Rapid morphological divergence following a human-mediated introduction: the role of drift and directional selection.

ABSTRACT: Theory predicts that when populations are established by few individuals, random founder effects can facilitate rapid phenotypic divergence even in the absence of selective processes. However, empirical evidence from historically documented colonisations suggest that, in most cases, drift alone is not sufficient to explain the rate of morphological divergence. Here, using the human-mediated introduction of the silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) to French Polynesia, which represents a potentially extreme example of population founding, we reassess the potential for morphological shifts to arise via drift alone. Despite only 80 years of separation from their New Zealand ancestors, French Polynesian silvereyes displayed significant changes in body and bill size and shape, most of which could be

SUBMITTER: Sendell-Price AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7080774 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature