The island rule explains consistent patterns of body size evolution in terrestrial vertebrates
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Island faunas can be characterized by gigantism in small animals and dwarfism in large animals, but the extent to which this so-called ‘island rule’ provides a general explanation for evolutionary trajectories on islands remains contentious. Here we use a phylogenetic meta-analysis to assess patterns and drivers of body size evolution across a global sample of paired island–mainland populations of terrestrial vertebrates. We show that ‘island rule’ effects are widespread in mammals, birds and reptiles, but less evident in amphibians, which mostly tend towards gigantism. We also found that the magnitude of insular dwarfism and gigantism is mediated by climate as well as island size and isolation, with more pronounced effects in smaller, more remote islands for mammals and reptiles. We conclude that the island rule is pervasive across vertebrates, but that the implications for body size evolution are nuanced and depend on an array of context-dependent ecological pressures and environmental conditions.
Date Issued
2021-04-15
Date Acceptance
2021-02-22
Citation
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2021, 5 (6), pp.768-+
ISSN
2397-334X
Publisher
Nature Research
Start Page
768
End Page
+
Journal / Book Title
Nature Ecology and Evolution
Volume
5
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2021. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01426-y
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000640479000003&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS
TORTOISE TESTUDO-HERMANNI
WHITE-TOOTHED SHREW
LIZARD TAKYDROMUS-SEPTENTRIONALIS
COSTATA SQUAMATA TEIIDAE
ATLANTIC-RAIN-FOREST
SEXUAL-DIMORPHISM
GEOGRAPHIC-VARIATION
NATURAL-HISTORY
MAINLAND POPULATIONS
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-04-15