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Mosaic evolution, preadaptation, and the evolution of evolvability in apes
1Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|January 8, 2020
Summary
Evolutionary developmental flexibility in apes led to diverse traits. Shifts in trait modularity and relaxed integration fueled rapid evolutionary changes in the ape body plan.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Developmental biology
- Paleontology
Background:
- Understanding how complex trait interactions shape evolutionary pathways is crucial.
- Macroevolutionary disparity patterns reveal insights into evolutionary processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate macroevolutionary disparity patterns in the haplorrhine skeleton.
- To compare these patterns with neurological development to understand early ape evolution.
- To elucidate the role of modularity shifts in driving evolutionary changes in apes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a character matrix from the haplorrhine skeleton.
- Comparison of skeletal character patterns with neurological development data.
Main Results:
- Distinct macroevolutionary disparity patterns were observed in different skeletal modules.
- Early ape evolution exhibited significant evolutionary and developmental flexibility.
- Relaxed integration and shifts in modularity coincided with bursts in evolutionary rates and phenotypic innovation.
- The formation of new trait modules preceded rapid evolutionary shifts in the carpus and pelvis in humans and chimpanzees.
Conclusions:
- Shifts in modularity and integration structure evolutionary mosaicism, enhancing evolvability.
- These changes may have a preadaptive effect, catalyzing later morphological remodeling.
- Early ape evolution was characterized by flexibility, innovation, and dramatic body plan changes.
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