Mountain colonisation, miniaturisation and ecological evolution in a radiation of direct-developing New Guinea Frogs ( Choerophryne , Microhylidae)

PeerJ

article

Paul M. Oliver¹  Amy Iannella²  Stephen J. Richards³  Michael S.Y. Lee³ 

[1] Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology & Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, Australian National University;School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide;South Australian Museum;School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University

关键词: Central Cordillera;    Endemism;    Montane cradle;    Montane museum;    North Papuan Mountains;    Terrestrial;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3077

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

AimsMountain ranges in the tropics are characterised by high levels of localised endemism, often-aberrant evolutionary trajectories, and some of the world’s most diverse regional biotas. Here we investigate the evolution of montane endemism, ecology and body size in a clade of direct-developing frogs (Choerophryne, Microhylidae) from New Guinea.MethodsPhylogenetic relationships were estimated from a mitochondrial molecular dataset using Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches. Ancestral state reconstruction was used to infer the evolution of elevational distribution, ecology (indexed by male calling height), and body size, and phylogenetically corrected regression was employed to examine the relationships between these three traits.Results1,000 m a.s.l.), with subsequent dispersal to isolated North Papuan Mountains. A second subclade (characterised by moderately to very elongated snouts) appears to have diversified primarily in hill forests (<1,000 m a.s.l.), with inferred independent upwards colonisations of isolated montane habitats, especially in isolated North Papuan Mountains. We found no clear relationship between extremely small body size (adult SVL less than 15 mm) and elevation, but a stronger relationship with ecology—smaller species tend to be more terrestrial.ConclusionsOrogeny and climatic oscillations have interacted to generate high montane biodiversity in New Guinea via both localised diversification within montane habitats (centric endemism) and periodic dispersal across lowland regions (eccentric endemism). The correlation between extreme miniaturisation and terrestrial habits reflects a general trend in frogs, suggesting that ecological or physiological constraints limit niche usage by miniaturised frogs, even in extremely wet environments such as tropical mountains.

【 授权许可】

CC BY