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1.
  总被引:4,自引:0,他引:4  
Biologists have long known that closely related species are often phenotypically different where they occur together, but are indistinguishable where they occur alone. The causes of such character displacement are controversial, however. We used polyphenic spadefoot toad tadpoles (Spea bombifrons and S. multiplicata) to test the hypothesis that character displacement evolves to minimize competition for food. We also sought to evaluate the role of phenotypic plasticity in the mediation of competitive interactions between these species. Depending on their diet, individuals of both species develop into either a small-headed omnivore morph, which feeds mostly on detritus, or a large-headed carnivore morph, which specializes on shrimp. Laboratory experiments and surveys of natural ponds revealed that the two species were more dissimilar in their tendency to produce carnivores when they occurred together than when they occurred alone. This divergence in carnivore production was expressed as both character displacement (where S. multiplicata's propensity to produce carnivores was lower in sympatry than in allopatry) and as phenotypic plasticity (where S. multiplicata facultatively enhanced carnivore production in S. bombifrons, and S. bombifrons facultatively suppressed carnivore production in S. multiplicata). In separate experiments, we established that S. bombifrons (the species for which carnivore production was enhanced) was the superior competitor for shrimp. Conversely, S. multiplicata (the species for which carnivore production was suppressed and omnivore production enhanced) was the superior competitor for detritus. These results therefore demonstrate that selection to minimize competition for food can cause character displacement. They also suggest that both character displacement and phenotypic plasticity may mediate competitive interactions between species.  相似文献   

2.
    
Habitat preference may promote adaptive divergence and speciation, yet the conditions under which this is likely are insufficiently explored. We use individual‐based simulations to study the evolution and consequence of habitat preference during divergence with gene flow, considering four different underlying genetically based behavioural mechanisms: natal habitat imprinting, phenotype‐dependent, competition‐dependent and direct genetic habitat preference. We find that the evolution of habitat preference generally requires initially high dispersal, is facilitated by asymmetry in population sizes between habitats, and is hindered by an increasing number of underlying genetic loci. Moreover, the probability of habitat preference to emerge and promote divergence differs greatly among the underlying mechanisms. Natal habitat imprinting evolves most easily and can allow full divergence in parameter ranges where no divergence is possible in the absence of habitat preference. The reason is that imprinting represents a one‐allele mechanism of assortative mating linking dispersal behaviour very effectively to local selection. At the other extreme, direct genetic habitat preference, a two‐allele mechanism, evolves under restricted conditions only, and even then facilitates divergence weakly. Overall, our results indicate that habitat preference can be a strong reproductive barrier promoting divergence with gene flow, but that this is highly contingent on the underlying preference mechanism.  相似文献   

3.
  总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
We investigated the conditions under which plastic responses to density are adaptive in natural populations of Impatiens capensis and determined whether plasticity has evolved differently in different selective environments. Previous studies showed that a population that evolved in a sunny site exhibited greater plasticity in response to density than did a population that evolved in a woodland site. Using replicate inbred lines in a reciprocal transplant that included a density manipulation, we asked whether such population differentiation was consistent with the hypothesis of adaptive divergence. We hypothesized that plasticity would be more strongly favored in the sunny site than in the woodland site; consequently, we predicted that selection would be more strongly density dependent in the sunny site, favoring the phenotype that was expressed at each density. Selection on internode length and flowering date was consistent with the hypothesis of adaptive divergence in plasticity. Few costs or benefits of plasticity were detected independently from the expressed phenotype, so plasticity was selected primarily through selection on the phenotype. Correlations between phenotypes and their plasticity varied with the environment and would cause indirect selection on plasticity to be environment dependent. We showed that an appropriate plastic response even to a rare environment can greatly increase genotypic fitness when that environment is favorable. Selection on the measured characters contributed to local adaptation and fully accounted for fitness differences between populations in all treatments except the woodland site at natural density.  相似文献   

4.
    
