Climate-Driven Range Expansion and Morphological Evolution in a Marine Gastropod

Little is known about the phenotypic consequences of global climate change, despite the excellent Pleistocene fossil record of many taxa. We used morphological measurements from extant and Pleistocene populations of a marine gastropod (Acanthinucella spirata) in conjunction with mitochondrial DNA se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2001-06, Vol.292 (5522), p.1707-1710
Main Authors: Hellberg, Michael E., Balch, Deborah P., Roy, Kaustuv
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acanthinucella spirata
Animals
Biodiversity
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
California
Climate
Climate change
Climate change adaptation
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Ecosystem
Electron Transport Complex IV - genetics
Evolution
Evolutionary genetics
Fossil gastropods
Fossils
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastropoda
Gastropoda, Fossil
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Geography
Geologic Sediments
Haplotypes
Holocene
Individualized Instruction
Marine
Marine biology
Mollusca - anatomy & histology
Mollusca - genetics
Mollusca - physiology
Oceanic climates
Paleoclimatology
Phenotype
Phylogeny
Pleistocene
Population genetics
Population Growth
USA, California
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Summary:Little is known about the phenotypic consequences of global climate change, despite the excellent Pleistocene fossil record of many taxa. We used morphological measurements from extant and Pleistocene populations of a marine gastropod (Acanthinucella spirata) in conjunction with mitochondrial DNA sequence variation from living populations to determine how populations responded phenotypically to Pleistocene climatic changes. Northern populations show little sequence variation as compared to southern populations, a pattern consistent with a recent northward range expansion. These recently recolonized northern populations also contain shell morphologies that are absent in extant southern populations and throughout the Pleistocene fossil record. Thus, contrary to traditional expectations that morphological evolution should occur largely within Pleistocene refugia, our data show that geographical range shifts in response to climatic change can lead to significant morphological evolution.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1060102