Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers

Abstract Colouration may endorse thermoregulatory and antipredatory functions in snakes. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts that dark-coloured individuals are ecologically favoured in cool climates. However, the loss of aposematic and cryptic colourations may imply high predation for melanisti...

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Autores principales:	Fernando Martínez-Freiría, Ken S. Toyama, Inês Freitas, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f0a24b2822c145fc8811880ca1501b3f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f0a24b2822c145fc8811880ca1501b3f2021-12-02T18:51:13ZThermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers10.1038/s41598-020-72871-12045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f0a24b2822c145fc8811880ca1501b3f2020-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72871-1https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Colouration may endorse thermoregulatory and antipredatory functions in snakes. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts that dark-coloured individuals are ecologically favoured in cool climates. However, the loss of aposematic and cryptic colourations may imply high predation for melanistic snakes. Here, we used the monophyletic group of Eurasian vipers (subfamily Viperinae) to test whether an increase in the extent of dark area inside the characteristic zigzag dorsal pattern is associated to colder environments. We measured two colouration traits in zigzag-patterned individuals (number of dorsal marks and weighted pigmentation index) and used a phylogenetic comparative approach to explore macroevolutionary patterns of dorsal pigmentation and test whether its extent is associated to ecogeographic characteristics of lineages’ ranges. Phylogenetically-naïve and phylogenetically-informed analyses yielded a significant association between the degree of pigmentation of the zigzag pattern and environmental variables such as solar radiation, elevation and latitude. The degree of pigmentation of the zigzag pattern is highlighted as an adaptive trait that matches range attributes mirroring cold environments irrespective of the phylogeny. These results constitute the first large-scale evidence supporting the thermal melanism hypothesis in snakes, opening new avenues of inquiry for the mechanisms that shape the evolution of colour phenotypes.Fernando Martínez-FreiríaKen S. ToyamaInês FreitasAntigoni KaliontzopoulouNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Fernando Martínez-Freiría Ken S. Toyama Inês Freitas Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
description	Abstract Colouration may endorse thermoregulatory and antipredatory functions in snakes. The thermal melanism hypothesis predicts that dark-coloured individuals are ecologically favoured in cool climates. However, the loss of aposematic and cryptic colourations may imply high predation for melanistic snakes. Here, we used the monophyletic group of Eurasian vipers (subfamily Viperinae) to test whether an increase in the extent of dark area inside the characteristic zigzag dorsal pattern is associated to colder environments. We measured two colouration traits in zigzag-patterned individuals (number of dorsal marks and weighted pigmentation index) and used a phylogenetic comparative approach to explore macroevolutionary patterns of dorsal pigmentation and test whether its extent is associated to ecogeographic characteristics of lineages’ ranges. Phylogenetically-naïve and phylogenetically-informed analyses yielded a significant association between the degree of pigmentation of the zigzag pattern and environmental variables such as solar radiation, elevation and latitude. The degree of pigmentation of the zigzag pattern is highlighted as an adaptive trait that matches range attributes mirroring cold environments irrespective of the phylogeny. These results constitute the first large-scale evidence supporting the thermal melanism hypothesis in snakes, opening new avenues of inquiry for the mechanisms that shape the evolution of colour phenotypes.
format	article
author	Fernando Martínez-Freiría Ken S. Toyama Inês Freitas Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou
author_facet	Fernando Martínez-Freiría Ken S. Toyama Inês Freitas Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou
author_sort	Fernando Martínez-Freiría
title	Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
title_short	Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
title_full	Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
title_fullStr	Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
title_full_unstemmed	Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers
title_sort	thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in eurasian vipers
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/f0a24b2822c145fc8811880ca1501b3f
work_keys_str_mv	AT fernandomartinezfreiria thermalmelanismexplainsmacroevolutionaryvariationofdorsalpigmentationineurasianvipers AT kenstoyama thermalmelanismexplainsmacroevolutionaryvariationofdorsalpigmentationineurasianvipers AT inesfreitas thermalmelanismexplainsmacroevolutionaryvariationofdorsalpigmentationineurasianvipers AT antigonikaliontzopoulou thermalmelanismexplainsmacroevolutionaryvariationofdorsalpigmentationineurasianvipers
_version_	1718377480605138944

Thermal melanism explains macroevolutionary variation of dorsal pigmentation in Eurasian vipers

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