scholarly journals Effects of allometry, productivity and lifestyle on rates and limits of body size evolution

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1764) ◽  
pp. 20131007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan G. Okie ◽  
Alison G. Boyer ◽  
James H. Brown ◽  
Daniel P. Costa ◽  
S. K. Morgan Ernest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Generation Time ◽  
Allometric Scaling ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Scaling Exponent ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
Maximum Body

Body size affects nearly all aspects of organismal biology, so it is important to understand the constraints and dynamics of body size evolution. Despite empirical work on the macroevolution and macroecology of minimum and maximum size, there is little general quantitative theory on rates and limits of body size evolution. We present a general theory that integrates individual productivity, the lifestyle component of the slow–fast life-history continuum, and the allometric scaling of generation time to predict a clade's evolutionary rate and asymptotic maximum body size, and the shape of macroevolutionary trajectories during diversifying phases of size evolution. We evaluate this theory using data on the evolution of clade maximum body sizes in mammals during the Cenozoic. As predicted, clade evolutionary rates and asymptotic maximum sizes are larger in more productive clades (e.g. baleen whales), which represent the fast end of the slow–fast lifestyle continuum, and smaller in less productive clades (e.g. primates). The allometric scaling exponent for generation time fundamentally alters the shape of evolutionary trajectories, so allometric effects should be accounted for in models of phenotypic evolution and interpretations of macroevolutionary body size patterns. This work highlights the intimate interplay between the macroecological and macroevolutionary dynamics underlying the generation and maintenance of morphological diversity.

scholarly journals Accelerated body size evolution during cold climatic periods in the Cenozoic

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (16) ◽  
pp. 4183-4188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Clavel ◽  
Hélène Morlon
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary Rates ◽  
Phenotypic Evolution ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Radiation Theory ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

How ecological and morphological diversity accumulates over geological time is much debated. Adaptive radiation theory has been successful in testing the effects of biotic interactions on the rapid divergence of phenotypes within a clade, but this theory ignores abiotic effects. The role of abiotic drivers on the tempo of phenotypic evolution has been tested only in a few lineages or small clades from the fossil record. Here, we develop a phylogenetic comparative framework for testing if and how clade-wide rates of phenotypic evolution vary with abiotic drivers. We apply this approach to comprehensive bird and mammal phylogenies, body size data for 9,465 extant species, and global average temperature trends over the Cenozoic. Across birds and mammals, we find that the rate of body size evolution is primarily driven by past climate. Unexpectedly, evolutionary rates are inferred to be higher during periods of cold rather than warm climates in most groups, suggesting that temperature influences evolutionary rates by modifying selective pressures rather than through its effect on energy availability and metabolism. The effect of climate on the rate of body size evolution seems to be a general feature of endotherm evolution, regardless of wide differences in species’ ecology and evolutionary history. These results suggest that climatic changes played a major role in shaping species’ evolution in the past and could also play a major role in shaping their evolution in the future.

Dinosaur Macroevolution and Macroecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B.J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.

scholarly journals The developmental and physiological basis of body size evolution in an insect

2001 ◽  
Vol 268 (1476) ◽  
pp. 1589-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. D'Amico ◽  
Goggy Davidowitz ◽  
H. Frederik Nijhout
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Evolution of body mass in the Pan-Alcidae (Aves, Charadriiformes): the effects of combining neontological and paleontological data

Paleobiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Adam Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Mass Range ◽  
Extinct Species ◽  
Paleontological Data ◽  
Ideal Candidate ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses ◽  
Maximum Body

AbstractHypotheses regarding the evolution of many clades are often generated in the absence of data from the fossil record and potential biases introduced by exclusion of paleontological data are frequently ignored. With regard to body size evolution, extinct taxa are frequently excluded because of the lack of body mass estimates—making identification of reliable clade specific body mass estimators crucial to evaluating trends on paleontological timescales. Herein, I identify optimal osteological dimensions for estimating body mass in extinct species of Pan-Alcidae (Aves, Charadriiformes) and utilize newly generated estimates of body mass to demonstrate that the combination of neontological and paleontological data produces results that conflict with hypotheses generated when extant species data are analyzed in isolation. The wing-propelled diving Pan-Alcidae are an ideal candidate for comparing estimates of body mass evolution based only on extant taxa with estimates generated including fossils because extinct species diversity (≥31 species) exceeds extant diversity, includes examples from every extant genera, and because phylogenetic hypotheses of pan-alcid relationships are not restricted to the 23 extant species. Phylogenetically contextualized estimation of body mass values for extinct pan-alcids facilitated evaluation of broad scale trends in the evolution of pan-alcid body mass and generated new data bearing on the maximum body mass threshold for aerial flight in wing-propelled divers. The range of body mass in Pan-Alcidae is found to exceed that of all other clades of Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies) and intraclade body mass variability is recognized as a recurring theme in the evolution of the clade. Finally, comparisons of pan-alcid body mass range with penguins and the extinct †Plotopteridae elucidate potentially shared constraints among phylogenetically disparate yet ecologically similar clades of wing-propelled divers.

scholarly journals Mammal body size evolution in North America and Europe over 20 Myr: similar trends generated by different processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Huang ◽  
Jussi T. Eronen ◽  
Christine M. Janis ◽  
Juha J. Saarinen ◽  
Daniele Silvestro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Because body size interacts with many fundamental biological properties of a species, body size evolution can be an essential component of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. Here we investigate how body size evolution can be linked to the clade-specific diversification dynamics in different geographical regions. We analyse an extensive body size dataset of Neogene large herbivores (covering approx. 50% of the 970 species in the orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla) in Europe and North America in a Bayesian framework. We reconstruct the temporal patterns of body size in each order on each continent independently, and find significant increases of minimum size in three of the continental assemblages (except European perissodactyls), suggesting an active selection for larger bodies. Assessment of trait-correlated birth-death models indicates that the common trend of body size increase is generated by different processes in different clades and regions. Larger-bodied artiodactyl species on both continents tend to have higher origination rates, and both clades in North America show strong links between large bodies and low extinction rate. Collectively, our results suggest a strong role of species selection and perhaps of higher-taxon sorting in driving body size evolution, and highlight the value of investigating evolutionary processes in a biogeographic context.

scholarly journals Inconsistent patterns of body size evolution in co-occurring island reptiles

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuval Itescu ◽  
Rachel Schwarz ◽  
Colin M. Donihue ◽  
Alex Slavenko ◽  
Stephanos A. Roussos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

scholarly journals Migratory lineages rapidly evolve larger body sizes than non-migratory relatives in ray-finned fishes

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1918) ◽  
pp. 20192615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Burns ◽  
Devin D. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
First Time

Migratory animals respond to environmental heterogeneity by predictably moving long distances in their lifetime. Migration has evolved repeatedly in animals, and many adaptations are found across the tree of life that increase migration efficiency. Life-history theory predicts that migratory species should evolve a larger body size than non-migratory species, and some empirical studies have shown this pattern. A recent study analysed the evolution of body size between diadromous and non-diadromous shads, herrings, anchovies and allies, finding that species evolved larger body sizes when adapting to a diadromous lifestyle. It remains unknown whether different fish clades adapt to migration similarly. We used an adaptive landscape framework to explore body size evolution for over 4500 migratory and non-migratory species of ray-finned fishes. By fitting models of macroevolution, we show that migratory species are evolving towards a body size that is larger than non-migratory species. Furthermore, we find that migratory lineages evolve towards their optimal body size more rapidly than non-migratory lineages, indicating body size is a key adaption for migratory fishes. Our results show, for the first time, that the largest vertebrate radiation on the planet exhibited strong evolutionary determinism when adapting to a migratory lifestyle.

scholarly journals Empirical evidence for fast temperature-dependent body size evolution in rotifers

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 796 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Walczyńska ◽  
Lluis Franch-Gras ◽  
Manuel Serra
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution
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