1
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Chamberlain JD, Clifton IT, Gifford ME. Variable juvenile growth rates and offspring size: a response to anthropogenic shifts in prey size among populations. Oecologia 2024:10.1007/s00442-024-05623-x. [PMID: 39302347 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05623-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
Environmental variables, such as resource quality, shape growth in organisms, dictating body size, an important correlate of fitness. Variation in prey characteristics among populations is frequently associated with similar variation in predator body sizes. Anthropogenic alterations to prey landscapes impose novel ecological pressures on predators that may shift predator phenotypes. Research has focused on determining the adaptability of the phenotypic response by testing its genetic heritability. Here, we asked if anthropogenic shifts in prey size across the landscape correlate with juvenile growth rates among populations of watersnakes with divergent life-history phenotypes. We sought to determine if growth rate variation is the product of genetic adaptation or a non-heritable phenotypic response. Using a common-garden design, we measured growth of neonate snakes from fish farms varying in prey size. We found juvenile growth rates are faster for snakes with larger initial body sizes and from populations with larger average prey sizes. Our data suggest variability in juvenile grow rates within and among populations are not the product of genetic adaptation, but the indirect consequence of initial offspring size variation and prey consumption. We propose larger offspring sizes may favor increased juvenile growth rates, mediated through a larger morphological capacity to consume and process energy resources relative to smaller individuals. This experiment provides evidence supporting the growing body of literature that non-heritable responses may be significant drivers of rapid phenotypic divergence among populations across a landscape. This mechanism may explain the stability and colonization of populations in response to rapid, human-mediated, landscape changes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ian T Clifton
- Department of Biology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, USA
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2
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Roberts JR, Bernstein JM, Austin CC, Hains T, Mata J, Kieras M, Pirro S, Ruane S. Whole snake genomes from eighteen families of snakes (Serpentes: Caenophidia) and their applications to systematics. J Hered 2024; 115:487-497. [PMID: 38722259 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esae026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
We present genome assemblies for 18 snake species representing 18 families (Serpentes: Caenophidia): Acrochordus granulatus, Aparallactus werneri, Boaedon fuliginosus, Calamaria suluensis, Cerberus rynchops, Grayia smithii, Imantodes cenchoa, Mimophis mahfalensis, Oxyrhabdium leporinum, Pareas carinatus, Psammodynastes pulverulentus, Pseudoxenodon macrops, Pseudoxyrhopus heterurus, Sibynophis collaris, Stegonotus admiraltiensis, Toxicocalamus goodenoughensis, Trimeresurus albolabris, and Tropidonophis doriae. From these new genome assemblies, we extracted thousands of loci commonly used in systematic and phylogenomic studies on snakes, including target-capture datasets composed of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and anchored hybrid enriched loci (AHEs), as well as traditional Sanger loci. Phylogenies inferred from the two target-capture loci datasets were identical with each other and strongly congruent with previously published snake phylogenies. To show the additional utility of these non-model genomes for investigative evolutionary research, we mined the genome assemblies of two New Guinea island endemics in our dataset (S. admiraltiensis and T. doriae) for the ATP1a3 gene, a thoroughly researched indicator of resistance to toad toxin ingestion by squamates. We find that both these snakes possess the genotype for toad toxin resistance despite their endemism to New Guinea, a region absent of any toads until the human-mediated introduction of Cane Toads in the 1930s. These species possess identical substitutions that suggest the same bufotoxin resistance as their Australian congenerics (Stegonotus australis and Tropidonophis mairii) which forage on invasive Cane Toads. Herein, we show the utility of short-read high-coverage genomes, as well as improving the deficit of available squamate genomes with associated voucher specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackson R Roberts
- Division of Zoology, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS 67601, United States
- Division of Herpetology, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States
| | - Justin M Bernstein
- Center for Genomics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, United States
| | - Christopher C Austin
- Division of Herpetology, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States
| | - Taylor Hains
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
- Life Sciences Section, Negaunee Integrative Research Center, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
| | - Joshua Mata
- Amphibian and Reptile Collection, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, United States
| | - Michael Kieras
- Iridian Genomes, Inc., Bethesda, MD 20817, United States
| | - Stacy Pirro
- Iridian Genomes, Inc., Bethesda, MD 20817, United States
| | - Sara Ruane
- Life Sciences Section, Negaunee Integrative Research Center, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
