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Climate-driven range expansion and morphological evolution in a marine gastropod.
M E Hellberg1, D P Balch, K Roy
1Department of Biological Sciences, 508 Life Sciences Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 2, 2001
Summary
Global climate change impacts marine gastropod phenotypes. Range expansions, not refugia, drive significant morphological evolution in Acanthinucella spirata populations.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Marine Biology
Background:
- Global climate change effects on species phenotypes are poorly understood.
- The Pleistocene fossil record offers insights into past climate-driven evolutionary changes.
- Marine gastropods provide valuable models for studying evolutionary responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate phenotypic consequences of Pleistocene climate change in marine gastropods.
- To determine if morphological evolution occurred in refugia or during range shifts.
- To link genetic variation with observed morphological changes.
Main Methods:
- Morphological measurements of extant and Pleistocene Acanthinucella spirata populations.
- Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of living Acanthinucella spirata populations.
- Comparative analysis of shell morphology across different populations and time periods.
Main Results:
- Northern populations exhibited limited genetic variation, suggesting recent northward range expansion.
- Recently recolonized northern populations displayed unique shell morphologies absent in southern populations and fossils.
- Morphological divergence was linked to geographical range shifts rather than isolation in refugia.
Conclusions:
- Geographical range shifts in response to climate change can be a significant driver of morphological evolution.
- Morphological evolution may occur rapidly during range expansions, challenging traditional views of evolution in refugia.
- Acanthinucella spirata provides a case study for understanding climate-driven evolutionary dynamics in marine invertebrates.
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