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Digest: The evolutionary relationship between environment and size in Australian rodents
Author(s) -
ElDeeb Omar,
Skeels Alexander,
Brennan Ian
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.13909
Subject(s) - biology , biome , bergmann's rule , evolutionary biology , clade , adaptive evolution , ecology , biological evolution , adaptation (eye) , brain size , zoology , phylogenetics , ecosystem , geography , genetics , medicine , geodesy , radiology , neuroscience , gene , magnetic resonance imaging , latitude
Biome shifts are thought to be relatively rare, but some clades shift among starkly different environments with relative ease. What causes these shifts, and how do they shape phenotypic evolution? Roycroft et al. found that biome shifts in the Pseudomys Division of murid rodents were repeatedly accompanied by body size evolution in accordance with Bergmann's rule, suggesting adaptive evolution in response to changing climate conditions.