Abstract:
Predator-prey interactions have been suggested as drivers of diversity in different lineages, and the presence of anti-predator defences in some clades is linked to higher rates of diversification. Warning signals are some of the most widespread defences in the animal world, and there is evidence of higher diversification rates in aposematic lineages. The mechanisms behind such species richness, however, are still unclear. Here, we test whether lineages that use aposematism as anti-predator defence exhibit higher levels of genetic differentiation between populations, leading to increased opportunities for divergence. We collated from the literature more than 3000 pairwise genetic differentiation values across more than 700 populations from over 60 amphibian species. We find evidence that over short geographical distances, populations of species of aposematic lineages exhibit greater genetic divergence relative to species that are not aposematic. Our results support a scenario where the use of warning signals could restrict gene flow, and suggest that anti-predator defences could impact divergence between populations and potentially have effects at a macro-evolutionary scale.
摘要:
捕食者-猎物的相互作用被认为是不同谱系中多样性的驱动因素,在一些进化枝中,反捕食者防御的存在与更高的多样化率有关。警告信号是动物界最普遍的防御措施,并且有证据表明在反世系中更高的多样化率。这种物种丰富背后的机制,然而,还不清楚。这里,我们测试使用aposemism作为抗捕食者防御的谱系是否在种群之间表现出更高水平的遗传分化,导致分歧的机会增加。我们从文献中整理了来自60多个两栖动物物种的700多个种群的3000多个成对遗传分化值。我们发现证据表明,在很短的地理距离内,相对于非拟态的物种,拟态谱系的物种种群表现出更大的遗传差异。我们的结果支持使用警告信号可以限制基因流动的情况,并表明反捕食者的防御可能会影响种群之间的差异,并可能在宏观进化尺度上产生影响。