Character displacement and replicate adaptive radiation

Abstract

Ecological character displacement is implicit in current views of adaptive radiation, but examples are few. The paucity of cases may be partly a problem of detection: statistical tests require that a consistent pattern of displacement be observed over independent lineages, yet opportunities for such replication may be few. Recent studies of fish in postglacial lakes and lizards on Caribbean islands reveal multiple speciation events accompanied by equivalent patterns of ecological and morphological divergence. These studies provide a wealth of new examples of apparent character displacement, and show that adaptive radiations may unfold in a predictable sequence.