- Amphibian and Reptile Collection, The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, United States
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3
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Beer MA, Trumbo DR, Rautsaw RM, Kozakiewicz CP, Epstein B, Hohenlohe PA, Alford RA, Schwarzkopf L, Storfer A. Spatial variation in genomic signatures of local adaptation during the cane toad invasion of Australia. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17464. [PMID: 38994885 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Adaptive evolution can facilitate species' range expansions across environmentally heterogeneous landscapes. However, serial founder effects can limit the efficacy of selection, and the evolution of increased dispersal during range expansions may result in gene flow swamping local adaptation. Here, we study how genetic drift, gene flow and selection interact during the cane toad's (Rhinella marina) invasion across the heterogeneous landscape of Australia. Following its introduction in 1935, the cane toad colonised eastern Australia and established several stable range edges. The ongoing, more rapid range expansion in north-central Australia has occurred concomitant with an evolved increase in dispersal capacity. Using reduced representation genomic data of Australian cane toads from the expansion front and from two areas of their established range, we test the hypothesis that high gene flow constrains local adaptation at the expansion front relative to established areas. Genetic analyses indicate the three study areas are genetically distinct but show similar levels of allelic richness, heterozygosity and inbreeding. Markedly higher gene flow or recency of colonisation at the expansion front have likely hindered local adaptation at the time of sampling, as indicated by reduced slopes of genetic-environment associations (GEAs) estimated using a novel application of geographically weighted regression that accounts for allele surfing; GEA slopes are significantly steeper in established parts of the range. Our work bolsters evidence supporting adaptation of invasive species post-introduction and adds novel evidence for differing strengths of evolutionary forces among geographic areas with different invasion histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc A Beer
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Daryl R Trumbo
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado, USA
| | - Rhett M Rautsaw
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Christopher P Kozakiewicz
- W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA
| | - Brendan Epstein
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Paul A Hohenlohe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Ross A Alford
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Lin Schwarzkopf
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Andrew Storfer
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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4
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Kemppainen P, Schembri R, Momigliano P. Boundary Effects Cause False Signals of Range Expansions in Population Genomic Data. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae091. [PMID: 38743590 PMCID: PMC11135943 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Studying range expansions is central for understanding genetic variation through space and time as well as for identifying refugia and biological invasions. Range expansions are characterized by serial founder events causing clines of decreasing genetic diversity away from the center of origin and asymmetries in the two-dimensional allele frequency spectra. These asymmetries, summarized by the directionality index (ψ), are sensitive to range expansions and persist for longer than clines in genetic diversity. In continuous and finite meta-populations, genetic drift tends to be stronger at the edges of the species distribution in equilibrium populations and populations undergoing range expansions alike. Such boundary effects are expected to affect geographic patterns in genetic diversity and ψ. Here we demonstrate that boundary effects cause high false positive rates in equilibrium meta-populations when testing for range expansions. In the simulations, the absolute value of ψ (|ψ|) in equilibrium data sets was proportional to the fixation index (FST). By fitting signatures of range expansions as a function of ɛ |ψ|/FST and geographic clines in ψ, strong evidence for range expansions could be detected in data from a recent rapid invasion of the cane toad, Rhinella marina, in Australia, but not in 28 previously published empirical data sets from Australian scincid lizards that were significant for the standard range expansion tests. Thus, while clinal variation in ψ is still the most sensitive statistic to range expansions, to detect true signatures of range expansions in natural populations, its magnitude needs to be considered in relation to the overall levels of genetic structuring in the data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petri Kemppainen
- School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Rhiannon Schembri
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Paolo Momigliano
- School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, People's Republic of China
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5