Character displacement occurs when two species compete, and those individuals most dissimilar from the average resource‐use phenotypes of the other species are selectively favored. Few studies have explored the sequence of events by which such divergence comes about. We addressed this issue by studying two species of spadefoot toads that have undergone ecological character displacement with each other. Previous research revealed that phenotypic shifts between sympatric and allopatric populations of one species, Spea multiplicata, reflect a condition‐dependent maternal effect. Here, we show that analogous shifts in the other species, S. bombifrons, cannot similarly be explained by such a maternal effect, and that these shifts instead appear to be underlain by allelic differences. We hypothesize that these two species have evolved different mechanisms of character displacement because they differ in duration in sympatry. Specifically, because they occur at the edge of a range expansion, populations of S. bombifrons have been exposed to S. multiplicata for a longer period. Consequently, S. bombifrons have likely had more time to accumulate genetic changes that promote character displacement. Generally, character displacement may often progress through an initial phase in which trait differences are environmentally induced to one in which they are constitutively expressed.  相似文献   

5.
    
Despite long-standing interest in character displacement, little is known of its underlying proximate causes. Here, we explore the role of maternal effects in character displacement. We specifically investigated whether differences in maternal body condition mediate divergence in the expression of resource-use traits between populations of spadefoot toads ( Spea multiplicata ) that occur in sympatry with a heterospecific competitor and those that occur in allopatry. In sympatry, S. multiplicata is forced by its competitor onto a less profitable resource. As a result, sympatric females mature in poorer condition and invest less into offspring. Consequently, their offspring produce a resource-use phenotype that minimizes competition with the other species and that also differs from the phenotype produced in allopatry. These differences in trait expression between allopatry and sympatry disappear once mothers are equilibrated in body condition in the laboratory. Thus, a condition-dependent maternal effect mediates population divergence and character displacement. Such effects potentially buffer populations from extinction (via competitive exclusion) while genetic changes accumulate, which produce divergent traits in the absence of the maternal effect. Maternal effects may therefore often be important in determining the initial direction and rate of evolution during the early stages of character displacement.  相似文献   

6.
Local adaptation of populations along elevational gradients is well known, but conclusive evidence that such divergence has resulted in the origin of distinct species in parapatry remains lacking. We integrated morphological, vocal, genetic and behavioural data to test predictions pertaining to the hypothesis of parapatric ecological speciation associated with elevation in populations of a tropical montane songbird, the Grey‐breasted Wood‐wren (Henicorhina leucophrys: Troglodytidae), from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. We confirmed that two distinct populations exist along the elevational gradient. Phylogenetic analyses tentatively indicate that the two populations are not sister taxa, suggesting they did not differentiate from a single ancestor along the gradient, but rather resulted from separate colonization events. The populations showed marked divergence in morphometrics, vocalizations and genetic variation in mitochondrial and nuclear loci, and little to no evidence of hybridization. Individuals of both populations responded more strongly to their own local songs than to songs from another elevation. Although the two forms do not appear to have differentiated locally in parapatry, morphological and vocal divergence along the elevational gradient is consistent with adaptation, suggesting a possible link between adaptive evolution in morphology and songs and the origin of reproductive isolation via a behavioural barrier to gene flow. The adaptive value of phenotypic differences between populations requires additional study.  相似文献   

7.
    
We investigate extensive quantitative trait variation (dewlap hue, colour pattern, dorsum hue, body proportions and scalation) in the Martinique anole across eight transects representing nascent parapatric ecological speciation, nascent allopatric speciation and allopatric divergence without sufficient genetic structure to suggest speciation. Quantitative trait divergence can be extremely large between adjacent sets of populations, but with one exception that this is associated with difference in habitat rather than past allopatry. Nascent ecological speciation shows the greatest level of quantitative trait divergence across all character sets including those implicated in natural, as well as sexual selection. The sole example of nascent allopatric speciation is associated with fairly strong quantitative trait divergence among most character sets, but not the set most implicated in natural (rather than sexual) selection. The role of sexual selection in ecological speciation is discussed, both in terms of female choice with assortative mating and male–male competition with condition‐dependant sexual signals.  相似文献   

8.
    
