Data from: Comparative analysis of the multivariate genetic architecture of morphological traits in three species of Gomphocerine grasshoppers

Evolutionary change is the change in trait values across generations, and
usually occurs in multidimensional trait space rather than along isolated
traits. Genetic covariation influences the magnitude and direction of
evolutionary change and can be statistically summarized by the additive
genetic (co)variance matrix, G. While G can affect the response to
selection, it is exposed to evolutionary change by selection and genetic
drift, but the magnitude and speed of these changes are poorly understood.
We use comparative G matrix analyses to assess evolution of the shape and
orientation of G over longer time scales in three species of Gomphocerine
grasshoppers. We estimate 10x10 G matrices for five morphological traits
expressed in both sexes. We find low to moderate heritabilities (average
0.36), mostly large cross-sex correlations (average 0.54) and moderate
between-trait correlations (average 0.34). G matrices differ significantly
among species with wing length contributing most to these differences.
Wing length is the trait that is most divergent among species, suggesting
it has been under selection during species divergence. The more distantly
related species, Pseudochorthippus parallelus, was the most different in
the shape of G. Projecting contemporary genetic variation into the
divergence space D illustrates that the major axis of genetic variation in
Gomphocerippus rufus is aligned with divergence from Chorthippus
biguttulus, while the major axis of genetic variation in neither of the
species is aligned with the divergence between Pseudochorthippus
parallelus and the other two species. Our results demonstrate significant
differences in G matrices with a phylogenetic signal in the
differentiation.