The Role of Interspecific Competition and Environmental Change in Driving Phenotypic Evolution in Canids

• Grant number: 25/07997-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Bosisio Quental
• Grantee: Lucas Marafina Vieira Porto
• Supervisor: Natalie Cooper
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Natural History Museum, London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/03664-6 - Diversification dynamics of interspecific competition: the role of niche similarity and spatial overlap, BP.PD

Abstract

Understanding how interspecific competition and environment shape the morphological evolution of species is a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology. While these drivers have been better studied in marine systems, their effects on terrestrial vertebrates remain less understood. This project will explore how climate change and competitive interactions have shaped patterns of morphospace occupation and phenotypic evolution across the three Canidae (dogs and relatives) subfamilies. This lineage is an excellent system to test these questions because its diversification dynamics have been influenced by both interspecific competition and climate change. To achieve this, we will first reconstruct and visualize morphospace dynamics through time. We will then quantify morphospace metrics and assess how they vary over time. To test whether observed morphospace changes are associated with environmental or competitive pressures, we will apply time-series forecasting models using paleoenvironmental data and novel competition intensity proxies. Finally, we will simulate null evolutionary scenarios to evaluate whether the observed morphospace patterns differ from those expected under random trait evolution. This integrative approach will allow us to identify distinct evolutionary signatures such as whole clade character displacement, incumbency effects, and selective extinction/speciation, offering new insights into the macroevolutionary forces that have shaped Canidae diversity.