Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments
Abstract Gaining the ability to predict population responses to climate change is a pressing concern. Using a “natural experiment,” we show that testing for divergent evolution in wild populations from contrasting thermal environments provides a powerful approach, and likely an enhanced predictive p...
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Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018 https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article-pdf/77/1/239/48831248/qpac018.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/evolut/qpac018 2024-09-15T18:14:09+00:00 Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments Pilakouta, Natalie Humble, Joseph L Hill, Iain D C Arthur, Jessica Costa, Ana P B Smith, Bethany A Kristjánsson, Bjarni K Skúlason, Skúli Killen, Shaun S Lindström, Jan Metcalfe, Neil B Parsons, Kevin J Natural Environment Research Council NERC Advanced Fellowship European Research Council 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018 https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article-pdf/77/1/239/48831248/qpac018.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Evolution volume 77, issue 1, page 239-253 ISSN 0014-3820 1558-5646 journal-article 2022 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018 2024-08-27T04:18:06Z Abstract Gaining the ability to predict population responses to climate change is a pressing concern. Using a “natural experiment,” we show that testing for divergent evolution in wild populations from contrasting thermal environments provides a powerful approach, and likely an enhanced predictive power for responses to climate change. Specifically, we used a unique study system in Iceland, where freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are found in waters warmed by geothermal activity, adjacent to populations in ambient-temperature water. We focused on morphological traits across six pairs from warm and cold habitats. We found that fish from warm habitats tended to have a deeper mid-body, a subterminally orientated jaw, steeper craniofacial profile, and deeper caudal region relative to fish from cold habitats. Our common garden experiment showed that most of these differences were heritable. Population age did not appear to influence the magnitude or type of thermal divergence, but similar types of divergence between thermal habitats were more prevalent across allopatric than sympatric population pairs. These findings suggest that morphological divergence in response to thermal habitat, despite being relatively complex and multivariate, are predictable to a degree. Our data also suggest that the potential for migration of individuals between different thermal habitats may enhance nonparallel evolution and reduce our ability to predict responses to climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Oxford University Press Evolution 77 1 239 253 |
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Oxford University Press |
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croxfordunivpr |
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English |
description |
Abstract Gaining the ability to predict population responses to climate change is a pressing concern. Using a “natural experiment,” we show that testing for divergent evolution in wild populations from contrasting thermal environments provides a powerful approach, and likely an enhanced predictive power for responses to climate change. Specifically, we used a unique study system in Iceland, where freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are found in waters warmed by geothermal activity, adjacent to populations in ambient-temperature water. We focused on morphological traits across six pairs from warm and cold habitats. We found that fish from warm habitats tended to have a deeper mid-body, a subterminally orientated jaw, steeper craniofacial profile, and deeper caudal region relative to fish from cold habitats. Our common garden experiment showed that most of these differences were heritable. Population age did not appear to influence the magnitude or type of thermal divergence, but similar types of divergence between thermal habitats were more prevalent across allopatric than sympatric population pairs. These findings suggest that morphological divergence in response to thermal habitat, despite being relatively complex and multivariate, are predictable to a degree. Our data also suggest that the potential for migration of individuals between different thermal habitats may enhance nonparallel evolution and reduce our ability to predict responses to climate change. |
author2 |
Natural Environment Research Council NERC Advanced Fellowship European Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pilakouta, Natalie Humble, Joseph L Hill, Iain D C Arthur, Jessica Costa, Ana P B Smith, Bethany A Kristjánsson, Bjarni K Skúlason, Skúli Killen, Shaun S Lindström, Jan Metcalfe, Neil B Parsons, Kevin J |
spellingShingle |
Pilakouta, Natalie Humble, Joseph L Hill, Iain D C Arthur, Jessica Costa, Ana P B Smith, Bethany A Kristjánsson, Bjarni K Skúlason, Skúli Killen, Shaun S Lindström, Jan Metcalfe, Neil B Parsons, Kevin J Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
author_facet |
Pilakouta, Natalie Humble, Joseph L Hill, Iain D C Arthur, Jessica Costa, Ana P B Smith, Bethany A Kristjánsson, Bjarni K Skúlason, Skúli Killen, Shaun S Lindström, Jan Metcalfe, Neil B Parsons, Kevin J |
author_sort |
Pilakouta, Natalie |
title |
Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
title_short |
Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
title_full |
Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
title_fullStr |
Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
title_full_unstemmed |
Testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
title_sort |
testing the predictability of morphological evolution in contrasting thermal environments |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018 https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article-pdf/77/1/239/48831248/qpac018.pdf |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Evolution volume 77, issue 1, page 239-253 ISSN 0014-3820 1558-5646 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac018 |
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Evolution |
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77 |
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1 |
container_start_page |
239 |
op_container_end_page |
253 |
_version_ |
1810451927804149760 |