Fulton Christopher J, Wainwright Peter C, Hoey Andrew S, Bellwood David R
Research School of Biology The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia.
Department of Evolution & Ecology University of California Davis CA USA.
Ecol Evol. 2016 Dec 20;7(1):466-472. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2624. eCollection 2017 Jan.
Phenotypic adaptations can allow organisms to relax abiotic selection and facilitate their ecological success in challenging habitats, yet we have relatively little data for the prevalence of this phenomenon at macroecological scales. Using data on the relative abundance of coral reef wrasses and parrotfishes (f. Labridae) spread across three ocean basins and the Red Sea, we reveal the consistent global dominance of extreme wave-swept habitats by fishes in the genus , with abundances up to 15 times higher than any other labrid. A key locomotor modification-a winged pectoral fin that facilitates efficient underwater flight in high-flow environments-is likely to have underpinned this global success, as numerical dominance by was contingent upon the presence of high-intensity wave energy. The ecological success of the most abundant species also varied with species richness and the presence of congeneric competitors. While several fish taxa have independently evolved winged pectoral fins, appears to have combined efficient high-speed swimming (to relax abiotic selection) with trophic versatility (to maximize exploitation of rich resources) to exploit and dominate extreme coral reef habitats around the world.
表型适应能够使生物体缓解非生物选择压力，并有助于它们在具有挑战性的栖息地中取得生态成功，然而，在宏观生态尺度上，我们关于这一现象普遍性的数据相对较少。利用分布在三个大洋盆地和红海的珊瑚礁隆头鱼和鹦嘴鱼（隆头鱼科）相对丰度的数据，我们发现， 属鱼类在全球范围内始终在受极端海浪冲刷的栖息地中占据主导地位，其丰度比任何其他隆头鱼科鱼类高出15倍。一种关键的运动适应性变化——有翼胸鳍，有助于在高水流环境中进行高效的水下飞行——可能是这种全球成功的基础，因为 属在数量上的优势取决于高强度波浪能量的存在。最丰富物种的生态成功也随物种丰富度和同属竞争者的存在而变化。虽然有几个鱼类分类群独立进化出了有翼胸鳍，但 属似乎将高效的高速游泳能力（以缓解非生物选择压力）与营养多样性（以最大限度地利用丰富资源）结合起来，从而开发并主导了全球各地的极端珊瑚礁栖息地。