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Strotz LC, Lieberman BS. The end of the line: competitive exclusion and the extinction of historical entities. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221210. [PMID: 36844802 PMCID: PMC9943885 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Identifying competitive exclusion at the macroevolutionary scale has typically relied on demonstrating a reciprocal, contradictory response by two co-occurring, functionally similar clades. Finding definitive examples of such a response in fossil time series has proven challenging, however, as has controlling for the effects of a changing physical environment. We take a novel approach to this issue by quantifying variation in trait values that capture almost the entirety of function for steam locomotives (SL), a known example of competitive exclusion from material culture, with the goal of identifying patterns suitable for assessing clade replacement in the fossil record. Our analyses find evidence of an immediate, directional response to the first appearance of a direct competitor, with subsequent competitors further reducing the realized niche of SLs, until extinction was the inevitable outcome. These results demonstrate when interspecific competition should lead to extinction and suggest that clade replacement may only occur when niche overlap between an incumbent and its competitors is near absolute and where the incumbent is incapable of transitioning to a new adaptive zone. Our findings provide the basis for a new approach to analyse putative examples of competitive exclusion that is largely free of a priori assumptions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke C. Strotz
- State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life & Environments and Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, People's Republic of China
- Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Bruce S. Lieberman
- Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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6
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Santamaría J, Golo R, Verdura J, Tomas F, Ballesteros E, Alcoverro T, Arthur R, Cebrian E. Learning takes time: Biotic resistance by native herbivores increases through the invasion process. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2525-2539. [PMID: 36209457 PMCID: PMC9828756 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
As invasive species spread, the ability of local communities to resist invasion depends on the strength of biotic interactions. Evolutionarily unused to the invader, native predators or herbivores may be initially wary of consuming newcomers, allowing them to proliferate. However, these relationships may be highly dynamic, and novel consumer-resource interactions could form as familiarity grows. Here, we explore the development of effective biotic resistance towards a highly invasive alga using multiple space-for-time approaches. We show that the principal native Mediterranean herbivore learns to consume the invader within less than a decade. At recently invaded sites, the herbivore actively avoided the alga, shifting to distinct preference and high consumptions at older sites. This rapid strengthening of the interaction contributed to the eventual collapse of the alga after an initial dominance. Therefore, our results stress the importance of conserving key native populations to allow communities to develop effective resistance mechanisms against invaders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Santamaría
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain,GRMAR, Institut d'Ecologia Aquàtica, Universitat de GironaGironaSpain
| | - Raül Golo
- GRMAR, Institut d'Ecologia Aquàtica, Universitat de GironaGironaSpain
| | - Jana Verdura
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain,Université Côte d'Azur, CNRSECOSEASNiceFrance
| | - Fiona Tomas
- Marine Ecosystems Dynamics Group—Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA), Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)EsporlesBalearic IslandsSpain
| | - Enric Ballesteros
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain
| | - Teresa Alcoverro
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain
| | - Rohan Arthur
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain,Nature Conservation FoundationMysoreIndia
| | - Emma Cebrian
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB‐CSIC)BlanesSpain,GRMAR, Institut d'Ecologia Aquàtica, Universitat de GironaGironaSpain
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7
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Tylan C, Engler HI, Villar G, Langkilde T. Consumption of fire ants, an invasive predator and prey of native lizards, may enhance immune functions needed to combat envenomation. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02939-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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8
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Siqueira LHC, Piantoni C, Marques OAV. Morphological variation in the common lancehead populations: Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic patterns. J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. H. C. Siqueira
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução Instituto Butantan São Paulo SP Brazil
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Exatas Universidade Estadual “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” São José do Rio Preto SP Brazil
| | - C. Piantoni
- Instituto de Biociências Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - O. A. V. Marques
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução Instituto Butantan São Paulo SP Brazil
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Exatas Universidade Estadual “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” São José do Rio Preto SP Brazil
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9
