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Non-parallel morphological divergence following colonization of a new host plant

Nilsson, Kalle J. LU orcid ; Ortega, Jesús ; Friberg, Magne LU and Runemark, Anna LU (2022) In Evolutionary Ecology 36(5). p.859-877
Abstract

Adaptation to new ecological niches is known to spur population diversification and may lead to speciation if gene flow is ceased. While adaptation to the same ecological niche is expected to be parallel, it is more difficult to predict whether selection against maladaptive hybridization in secondary sympatry results in parallel divergence also in traits that are not directly related to the ecological niches. Such parallelisms in response to selection for reproductive isolation can be identified through estimating parallelism in reproductive character displacement across different zones of secondary contact. Here, we use a host shift in the phytophagous peacock fly Tephritis conura, with both host races represented in two geographically... (More)

Adaptation to new ecological niches is known to spur population diversification and may lead to speciation if gene flow is ceased. While adaptation to the same ecological niche is expected to be parallel, it is more difficult to predict whether selection against maladaptive hybridization in secondary sympatry results in parallel divergence also in traits that are not directly related to the ecological niches. Such parallelisms in response to selection for reproductive isolation can be identified through estimating parallelism in reproductive character displacement across different zones of secondary contact. Here, we use a host shift in the phytophagous peacock fly Tephritis conura, with both host races represented in two geographically separate areas East and West of the Baltic Sea to investigate convergence in morphological adaptations. We asked (i) if there are consistent morphological adaptations to a host plant shift and (ii) if the response to secondary sympatry with the alternate host race is parallel across contact zones. We found surprisingly low and variable, albeit significant, divergence between host races. Only one trait, the length of the female ovipositor, which serves an important function in the interaction with the hosts, was consistently different between host races. Instead, co-existence with the other host race significantly affected the degree of morphological divergence, but the divergence was largely driven by different traits in different contact zones. Thus, local stochastic fixation or reinforcement could generate trait divergence, and additional evidence is needed to conclude whether divergence is locally adaptive.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adaptation to co-existence, Host plant adaptation, Parallelism, Secondary sympatry
in
Evolutionary Ecology
volume
36
issue
5
pages
859 - 877
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85133011290
ISSN
0269-7653
DOI
10.1007/s10682-022-10189-2
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7b027d9a-1ef9-4673-ab32-c21614afa5f8
date added to LUP
2022-09-06 15:03:31
date last changed
2024-05-16 17:27:45
@article{7b027d9a-1ef9-4673-ab32-c21614afa5f8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Adaptation to new ecological niches is known to spur population diversification and may lead to speciation if gene flow is ceased. While adaptation to the same ecological niche is expected to be parallel, it is more difficult to predict whether selection against maladaptive hybridization in secondary sympatry results in parallel divergence also in traits that are not directly related to the ecological niches. Such parallelisms in response to selection for reproductive isolation can be identified through estimating parallelism in reproductive character displacement across different zones of secondary contact. Here, we use a host shift in the phytophagous peacock fly Tephritis conura, with both host races represented in two geographically separate areas East and West of the Baltic Sea to investigate convergence in morphological adaptations. We asked (i) if there are consistent morphological adaptations to a host plant shift and (ii) if the response to secondary sympatry with the alternate host race is parallel across contact zones. We found surprisingly low and variable, albeit significant, divergence between host races. Only one trait, the length of the female ovipositor, which serves an important function in the interaction with the hosts, was consistently different between host races. Instead, co-existence with the other host race significantly affected the degree of morphological divergence, but the divergence was largely driven by different traits in different contact zones. Thus, local stochastic fixation or reinforcement could generate trait divergence, and additional evidence is needed to conclude whether divergence is locally adaptive.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Kalle J. and Ortega, Jesús and Friberg, Magne and Runemark, Anna}},
  issn         = {{0269-7653}},
  keywords     = {{Adaptation to co-existence; Host plant adaptation; Parallelism; Secondary sympatry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{859--877}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Evolutionary Ecology}},
  title        = {{Non-parallel morphological divergence following colonization of a new host plant}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10682-022-10189-2}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10682-022-10189-2}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}