Data from: Phylogenetic, ecological, and allometric correlates of cranial shape in Malagasy lemuriforms

Adaptive radiations provide important insights into many aspects of evolution, including the relationship between ecology and morphological diversification as well as between ecology and speciation. Many such radiations include divergence along a dietary axis, although other ecological variables may also drive diversification, including differences in diel activity patterns. This study examines the role of two key ecological variables, diet and activity patterns, in shaping the radiation of a diverse clade of primates, the Malagasy lemurs. When phylogeny is ignored, activity pattern and several dietary variables predicted a significant proportion of cranial shape variation. However, when phylogeny was taken into account, only typical diet accounted for a significant proportion of shape variation. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that this radiation was characterized by a relatively small number of dietary shifts (and possibly changes in body size) that occurred in conjunction with the divergence of major clades. This pattern may be difficult to detect with the phylogenetic comparative methods used here, but may characterize not just lemurs but other mammals.

适应辐射（adaptive radiation）为进化研究的诸多维度提供了关键洞见，涵盖生态学与形态多样化的关联，以及生态学与物种形成之间的联系。此类适应辐射多呈现沿饮食生态轴的分化，尽管其他生态变量也可能推动多样化进程，例如昼夜活动模式的差异。本研究聚焦两项核心生态变量——饮食与活动模式，探讨其在塑造一类多样化灵长类演化支（clade）——马达加斯加狐猴——的适应辐射过程中所发挥的作用。若忽略系统发育（phylogeny）因素，活动模式与多项饮食变量可解释颅骨形态变异中相当显著的比例。但当纳入系统发育因素后，仅典型饮食仍可解释颅骨形态变异的显著比例。针对这一差异的一种可能解释是，该适应辐射的特征为：相对少量的饮食转变（或伴随体型变化）与主要演化支的分化同步发生。采用本研究所用的系统发育比较方法（phylogenetic comparative methods），或难以检出此类模式，但该模式或许不仅存在于狐猴类群，也广泛存在于其他哺乳动物中。