Ecological character displacement occurs when competition imposes divergent selection on interacting species, causing divergence in traits associated with resource use. Generally, divergence is assumed to occur when selection acts on the same, continuously varying trait in both species. However, selection might target multiple traits, and even closely related heterospecifics involved in character displacement might differ in selective targets. We investigated the targets of selection in a species of spadefoot toad, Spea multiplicata, during experimentally imposed competition with a congener, S. bombifrons. When examining traits separately, we found significant selection acting on multiple resource-acquisition traits. Yet, controlling for the independent effects of these traits in a multiple regression revealed that direct selection on a single trait might have contributed toward indirect selection on other correlated traits. Moreover, although we found evidence for plasticity in most traits, competition with S. bombifrons imposed selection on morphology and not on plasticity. Additional experiments suggest that the selective targets during character displacement might differ between the two species involved in this one instance of character displacement. Identifying the targets of competitively mediated selection is crucial, because whether and how character displacement ultimately unfolds depends on the nature of these targets and correlations among them.  相似文献   

9.
    
Gene flow is often considered to be one of the main factors that constrains local adaptation in a heterogeneous environment. However, gene flow may also lead to the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. We investigated the effect of gene flow on local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in development time in island populations of the common frog Rana temporaria which breed in pools that differ in drying regimes. This was done by investigating associations between traits (measured in a common garden experiment) and selective factors (pool drying regimes and gene flow from other populations inhabiting different environments) by regression analyses and by comparing pairwise FST values (obtained from microsatellite analyses) with pairwise QST values. We found that the degree of phenotypic plasticity was positively correlated with gene flow from other populations inhabiting different environments (among‐island environmental heterogeneity), as well as with local environmental heterogeneity within each population. Furthermore, local adaptation, manifested in the correlation between development time and the degree of pool drying on the islands, appears to have been caused by divergent selection pressures. The local adaptation in development time and phenotypic plasticity is quite remarkable, because the populations are young (less than 300 generations) and substantial gene flow is present among islands.  相似文献   

10.
    
Evolutionary responses are required for tree populations to be able to track climate change. Results of 250 years of common garden experiments show that most forest trees have evolved local adaptation, as evidenced by the adaptive differentiation of populations in quantitative traits, reflecting environmental conditions of population origins. On the basis of the patterns of quantitative variation for 19 adaptation‐related traits studied in 59 tree species (mostly temperate and boreal species from the Northern hemisphere), we found that genetic differentiation between populations and clinal variation along environmental gradients were very common (respectively, 90% and 78% of cases). Thus, responding to climate change will likely require that the quantitative traits of populations again match their environments. We examine what kind of information is needed for evaluating the potential to respond, and what information is already available. We review the genetic models related to selection responses, and what is known currently about the genetic basis of the traits. We address special problems to be found at the range margins, and highlight the need for more modeling to understand specific issues at southern and northern margins. We need new common garden experiments for less known species. For extensively studied species, new experiments are needed outside the current ranges. Improving genomic information will allow better prediction of responses. Competitive and other interactions within species and interactions between species deserve more consideration. Despite the long generation times, the strong background in quantitative genetics and growing genomic resources make forest trees useful species for climate change research. The greatest adaptive response is expected when populations are large, have high genetic variability, selection is strong, and there is ecological opportunity for establishment of better adapted genotypes.  相似文献   

11.
12.
Hughes AL 《Heredity》2012,108(4):347-353
Recent evidence suggests the frequent occurrence of a simple non-Darwinian (but non-Lamarckian) model for the evolution of adaptive phenotypic traits, here entitled the plasticity-relaxation-mutation (PRM) mechanism. This mechanism involves ancestral phenotypic plasticity followed by specialization in one alternative environment and thus the permanent expression of one alternative phenotype. Once this specialization occurs, purifying selection on the molecular basis of other phenotypes is relaxed. Finally, mutations that permanently eliminate the pathways leading to alternative phenotypes can be fixed by genetic drift. Although the generality of the PRM mechanism is at present unknown, I discuss evidence for its widespread occurrence, including the prevalence of exaptations in evolution, evidence that phenotypic plasticity has preceded adaptation in a number of taxa and evidence that adaptive traits have resulted from loss of alternative developmental pathways. The PRM mechanism can easily explain cases of explosive adaptive radiation, as well as recently reported cases of apparent adaptive evolution over ecological time.  相似文献   

