title: Phylogenetic analyses of gazelles reveal repeated transitions of key ecological traits and provide novel insights into the origin of the genus Gazella.
abstract: African bovids are a famous example of a taxonomic group in which the correlated evolution of body size, feeding mode, gregariousness, and social organization in relation to the preferred habitat type has been investigated. A continuum has been described ranging from small-bodied, sedentary, solitary or socially monogamous, forest- or bush-dwelling, browsing species that seek shelter from predation in dense vegetation, to large-bodied, migratory, highly gregarious, grazing taxa inhabiting open savannahs and relying on flight or group-defense behaviors when facing predators. Here, we examined a geographically widespread clade within the Bovidae (the genus Gazella) that shows minimal interspecific variation in body size and asked if we could still uncover correlated changes of key ecological and behavioral traits during repeated transitions from open-land to mountain-dwelling. Our study used a multi-locus phylogeny (based on sequence variation of Cytb and six nuclear intron markers) of all extant members of the genus Gazella to infer evolutionary patterns of key ecological and behavioral traits and to estimate ancestral character states using Bayesian inference. At the base of the Gazella-phylogeny, open plains were inferred as the most likely habitat type, and three independent transitions toward mountain-dwelling were uncovered. Those shifts coincided with shifts from migratory to sedentary lifestyles. Character estimation for group size was largely congruent with movement patterns in that species forming large groups tended to be migratory, while small group size was correlated with a sedentary lifestyle. Evolutionary patterns of two other conspicuous traits (twinning ability vs. exclusive singleton births and hornless vs. horned females) did not follow this trend in the Gazella-phylogeny. Furthermore, we inferred the genus Gazella to have emerged in the Late Miocene to Pliocene (10-3Mya), and estimating ancestral ranges based on a Dispersal-Extinction-Cladogenesis model found the Middle East to be the most likely origin of the genus.
authors.affiliation: Natural History Collections, Museum Wiesbaden, Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2, 65185 Wiesbaden, Germany. Electronic address: hannes.lerp@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lerp
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klaus
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allgöwer
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Conservation Programs, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom; King Khalid Wildlife Research Center, Saudi Wildlife Authority, P.O. Box 61681, Riyadh 11575, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wronski
authors.affiliation: Molecular Ecology Group, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfenninger
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plath
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000866:Antelopes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D049628:Body Size; D017753:Ecosystem; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D008877:Middle East; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple
keywords: Ancestral character state estimation; Antelope; Gregariousness; Social organization; Ungulate