Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial
Phenotypic variation along environmental gradients can provide evidence suggesting local adaptation has shaped observed morphological disparities. These differences, in traits such as body and extremity size, as well as skin and coat pigmentation, may affect the overall fitness of individuals in the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-03-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/4512.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419367056539648 |
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| author | Sergio F. Nigenda-Morales Ryan J. Harrigan Robert K. Wayne |
| author_facet | Sergio F. Nigenda-Morales Ryan J. Harrigan Robert K. Wayne |
| author_sort | Sergio F. Nigenda-Morales |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phenotypic variation along environmental gradients can provide evidence suggesting local adaptation has shaped observed morphological disparities. These differences, in traits such as body and extremity size, as well as skin and coat pigmentation, may affect the overall fitness of individuals in their environments. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is a marsupial that shows phenotypic variation across its range, one that has recently expanded into temperate environments. It is unknown, however, whether the variation observed in the species fits adaptive ecogeographic patterns, or if phenotypic change is associated with any environmental factors. Using phenotypic measurements of over 300 museum specimens of Virginia opossum, collected throughout its distribution range, we applied regression analysis to determine if phenotypes change along a latitudinal gradient. Then, using predictors from remote-sensing databases and a random forest algorithm, we tested environmental models to find the most important variables driving the phenotypic variation. We found that despite the recent expansion into temperate environments, the phenotypic variation in the Virginia opossum follows a latitudinal gradient fitting three adaptive ecogeographic patterns codified under Bergmann’s, Allen’s and Gloger’s rules. Temperature seasonality was an important predictor of body size variation, with larger opossums occurring at high latitudes with more seasonal environments. Annual mean temperature predicted important variation in extremity size, with smaller extremities found in northern populations. Finally, we found that precipitation and temperature seasonality as well as low temperatures were strong environmental predictors of skin and coat pigmentation variation; darker opossums are distributed at low latitudes in warmer environments with higher precipitation seasonality. These results indicate that the adaptive mechanisms underlying the variation in body size, extremity size and pigmentation are related to the resource seasonality, heat conservation, and pathogen-resistance hypotheses, respectively. Our findings suggest that marsupials may be highly susceptible to environmental changes, and in the case of the Virginia opossum, the drastic phenotypic evolution in northern populations may have arisen rapidly, facilitating the colonization of seasonal and colder habitats of temperate North America. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:47:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f416c5d15134a3994c81179ab55bae7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:47:16Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-6f416c5d15134a3994c81179ab55bae72023-12-03T10:34:32ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-03-016e451210.7717/peerj.4512Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupialSergio F. Nigenda-Morales0Ryan J. Harrigan1Robert K. Wayne2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of AmericaCenter for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of AmericaPhenotypic variation along environmental gradients can provide evidence suggesting local adaptation has shaped observed morphological disparities. These differences, in traits such as body and extremity size, as well as skin and coat pigmentation, may affect the overall fitness of individuals in their environments. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is a marsupial that shows phenotypic variation across its range, one that has recently expanded into temperate environments. It is unknown, however, whether the variation observed in the species fits adaptive ecogeographic patterns, or if phenotypic change is associated with any environmental factors. Using phenotypic measurements of over 300 museum specimens of Virginia opossum, collected throughout its distribution range, we applied regression analysis to determine if phenotypes change along a latitudinal gradient. Then, using predictors from remote-sensing databases and a random forest algorithm, we tested environmental models to find the most important variables driving the phenotypic variation. We found that despite the recent expansion into temperate environments, the phenotypic variation in the Virginia opossum follows a latitudinal gradient fitting three adaptive ecogeographic patterns codified under Bergmann’s, Allen’s and Gloger’s rules. Temperature seasonality was an important predictor of body size variation, with larger opossums occurring at high latitudes with more seasonal environments. Annual mean temperature predicted important variation in extremity size, with smaller extremities found in northern populations. Finally, we found that precipitation and temperature seasonality as well as low temperatures were strong environmental predictors of skin and coat pigmentation variation; darker opossums are distributed at low latitudes in warmer environments with higher precipitation seasonality. These results indicate that the adaptive mechanisms underlying the variation in body size, extremity size and pigmentation are related to the resource seasonality, heat conservation, and pathogen-resistance hypotheses, respectively. Our findings suggest that marsupials may be highly susceptible to environmental changes, and in the case of the Virginia opossum, the drastic phenotypic evolution in northern populations may have arisen rapidly, facilitating the colonization of seasonal and colder habitats of temperate North America.https://peerj.com/articles/4512.pdfBody sizeDidelphisPhenotypic variationExtremity sizeSkin pigmentationCoat coloration |
| spellingShingle | Sergio F. Nigenda-Morales Ryan J. Harrigan Robert K. Wayne Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial PeerJ Body size Didelphis Phenotypic variation Extremity size Skin pigmentation Coat coloration |
| title | Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial |
| title_full | Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial |
| title_fullStr | Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial |
| title_short | Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial |
| title_sort | playing by the rules phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an american marsupial |
| topic | Body size Didelphis Phenotypic variation Extremity size Skin pigmentation Coat coloration |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/4512.pdf |
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