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The Evidence for Evolution

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Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.

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Genetics of Speciation

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Convergent Evolution

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Phylogeny

Phylogeny

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Analysis and visualization of complex macroevolutionary dynamics: an example from Australian scincid lizards.

Daniel L Rabosky¹, Stephen C Donnellan², Michael Grundler³

¹Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, Australia; Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA;Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, Australia; Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia; Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA; drabosky@umich.edu.

Systematic Biology

|April 1, 2014

Summary

Australian lizards show that rapid species diversification doesn't always mean rapid body shape evolution. Some lizard groups diversified quickly while their body forms changed slowly, suggesting decoupled evolutionary rates.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Macroevolution
Phylogenetics

Background:

The relationship between species diversification and morphological evolution is a key question in evolutionary biology.
Australian scincid lizards represent a highly diverse clade, offering a unique system to study these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the correlation between species diversification and morphological evolution in Australian scincid lizards.
To reconstruct the dynamics of species diversification and trait evolution using a comprehensive phylogenetic framework.

Main Methods:

Generated a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree for over 250 scincid species (>85% complete).
Collected multivariate morphometric data for 183 species.
Utilized a Bayesian statistical framework (BAMM) to model species diversification and phenotypic evolution, accounting for rate variation through time and across lineages.

Main Results:

Identified two major clades (Lerista and Ctenotus) with high species diversification rates.
Lerista lizards exhibited high body form lability with repeated limb reduction.
Ctenotus lizards showed a significant deceleration in body shape evolution, with rates decreasing by over an order of magnitude in their common ancestor.

Conclusions:

Evidence for a modal shift in phenotypic evolutionary dynamics within Australian scincid lizards.
Major axes of morphological variation can evolve independently of species diversification rates.
The developed Bayesian framework is effective for analyzing complex macroevolutionary rate heterogeneity on phylogenetic trees.