Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Mar 25;105(12):4792-5.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0711998105. Epub 2008 Mar 14.

Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with exploitation of a different dietary resource

Anthony Herrel  1 , Katleen Huyghe, Bieke Vanhooydonck, Thierry Backeljau, Karin Breugelmans, Irena Grbac, Raoul Van Damme, Duncan J Irschick
Affiliations

Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with exploitation of a different dietary resource

Anthony Herrel et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Although rapid adaptive changes in morphology on ecological time scales are now well documented in natural populations, the effects of such changes on whole-organism performance capacity and the consequences on ecological dynamics at the population level are often unclear. Here we show how lizards have rapidly evolved differences in head morphology, bite strength, and digestive tract structure after experimental introduction into a novel environment. Despite the short time scale ( approximately 36 years) since this introduction, these changes in morphology and performance parallel those typically documented among species and even families of lizards in both the type and extent of their specialization. Moreover, these changes have occurred side-by-side with dramatic changes in population density and social structure, providing a compelling example of how the invasion of a novel habitat can evolutionarily drive multiple aspects of the phenotype.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Graphs illustrating differences in aspects of head morphology and bite force for male (Top), female (Middle), and juvenile (Bottom) lizards from two populations (filled symbols, Pod Mrčaru; open symbols, Pod Kopište) having diverged for 36 years. On the graphs, the size-adjusted means are represented, thus illustrating body-size-independent variation in morphology and bite force. Population differences are highly significant and show how lizards on Pod Mrčaru generally have bigger heads and greater bite forces. The y axis gives the log10-transformed size-adjusted head dimensions and bite force. Error bars depict 1 standard deviation. Asterisks depict significant differences between populations.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Graphs illustrating differences in diet between populations in spring (A) and summer (B). Differences in the proportions of plants (black bars), invertebrate prey (white), and rest fraction (gray) are highly significant between populations. Seasonal differences in diet were highly significant on Pod Mrčaru but not on Pod Kopište. Error bars depict 1 standard deviation.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Bar graph illustrating the fraction of plant prey in the diet of lizards from Pod Mrčaru consisting of leaves (black), seeds (white), and other plant material (gray). Fibrous, indigestible materials such as leaves compose a large fraction of the diet in both spring and summer. Error bars depict 1 standard deviation.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Photographs illustrating the cecal valves in a male (A), a female (B), and a hatchling (C) P. sicula from Pod Mrčaru. Note the thick cecal wall and pronounced ridges. The arrow in C indicates the position of the cecal valve in a hatchling as seen from the outside.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hendry AP, Kinnison MT. The pace of modern life: Measuring rates of contemporary microevolution. Evolution (Lawrence, Kans) 1999;53:1637–1653. - PubMed
    1. Carroll SP, Hendry AP, Reznick DN, Fox CW. Evolution on ecological time scales. Funct Ecol. 2007;21:387–393.
    1. Losos JB, Warheit KI, Schoener TW. Adaptive differentiation following experimental island colonization in Anolis lizards. Nature. 1997;387:70–73.
    1. Phillips BL, Brown GP, Webb JK, Shine R. Invasion and the evolution of speed in toads. Nature. 2006;439:803. - PubMed
    1. Reznick DN, Bryga H, Endler JA. Experimentally induced life-history evolution in a natural population. Nature. 1990;346:357–359.

Publication types