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Acevedo MA, Fankhauser C, González L, Quigg M, Gonzalez B, Papa R. Recolonization of secondary forests by a locally extinct Caribbean anole through the lens of range expansion theory. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2960. [PMID: 38425089 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Disturbance and recovery dynamics are characteristic features of many ecosystems. Disturbance dynamics are widely studied in ecology and conservation biology. Still, we know less about the ecological processes that drive ecosystem recovery. The ecological processes that mediate ecosystem recovery stand at the intersection of many theoretical frameworks. Range expansion theory is one of these complementary frameworks that can provide unique insights into the population-level processes that mediate ecosystem recovery, particularly fauna recolonization. Although the biodiversity patterns that follow the fauna recolonization of recovering forests have been well described in the literature, the ecological processes at the population level that drive these patterns remain conspicuously unknown. In this study, we tested three fundamental predictions of range expansion theory during the recolonization of recovering forests in Puerto Rico by a shade specialist anole, Anolis gundlachi. Range expansion theory predicts that individuals at the early stages of recolonization (i.e., younger forests) would have a high prevalence of dispersive traits, experience less density dependence, and suffer less parasitism. To test these predictions, we conducted a chronosequence study applying space-for-time substitution where we compared phenotypic traits (i.e., body size, body condition, and relative limb size), population density, population growth rates, and Plasmodium parasitism rates among lizard populations living in young (<30 years), mid (~40-70 years), and old-growth forests (>75 years). Lizard populations in younger forests had lower densities, higher population growth rates, and lower rates of Plasmodium parasitism compared with old-growth forests. Still, while we found that individuals had larger body sizes, and longer forelimbs in young forests in one site, this result was not consistent among sites. This suggests a potential trade-off between the traits that provide a dispersal advantage during the initial stages of recolonization and those that are advantageous to establish in novel environmental conditions. Overall, our study emphasizes the suitability of range expansion theory to describe fauna recolonization but also highlights that the ecological processes that drive recolonization are time-dependent, complex, and nuanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A Acevedo
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Carly Fankhauser
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Luis González
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
| | - Marné Quigg
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Bella Gonzalez
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Riccardo Papa
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Perkel JM. How to make your scientific data accessible, discoverable and useful. Nature 2023; 618:1098-1099. [PMID: 37369843 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-01929-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
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Neal A, Sassi J, Vardo-Zalik A. Drought correlates with reduced infection complexity and possibly prevalence in a decades-long study of the lizard malaria parasite Plasmodium mexicanum. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14908. [PMID: 36860770 PMCID: PMC9969858 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Microparasites often exist as a collection of genetic 'clones' within a single host (termed multi-clonal, or complex, infections). Malaria parasites are no exception, with complex infections playing key roles in parasite ecology. Even so, we know little about what factors govern the distribution and abundance of complex infections in natural settings. Utilizing a natural dataset that spans more than 20 years, we examined the effects of drought conditions on infection complexity and prevalence in the lizard malaria parasite Plasmodium mexicanum and its vertebrate host, the western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis. We analyzed data for 14,011 lizards sampled from ten sites over 34 years with an average infection rate of 16.2%. Infection complexity was assessed for 546 infected lizards sampled during the most recent 20 years. Our data illustrate significant, negative effects of drought-like conditions on infection complexity, with infection complexity expected to increase by a factor of 2.27 from the lowest to highest rainfall years. The relationship between rainfall and parasite prevalence is somewhat more ambiguous; when prevalence is modeled over the full range in years, a 50% increase in prevalence is predicted between the lowest and highest rainfall years, but this trend is not apparent or is reversed when data are analyzed over a shorter timeframe. To our knowledge, this is the first reported evidence for drought affecting the abundance of multi-clonal infections in malaria parasites. It is not yet clear what mechanism might connect drought with infection complexity, but the correlation we observed suggests that additional research on how drought influences parasite features like infection complexity, transmission rates and within-host competition may be worthwhile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Neal
- Norwich University, Northfield, VT, United States
| | - Joshua Sassi
- Norwich University, Northfield, VT, United States
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Toohey JM, Otero L, Flores Siaca IG, Acevedo MA. Identifying individual and spatial drivers of heterogeneous transmission and virulence of malaria in Caribbean anoles. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- John M. Toohey
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
| | - Luisa Otero
- Department of Biology University of Puerto Rico San Juan Puerto Rico USA
| | | | - Miguel A. Acevedo
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- Department of Biology University of Puerto Rico San Juan Puerto Rico USA
