Disparate Postnatal Ontogenies Do Not Add to the Shape Disparity of Infants

The evolution of ontogenetic allometric trajectories in mammalian domestication

“…Despite the recognized connection between evolution and development (Raff ; Love ), the role of ontogenetic allometry in shaping patterns of disparity and the utility of ontogenetic allometry as a link between ontogeny and disparity has been underappreciated (Zelditch et al. ).…”

Prenatal allometric trajectories and the developmental basis of postcranial phenotypic diversity in bats (Chiroptera)

“…Our results also suggest that the magnitude of postcranial allometric disparity in each bat suborder is different and that it can be traced back to prenatal morphogenesis (Sears, ). Given the controlled environment of the fetus during prenatal development, it is reasonable to argue that prenatal morphogenesis is not conditioned by highly variable external or environmental conditions (Werneburg & Geiger, ; Wilson, ; Zelditch et al, ). Because morphogenetic variability at prenatal stages has been directly linked with morphological variability at later stages (Werneburg & Geiger, ), early onset of morphogenetic changes provides extended developmental times that may, in turn, facilitate phenotypic variation, signaling an ontogenetic basis to diversification (Werneburg & Geiger, ).…”

“…Reported differences in the ontogenetic processes across developmental stages in different mammal species highlights the importance of describing it in its entirety (Frederich & Vandewalle, ; Halley, ; Ponssa & Candioti, ; Werneburg & Geiger, ; Wilson, ; Zelditch, Lundrigan, Sheets, & Garland, ). It has been argued that these differences have an evolutionary origin, as each developmental stage responds to different selective pressures and functional needs (Werneburg & Geiger ; Zelditch, Calamari, & Swiderski, ). Consequently, a link between variability in the morphogenetic processes and morphological disparity in adult forms has been theorized (Werneburg & Geiger, ; Wilson, , ; Wilson, Schradin et al, ; Zelditch et al, ), whereby most of a species’ disparity is thought to arise prenatally, reflecting a stage in ontogeny that may be exposed to fewer selective pressures compared to postnatal and adult stages (Wilson, ; Zelditch et al, ).…”

“…It has been argued that these differences have an evolutionary origin, as each developmental stage responds to different selective pressures and functional needs (Werneburg & Geiger ; Zelditch, Calamari, & Swiderski, ). Consequently, a link between variability in the morphogenetic processes and morphological disparity in adult forms has been theorized (Werneburg & Geiger, ; Wilson, , ; Wilson, Schradin et al, ; Zelditch et al, ), whereby most of a species’ disparity is thought to arise prenatally, reflecting a stage in ontogeny that may be exposed to fewer selective pressures compared to postnatal and adult stages (Wilson, ; Zelditch et al, ). Moreover, it has been postulated that highly adaptable and evolvable traits tend to appear earlier or to reach maturity late in development, as this allows longer developmental processes that enable traits to diversify (Werneburg & Geiger, ; Zelditch et al, ).…”

“…We focused on prenatal postcranial development because this encompasses the highest number of morphological adaptations for flight. Moreover, it has been argued that prenatal development better reflects the developmental basis of evolutionary diversification (Gould, ; Zelditch et al, , ). Allometric trajectories of different species were reconstructed based on a multivariate interpretation of allometry, allowing us to assess variability in allometric trajectories across taxa, and to test for a phylogenetic signal in our results that would suggest an ontogenetic basis for modern bat diversity and phylogenetic relationships.…”