13.
Recent models of mate preference evolution suggest that direct selection on alleles at preference loci and correlated evolution of preference with locally adapted mating cues are more likely to drive the evolution of assortative mate preference than reinforcement. Mate preference evolution in mimetic Heliconius butterflies has been attributed to all three forms of selection, but here we show that reinforcement has been critical. By examining geographical variation in assortative mating and male mate preference among seven populations of three hybridizing Heliconius species from Costa Rica, we found pronounced character displacement of preference such that sexual isolation was enhanced in areas of interspecific contact. Of the different explanations for the evolution of assortative mate preference, only reinforcement is dependent on interspecific contact in this system. Thus, the observed pattern of reproductive character displacement of mate preference is best explained as a product of indirect selection generated by natural selection against nonmimetic hybrids.  相似文献   

14.
    
Patterns of geographic variation in communication systems can provide insight into the processes that drive phenotypic evolution. Although work in birds, anurans, and insects demonstrates that acoustic signals are sensitive to diverse selective and stochastic forces, processes that shape variation in mammalian vocalizations are poorly understood. We quantified geographic variation in the advertisement songs of sister species of singing mice, montane rodents with a unique mode of vocal communication. We tested three hypotheses to explain spatial variation in the song of the lower altitude species, Scotinomys teguina: selection for species recognition in sympatry with congener, S. xerampelinus, acoustic adaptation to different environments, and stochastic divergence. Mice were sampled at seven sites in Costa Rica and Panamá; genetic distances were estimated from mitochondrial control region sequences, between‐site differences in acoustic environment were estimated from climatic data. Acoustic, genetic and geographic distances were all highly correlated in S. teguina, suggesting that population differentiation in song is largely shaped by genetic drift. Contrasts between interspecific genetic‐acoustic distances were significantly greater than expectations derived from intraspecific contrasts, indicating accelerated evolution of species‐specific song. We propose that, although much intraspecific acoustic variation is effectively neutral, selection has been important in shaping species differences in song.  相似文献   

15.
16.
    
Human‐induced environmental changes differ from most natural changes in which they happen at a faster rate and require quicker responses from populations. The first response of populations is usually phenotypically plastic alterations of morphology, physiology and behaviour. This plasticity can be favourable and move the population closer to an adaptive peak in the altered environment and, hence, maintain a viable population, or be maladaptive and move the population further from the peak and increase the risk of extinction. The radiation of the three‐spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from the ocean to different freshwater habitats has provided much information on adaptation to new environmental conditions. Currently, human‐induced eutrophication is changing the breeding areas of these fish, which creates a model system for investigation of responses to rapid environmental disturbance. Results show that a primary reaction is plastic alterations of behaviour, with some adjustments being adaptive while others are not. At the same time, the strength of sexual selection on several traits is relaxed, which could increase the relative importance of survival selection. Whether this will restore population viability depends on the amount of standing genetic variation in the right direction. Human disturbances can be dramatic and resolution of the limit of flexibility and the possibility of genetic adaptation should be important targets of future research.  相似文献   

17.
  总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
Alpine environments are particularly susceptible to environmental changes associated with global warming but there is potential for alpine plants to adapt to warming if local adaptation occurs and gene flow allows genotypes adapted to low altitudes to colonize higher altitude sites. Here we examine the adaptive potential of a common alpine grass, Poa hiemata, within the restricted alpine habitat of Australian mountains, across a narrow altitudinal gradient replicated in three areas. Grasses at high altitude sites had shorter leaf lengths and larger circumferences than those at lower sites. Transplant experiments with clonal material and plants grown from seed indicated that these differences were partly genetic, with environmental and genetic factors both contributing to the differences between altitudes. Differences in altitudinal forms were also evident in a common garden experiment. Plants showed a home-site advantage in terms of survival. A fitness analysis indicated that at high altitude sites, selection favored plants with short leaves and larger circumferences, whereas these traits were selected in the opposite direction at the low altitude sites. These findings indicate cogradient selection and potential for both plastic and genotypic shifts in response to climate change in P. hiemata.  相似文献   

18.
    