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Acevedo MA, Clark D, Fankhauser C, Toohey JM. No evidence of predicted phenotypic changes after hurricane disturbance in a shade-specialist Caribbean anole. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220152. [PMID: 35920030 PMCID: PMC9346363 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme climatic events (ECEs) such as hurricanes have been hypothesized to be a major driving force of natural selection. Recent studies argue that, following strong hurricane disturbance, Anolis lizards in the Caribbean undergo selection for traits such as longer forelimbs or smaller body sizes that improve their clinging ability to their substrates increasing their chances of surviving hurricane wind gusts. Some authors challenge the generalization of this hypothesis arguing that other mechanisms may explain these phenotypic changes or that they may not necessarily be generalizable across systems. To address this issue, we compared body size and relative forelimb length of Anolis gundlachi, a trunk-ground anole living in closed-canopy forests in Puerto Rico, before, four months after, and 15 months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Overall, our results show no clear evidence of a temporal decrease in body size or increase forelimb length (relative to body size) challenging the generalizability of the clinging ability hypothesis. Understanding how animals adapt to ECE is an emerging field. Still, we are quickly learning that this process is complex and nuanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A. Acevedo
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7011, USA
| | - David Clark
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Carly Fankhauser
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7011, USA
| | - John Michael Toohey
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7011, USA
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Cruz V, Cruz-Pantoja O, Tremblay R, Acevedo M. Animal trait variation at the within-individual level: erythrocyte size variation and malaria infection in a tropical lizard. PeerJ 2022; 10:e12761. [PMID: 35228904 PMCID: PMC8881909 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
High levels of within-individual variation (WIV) in reiterative components in plants such as leaves, flowers, and fruits have been shown to increase individual fitness by multiple mechanisms including mediating interactions with natural enemies. This relationship between WIV and fitness has been studied almost exclusively in plant systems. While animals do not exhibit conspicuous reiterative components, they have traits that can vary at the individual level such as erythrocyte size. It is currently unknown if WIV in animals can influence individual fitness by mediating the outcome of interactions with natural enemies as it has been shown in plants. To address this issue, we tested for a relationship between WIV in erythrocyte size, hemoparasite infection status, and body condition (a proxy for fitness) in a Caribbean anole lizard. We quantified the coefficient of variation of adult erythrocytes size in $n = 95$ infected and $n = 107$ non-infected lizards. We found higher degrees of erythrocyte size variation in infected lizards than in non-infected individuals. However, we found no significant relationship between infection status or erythrocyte size variation, and lizard body condition. These results suggest that higher WIV in erythrocyte size in infected lizards is not necessarily adaptive but likely a consequence of the host response to infection. Many hemoparasites destroy their host cells as part of their life cycle. To compensate, the host lizard may respond by increasing production of erythrocytes resulting in higher WIV. Our results emphasize the need to better understand the role of within-animal variation as a neglected driver or consequence of ecological and evolutionary interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virnaliz Cruz
- School of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America,Department of Environmental Science, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Pidras, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Omar Cruz-Pantoja
- Department of Computer Science, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Pidras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Raymond Tremblay
- Department of Biology, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Humacao, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Miguel Acevedo
- School of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
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Smolinský R, Hiadlovská Z, Martínková N. Ectoparasite load increase in reproductively active sand lizards. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.25225/jvb.20128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Radovan Smolinský
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
| | - Zuzana Hiadlovská
- Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
| | - Natália Martínková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic; e-mail:
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Grieves LA, MacDougall-Shackleton EA. No evidence that songbirds use odour cues to avoid malaria-infected conspecifics. BEHAVIOUR 2020. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Many animals have evolved mechanisms to detect and avoid parasitized conspecifics, primarily through odour cues, but whether birds are capable of odour-mediated parasite avoidance is unknown. Recently, we showed that exposing song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium sp.) alters the chemical composition of their preen oil, which is the major source of body odour in birds. Here, we presented song sparrows with preen oil from uninfected (sham-inoculated) and malaria-infected conspecifics, predicting that birds would spend more time with odour cues from uninfected than infected birds. Birds without detectable malarial infections spent about 50% more time with preen oil from uninfected than infected conspecifics, and females spent nearly twice as much time with preen oil from uninfected than infected conspecifics. However, neither difference was statistically significant. Song sparrows may be able to detect odour cues of infection, but further experiments are needed to confirm or refute this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne A. Grieves
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
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Kirkman LA, Deitsch KW. Vive la Différence: Exploiting the Differences between Rodent and Human Malarias. Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:504-511. [PMID: 32407681 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Experimental research into malaria biology and pathogenesis has historically focused on two model systems, in vitro culture of the human parasite Plasmodium falciparum and in vivo infections of laboratory animals using rodent parasites. While there is clear value in having a manipulatable animal model for studying malaria, there have occasionally been controversies around how representative the rodent model is of the human disease, and therefore significant emphasis has been placed on the similarities between the two biological systems. By focusing on basic nuclear functions, we wish to highlight that identifying key differences in the parasites and their interactions with their mammalian hosts can be equally informative and provide remarkable insights into the biology and evolution of these important infectious organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Kirkman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kirk W Deitsch
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
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