Evolution in the hypervariable environment of Madagascar
Evolution in the hypervariable environment of Madagascar
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.0704346104
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发表时间：
2007-08-21
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Richard, Alison F.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dewar, Robert E.;Richard, Alison F.
我们表明，马达加斯加的不同生态区有一个独特的气候功能：不可预测的年内或年际降水与其他地区相比，具有可比的降雨量。气候的不可预测性与果实和开花的不可预测模式有关。有人认为，这些功能塑造了岛上的哺乳动物区系的独特特征的演变。地方性疱疹科和Tenrecidae和五个地方性灵长类家族的成员与其他地方的密切相关的物种不同，在他们的生活史中表现出极端的“快速”和“缓慢”。气候特征也可以解释马达加斯加食果鸟类和哺乳动物的缺乏，以及大型物种的进化流行。
We show that the diverse ecoregions of Madagascar share one distinctive climatic feature: unpredictable intra- or interannual precipitation compared with other regions with comparable rainfall. Climatic unpredictability is associated with unpredictable patterns of fruiting and flowering. It is argued that these features have shaped the evolution of distinctive characteristics in the mammalian fauna of the island. Endemic Herpestidae and Tenrecidae and members of five endemic primate families differ from closely related species elsewhere, exhibiting extremes of "fastness" and "slowness" in their life histories. Climatic features may also account for the dearth of frugivorous birds and mammals in Madagascar, and for the evolutionary prevalence of species with large body mass.