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A New Animal Model for Merging Ecology and Evolution

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Evolutionary Biology – Concepts, Biodiversity, Macroevolution and Genome Evolution

Abstract

The theory of evolution has recently been in turmoil, with great interest in applying empirical information from EvoDevo, genomics, and ecology into the framework of quantitative genetic studies of evolution. Ciona is a small genus of sea squirts within the class Ascidiacea of the subphylum Tunicata, the sister group of vertebrates, a phylogenetic position that has contributed to fuel the interest in studying development and evolution in ascidians. Ciona species display several traits of evolutionary interest, e.g., conservative anatomy, high genetic polymorphism, cryptic speciation, metapopulation structure and invasive behavior. Some of these aspects may depend on the ecology of these marine animals, which display a great ecophysiological tolerance and unpredictable colonization capabilities. In addition, natural populations show the occurrence of spontaneous mutations with phylomimicking phenotypes. Here we review some key features of this talented marine organism that promise to provide insights in specific aspects of the expanded evolutionary biology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy

    Gabriele Procaccini, Ornella Affinito, Francesco Toscano & Paolo Sordino

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  1. Gabriele Procaccini
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  2. Ornella Affinito
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  3. Francesco Toscano
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  4. Paolo Sordino
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Correspondence to Gabriele Procaccini .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS UMR 6632, Labo. Evolution Biologique et, Université d'Aix-Marseille, place Victor Hugo 3, Marseille CX 03, 13331, France

    Pierre Pontarotti

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Procaccini, G., Affinito, O., Toscano, F., Sordino, P. (2011). A New Animal Model for Merging Ecology and Evolution. In: Pontarotti, P. (eds) Evolutionary Biology – Concepts, Biodiversity, Macroevolution and Genome Evolution. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20763-1_6

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