and vertices. By combining morphometric data with new information on physical functions of measured traits, we provide evidence that the extent of avian morphospace is constrained by biophysical trade-offs between three functional objectives (strength, reach and engulfment capacity) that characterize resource acquisition and processing by the beak, and three locomotory modalities (aerial, aquatic and terrestrial) that characterize avian lifestyles. Our results suggest that over avian evolutionary history, trajectories of morphological change trend towards the vertices, with birds evolving from a core of biophysical generalists to biophysical specialists, associated with faster macroevolutionary turnover of lineages at the periphery or morphospace. Our analyses reveal that the structure of avian morphological diversity follows relatively simple rules defined by biophysical constraints and trade-offs, shedding light on the process shaping modern animal diversity and responses to environmental change.

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Section: Evolutionary Dynamics Of a Bounded Morphospacementioning

confidence: 83%

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Sayol,

Reijenga,

Tobias

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Evolution is a gradual process, but occasionally results in sudden changes in form and function that allow organisms to exploit new ecological opportunities ( 1, 2 ). These game-changing adaptations, known as ‘key innovations’, are all around us: they have been crucial in driving major evolutionary transitions and catalyzing the diversification of many groups ( 1, 3 ).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection on many loci drove the origin and spread of a key innovation

Stankowski

Zagrodzka

Garlovsky

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Key innovations have played a central role in the origins of biodiversity, but their evolutionary origin and genetic architecture are usually unknown. A recent transition from egg-laying to live-birth in Littorina snails provides a rare opportunity to study the origin and genetic architecture of a young innovation. While recognized as one species, live-bearing individuals do not form a single clade in a genome-wide phylogenetic analysis, hinting at two independent origins. However, local genealogical analysis identified numerous genomic regions where samples group according to their reproductive mode. These regions are widespread across the genome, show clear evidence for live-bearer-specific positive selection, and are enriched for genes that are differentially expressed between egg-laying and live-bearing reproductive tissues. Our results show that key innovations can have a polygenic basis, and that their historical origins can be obscured by a complex demographic history.

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“…Nonetheless, addressing the immediate impact of the rise of a key trait on the fate of the populations is still a challenging topic (e.g. Miller et al ., 2023). First, major key traits evolved deep in the past, making it difficult to disentangle the effect of the emergence of the trait from that of further modifications accumulated through time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

C₄ photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata

Sotelo,

Gamboa,

Dunning

et al. 2024

New Phytologist

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Summary C4 photosynthesis is a key innovation in land plant evolution, but its immediate effects on population demography are unclear. We explore the early impact of the C4 trait on the trajectories of C4 and non‐C4 populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata. We combine niche models projected into paleoclimate layers for the last 5 million years with demographic models based on genomic data. The initial split between C4 and non‐C4 populations was followed by a larger expansion of the ancestral C4 population, and further diversification led to the unparalleled expansion of descendant C4 populations. Overall, C4 populations spread over three continents and achieved the highest population growth, in agreement with a broader climatic niche that rendered a large potential range over time. The C4 populations that remained in the region of origin, however, experienced lower population growth, rather consistent with local geographic constraints. Moreover, the posterior transfer of some C4‐related characters to non‐C4 counterparts might have facilitated the recent expansion of non‐C4 populations in the region of origin. Altogether, our findings support that C4 photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to A. semialata populations, but its effect might be masked by geographic contingencies.

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The ecology and evolution of key innovations

Cited by 41 publications

References 78 publications

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Selection on many loci drove the origin and spread of a key innovation

C₄ photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata

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The ecology and evolution of key innovations

Cited by 41 publications

References 78 publications

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification

Selection on many loci drove the origin and spread of a key innovation

C4 photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata

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C₄ photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata