Cryptic lineage diversity,body size divergence,and sympatry in a species complex of Australian lizards (Gehyra) |
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| Authors: | Craig C Moritz Renae C Pratt Sarah Bank Gayleen Bourke Jason G Bragg Paul Doughty J Scott Keogh Rebecca J Laver Sally Potter Luisa C Teasdale Leonardo G Tedeschi Paul M Oliver |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, and Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia;2. National Herbarium of New South Wales, The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, NSW, Australia;3. Western Australian Museum, Perth, WA 6026, Australia;4. School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia;5. Department of Sciences, Museum Victoria, Carlton, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia;6. Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia;7. National Collections & Marine Infrastructure, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Black Mountain Laboratories, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Understanding the joint evolutionary and ecological underpinnings of sympatry among close relatives remains a key challenge in biology. This problem can be addressed through joint phylogenomic and phenotypic analysis of complexes of closely related lineages within, and across, species and hence representing the speciation continuum. For a complex of tropical geckos from northern Australia—Gehyra nana and close relatives—we combine mtDNA phylogeography, exon‐capture sequencing, and morphological data to resolve independently evolving lineages and infer their divergence history and patterns of morphological evolution. Gehyra nana is found to include nine divergent lineages and is paraphyletic with four other species from the Kimberley region of north‐west Australia. Across these 13 taxa, 12 of which are restricted to rocky habitats, several lineages overlap geographically, including on the diverse Kimberley islands. Morphological evolution is dominated by body size shifts, and both body size and shape have evolved gradually across the group. However, larger body size shifts are observed among overlapping taxa than among closely related parapatric lineages of G. nana, and sympatric lineages are more divergent than expected at random. Whether elevated body size differences among sympatric lineages are due to ecological sorting or character displacement remains to be determined. |
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| Keywords: | Body size shifts character displacement cryptic diversity morphological evolution phylogenomics sympatry |
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