Premium
CORRELATED EVOLUTION OF SEXUAL SYSTEM AND LIFE‐HISTORY TRAITS IN MOSSES
Author(s) -
Crawford Monique,
Jesson Linley K.,
GarnockJones Phil J.
Publication year - 2009
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/j.1558-5646.2009.00615.x
Subject(s) - biology , asexual reproduction , sexual reproduction , biological dispersal , apomixis , phylogenetic tree , trait , evolutionary biology , life history theory , spore , phylogenetics , phylogenetic comparative methods , reproduction , evolution of sexual reproduction , ploidy , life history , ecology , botany , genetics , gene , demography , population , sociology , computer science , programming language
In mosses, separate and combined sexes are evolutionarily labile, yet factors selecting for this variation are unknown. In this study, we investigate phylogenetic correlations between sexual system and five life‐history traits (asexual reproduction, chromosome number, gametophore length, spore size, and seta length). We assigned states to species on a large‐scale phylogeny of mosses and used maximum likelihood analyses to test for the correlations and investigate the sequence of trait acquisition. Mosses in lineages with separate sexes were significantly more likely to be large, whereas those in lineages with combined sexes had higher chromosome numbers. Moreover, evolutionary transitions to separate sexes were more likely to occur in lineages with small spores. There was no support for a correlation between asexual reproduction and separate sexes. These results suggest that sexual system evolution is influenced by traits affecting mate availability and the dispersal of gametes and spores, and provides evidence for the existence of syndromes of life‐history traits in mosses.