title: Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with exploitation of a different dietary resource.
abstract: Although rapid adaptive changes in morphology on ecological time scales are now well documented in natural populations, the effects of such changes on whole-organism performance capacity and the consequences on ecological dynamics at the population level are often unclear. Here we show how lizards have rapidly evolved differences in head morphology, bite strength, and digestive tract structure after experimental introduction into a novel environment. Despite the short time scale ( approximately 36 years) since this introduction, these changes in morphology and performance parallel those typically documented among species and even families of lizards in both the type and extent of their specialization. Moreover, these changes have occurred side-by-side with dramatic changes in population density and social structure, providing a compelling example of how the invasion of a novel habitat can evolutionarily drive multiple aspects of the phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. anthony.herrel@ua.ac.be
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrel
authors.forename: Katleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huyghe
authors.forename: Bieke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vanhooydonck
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Backeljau
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Breugelmans
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grbac
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Damme
authors.forename: Duncan J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Irschick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001732:Bite Force; D002432:Cecum / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008116:Lizards / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors