Linked Life Data

1586399

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/1586399

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6363
pubmed:dateCreated
1992-3-31
pubmed:abstractText
Sympatric species that belong to the same ecological guild usually differ in their behaviour and morphology, and these differences are often interpreted as adaptations to having to make use of different resources. Evidence supporting this interpretation comes from association between ecology and morphology among species, in which an a priori functional relationship is reasonable. But one problem with such comparisons is that members of a guild may be closely related, so the more closely related species can share a greater similarity in their morphology and ecology simply as a result of the lingering legacy of a common ancestor. In principle, the importance of historical legacy can be evaluated from phylogenetic relationships and times since divergence for all species, but this is rarely possible because these data are not available. Here we use a phylogeny for eight sympatric species of warbler in the genus Phylloscopus, based on their mitochondrial DNA sequences, to remove the effects of historical legacy. Without these effects, we find strong support for adaptive interpretations of among-species variation in habitat selection, prey-size choice and feeding method. Ecological variation along any of these three niche axes is associated with predictable morphological variation. We also find evidence for historical legacy in that more closely related species are often more similar behaviourally and morphologically. This paradoxical result can be reconciled because the most closely related species tend to differ along only one niche axis, habitat choice. In contrast, the evolution of prey-size choice and feeding method occurred rapidly and early in the diversification of this group. Once a new ecological zone was occupied, subsequent morphological change along these niche axes was limited, accounting for the similarity of closely related species.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0028-0836
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
27
pubmed:volume
355
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
817-21
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1992
pubmed:articleTitle
Evolution of ecological differences in the Old World leaf warblers.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't