Abstract
Phenotypic selection is widely accepted as the primary cause of adaptive evolution in natural populations, but selection on complex functional properties linking physiology, behavior, and morphology has been rarely quantified. In ectotherms, correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation. We quantified phenotypic selection on thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance (sprint speed), thermal preferences, and resting metabolic rate in captive populations of an ectothermic vertebrate, the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara. No correlational selection between thermal sensitivity of performance, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism was found. A combination of high body mass and resting metabolic rate was positively correlated with survival and negatively correlated with fecundity. Thus, different mechanisms underlie selection on metabolism in lizards with small body mass than in lizards with high body mass. In addition, lizards that selected the near average preferred body temperature grew faster that their congeners. This is one of the few studies that quantifies significant correlational selection on a proxy of energy expenditure and stabilizing selection on thermoregulatory behavior.
Highlights
How phenotypic selection shapes the adaptation of complex set of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits is one of the most intriguing questions in evolutionary biology (Feder et al 2000; Irschick et al 2008; Kingsolver et al 2012)
The coevolution of the thermal physiology of locomotor performances, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation (Huey and Bennett 1987; Huey and Kingsolver 1989; Garland et al 1991; Angilletta et al 2006)
Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Summary
How phenotypic selection (variation in fitness associated with one or a combination of phenotypes) shapes the adaptation of complex set of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits is one of the most intriguing questions in evolutionary biology (Feder et al 2000; Irschick et al 2008; Kingsolver et al 2012). The coevolution of the thermal physiology of locomotor performances, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation (Huey and Bennett 1987; Huey and Kingsolver 1989; Garland et al 1991; Angilletta et al 2006). A central tenet of thermal biology is that individuals should select body temperatures that optimize their physiological performances, such that thermoregulatory behavior and thermal physiology are coadapted (reviewed in Angilletta 2009). Most ectotherms do not use metabolism to regulate their body temperature, behavior, performance traits, and a 2015 The Authors.
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