Character displacement drives trait divergence in a continental fauna.

ABSTRACT: Coexisting (sympatric) pairs of closely related species are often characterized by exaggerated trait differences. This widespread pattern is consistent with adaptation for reduced similarity due to costly interactions (i.e., "character displacement")-a classic hypothesis in evolutionary theory. But it is equally consistent with a community assembly bias in which lineages with greater trait differences are more likely to establish overlapping ranges in the first place (i.e., "species sorting"), as well as with null expectations of trait divergence through time. Few comparative analyses have explicitly modeled these alternatives, and it remains unclear whether trait divergence is a general prerequisite for sympatry or a consequence of interactions between sympatric species. Here, we develop

SUBMITTER: Anderson SAS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8157990 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature