Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

The geography of snake reproductive mode: a global analysis of the evolution of snake viviparity

Full text
Author(s):
Show less -
Feldman, Anat [1] ; Bauer, Aaron M. [2] ; Castro-Herrera, Fernando [3] ; Chirio, Laurent [4] ; Das, Indraneil [5] ; Doan, Tiffany M. [6] ; Maza, Erez [1] ; Meirte, Danny [7] ; Nogueira, Cristiano de Campos [8] ; Nagy, Zoltan Tamas [9] ; Torres-Carvajal, Omar [10] ; Uetz, Peter [11] ; Meiri, Shai [1]
Total Authors: 13
Affiliation:
Show less -
[1] Tel Aviv Univ, Dept Zool, IL-69978 Tel Aviv - Israel
[2] Villanova Univ, Dept Biol, Villanova, PA 19085 - USA
[3] Univ Valle, Dept Biol, Cali - Colombia
[4] Museum Natl Hist Nat, Dept Sysetmat & Evolut, F-75231 Paris - France
[5] Univ Malaysia Sarawak, Inst Biodivers & Environm Conservat, Kota, Samarahan - Malaysia
[6] Univ Cent Florida, Dept Biol, Orlando, FL 32816 - USA
[7] Royal Museum Cent African, Dept African Biol, Tervuren - Belgium
[8] Univ Sao Paulo, Herpetol, Museu Zool, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[9] Royal Belgian Inst Nat Sci, OD Taxon & Phylogeny, B-1000 Brussels - Belgium
[10] Pontificia Univ Catolica Ecuador, Escuela Ciencias Biol, Museo Zool, Quito - Ecuador
[11] Virginia Commonwealth Univ, Ctr Study Biol Complex, Richmond, VA - USA
Total Affiliations: 11
Document type: Journal article
Source: GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY; v. 24, n. 12, p. 1433-1442, DEC 2015.
Web of Science Citations: 12
Abstract

Aim Although most reptiles are oviparous, viviparity is a commonmode of reproduction in squamates and has evolved multiple times in different lineages. We test two prevailing hypotheses regarding the biogeography of reptile reproductive modes to evaluate the selective forces driving the evolution of viviparity in snakes. The cold climate hypothesis posits that viviparity is selected for in cold climates, whereas the climatic predictability hypothesis predicts that viviparity is advantageous in seasonal climates. Location Global. Methods We collated detailed distribution maps and reproductive mode data for 2663 species of the world's terrestrial alethinophidian snakes. We studied the relationship between snake reproductive mode and environmental predictors. We applied both an ecological and an evolutionary approach to study snake reproductive mode by performing the analyses at the assemblage level and species level, respectively. We analysed our data at the global and continental scales to learn whether tendencies to viviparity are similar world-wide. Results We found strong support for the cold climate hypothesis and the assumption that viviparity is an adaptation to cold environments. There was little support for the climatic predictability hypothesis. Nonetheless, viviparous species are not restricted to cold environments. Main conclusions We conclude that viviparity is adaptive in cold climates, but not necessarily in unpredictable/seasonal climates. Current distributions may not reflect the climate at the time and place of speciation. We suspect many viviparous snakes inhabiting warm climates are members of lineages that originated in colder regions, and their occurrence in maladaptive environments is a result of phylogenetic conservatism. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/19858-2 - Conservation biogeography of Brazilian snakes
Grantee:Cristiano de Campos Nogueira
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral