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Title:
The Role of Habitat Shift in the Evolution of Lizard Morphology: Evidence from Tropical Tropidurus
Authors:
Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P.; Zani, Peter A.; Titus, Tom A.
Affiliation:
AA(Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403), AB(Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403), AC(Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403), AD(Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Zoology Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403)
Publication:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 94, Issue 8, 1997, pp.3828-3832
Publication Date:
04/1997
Origin:
JSTOR; PNAS
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.94.8.3828
Bibliographic Code:
1997PNAS...94.3828V

Abstract

We compared morphology of two geographically close populations of the tropical lizard Tropidurus hispidus to test the hypothesis that habitat structure influences the evolution of morphology and ecology at the population level. T. hispidus isolated on a rock outcrop surrounded by tropical forest use rock crevices for refuge and appear dorsoventrally compressed compared with those in open savanna. A principal components analysis revealed that the populations were differentially distributed along an axis representing primarily three components of shape: body width, body height, and hind-leg length. Morphological divergence was supported by a principal components analysis of size-free morphological variables. Mitochondrial DNA sequences of ATPase 6 indicate that these populations are closely related relative to other T. hispidus, the rock outcrop morphology and ecology are derived within T. hispidus, and morphological and ecological divergence has occurred more rapidly than genetic divergence. This suggests that natural selection can rapidly adjust morphology and ecology in response to a recent history of exposure to habitats differing in structure, a result heretofore implied from comparative studies among lizard species.
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