ScholarWorks at UMass Boston

Title

Exceptional Convergence on the Macroevolutionary Landscape in Island Lizard Radiations

Authors

Luke Mahler, University of California - Davis
Travis Ingram, Harvard University
Liam J. Revell, University of Massachusetts BostonFollow
Jonathan B. Losos, Harvard University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-19-2013

Abstract

G. G. Simpson, one of the chief architects of evolutionary biology’s modern synthesis, proposed that diversification occurs on a macroevolutionary adaptive landscape, but landscape models are seldom used to study adaptive divergence in large radiations. We show that for Caribbean Anolis lizards, diversification on similar Simpsonian landscapes leads to striking convergence of entire faunas on four islands. Parallel radiations unfolding at large temporal scales shed light on the process of adaptive diversification, indicating that the adaptive landscape may give rise to predictable evolutionary patterns in nature, that adaptive peaks may be stable over macroevolutionary time, and that available geographic area influences the ability of lineages to discover new adaptive peaks.

Comments

Published in Science, Vol. 341 no. 6143 pp. 292-295.

Recommended Citation

Mahler, Luke, Travis Ingram, Liam J. Revell, and Jonathan B. Losos. (July 19, 2013) "Exceptional Convergence on the Macroevolutionary Landscape in Island Lizard Radiations." Science, Vol. 341, No. 6143, pp. 292-295.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Rights

Copyright 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science