Article

A New Look at Evolution in the Galapagos: Evidence from the Late Cenozoic Marine Molluscan Fauna

Endemism is not as common in the marine invertebrate fauna of the Galapagos Islands region as in the adjacent terrestrial biota. Marine invertebrates in the Galapagos are largely cosmopolitan species from the Panamic, Indo-Pacific, Californian, or Peruvian faunal provinces. However, an endemic component is also present in the fauna. The observed pattern among marine invertebrate organisms can be accounted for by at least two processes: (1) genetic continuity between mainland and island populations mediated through planktonic larvae; and (2) lower rates of intrinsic evolutionary change. The evolutionary scenario standardly applied to terrestrial organisms in the Galapagos, namely, adaptive radiation and speciation in reproductive isolation from mainland source populations, does not apply to all marine invertebrates. Evidence in support of the alternative scenario for marine invertebrates comes from both published records of species occurring in the islands and recent studies of fossil-bearing deposits on several islands in the archipelago. Two misconceptions-considering the islands and sedimentary deposits to be older than now thought, and equating the rate of evolution of the terrestrial biota with the marine biota-can lead to an incorrect interpretation of evolution in the Galapagos. Contrasts between marine invertebrate and terrestrial organisms serve to illustrate some fundamental differences which have important evolutionary implications. Some of these are: endemism; dispersal; taxonomic relationships; island definitions; rates of evolutionary change; and age of fossils. In terms of Darwin's evolutionary scenario, terrestrial organisms represent the paradigm and marine organisms represent the paradox.

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