Abstract

Multiple rounds of whole genome duplication have repeatedly marked the evolution of vertebrates, and correlate strongly with morphological innovation. However, less is known about the behavioral, physiological and ecological consequences of genome duplication, and whether these events coincide with major transitions in vertebrate complexity. The complex behavior of anadromy – where adult fishes migrate up rivers from the sea to their natal site to spawn – is well known in salmonid fishes. Some hypotheses suggest that migratory behavior evolved as a consequence of an ancestral genome duplication event, which permitted salinity tolerance and osmoregulatory plasticity. Here we test whether anadromy evolved multiple times within salmonids, and whether genome duplication coincided with the evolution of anadromy. We present a method that uses ancestral character simulation data to plot the frequency of character transitions over a time calibrated phylogenetic tree to provide estimates of the absolute timing of character state transitions. Furthermore, we incorporate extinct and extant taxa to improve on previous estimates of divergence times. We present the first phylogenetic evidence indicating that anadromy evolved at least twice from freshwater salmonid ancestors. Results suggest that genome duplication did not coincide in time with changes in migratory behavior, but preceded a transition to anadromy by 55–50 million years. Our study represents the first attempt to estimate the absolute timing of a complex behavioral trait in relation to a genome duplication event.