Data from: Thermal niche evolution across replicated Anolis lizard adaptive radiations

Elucidating how ecological and evolutionary mechanisms interact to produce and maintain biodiversity is a fundamental problem in evolutionary ecology. We investigate this issue by focusing on how physiological evolution affects performance and species coexistence along the thermal niche axis in replicated radiations of Anolis lizards, groups best known for resource partitioning based on morphological divergence. We find repeated divergence in thermal physiology within these radiations, and that this divergence significantly affects performance within natural thermal environments. Morphologically similar species that co-occur invariably differ in their thermal physiology, providing evidence that physiological divergence facilitates species co-existence within anole communities. Despite repeated divergence in traits of demonstrable ecological importance, phylogenetic comparative analyses indicate that physiological traits have evolved more slowly than key morphological traits related to the structural niche. Phylogenetic analyses also reveal that physiological divergence is correlated with divergence in broad-scale habitat climatic features commonly used to estimate thermal niche evolution, but that the latter incompletely predicts variation in the former. We provide comprehensive evidence for repeated adaptive evolution of physiological divergence within Anolis adaptive radiations, including the complementary roles of physiological and morphological divergence in promoting community-level diversity. We recommend greater integration of performance-based traits into analyses of climatic niche evolution, as they facilitate a more complete understanding of the phenotypic and ecological consequences of climatic divergence.

阐明生态与进化机制如何相互作用以产生并维持生物多样性，是进化生态学领域的核心基础问题。本研究以安乐蜥（Anolis lizards）的重复适应性辐射类群为研究对象，该类群因基于形态分化的资源分区特性而闻名学界，我们聚焦于生理进化如何沿热生态位轴（thermal niche axis）影响种群表现与物种共存，以此探讨该核心问题。研究发现，在这些适应性辐射类群中，热生理特征存在重复分化现象，且该分化显著影响自然热环境下的种群表现；共存的形态相似物种在热生理特征上始终存在差异，这为生理分化助力安乐蜥群落内物种共存提供了实证依据。尽管具有明确生态重要性的性状存在重复分化，但系统发育比较分析（phylogenetic comparative analyses）表明，热生理性状的进化速率慢于与结构生态位（structural niche）相关的关键形态性状。系统发育分析还显示，生理分化与常用于推断热生态位进化的大范围生境气候特征分化存在相关性，但后者无法完全预测前者的变异情况。本研究为安乐蜥适应性辐射类群中生理分化的重复适应性进化提供了全面实证，其中涵盖生理分化与形态分化在推动群落水平生物多样性提升方面的互补作用；我们建议将基于种群表现的性状更多地纳入气候生态位进化分析中，因为这类性状有助于更全面地理解气候分化所带来的表型与生态后果。