RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Contingency and Determinism in Replicated Adaptive Radiations of Island Lizards
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 2115
OP 2118
DO 10.1126/science.279.5359.2115
VO 279
IS 5359
A1 Losos, Jonathan B.
A1 Jackman, Todd R.
A1 Larson, Allan
A1 Queiroz, Kevin de
A1 Rodrı́guez-Schettino, Lourdes
YR 1998
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/279/5359/2115.abstract
AB The vagaries of history lead to the prediction that repeated instances of evolutionary diversification will lead to disparate outcomes even if starting conditions are similar. We tested this proposition by examining the evolutionary radiation ofAnolis lizards on the four islands of the Greater Antilles. Morphometric analyses indicate that the same set of habitat specialists, termed ecomorphs, occurs on all four islands. Although these similar assemblages could result from a single evolutionary origin of each ecomorph, followed by dispersal or vicariance, phylogenetic analysis indicates that the ecomorphs originated independently on each island. Thus, adaptive radiation in similar environments can overcome historical contingencies to produce strikingly similar evolutionary outcomes.