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Evolution of plasticity prevents postinvasion extinction of a native forb. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2118866119. [PMID: 35914140 PMCID: PMC9371648 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118866119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Exotic plant invaders pose a serious threat to native plants. However, despite showing inferior competitive ability and decreased performance, native species often subsist in invaded communities. The decline of native populations is hypothesized to be halted and eventually reversed if adaptive evolutionary changes can keep up with the environmental stress induced by invaders, that is, when population extinction is prevented by evolutionary rescue (ER). Nevertheless, evidence for the role of ER in postinvasion persistence of native flora remains scarce. Here, I explored the population density of a native forb, Veronica chamaedrys, and evaluated the changes in the shade-responsive traits of its populations distributed along the invasion chronosequence of an exotic transformer, Heracleum mantegazzianum, which was replicated in five areas. I found a U-shaped population trajectory that paralleled the evolution of plasticity to shade. Whereas V. chamaedrys genotypes from intact, more open sites exhibited a shade-tolerance strategy (pronounced leaf area/mass ratio), reduced light availability at the invaded sites selected for a shade-avoidance strategy (greater internode elongation). Field experiments subsequently confirmed that the shifts in shade-response strategies were adaptive and secured postinvasion population persistence, as indicated by further modeling. Alternative ecological mechanisms (habitat improvement or arrival of immigrants) were less likely explanations than ER for the observed population rebound, although the contribution of maternal effects cannot be dismissed. These results suggest that V. chamaedrys survived because of adaptive evolutionary changes operating on the same timescale as the invasion-induced stress, but the generality of ER for postinvasion persistence of native plants remains unknown.
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10
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Firneno TJ, Ramesh B, Maldonado JA, Hernandez-Briones AI, Emery AH, Roelke CE, Fujita MK. Transcriptomic analysis reveals potential candidate pathways and genes involved in toxin biosynthesis in true toads. J Hered 2022; 113:311-324. [PMID: 35325156 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthesized chemical defenses have broadly evolved across countless taxa and are important in shaping evolutionary and ecological interactions within ecosystems. However, the underlying genomic mechanisms by which these organisms synthesize and utilize their toxins are relatively unknown. Herein, we use comparative transcriptomics to uncover potential toxin synthesizing genes and pathways, as well as interspecific patterns of toxin synthesizing genes across ten species of North American true toads (Bufonidae). Upon assembly and annotation of the ten transcriptomes, we explored patterns of relative gene expression and possible protein-protein interactions across the species to determine what genes and/or pathways may be responsible for toxin synthesis. We also tested our transcriptome dataset for signatures of positive selection to reveal how selection may be acting upon potential toxin producing genes. We assembled high quality transcriptomes of the bufonid parotoid gland, a tissue not often investigated in other bufonid related RNAseq studies. We found several genes involved in metabolic and biosynthetic pathways (e.g. steroid biosynthesis, terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, isoquinoline biosynthesis, glucosinolate biosynthesis) that were functionally enriched and/or relatively expressed across the ten focal species that may be involved in the synthesis of alkaloid and steroid toxins, as well as other small metabolic compounds that cause distastefulness in bufonids. We hope that our study lays a foundation for future studies to explore the genomic underpinnings and specific pathways of toxin synthesis in toads, as well as at the macroevolutionary scale across numerous taxa that produce their own defensive toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Firneno
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA.,Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
| | - Balan Ramesh
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
| | - Jose A Maldonado
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA.,Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
| | | | - Alyson H Emery
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
| | - Corey E Roelke
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA.,Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
| | - Matthew K Fujita
- Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA.,Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, 76019-0498, USA
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11
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Sommer NR, Ferraro KM. An interest‐based rights ethic for wildlife management and applications to behavioral training. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie R. Sommer
- Yale School of the Environment New Haven Connecticut USA
- Yale Law School: Law, Animal and Ethics Program New Haven Connecticut USA
| | - Kristy M. Ferraro
- Yale School of the Environment New Haven Connecticut USA
- Yale Law School: Law, Animal and Ethics Program New Haven Connecticut USA
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12
