Is evolution faster at ecotones? A test using rates and tempo of diet transitions in Neotropical Sigmodontinae (Rodentia, Cricetidae).

ABSTRACT: We evaluated whether evolution is faster at ecotones as niche shifts may be needed to persist under unstable environment. We mapped diet evolution along the evolutionary history of 350 sigmodontine species. Mapping was used in three new tip-based metrics of trait evolution - Transition Rates, Stasis Time, and Last Transition Time - which were spatialized at the assemblage level (aTR, aST, aTL). Assemblages were obtained by superimposing range maps on points located at core and ecotone of the 93 South American ecoregions. Using Linear Mixed Models, we tested whether ecotones have species with more changes from the ancestral diet (higher aTR), have maintained the current diet for a shorter time (lower aST), and have more recent transitions to the current diet (lower aLT) than cores. We found

SUBMITTER: Luza AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8717272 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature