Groups of organisms-whether multiple species or populations of a single species-can differ in several non-exclusive ways. For example, groups may have diverged phenotypically, genetically, or in the evolutionary respo...Groups of organisms-whether multiple species or populations of a single species-can differ in several non-exclusive ways. For example, groups may have diverged phenotypically, genetically, or in the evolutionary responses available to them. We tested for the latter of these-response di- vergence-between 2 species of woodrats： Neotoma fuscipes and Neotoma macrotis. Based on random skewers analyses we found that, despite being well differentiated both phenotypically and genetically, N. fuscipes and N. macrotis appear to be diverging along a shared evolutionary trajec- tory （ro = 0.895, P= 0.114）. Because these species are currently in secondary contact, their phenotypic evolution being along a shared evolutionary axis has important implications. In particular, that their response to selection arising from interspecific interactions will be constrained along the same evolutionary trajectory may reduce the potential for reinforcing selection to maintain species boundaries.展开更多
基金Acknowledgments We thank Kevin Burls, Alan de Queiroz, Chris Feldman, Angela Hornsby, Peter Murphy, Derek Roff, and an anonymous reviewer for insightful criticisms and comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.Funding was provided in part by a National Science Foundation grant to MDM （DEB-0952946） and by an ND EPSCoR grant to NAD.
文摘Groups of organisms-whether multiple species or populations of a single species-can differ in several non-exclusive ways. For example, groups may have diverged phenotypically, genetically, or in the evolutionary responses available to them. We tested for the latter of these-response di- vergence-between 2 species of woodrats： Neotoma fuscipes and Neotoma macrotis. Based on random skewers analyses we found that, despite being well differentiated both phenotypically and genetically, N. fuscipes and N. macrotis appear to be diverging along a shared evolutionary trajec- tory （ro = 0.895, P= 0.114）. Because these species are currently in secondary contact, their phenotypic evolution being along a shared evolutionary axis has important implications. In particular, that their response to selection arising from interspecific interactions will be constrained along the same evolutionary trajectory may reduce the potential for reinforcing selection to maintain species boundaries.
