Habitat openness and squamate color evolution over deep time

Nature Communications, vol. 16, pp. 2625

Abstract

Abstract While the ecological roles of colored integument have been extensively studied, what regulates global patterns of color variation remains poorly understood. Here, using a global dataset of 1249 squamates, we evaluate whether and how six key eco-environmental variables and their interactions shaped the evolutionary history of their coloration. We show that only habitat openness consistently associates with brightness evolution, with brighter integuments favored in open habitats, possibly for enhanced heat reflection. Furthermore, brightness evolution rates likely track δ18O (a temperature proxy) changes and increase during global aridification phases, such as those in the Miocene and Pliocene. This trend may be due to the establishment of an arid climate that promoted habitat openness shifts, ultimately inducing adaption to new niches. Our findings suggest that a single environmental variable is associated with color variation in the largest extant tetrapod order.

Authors 7

1. Jonathan Goldenberg corresponding

   Lund University · Ghent University

   Affiliation as printed

   Division of Biodiversity and Evolution, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. jonathan.goldenberg@ugent.be

   Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. jonathan.goldenberg@ugent.be

   Division of Biodiversity and Evolution, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

   Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

2. Karen Bisschop

   Ghent University · KU Leuven

   Affiliation as printed

   Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, KU Leuven Kulak, Kortrijk, Belgium

   Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

3. Joshua W. Lambert

   University of Groningen

   Affiliation as printed

   Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

4. Michaël P. J. Nicolaï

   Ghent University

   Affiliation as printed

   Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

5. Rampal S. Etienne

   University of Groningen

   Affiliation as printed

   Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

6. Liliana D’Alba Aachen Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Ghent University

   Affiliation as printed

   Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

7. Matthew D. Shawkey

   Ghent University

   Affiliation as printed

   Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium