Abstract
Background: Speciation with gene flow is an alternative to the nascence of new taxa in strict allopatric separation. Indeed, many taxa have parapatric distributions at present. It is often unclear if these are secondary contacts, e.g. caused by past glaciation cycles or the manifestation of speciation with gene flow, which hampers our understanding of how different forces drive diversification. Here we studied genetic, phenotypic and ecological aspects of divergence in a pair of incipient shorebird species, the Kentish (Charadrius alexandrinus) and the White-faced Plovers (C. dealbatus), shorebirds with parapatric breeding ranges along the Chinese coast. We assessed divergence based on molecular markers with different modes of inheritance and quantified phenotypic and ecological divergence in aspects of morphometric, dietary and climatic niches. Results: Our integrative analyses revealed small to moderate levels of genetic and phenotypic distinctiveness with symmetric gene flow across the contact area at the Chinese coast. The two species diverged approximately half a million years ago in dynamic isolation with secondary contact occurring due to cycling sea level changes between the Eastern and Southern China Sea in the mid-late Pleistocene. We found evidence of character displacement and ecological niche differentiation between the two species, invoking the role of selection in facilitating divergence despite gene flow. Conclusion: These findings imply that ecology can indeed counter gene flow through divergent selection and thus contributes to incipient speciation in these plovers. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of using integrative datasets to reveal the evolutionary history and assist the inference of mechanisms of speciation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 135 |
| Journal | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Jun 2019 |
Keywords
- Character displacement
- Ecological niche
- Gene flow
- Hybridization
- Parapatry
- Stable isotope analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cite this
Genetic, phenotypic and ecological differentiation suggests incipient speciation in two Charadrius plovers along the Chinese coast. / Wang, Xuejing; Que, Pinjia; Heckel, Gerald; Hu, Junhua; Zhang, Xuecong; Chiang, Chung Yu; Zhang, Nan; Huang, Qin; Liu, Simin; Martinez, Jonathan; Pagani-Núñez, Emilio; Dingle, Caroline; Leung, Yu Yan; Székely, Tamás; Zhang, Zhengwang; Liu, Yang.
In: BMC Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 19, No. 1, 135, 27.06.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic, phenotypic and ecological differentiation suggests incipient speciation in two Charadrius plovers along the Chinese coast
AU - Wang, Xuejing
AU - Que, Pinjia
AU - Heckel, Gerald
AU - Hu, Junhua
AU - Zhang, Xuecong
AU - Chiang, Chung Yu
AU - Zhang, Nan
AU - Huang, Qin
AU - Liu, Simin
AU - Martinez, Jonathan
AU - Pagani-Núñez, Emilio
AU - Dingle, Caroline
AU - Leung, Yu Yan
AU - Székely, Tamás
AU - Zhang, Zhengwang
AU - Liu, Yang
PY - 2019/6/27
Y1 - 2019/6/27
N2 - Background: Speciation with gene flow is an alternative to the nascence of new taxa in strict allopatric separation. Indeed, many taxa have parapatric distributions at present. It is often unclear if these are secondary contacts, e.g. caused by past glaciation cycles or the manifestation of speciation with gene flow, which hampers our understanding of how different forces drive diversification. Here we studied genetic, phenotypic and ecological aspects of divergence in a pair of incipient shorebird species, the Kentish (Charadrius alexandrinus) and the White-faced Plovers (C. dealbatus), shorebirds with parapatric breeding ranges along the Chinese coast. We assessed divergence based on molecular markers with different modes of inheritance and quantified phenotypic and ecological divergence in aspects of morphometric, dietary and climatic niches. Results: Our integrative analyses revealed small to moderate levels of genetic and phenotypic distinctiveness with symmetric gene flow across the contact area at the Chinese coast. The two species diverged approximately half a million years ago in dynamic isolation with secondary contact occurring due to cycling sea level changes between the Eastern and Southern China Sea in the mid-late Pleistocene. We found evidence of character displacement and ecological niche differentiation between the two species, invoking the role of selection in facilitating divergence despite gene flow. Conclusion: These findings imply that ecology can indeed counter gene flow through divergent selection and thus contributes to incipient speciation in these plovers. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of using integrative datasets to reveal the evolutionary history and assist the inference of mechanisms of speciation.
AB - Background: Speciation with gene flow is an alternative to the nascence of new taxa in strict allopatric separation. Indeed, many taxa have parapatric distributions at present. It is often unclear if these are secondary contacts, e.g. caused by past glaciation cycles or the manifestation of speciation with gene flow, which hampers our understanding of how different forces drive diversification. Here we studied genetic, phenotypic and ecological aspects of divergence in a pair of incipient shorebird species, the Kentish (Charadrius alexandrinus) and the White-faced Plovers (C. dealbatus), shorebirds with parapatric breeding ranges along the Chinese coast. We assessed divergence based on molecular markers with different modes of inheritance and quantified phenotypic and ecological divergence in aspects of morphometric, dietary and climatic niches. Results: Our integrative analyses revealed small to moderate levels of genetic and phenotypic distinctiveness with symmetric gene flow across the contact area at the Chinese coast. The two species diverged approximately half a million years ago in dynamic isolation with secondary contact occurring due to cycling sea level changes between the Eastern and Southern China Sea in the mid-late Pleistocene. We found evidence of character displacement and ecological niche differentiation between the two species, invoking the role of selection in facilitating divergence despite gene flow. Conclusion: These findings imply that ecology can indeed counter gene flow through divergent selection and thus contributes to incipient speciation in these plovers. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of using integrative datasets to reveal the evolutionary history and assist the inference of mechanisms of speciation.
KW - Character displacement
KW - Ecological niche
KW - Gene flow
KW - Hybridization
KW - Parapatry
KW - Stable isotope analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068258862&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12862-019-1449-5
DO - 10.1186/s12862-019-1449-5
M3 - Article
VL - 19
JO - BMC Evolutionary Biology
JF - BMC Evolutionary Biology
SN - 1471-2148
IS - 1
M1 - 135
ER -