scholarly journals The history of body size evolution in termites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Mizumoto ◽  
Thomas Bourguignon
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Termite Species ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
Width Measurements

Termites are social cockroaches. Because non-termite cockroaches are larger than basal termite lineages, which themselves include large termite species, it has been proposed that termites experienced a unidirectional body size reduction since they evolved eusociality. However, the validity of this hypothesis remains untested in a phylogenetic framework. Here, we reconstructed termite body size evolution using head width measurements of 1638 modern and fossil termite species. We found that the unidirectional body size reduction model was only supported by analyses excluding fossil species. Analyses including fossil species suggested that body size diversified along with speciation events and estimated that the size of the common ancestor of modern termites was comparable to that of modern species. Our analyses further revealed that body size variability among species, but not body size reduction, is associated with features attributed to advanced termite societies. Our results suggest that miniaturization took place at the origin of termites, while subsequent complexification of termite societies did not lead to further body size reduction.

scholarly journals The evolution of body size in termites

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1963) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Mizumoto ◽  
Thomas Bourguignon
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Termite Species ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Size Variability ◽  
Width Measurements

Termites are social cockroaches. Because non-termite cockroaches are larger than basal termite lineages, which themselves include large termite species, it has been proposed that termites experienced a unidirectional body size reduction since they evolved eusociality. However, the validity of this hypothesis remains untested in a phylogenetic framework. Here, we reconstructed termite body size evolution using head width measurements of 1638 modern and fossil termite species. We found that the unidirectional body size reduction model was only supported by analyses excluding fossil species. Analyses including fossil species suggested that body size diversified along with speciation events and estimated that the size of the common ancestor of modern termites was comparable to that of modern species. Our analyses further revealed that body size variability among species, but not body size reduction, is associated with features attributed to advanced termite societies. Our results suggest that miniaturization took place at the origin of termites, while subsequent complexification of termite societies did not lead to further body size reduction.

scholarly journals Transitions between foot postures are associated with elevated rates of body size evolution in mammals

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 2618-2623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tai Kubo ◽  
Manabu Sakamoto ◽  
Andrew Meade ◽  
Chris Venditti
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectory ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Foot Posture ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Terrestrial mammals have evolved various foot postures: flat-footed (plantigrady), tiptoed (digitigrady), and hooved (unguligrady) postures. Although the importance of foot posture on ecology and body size of mammalian species has been widely recognized, its evolutionary trajectory and influence on body size evolution across mammalian phylogeny remain untested. Taking a Bayesian phylogenetic approach combined with a comprehensive dataset of foot postures in 880 extant mammalian species, we investigated the evolutionary history of foot postures and rates of body size evolution, within the same posture and at transitions between postures. Our results show that the common ancestor of mammals was plantigrade, and transitions predominantly occurred only between plantigrady and digitigrady and between digitigrady and unguligrady. At the transitions between plantigrady and digitigrady and between digitigrady and unguligrady, rates of body size evolution are significantly elevated leading to the larger body masses of digitigrade species (∼1 kg) and unguligrade species (∼78 kg) compared with their respective ancestral postures [plantigrady (∼0.75 kg) and digitigrady]. Our results demonstrate the importance of foot postures on mammalian body size evolution and have implications for mammalian body size increase through time. In addition, we highlight a way forward for future studies that seek to integrate morphofunctional and macroevolutionary approaches.

scholarly journals Lizards as models to explore the ecological and neuroanatomical correlates of miniaturization

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 158 (12-13) ◽  
pp. 1121-1168
Author(s):  
Christian A. Perez-Martinez ◽  
Manuel Leal
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Brain Morphology ◽  
Olfactory Bulbs ◽  
Physiological Constraints ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Repeated Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Abstract Extreme body size reductions bring about unorthodox anatomical arrangements and novel ways in which animals interact with the environment. Drawing from studies of vertebrates and invertebrates, we provide a theoretical framework for miniaturization to inform hypotheses using lizards as a study system. Through this approach, we demonstrate the repeated evolution of miniaturization across 11 families and a tendency for miniaturized species to occupy terrestrial microhabitats, possibly driven by physiological constraints. Differences in gross brain morphology between two gecko species demonstrate a proportionally larger telencephalon and smaller olfactory bulbs in the miniaturized species, though more data are needed to generalize this trend. Our study brings into light the potential contributions of miniaturized lizards to explain patterns of body size evolution and its impact on ecology and neuroanatomy. In addition, our findings reveal the need to study the natural history of miniaturized species, particularly in relation to their sensory and physiological ecology.

Dinosaur Macroevolution and Macroecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B.J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.

scholarly journals The developmental and physiological basis of body size evolution in an insect

2001 ◽  
Vol 268 (1476) ◽  
pp. 1589-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. D'Amico ◽  
Goggy Davidowitz ◽  
H. Frederik Nijhout
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

scholarly journals Mammal body size evolution in North America and Europe over 20 Myr: similar trends generated by different processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Huang ◽  
Jussi T. Eronen ◽  
Christine M. Janis ◽  
Juha J. Saarinen ◽  
Daniele Silvestro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Extinction Rate ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Because body size interacts with many fundamental biological properties of a species, body size evolution can be an essential component of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. Here we investigate how body size evolution can be linked to the clade-specific diversification dynamics in different geographical regions. We analyse an extensive body size dataset of Neogene large herbivores (covering approx. 50% of the 970 species in the orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla) in Europe and North America in a Bayesian framework. We reconstruct the temporal patterns of body size in each order on each continent independently, and find significant increases of minimum size in three of the continental assemblages (except European perissodactyls), suggesting an active selection for larger bodies. Assessment of trait-correlated birth-death models indicates that the common trend of body size increase is generated by different processes in different clades and regions. Larger-bodied artiodactyl species on both continents tend to have higher origination rates, and both clades in North America show strong links between large bodies and low extinction rate. Collectively, our results suggest a strong role of species selection and perhaps of higher-taxon sorting in driving body size evolution, and highlight the value of investigating evolutionary processes in a biogeographic context.

scholarly journals Inconsistent patterns of body size evolution in co-occurring island reptiles

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuval Itescu ◽  
Rachel Schwarz ◽  
Colin M. Donihue ◽  
Alex Slavenko ◽  
Stephanos A. Roussos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

scholarly journals Migratory lineages rapidly evolve larger body sizes than non-migratory relatives in ray-finned fishes

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1918) ◽  
pp. 20192615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Burns ◽  
Devin D. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Body Size Evolution ◽  
First Time

Migratory animals respond to environmental heterogeneity by predictably moving long distances in their lifetime. Migration has evolved repeatedly in animals, and many adaptations are found across the tree of life that increase migration efficiency. Life-history theory predicts that migratory species should evolve a larger body size than non-migratory species, and some empirical studies have shown this pattern. A recent study analysed the evolution of body size between diadromous and non-diadromous shads, herrings, anchovies and allies, finding that species evolved larger body sizes when adapting to a diadromous lifestyle. It remains unknown whether different fish clades adapt to migration similarly. We used an adaptive landscape framework to explore body size evolution for over 4500 migratory and non-migratory species of ray-finned fishes. By fitting models of macroevolution, we show that migratory species are evolving towards a body size that is larger than non-migratory species. Furthermore, we find that migratory lineages evolve towards their optimal body size more rapidly than non-migratory lineages, indicating body size is a key adaption for migratory fishes. Our results show, for the first time, that the largest vertebrate radiation on the planet exhibited strong evolutionary determinism when adapting to a migratory lifestyle.

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