Under global warming, the survival of many populations of sedentary organisms in seasonal environments will largely depend on their ability to cope with warming in situ by means of phenotypic plasticity or adaptive evolution. This is particularly true in high‐latitude environments, where current growing seasons are short, and expected temperature increases large. In such short‐growing season environments, the timing of growth and reproduction is critical to survival. Here, we use the unique setting provided by a natural geothermal soil warming gradient (Hengill geothermal area, Iceland) to study the response of Cerastium fontanum flowering phenology to temperature. We hypothesized that trait expression and phenotypic selection on flowering phenology are related to soil temperature, and tested the hypothesis that temperature‐driven differences in selection on phenology have resulted in genetic differentiation using a common garden experiment. In the field, phenology was related to soil temperature, with plants in warmer microsites flowering earlier than plants at colder microsites. In the common garden, plants responded to spring warming in a counter‐gradient fashion; plants originating from warmer microsites flowered relatively later than those originating from colder microsites. A likely explanation for this pattern is that plants from colder microsites have been selected to compensate for the shorter growing season by starting development at lower temperatures. However, in our study we did not find evidence of variation in phenotypic selection on phenology in relation to temperature, but selection consistently favoured early flowering. Our results show that soil temperature influences trait expression and suggest the existence of genetically based variation in flowering phenology leading to counter‐gradient local adaptation along a gradient of soil temperatures. An important implication of our results is that observed phenotypic responses of phenology to global warming might often be a combination of short‐term plastic responses and long‐term evolutionary responses, acting in different directions.  相似文献   

19.
    
Aims Crofton weed, with a subtropical origin, has successfully invaded in diverse habitats that belong to different climate zones in Southwest China. We tested whether local adaptation plays an important role in the successful invasion of crofton weed in heterogeneous environments.Methods Five populations from different habitats with an altitude ranging from 678 to 2356 m were selected. Plant height, biomass, seed yield and seed germination capability of these populations were investigated in the field. Greenhouse and reciprocal transplant experiments with the five populations were conducted, and all the above characters were measured and compared among these populations.Important findings Plant height, biomass, seed yield and seed germination rate were each significantly different among the five populations in field. However, there was no difference among these populations in the greenhouse experiment. In the reciprocal transplant experiment, plants from the five populations responded similarly to different habitats in the field, indicating lack of local adaptation. Instead, phenotypic plasticity likely plays a key role in the invasion success of crofton weed in different habitats.  相似文献   

20.
    
Lepidium draba (Brassicaceae) is a major concern for agriculture and biodiversity in the western United States. As current control methods do not provide long‐term, sustainable solutions, research has been conducted to find biological control agents. Ceutorhynchus assimilis is one of the currently investigated candidates. Known as oligophagous in the literature, a specialist clade of this root‐galling weevil exists in southern Europe. This raised the question of its ability to survive in colder climates in the target range. We investigated the phenology of C. assimilis in the field in southern France (specialist clade) and Romania (generalist clade) and measured various temperature‐dependent parameters in the laboratory. In both ranges, weevils were univoltine. Oviposition in autumn started later in France compared to Romania, while mature larvae exited galls (to pupate in the soil) earlier the following year. On average, 25% and 32% of galls from France and Romania were completely below the soil surface, respectively, and this appeared to depend on soil substrate. Weevils transported from France to Romania were able to develop, but at a much lower rate than Romanian weevils. Mortality of overwintering larvae of both clades increased with decreasing temperature and exposure time. At ?5°C, lethal times Lt50 and Lt95 were 15 and 42 days for the specialist clade and 26 and 72 days for the generalist clade. A higher proportion of third instar larvae compared to first and second instar larvae survived. Pupation time at different temperatures did not differ between weevils from France or Romania. A climate match model (comparing winter temperatures) indicated that the specialist clade of C. assimilis from France has the potential to establish in some parts of the target range (e.g. Washington, Oregon, California). However, temperature extremes and winters without snow cover will likely limit its establishment unless rapid adaptive evolution takes place.  相似文献   

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