Author:
Bonett Ronald M,Chippindale Paul T
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Habitat variation strongly influences the evolution of developmentally flexible traits, and may drive speciation and diversification. The plethodontid salamander Eurycea tynerensis is endemic to the geologically diverse Ozark Plateau of south-central North America, and comprises both strictly aquatic paedomorphic populations (achieving reproductive maturity while remaining in the larval form) and more terrestrial metamorphic populations. The switch between developmental modes has occurred many times, but populations typically exhibit a single life history mode. This unique system offers an opportunity to study the specific ecological circumstances under which alternate developmental and life history modes evolve. We use phylogenetic independent contrasts to test for relationships between a key microhabitat feature (streambed sediment) and this major life history polymorphism.
Results
We find streambed microstructure (sediment particle size, type and degree of sorting) to be highly correlated with life-history mode. Eurycea tynerensis is paedomorphic in streams containing large chert gravel, but metamorphoses in nearby streams containing poorly sorted, clastic material such as sandstone or siltstone.
Conclusion
Deposits of large chert gravel create loosely associated streambeds, which provide access to subsurface water during dry summer months. Conversely, streambeds composed of more densely packed sandstone and siltstone sediments leave no subterranean refuge when surface water dries, presumably necessitating metamorphosis and use of terrestrial habitats. This represents a clear example of the relationship between microhabitat structure and evolution of a major developmental and life history trait, and has broad implications for the role of localized ecological conditions on larger-scale evolutionary processes.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Cell Biology,Developmental Biology,Plant Science,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,Physiology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Structural Biology,Biotechnology
Reference91 articles.
1. Stearns SC: The evolution of life histories. 1992, New York, USA: Oxford University Press
2. Schluter D: The ecology of adaptive radiation. 2000, New York, USA: Oxford University Press
3. Schluter D: Ecology and the origin of species. Trends Ecol Evol. 2001, 16: 372-380. 10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02198-X.
4. Dewitt TJ, Scheiner SM: Phenotypic plasticity: functional and conceptual approaches. 2004, New York, USA: Oxford University Press
5. Rollo CD: Phenotypes: their epigenetics, ecology and evolution. 1994, London, UK: Chapman and Hall
Cited by
24 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献