Diversification rates indicate an early role of adaptive radiations at the origin of modern echinoid fauna

Evolutionary radiations are fascinating phenomena corresponding to a dramatic diversification of taxa and a burst of cladogenesis over short periods of time. Most evolutionary radiations have long been regarded as adaptive but this has seldom been demonstrated with large-scale comparative datasets i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2018-03, Vol.13 (3), p.e0194575-e0194575
Main Authors: Boivin, Simon, Saucède, Thomas, Laffont, Rémi, Steimetz, Emilie, Neige, Pascal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptive radiation
Analysis
Animal biology
Animals
Biodiversity
Biological Evolution
Biological research
Biology and Life Sciences
Computer and Information Sciences
Earth Sciences
Echinodermata
Echinoidea
Ecology
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Endangered & extinct species
Evolution
Evolution & development
Evolutionary biology
Extinction
Fauna
Fossils
Genetic Speciation
Invertebrate Zoology
Jurassic
Life Sciences
Mesozoic
Mollusca
Oceans and Seas
Paleobiology
Paleontology
Phylogeny
Physiological aspects
Populations and Evolution
Radiation
Sciences of the Universe
Sea urchins
Sea Urchins - genetics
Species richness
Taxonomy
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Summary:Evolutionary radiations are fascinating phenomena corresponding to a dramatic diversification of taxa and a burst of cladogenesis over short periods of time. Most evolutionary radiations have long been regarded as adaptive but this has seldom been demonstrated with large-scale comparative datasets including fossil data. Originating in the Early Jurassic, irregular echinoids are emblematic of the spectacular diversification of mobile marine faunas during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. They diversified as they colonized various habitats, and now constitute the main component of echinoid fauna in modern seas. The evolutionary radiation of irregular echinoids has long been considered as adaptive but this hypothesis has never been tested. In the present work we analyze the evolution of echinoid species richness and morphological disparity over 37 million years based on an extensive fossil dataset. Our results demonstrate that morphological and functional diversifications in certain clades of irregular echinoids were exceptionally high compared to other clades and that they were associated with the evolution of new modes of life and so can be defined as adaptive radiations. The role played by ecological opportunities in the diversification of these clades was critical, with the evolution of the infaunal mode of life promoting the adaptive radiation of irregular echinoids.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0194575