The importance of phylogenetic scale in tests of Bergmann’s and Rapoport’s rules: lessons from a clade of South American lizards.

F. B. CRUZ, L.A. FITZGERALD, R.E. ESPINOZA AND J.A. SCHULTE II.

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

Blackwell Publishing

Año: 2005 vol. 18 p. 1559 - 1578

1420-9101

We tested for the occurrence of Bergmann’s rule, the pattern of increasingbody size with latitude, and Rapoport’s rule, the positive relationship betweengeographical range size and latitude, in 34 lineages of Liolaemus lizards thatoccupy arid regions of the Andean foothills. We tested the climatic-variabilityhypothesis (CVH) by examining the relationship between thermal tolerancebreadth and distribution. Each of these analyses was performed varying thelevel of phylogenetic inclusiveness. Bergmann’s rule and the CVH weresupported, but Rapoport’s rule was not. More variance in the data forBergmann’s rule and the CVH was explained using species belonging to theL. boulengeri series rather than all species, and inclusion of multiple outgroupstended to obscure these macroecological patterns. Evidence for Bergmann’srule and the predicted patterns from the CVH remained after application ofphylogenetic comparative methods, indicating a greater role of ecologicalprocesses rather than phylogeny in shaping the current species distributions ofthese lizards.