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Selective loss of polymorphic mating types is associated with rapid phenotypic evolution during morphic speciation.

ABSTRACT: Polymorphism may play an important role in speciation because new species could originate from the distinctive morphs observed in polymorphic populations. However, much remains to be understood about the process by which morphs found new species. To detail the steps of this mode of speciation, we studied the geographic variation and evolutionary history of a throat color polymorphism that distinguishes the "rock-paper-scissors" mating strategies of the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana. We found that the polymorphism is geographically widespread and has been maintained for millions of years. However, there are many populations with reduced numbers of throat color morphs. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed that the polymorphism is ancestral, but it has been independently lost eight times, often giving rise to morphologically distinct subspecies/species. Changes to the polymorphism likely involved selection because the allele for one particular male strategy, the "sneaker" morph, has been lost in all cases. Polymorphism loss was associated with accelerated evolution of male size, female size, and sexual dimorphism, which suggests that polymorphism loss can promote rapid divergence among populations and aid species formation.

SUBMITTER: Corl A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2840131 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Selective loss of polymorphic mating types is associated with rapid phenotypic evolution during morphic speciation.

Corl Ammon A Davis Alison R AR Kuchta Shawn R SR Sinervo Barry B

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20100216 9

Polymorphism may play an important role in speciation because new species could originate from the distinctive morphs observed in polymorphic populations. However, much remains to be understood about the process by which morphs found new species. To detail the steps of this mode of speciation, we studied the geographic variation and evolutionary history of a throat color polymorphism that distinguishes the "rock-paper-scissors" mating strategies of the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana. We ...[more]

PMID: 20160090

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Project description:The rapid evolution of non-native species can facilitate invasion success, but recent reviews indicate that such microevolution rarely yields expansion of the climatic niche in the introduced habitats. However, because some invasions originate from a geographically restricted portion of the native species range and its climatic niche, it is possible that the frequency, direction, and magnitude of phenotypic evolution during invasion have been underestimated. We explored the utility of niche shift analyses in the red seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla, which expanded its range from the northeastern coastline of Japan to North America, Europe, and northwestern Africa within the last 100 years. A genetically informed climatic niche shift analysis indicates that native source populations occur in colder and highly seasonal habitats, while most non-native populations typically occur in warmer, less seasonal habitats. This climatic niche expansion predicts that non-native populations evolved greater tolerance for elevated heat conditions relative to native source populations. We assayed 935 field-collected and 325 common-garden thalli from 40 locations, and as predicted, non-native populations had greater tolerance for ecologically relevant extreme heat (40°C) than did Japanese source populations. Non-native populations also had greater tolerance for cold and low-salinity stresses relative to source populations. The importance of local adaptation to warm temperatures during invasion was reinforced by evolution of parallel clines: Populations from warmer, lower-latitude estuaries had greater heat tolerance than did populations from colder, higher-latitude estuaries in both Japan and eastern North America. We conclude that rapid evolution plays an important role in facilitating the invasion success of this and perhaps other non-native marine species. Genetically informed ecological niche analyses readily generate clear predictions of phenotypic shifts during invasions and may help to resolve debate over the frequency of niche conservatism versus rapid adaptation during invasion.

Dataset Information

Selective loss of polymorphic mating types is associated with rapid phenotypic evolution during morphic speciation.

Publications

Selective loss of polymorphic mating types is associated with rapid phenotypic evolution during morphic speciation.

Similar Datasets

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