Ecosystem size predicts eco‐morphological variability in a postglacial diversification. Issue 15 (15th June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Recknagel, Hans; Hooker, Oliver E.; Adams, Colin E.; Elmer, Kathryn R.
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 7:Issue 15(2017:Aug.)
• Page Start: 5560
• Page End: 5570
• Publication Date: 2017-06-15
• Subjects: adaptive morphology -- Arctic charr -- benthic–limnetic -- ecological opportunity -- environmental heterogeneity -- freshwater fish -- trophic morphology; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3013
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

Abstract: Identifying the processes by which new phenotypes and species emerge has been a long‐standing effort in evolutionary biology. Young adaptive radiations provide a model to study patterns of morphological and ecological diversification in environmental context. Here, we use the recent radiation (ca. 12k years old) of the freshwater fish Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus ) to identify abiotic and biotic environmental factors associated with adaptive morphological variation. Arctic charr are exceptionally diverse, and in postglacial lakes there is strong evidence of repeated parallel evolution of similar morphologies associated with foraging. We measured head depth (a trait reflecting general eco‐morphology and foraging ecology) of 1, 091 individuals across 30 lake populations to test whether fish morphological variation was associated with lake bathymetry and/or ecological parameters. Across populations, we found a significant relationship between the variation in head depth of the charr and abiotic environmental characteristics: positively with ecosystem size (i.e., lake volume, surface area, depth) and negatively with the amount of littoral zone. In addition, extremely robust‐headed phenotypes tended to be associated with larger and deeper lakes. We identified no influence of co‐existing biotic community on Arctic charr trophic morphology. This study evidences the role of the extrinsic environment as a facilitator of rapid eco‐morphological diversification. Abstract : Identifying the factors driving the repeated diversification of postglacial fishes is crucial to inferring how phenotypic variation evolves. Using a large dataset of Arctic charr populations from postglacial lakes across the British Isles, we tested whether an ecologically relevant morphological character is correlated with features of the lakes. We found a relationship between the variation in head depth of the charr and abiotic environmental characteristics: positively with ecosystem size and negatively with the amount of littoral zone; and a positive tendency for robust‐headed phenotypes in larger, deeper lakes.