title: Is geographic variation within species related to macroevolutionary patterns between species?
abstract: The relationship between microevolution and macroevolution is a central topic in evolutionary biology. An aspect of this relationship that remains very poorly studied in modern evolutionary biology is the relationship between within-species geographic variation and among-species patterns of trait variation. Here, we tested the relationship between climate and morphology among and within species in the salamander genus Plethodon. We focus on a discrete colour polymorphism (presence and absence of a red dorsal stripe) that appears to be related to climatic distributions in a common, wide-ranging species (Plethodon cinereus). We find that this trait has been variable among (and possibly within) species for >40 million years. Furthermore, we find a strong relationship among species between climatic variation and within-species morph frequencies. These between-species patterns are similar (but not identical) to those in the broadly distributed Plethodon cinereus. Surprisingly, there are no significant climate-morphology relationships within most other polymorphic species, despite the strong between-species patterns. Overall, our study provides an initial exploration of how within-species geographic variation and large-scale macroevolutionary patterns of trait variation may be related.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fisher-Reid
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wiens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002980:Climate; D003116:Color; D017753:Ecosystem; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014562:Caudata / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Amphibians; climate; evolution; geographic variation; macroevolution; polymorphism