Extremophile Poeciliidae: multivariate insights into the complexity of speciation along replicated ecological gradients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Replicate population pairs that diverge in response to similar selective regimes allow for an investigation of (a) whether phenotypic traits diverge in a similar and predictable fashion, (b) whether there is gradual variation in phenotypic divergence reflecting variation in the strength of natural selection among populations, (c) whether the extent of this divergence is correlated between multiple character suites (i.e., concerted evolution), and (d) whether gradual variation in phenotypic divergence predicts the degree of reproductive isolation, pointing towards a role for adaptation as a driver of (ecological) speciation. Here, we use poeciliid fishes of the genera Gambusia and Poecilia that have repeatedly evolved extremophile lineages able to tolerate high and sustai

SUBMITTER: Riesch R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4918007 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature