Adaptive Radiation of Neotropical Emballonurid Bats: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolutionary Patterns in Behavior and M
A phylogenetic analysis of loci from the four genetic transmission pathways in mammals (mitochondrial, autosomal, X, and Y sex chromosomes) was used to investigate the evolution of bats in the pantropically distributed family Emballonuridae. The nuclear d
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Adaptive Radiation of Neotropical Emballonurid Bats: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolutionary Patterns in Behavior and Morphology Burton K. Lim
Abstract A phylogenetic analysis of loci from the four genetic transmission pathways in mammals (mitochondrial, autosomal, X, and Y sex chromosomes) was used to investigate the evolution of bats in the pantropically distributed family Emballonuridae. The nuclear data sets support a monophyletic clade of species found in the New World. Character optimization of distributional areas suggests that the most recent common ancestor colonized South America from Africa. Molecular dating with fossil calibrations estimated that a basal split occurred approximately 27 million years ago followed by primary intergeneric diversification 19.4–18.0 million years ago. An analysis of historical biogeography identified the northern Amazon as the ancestral area where there was speciation by taxon pulses from a stable core area in the Guiana Shield. Range contractions followed by expansions during the Early Miocene suggest an adaptive radiation in cluttered forest and open savannah habitats. A correlation of ear morphology, echolocation, and foraging behavior indicates a phylogenetic basis for these complex character systems.
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Introduction
South America was an insular continent from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Pliocene but nevertheless, it has high levels of biodiversity for many groups of organisms compared with other parts of the world. For example, bats account for 20% of the mammalian faunal diversity (Wilson and Reeder 2005) and are unique in being the only order of mammals that can fly. This gives bats an advantage for over-water dispersal but there have been no studies investigating the evolutionary B.K. Lim Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
P. Pontarotti (ed.), Evolutionary Biology – Concepts, Molecular and Morphological Evolution, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-12340-5_17, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010
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mechanisms for the successful radiation of bats, especially in the rainforests of the Amazon. As with most taxa, this has been hindered by a lack of comprehensive species-level phylogenies, a dearth of fossils in the paleontological record, and a paucity of ecological data. Herein, I synthesize data on New World emballonurid bats in the tribe Diclidurini as one of the first detailed studies of an adaptive radiation of mammals in the Neotropics. I begin by giving general background information on the biology of the family Emballonuridae. The primary objective of this study is to hypothesize the processes involved in the biotic diversification in New World emballonurid bats by inferring a robust phylogeny of New World emballonurid bats using a molecular phylogenetic approach, estimating times of divergence based on molecular dating with fossil calibration points, examining the historical biogeography with the incorporation of both temporal and spatial inform
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