The macroevolutionary consequences of trait correlations

特质相关性的宏观进化后果

• 批准号: NE/T000139/1
• 负责人: Gavin Thomas
• 金额: $ 60.7万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FT000139%2F1
• 关键词: macroevolutionary; consequences; trait; correlations

The diversity of Life on Earth is immense. Over millions of years, evolution has generated a staggering variety of species. When we look more closely, however, we begin to notice some surprising patterns. Some groups have far more species than others, for example there are over 350,000 species of beetle but only a few species of elephant. Other groups exhibit diverse shapes and sizes, for example the Hawaiian honeycreepers, whereas others are fairly uniform, for example mice and rats. These patterns suggest that there are constraints, or limitations, on the numbers of species and their variety of form and function, i.e. biological diversity is not evenly distributed across the tree of life. Why this is so remains unresolved and is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology.Here we focus on a previously unexplored explanation for this uneven distribution of diversity: correlations among species traits. Species traits can be almost any aspect of physical appearance (such as body size or eye colour), behaviour, or life history (size vs. number of offspring). These traits are not always independent of one another, for example investing in more offspring often results in smaller offspring. In such cases we say that the traits involved are correlated. Where traits are correlated, evolution in one trait may promote or prevent evolution in another. Differences in the strength of trait correlations in different groups of species might determine variation between and among groups of related species. Where correlations among traits are strong these may prevent evolution of very different shapes and sizes. Therefore the diversity of form and function might be low, and the number of closely-related species should be few. Over millions of years these trait correlations might become weaker or even disappear, allowing species to evolve in new ways or multiply in number. These ideas suggest that trait correlations are important in our understanding of the diversity of life. Our proposal aims to understand how trait correlations can affect the processes that determine patterns of diversity (both in species number and in form and function) across the tree of life. We focus on traits related to food type and acquisition in birds. The size and shape of bird beaks can reflect dietary requirements and foraging methods. When traits are correlated, some combinations may never occur together, for example, it may not be possible to evolve beaks that are simultaneously long and curved like a curlew, and wide and deep like a duck. To test how trait correlations can affect the processes that determine patterns of diversity across the tree of life we need to measure many individuals from many different species. It would be a near-impossible challenge to do this in the field. Instead we use specimens from museums. Around the world museums house billions of specimens, often from historical collections over 100 years old. The Natural History Museum, London has around 80 million specimens. These collections are a rich source of information on nearly all species of birds (over 10,000 species). We will generate data from these collections, including 3D scans of bird beaks. We will then use these data, along with state-of-the-art analysis methods, to evaluate trait correlations among and within species, and among higher taxonomic groupings such as families and orders. By using museum specimens and a novel view of the importance of trait correlations, our research will provide new insights into how and why life diversifies. Not only will this research address a fundamental debate in evolutionary biology, but it will also create valuable bird datasets for future researchers, and highlight the importance of natural history collections for cutting edge research.

地球上的生命多样性是巨大的。在数百万年的时间里，进化产生了惊人的物种。但是，当我们仔细观察时，我们开始注意到一些令人惊讶的模式。有些群体的物种比其他种类要多得多，例如，有35万种甲虫，但只有少量大象。其他团体表现出各种形状和大小，例如夏威夷蜜羊皮，而其他小组则相当均匀，例如小鼠和大鼠。这些模式表明，对物种数量及其形式和功能的种类存在限制或局限性，即生物多样性不会均匀分布在整个生命之上。为什么这样做仍然无法解决，并且是进化生物学中的一个基本问题。在这里，我们关注以前未开发的解释，对这种不均匀的多样性分布：物种特征之间的相关性。物种特征几乎可以是外观（例如体型或眼睛颜色），行为或生活史（大小与后代数量）的任何方面。这些特征并不总是彼此独立，例如投资更多的后代通常会导致后代较小。在这种情况下，我们说所涉及的特征是相关的。在特征相关的地方，一个特征的进化可能会促进或阻止另一种特征的进化。不同物种群体中性状相关强度的差异可能决定相关物种组之间和之间的变化。在性状之间的相关性很强的地方，这些可能会阻止形状和大小非常不同的演变。因此，形式和功能的多样性可能很低，与密切相关的物种的数量应很少。在数百万年的时间里，这些性状相关性可能会变得较弱甚至消失，从而使物种以新的方式发展或繁殖。这些想法表明，性状相关性在我们对生活多样性的理解中很重要。我们的建议旨在了解性状相关性如何影响整个生命树的多样性模式（在物种数量以及形式和功能中）的过程。我们专注于与鸟类食物类型和获取有关的特征。鸟喙的大小和形状可以反映饮食需求和觅食方法。当特征相关时，例如，某些组合可能永远不会一起发生，例如，可能不可能发展出同时长而弯曲的喙，就像卷发一样弯曲，像鸭子一样宽而深。为了测试特质相关性如何影响确定整个生命树多样性模式的过程，我们需要测量许多不同物种的个体。在现场做到这一点将是一个几乎不可能的挑战。相反，我们使用博物馆的标本。世界博物馆周围拥有数十亿个标本，通常来自100年以上的历史收藏。伦敦自然历史博物馆有大约8000万个标本。这些收藏是几乎所有物种（超过10,000种）的丰富信息来源。我们将从这些收藏中生成数据，包括鸟喙的3D扫描。然后，我们将使用这些数据以及最先进的分析方法来评估物种之间和内部以及较高分类学组（例如家庭和秩序）之间的性状相关性。通过使用博物馆标本以及对性状相关性重要性的新颖看法，我们的研究将提供有关生活如何以及为什么多样化的新见解。这项研究不仅会介绍进化生物学的基本辩论，而且还将为未来的研究人员创造有价值的鸟类数据集，并强调自然历史收集对尖端研究的重要性。

项目成果

Allometric conservatism in the evolution of bird beaks.

• DOI: 10.1002/evl3.267
• 发表时间: 2022-03
• 期刊: Evolution letters
• 影响因子: 5
• 作者: Rombaut LMK;Capp EJR;Cooney CR;Hughes EC;Varley ZK;Thomas GH
• 通讯作者: Thomas GH

The complex effects of mass extinctions on morphological disparity.

大规模灭绝对形态差异的复杂影响。

• DOI: 10.1111/evo.14078
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Evolution; international journal of organic evolution
• 作者: Puttick MN

Innovation and elaboration on the avian tree of life

• DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.12.503188
• 发表时间: 2022-08-12
• 期刊: bioRxiv
• 作者: Guillerme, T.;Cooper, N.;Thomas, G. H.
• 通讯作者: Thomas, G. H.

Innovation and elaboration on the avian tree of life.

• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg1641
• 发表时间: 2023-10-27
• 期刊: SCIENCE ADVANCES
• 影响因子: 13.6
• 作者: Guillerme, Thomas;Bright, Jen A.;Cooney, Christopher R.;Hughes, Emma C.;Varley, Zoe K.;Cooper, Natalie;Beckerman, Andrew P.;Thomas, Gavin H.
• 通讯作者: Thomas, Gavin H.

The evolution of the traplining pollinator role in hummingbirds: specialization is not an evolutionary dead end.

• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2484
• 发表时间: 2022-01-26
• 期刊: Proceedings. Biological sciences
• 作者: Rombaut LMK;Capp EJR;Hughes EC;Varley ZK;Beckerman AP;Cooper N;Thomas GH
• 通讯作者: Thomas GH