1
|
Ethier JP, Fayard A, Soroye P, Choi D, Mazerolle MJ, Trudeau VL. Life history traits and reproductive ecology of North American chorus frogs of the genus Pseudacris (Hylidae). Front Zool 2021; 18:40. [PMID: 34452622 PMCID: PMC8394169 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00425-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Amphibian biodiversity is declining globally, with over 40% of species being considered threatened to become extinct. Crucial to the success of conservation initiatives are a comprehensive understanding of life history and reproductive ecology of target species. Here we provide an overview of the Pseudacris genus, including breeding behaviour, reproduction, development, survival and longevity. We present an updated distribution map of the 18 species found throughout North America. We also summarize the conservation status at the national and subnational (state, provincial, and territorial) levels, in Canada, USA, and Mexico, to evaluate the relationship between life history traits and extinction risk. Results show a high degree of consistency in the life history traits of Pseudacris species considering their relative diversity and wide distribution in North America. However, data are lacking for several species, particularly in the Fat Frog and West Coast clades, causing some uncertainties and discrepancies in the literature. We also found that the most threatened populations of chorus frog were located in the east coast of the USA, potentially as a result of increased levels of anthropogenic disturbance. We suggest that the similarities in life history traits among chorus frog species provides an opportunity for collaboration and united efforts for the conservation of the genus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey P Ethier
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
| | - Aurore Fayard
- Centre d'etude de la Foret, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Peter Soroye
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Daeun Choi
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Marc J Mazerolle
- Centre d'etude de la Foret, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Vance L Trudeau
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cairns NA, Cicchino AS, Stewart KA, Austin JD, Lougheed SC. Cytonuclear discordance, reticulation and cryptic diversity in one of North America's most common frogs. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 156:107042. [PMID: 33338660 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Complicated phylogenetic histories benefit from diverse sources of inference. Pseudacris crucifer (spring peeper) spans most of eastern North America and comprises six mtDNA lineages that form multiple contact zones. The putative Miocene or early Pliocene origins of the oldest lineages within Pseudacris crucifer imply sufficient time for species-level divergence. To understand why this species appears unified while congeners have radiated, we analyze and compare male advertisement calls, mitochondrial, and nuclear markers and speak to the complex processes that have potentially influenced its contemporary patterns. We find extensive geographic and topological mitonuclear discordance, with three nuclear lineages containing 6 more-structured mtDNA lineages, and nuclear introgression at some contact zones. Male advertisement call differentiation is incongruent with the genetic structure as only one lineage appears differentiated. Occupying the Interior Highlands of the central United States, this Western lineage also has the most concordant mitochondrial and nuclear geographic patterns. Based on our findings we suggest that the antiquity of common ancestors was not as important as the maintenance of allopatry in the divergence in P. crucifer genetic lineages. We use multiple lines of evidence to generate hypotheses of isolation, reticulation, and discordance within this species and to expand our understanding of the early stages of speciation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N A Cairns
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
| | - A S Cicchino
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, United States.
| | - K A Stewart
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 904 Science Park, 1098XH Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
| | - J D Austin
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States.
| | - S C Lougheed
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chin TA, Cáceres CE, Cristescu ME. The evolution of reproductive isolation in Daphnia. BMC Evol Biol 2019; 19:216. [PMID: 31775606 PMCID: PMC6880586 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-019-1542-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The process by which populations evolve to become new species involves the emergence of various reproductive isolating barriers (RIB). Despite major advancements in understanding this complex process, very little is known about the order in which RIBs evolve or their relative contribution to the total restriction of gene flow during various stages of speciation. This is mainly due to the difficulties of studying reproductive isolation during the early stages of species formation. This study examines ecological and non-ecological RIB within and between Daphnia pulex and Daphnia pulicaria, two recently diverged species that inhabit distinct habitats and exhibit an unusual level of intraspecific genetic subdivision. RESULTS We find that while ecological prezygotic barriers are close to completion, none of the non-ecological barriers can restrict gene flow between D. pulex and D. pulicaria completely when acting alone. Surprisingly, we also identified high levels of postzygotic reproductive isolation in 'conspecific' interpopulation crosses of D. pulex. CONCLUSIONS While the ecological prezygotic barriers are prevalent during the mature stages of speciation, non-ecological barriers likely dominated the early stages of speciation. This finding indicates the importance of studying the very early stages of speciation and suggests the contribution of postzygotic isolation in initiating the process of speciation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany A Chin
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 ave Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada.
