Composition of a chemical signalling trait varies with phylogeny and precipitation across an Australian lizard radiation. (5th June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zozaya, Stephen M.; Teasdale, Luisa C.; Moritz, Craig; Higgie, Megan; Hoskin, Conrad J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of evolutionary biology. Volume 35:Number 7(2022)
• Page Start: 919
• Page End: 933
• Publication Date: 2022-06-05
• Subjects: chemical signal -- climate -- lizard -- multivariate phylogenetic regression -- mvGLS -- pheromone; Evolution (Biology) -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; 576.8
• DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14031
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1010-061X

Abstract

Abstract: The environment presents challenges to the transmission and detection of animal signalling systems, resulting in selective pressures that can drive signal divergence amongst populations in disparate environments. For chemical signals, climate is a potentially important selective force because factors such as temperature and moisture influence the persistence and detection of chemicals. We investigated an Australian lizard radiation ( Heteronotia ) to explore relationships between a sexually dimorphic chemical signalling trait (epidermal pore secretions) and two key climate variables: temperature and precipitation. We reconstructed the phylogeny of Heteronotia with exon capture phylogenomics, estimated phylogenetic signal in amongst‐lineage chemical variation and assessed how chemical composition relates to temperature and precipitation using multivariate phylogenetic regressions. High estimates of phylogenetic signal indicate that the composition of epidermal pore secretions varies amongst lineages in a manner consistent with Brownian motion, although there are deviations to this, with stark divergences coinciding with two phylogenetic splits. Accounting for phylogenetic non‐independence, we found that amongst‐lineage chemical variation is associated with geographic variation in precipitation but not temperature. This contrasts somewhat with previous lizard studies, which have generally found an association between temperature and chemical composition. Our results suggest that geographic variation in precipitation can affect the evolution of chemical signalling traits, possibly influencing patterns of divergence amongst lineages and species. Abstract : For chemical signals, climate is a potentially important selective force because factors such as temperature and moisture influence the persistence and detection of chemicals. We show that among‐lineage variation in the composition of a lizard chemical signalling trait (epidermal pore secretions) is associated with geographic variation in precipitation but not temperature, suggesting that climatic variation can influence chemical signal divergence among lineages and species.