Salamanders have some of the largest, and most variable, genome sizes among the vertebrates. Larger genomes have been associated with larger cell sizes, lower metabolic rates, and longer embryonic and larval durations in many different taxonomic groups. These life-history traits are often important for dictating fitness under different environmental conditions, suggesting that a species' genome size may have the potential to constrain its ecological distribution. We test how genome size varies with the ephemerality of larval habitat across the salamanders, predicting that species with larger genomes will be constrained to more permanent habitats that permit slower development, while species with smaller genomes will be more broadly distributed across the gradient of habitat ephemerality. We found that salamanders with larger genomes are almost exclusively associated with permanent aquatic habitats. In addition, the evolutionary transition rate between permanent and ephemeral larval habitats is much higher in salamander lineages with smaller genome sizes. These patterns suggest that genome size may act as an evolutionary constraint on the ecological habitats of salamanders, restricting those species with large genomes and slower development to habitats with permanent sources of water.

& Porter, 2009) are the three primary strategies with which individuals and species can respond to climate change. The most rapid of these responses, and thus the first line of defence, are often facultative behavioural changes that allow individuals to maintain physiological performance within their thermal limits (Tracy et al., 2013). For ectotherms, the relationship between

Historical ecology can provide insights into the long-term and complex relationships between humans and culturally important species and ecosystems, thereby extending baselines for modern management. We bring together paleoecological, archaeological, and modern clam records to explore the relationship between humans and butter clams (Saxidomus gigantea) throughout the Holocene in the northern Salish Sea of British Columbia, Canada. We compare butter clam size and growth patterns from different temporal, environmental, and cultural contexts spanning 11,500 y to present. Butter clam size and growth were restricted in early postglacial times but increased over the next few millennia. During the early-Late Holocene, humans took increasing advantage of robust clam populations and after 3.5 ka, began constructing clam gardens (intertidal rock-walled terraces). Environmental and cultural variables, including coarse substrate, stabilized sea surface temperature, and the presence of a clam garden wall, increased clam growth throughout the Holocene. Measurements of clams collected in active clam gardens and deposited in middens suggest that clam gardens as well as other mariculture activities enhanced clam production despite increased harvesting pressure. Since European contact, decline of traditional management practices and increases in industrial activities are associated with reduced clam size and growth similar to those of the early postglacial clams. Deeper-time baselines that more accurately represent clam population variability and allow us to assess magnitudes of change throughout time as well as the complex interactions among humans and clams are useful for modern marine resource management.

No abstract

Ecological community structure ultimately depends on evolution producing community members. To understand how macroevolutionary processes shape communities, we surveyed Anolis lizard assemblages across elevations on Jamaica and Hispaniola, neighboring Caribbean islands similar in environment, but contrasting in evolutionary richness. The impact of diversification on local communities depends on available opportunities for speciation within or between ecologically distinct sub-regions. Where opportunities abound, as in the vast lowlands of both islands, communities converge in species richness and average morphology. But community structures diverge in the highlands. On Jamaica, where limited highland area restricted diversification, communities remain depauperate and consist largely of elevational generalists. In contrast, a unique fauna of high-elevation specialists evolved in the expansive Hispaniolan highlands, augmenting highland richness, and driving islandwide turnover in community composition. Accounting for disparate evolutionary opportunities may illuminate when regional diversity will enhance local diversity and help identify the causes of convergent versus divergent community structure.

Ecological community structure ultimately depends on the production of community members by speciation. To understand how macroevolution shapes communities, we surveyed Anolis lizard assemblages across elevations on Jamaica and Hispaniola, neighbouring Caribbean islands similar in environment, but contrasting in the richness of their endemic evolutionary radiations. The impact of diversification on local communities depends on available spatial opportunities for speciation within or between ecologically distinct sub‐regions. In the spatially expansive lowlands of both islands, communities converge in species richness and average morphology. But communities diverge in the highlands. On Jamaica, where limited highland area restricted diversification, communities remain depauperate and consist largely of elevational generalists. In contrast, a unique fauna of high‐elevation specialists evolved in the vast Hispaniolan highlands, augmenting highland richness and driving islandwide turnover in community composition. Accounting for disparate evolutionary opportunities may illuminate when regional diversity will enhance local diversity and help predict when communities should converge in structure.