Abstract
An influential hypothesis proposes that the tempo of evolution is faster in the tropics. Emerging evidence, including a study in this issue of PLOS Biology, challenges this view, raising new questions about the causes of Earth’s iconic latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG).
Highlights
It is generally accepted that temperature can affect metabolic rate and many other biological processes, including those involving ecological interactions between species
Writing in PLOS Biology, Drury and colleagues [5] demonstrate that a central prediction of these “faster tropics” hypotheses fails to hold up. They predicted that, if certain types of ecological interactions between species are stronger in the tropics, we should see a signal of those interactions in long-term patterns of trait evolution
Drury and colleagues note that their results contradict recent articles that have documented differences in phenotypic evolutionary rates across latitude, the studies referenced generally looked at different types of traits
Summary
It is generally accepted that temperature can affect metabolic rate and many other biological processes, including those involving ecological interactions between species (e.g., competition, predation, and herbivory). They predicted that, if certain types of ecological interactions between species are stronger in the tropics, we should see a signal of those interactions in long-term patterns of trait evolution. The increased pressure to respond to species interactions in the tropics should result in faster overall rates of morphological evolution for tropical species.
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