Many widespread species, like this Gallotia galloti lizard on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands) inhabit a diverse range of environments. Local adaptation of ecomorphological traits to different environments is considered a key early stage in ecological radiation and species diversification However, in these lizards, changes in ecomorphological traits along a 3000 m elevation gradient occurred only in males. Females were nearly invariant. This suggests that local adaptation to environmental conditions can be sex-specific and different selection pressures acting on males and females could enhance or constrain ecological radiation and species diversification in widespread species. Photo by Adam C. Algar, August 2011.

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Find the full paper here.
 

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