Dispersal Reduction: Causes, Genomic Mechanisms, and Evolutionary Consequences

Abstract

Recent biological analyses suggest that reductions in dispersal ability have beenkey drivers of diversification across numerous lineages. We synthesise emergingdata to highlight similarities regarding the causes and consequences of dispersalreduction across taxa and ecosystems, as well as the diverse genomic mechanismsunderpinning these shifts. Natural selection has acted on standing genetic variationwithin taxa to drive often rapid–and in some cases parallel–losses of dispersal,and ultimately speciation. Such shifts can thus represent an important nexus be-tween adaptive and neutral diversification processes, with substantial evolutionaryconsequences. Recognition of the links between these concepts that are emergingfrom differentfields, taxa and ecosystems is transforming our understanding of thefascinating role of dispersal reduction in the formation of biodiversity.