TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kupfer, Alexander
A1  - Maxwell, Erin
A1  - Reinhard, Sandy
A1  - Kuehnel, Susanne
T1  - The evolution of parental investment in caecilian amphibians: a comparative approach
JF  - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution
N2  - Parental care is widespread among vertebrates and the observed patterns of parental care and investment are extremely diverse. Among amphibians, caecilians (Gymnophiona) exhibit considerable variation in reproductive modes, including both oviparity and viviparity, combined with highly unusual investment strategies (e.g. skin-feeding and intrauterine feeding). In the present study, current knowledge on the reproductive modes is integrated into an analysis of the evolutionary scenario of parental investment of caecilians. Phylogenetically basal caecilians possessing a biphasic life cycle that includes an aquatic larval stage invest in macrolecithal eggs directly corresponding to size at hatching. Some phylogenetically derived caecilians (i.e. the Teresomata) have a smaller clutch size and show a reduction to either medium-yolked (mesolecithal) or small-yolked (microlecithal) eggs. Via alternative pathways of parental investment, such as intrauterine feeding in viviparous taxa and maternal dermatotrophy in oviparous taxa, teresomatan caecilians increase both offspring size and quality. However, more data regarding reproductive biology are needed to obtain a fully resolved understanding of the evolution of reproduction in caecilian amphibians. (C) 2016 The Linnean Society of London
KW  - Amphibia
KW  - Gymnophiona
KW  - life history
KW  - parental care
KW  - phylogeny
KW  - reproductive investment
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12805
SN  - 0024-4066
SN  - 1095-8312
VL  - 119
SP  - 4
EP  - 14
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Rainford, James L.
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Mayhew, Peter J.
T1  - Phylogenetic analyses suggest that diversification and body size evolution are independent in insects
T2  - BMC evolutionary biology
N2  - Background:
Skewed body size distributions and the high relative richness of small-bodied taxa are a fundamental
property of a wide range of animal clades. The evolutionary processes responsible for generating these distributions
are well described in vertebrate model systems but have yet to be explored in detail for other major terrestrial
clades. In this study, we explore the macro-evolutionary patterns of body size variation across families of Hexapoda
(insects and their close relatives), using recent advances in phylogenetic understanding, with an aim to investigate
the link between size and diversity within this ancient and highly diverse lineage.
Results:
The maximum, minimum and mean-log body lengths of hexapod families are all approximately log-normally
distributed, consistent with previous studies at lower taxonomic levels, and contrasting with skewed distributions
typical of vertebrate groups. After taking phylogeny and within-tip variation into account, we find no evidence for a
negative relationship between diversification rate and body size, suggesting decoupling of the forces controlling these
two traits. Likelihood-based modeling of the log-mean body size identifies distinct processes operating within
Holometabola and Diptera compared with other hexapod groups, consistent with accelerating rates of size evolution
within these clades, while as a whole, hexapod body size evolution is found to be dominated by neutral processes
including significant phylogenetic conservatism.
Conclusions:
Based on our findings we suggest that the use of models derived from well-studied but atypical clades,
such as vertebrates may lead to misleading conclusions when applied to other major terrestrial lineages. Our results
indicate that within hexapods, and within the limits of current systematic and phylogenetic knowledge, insect
diversification is generally unfettered by size-biased macro-evolutionary processes, and that these processes over large
timescales tend to converge on apparently neutral evolutionary processes. We also identify limitations on available
data within the clade and modeling approaches for the resolution of trees of higher taxa, the resolution of which may
collectively enhance our understanding of this key component of terrestrial ecosystems.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 441 
KW  - body size
KW  - diversification
KW  - hexapoda
KW  - insects
KW  - phylogeny
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-407328
ER  -