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Climate and host-plant associations shaped the evolution of ceutorhynch weevils throughout the Cenozoic.

ABSTRACT: Using molecular phylogenetic data and methods we inferred divergence times and diversification patterns for the weevil subfamily Ceutorhynchinae in the context of host-plant associations and global climate over evolutionary time. We detected four major diversification shifts that correlate with both host shifts and major climate events. Ceutorhynchinae experienced an increase in diversification rate at ?53 Ma, during the Early Eocene Climate Optimum, coincident with a host shift to Lamiaceae. A second major diversification phase occurred at the end of the Eocene (?34 Ma). This contrasts with the overall deterioration in climate equability at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, but tracks the diversification of important host plant clades in temperate (higher) latitudes, leading to increased diversification rates in the weevil clades infesting temperate hosts. A third major phase of diversification is correlated with the rising temperatures of the Late Oligocene Warming Event (?26.5 Ma); diversification rates then declined shortly after the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (?14.9 Ma). Our results indicate that biotic and abiotic factors together explain the evolution of Ceutorhynchinae better than each of these drivers viewed in isolation.

SUBMITTER: Letsch H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6175111 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Climate and host-plant associations shaped the evolution of ceutorhynch weevils throughout the Cenozoic.

Letsch Harald H Gottsberger Brigitte B Metzl Christian C Astrin Jonas J Friedman Ariel L L ALL McKenna Duane D DD Fiedler Konrad K

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution 20180810 9

Using molecular phylogenetic data and methods we inferred divergence times and diversification patterns for the weevil subfamily Ceutorhynchinae in the context of host-plant associations and global climate over evolutionary time. We detected four major diversification shifts that correlate with both host shifts and major climate events. Ceutorhynchinae experienced an increase in diversification rate at ∼53 Ma, during the Early Eocene Climate Optimum, coincident with a host shift to Lamiaceae. A ...[more]

PMID: 30040114

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Project description:BackgroundWas there a mid-Cenozoic vertebrate extinction and recovery event in Madagascar and, if so, what are its implications for the evolution of lemurs? The near lack of an early and mid-Cenozoic fossil record on Madagascar has inhibited direct testing of any such hypotheses. We compare the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Madagascar in the Holocene to that of early Cenozoic continental Africa to shed light on the probability of a major mid-Cenozoic lemur extinction event, followed by an "adaptive radiation" or recovery. We also use multiple analytic approaches to test competing models of lemur diversification and the null hypothesis that no unusual mid-Cenozoic extinction of lemurs occurred.ResultsComparisons of the terrestrial vertebrate faunas of the early Cenozoic on continental Africa and Holocene on Madagascar support the inference that Madagascar suffered a major mid-Cenozoic extinction event. Evolutionary modeling offers some corroboration, although the level of support varies by phylogeny and model used. Using the lemur phylogeny and divergence dates generated by Kistler and colleagues, RPANDA and TESS offer moderate support for the occurrence of unusual extinction at or near the Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) boundary (34 Ma). TreePar, operating under the condition of obligate mass extinction, found peak diversification at 31 Ma, and low probability of survival of prior lineages. Extinction at the E-O boundary received greater support than other candidate extinctions or the null hypothesis of no major extinction. Using the lemur phylogeny and divergence dates generated by Herrera & Dàvalos, evidence for large-scale extinction diminishes and its most likely timing shifts to before 40 Ma, which fails to conform to global expectations.ConclusionsWhile support for large-scale mid-Cenozoic lemur extinction on Madagascar based on phylogenetic modeling is inconclusive, the African fossil record does provide indirect support. Furthermore, a major extinction and recovery of lemuriforms during the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) would coincide with other major vertebrate extinctions in North America, Europe, and Africa. It would suggest that Madagascar's lemurs were impacted by the climate shift from "greenhouse" to "ice-house" conditions that occurred at that time. This could, in turn, help to explain some of the peculiar characteristics of the lemuriform clade.

Dataset Information

Climate and host-plant associations shaped the evolution of ceutorhynch weevils throughout the Cenozoic.

Publications

Climate and host-plant associations shaped the evolution of ceutorhynch weevils throughout the Cenozoic.

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