Morphological and niche divergence of pinyon pines.
The environmental variables that define a species ecological niche should be associated with the evolutionary patterns present in the adaptations that resulted from living in these conditions. Thus, when comparing across species, we can expect to find an association between phylogenetically independent phenotypic characters and ecological niche evolution. Few studies have evaluated how organismal phenotypes might mirror patterns of niche evolution if these phenotypes reflect adaptations. Doing so could contribute on the understanding of the origin and maintenance of phenotypic diversity observed in nature. Here, we show the pattern of niche evolution of the pinyon pine lineage (Pinus subsection Cembroides); then, we suggest morphological adaptations possibly related to niche divergence, and finally, we test for correlation between ecological niche and morphology. We demonstrate that niche divergence is the general pattern within the clade and that it is positively correlated with adaptation.
Departamento de EcologíaInstituto de Ecología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México AP 70-275 Mexico City México; Present address: Universidad del Medio Ambiente Camino al Castellano 4 Valle de Bravo México.
Alejandra
A
Ortiz-Medrano
Resonate Reston Virginia USA.
Daniel Patrick
DP
Scantlebury
Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos Cuernavaca México.
Alejandra
A
Vázquez-Lobo
CONACYT Research Fellow assigned to CONABIO Coordinación de Análisis de Riesgo y Bioseguridad Dirección General de Análisis de Prioridades Comisión Nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la Biodiversidad Mexico City Mexico.
Alicia
A
Mastretta-Yanes
Departamento de Ecología Instituto de Ecología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México AP 70-275 Mexico City México.
Daniel
D
Piñero
Adaptation; Pinus subsection Cembroides; ecological niche modeling; niche conservatism; niche divergence; phylogenetic adaptive methods