| | - Carla E Cáceres
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Melania E Cristescu
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 ave Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Sağlam İK, Miller MR, O'Rourke S, Çağlar SS. Phylo-comparative analyses reveal the dual role of drift and selection in reproductive character displacement. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019; 140:106597. [PMID: 31445201 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
When incipient species meet in secondary contact, natural selection can rapidly reduce costly reproductive interactions by directly targeting reproductive traits. This process, called reproductive character displacement (RCD), leaves a characteristic pattern of geographic variation where divergence of traits between species is greater in sympatry than allopatry. However, because other forces can also cause similar patterns, care must be given in separating pattern from process. Here we show how the phylo-comparative method together with genomic data can be used to evaluate evolutionary processes at the population level in closely related species. Using this framework, we test the role of RCD in speciation of two cricket species endemic to Anatolian mountains by quantifying patterns of character displacement, rates of evolution and adaptive divergence. Our results show differing patterns of character displacement between species for reproductive vs. non-reproductive characters and strong patterns of asymmetric divergence. We demonstrate diversification results from rapid divergence of reproductive traits towards multiple optima under the dual influence of strong drift and selection. These results present the first solid evidence for RCD in Anatolian mountains, quantify the amount of drift and selection necessary for RCD to lead to speciation, and demonstrate the utility of phylo-comparative methods for quantifying evolutionary parameters at the population level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- İsmail K Sağlam
- Koç University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul, Turkey; University of California Davis, Department of Animal Science, Davis, CA, USA; Hacettepe University, Department of Biology, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Michael R Miller
- University of California Davis, Department of Animal Science, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Sean O'Rourke
- University of California Davis, Department of Animal Science, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Selim S Çağlar
- Hacettepe University, Department of Biology, Ankara, Turkey
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Singhal S, Hoskin CJ, Couper P, Potter S, Moritz C. A Framework for Resolving Cryptic Species: A Case Study from the Lizards of the Australian Wet Tropics. Syst Biol 2018; 67:1061-1075. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syy026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sonal Singhal
- Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Biology, California State University—Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747, USA
| | - Conrad J Hoskin
- College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Patrick Couper
- Biodiversity Program, Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia
| | - Sally Potter
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology and Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Craig Moritz
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology and Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Stewart KA, Hudson CM, Lougheed SC. Can alternative mating tactics facilitate introgression across a hybrid zone by circumventing female choice? J Evol Biol 2016; 30:412-421. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2016] [Revised: 11/12/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- K. A. Stewart
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering; Tongji University; Shanghai China
| | - C. M. Hudson
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; University of Sydney; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - S. C. Lougheed
- Department of Biology; Queen's University; Kingston ON Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Stewart KA, Wang R, Montgomerie R. Extensive variation in sperm morphology in a frog with no sperm competition. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:29. [PMID: 26832366 PMCID: PMC4735968 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0601-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Recent comparative studies of several taxa have found that within-species variation in sperm size decreases with increasing levels of sperm competition, suggesting that male-male gamete competition selects for an optimal sperm phenotype. Previous studies of intraspecific sperm length variation have all involved internal fertilizers where some other factors—e.g., sperm storage and sperm movement along the walls of the female’s reproductive tract—probably also influence and reduce sperm size variation. Thus external fertilizers, where those factors are absent, might be expected to exhibit even more variation when there is little or no sperm competition. To test that idea, we studied the sperm morphology of a North American chorus frog, the spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer), a species in which males encounter little or no sperm competition. Results As expected, sperm size was highly variable in the spring peeper, largely due to variation in flagellum length within and among individual males, among populations and between mitochondrial lineages in southwestern Ontario. In addition, a large proportion of spermatozoa in all males was abnormal in such a way that the ability of abnormal spermatozoa to fertilize was probably compromised. There were no differences in the frequencies of abnormalities among populations or mitochondrial lineages. Conclusions In the absence of sperm competition, we suggest that genetic drift has probably played a role in the generation of diversity in sperm morphology in this species, potentially resulting in the observed differences among populations. Such interpopulation difference in sperm morphology might be expected to increase the degree of reproductive isolation between populations even before other isolating mechanisms evolve. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0601-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn A Stewart
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada. .,College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 1239 Siping Rd, P R China.
| | - Rachel Wang
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
| | - Robert Montgomerie
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Stewart KA, Austin JD, Zamudio KR, Lougheed SC. Contact zone dynamics during early stages of speciation in a chorus frog (Pseudacris crucifer). Heredity (Edinb) 2015; 116:239-47. [PMID: 26626576 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2015.96] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Revised: 08/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the genetic and behavioural consequences of contact between previously geographically isolated lineages provides insights into the mechanisms underlying diversification and ultimately speciation. The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a widespread Nearctic chorus frog with six divergent mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages, many of which came into secondary contact during the Holocene. We examined genetics, morphology, advertisement calls and female preference for two lineages that began diverging in allopatry in the Pliocene and now overlap in southwestern Ontario, Canada. We found non-coincident clines in mtDNA and nuclear DNA, mirroring directionality of premating isolation barriers. We also found divergence in a range of traits between these two lineages, displacement in male call attributes and female preference for calls of their natal lineage in sympatry. Hybrids were morphologically distinct from both parental lineages, but hybrid male calls were acoustically intermediate. Female hybrids showed asymmetrical preference for Eastern male calls. These results considered together provide evidence of either unidirectional hybridization or selection against hybrids, potentially implying reproductive character displacement. Our work demonstrates the utility of integrated, multi-character approaches to understanding the processes of divergence and the nature of speciation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K A Stewart
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.,College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sino-Canada Centre for Environmental and Sustainable Development, Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - J D Austin
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - K R Zamudio
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - S C Lougheed
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|