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Simulated encounters with a novel competitor reveal the potential for maladaptive behavioural responses to invasive species. Biol Invasions 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-021-02690-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AbstractDuring the early stage of biological invasions, interactions occur between native and non-native species that do not share an evolutionary history. This can result in ecological naïveté, causing native species to exhibit maladaptive behavioural responses to novel enemies, leading to negative consequences for individual fitness and ecosystem function. The behavioural response of native to non-native species during novel encounters can determine the impact of non-native species, and restrict or facilitate their establishment. In this study we simulated novel encounters between a widespread invasive fish species, the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), and a threatened native Manyara tilapia (Oreochromis amphimelas). In the first experiment single adult O. niloticus were presented with a stimulus chamber (a transparent plastic cylinder) which was empty during control trials and contained a pair of juvenile O. amphimelas in stimulus trials. In the second experiment, the reciprocal set up was used, with pairs of juvenile O. amphimelas as the focal species and adult O. niloticus as the stimulus. Both species approached the stimulus chamber more readily during stimulus trials, a behavioural response which would increase the prevalence of interspecific interactions in situ. This included physical aggression, observed from the competitively dominant O. niloticus towards O. amphimelas. Despite an initial lack of fear shown by O. amphimelas, close inspection of the stimulus chamber often resulted in an energetically costly dart response. Under field conditions we predict that naïve native individuals may readily approach O. niloticus, increasing the likelihood of interactions and exacerbating widely reported negative outcomes.
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13
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Okamiya H, Inoue Y, Takai K, Crossland MR, Kishida O. Native frogs (
Rana pirica
) do not respond adaptively to alien toads (
Bufo japonicus formosus
) 100 years after introduction. Ecol Res 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hisanori Okamiya
- Department of Biological Sciences Graduate School of Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Inoue
- Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Tomakomai Japan
| | - Kotaro Takai
- Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Tomakomai Japan
| | - Michael R. Crossland
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Osamu Kishida
- Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Tomakomai Japan
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14
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Stewart J, Bino G, Hawke T, Kingsford RT. Seasonal and geographic variation in packed cell volume and selected serum chemistry of platypuses. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15932. [PMID: 34354187 PMCID: PMC8342447 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95544-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) inhabit the permanent rivers and creeks of eastern Australia, from north Queensland to Tasmania, but are experiencing multiple and synergistic anthropogenic threats. Baseline information of health is vital for effective monitoring of populations but is currently sparse for mainland platypuses. Focusing on seven hematology and serum chemistry metrics as indicators of health and nutrition (packed cell volume (PCV), total protein (TP), albumin, globulin, urea, creatinine, and triglycerides), we investigated their variation across the species' range and across seasons. We analyzed 249 unique samples collected from platypuses in three river catchments in New South Wales and Victoria. Health metrics significantly varied across the populations' range, with platypuses from the most northerly catchment, having lower PCV, and concentrations of albumin and triglycerides and higher levels of globulin, potentially reflecting geographic variation or thermal stress. The Snowy River showed significant seasonal patterns which varied between the sexes and coincided with differential reproductive stressors. Male creatinine and triglyceride levels were significantly lower than females, suggesting that reproduction is energetically more taxing on males. Age specific differences were also found, with juvenile PCV and TP levels significantly lower than adults. Additionally, the commonly used body condition index (tail volume index) was only negatively correlated with urea, and triglyceride levels. A meta-analysis of available literature revealed a significant latitudinal relationship with PCV, TP, albumin, and triglycerides but this was confounded by variation in sampling times and restraint methods. We expand understanding of mainland platypuses, providing reference intervals for PCV and six blood chemistry, while highlighting the importance of considering seasonal variation, to guide future assessments of individual and population condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Stewart
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
| | - Gilad Bino
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Tahneal Hawke
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Richard T Kingsford
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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15
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Kruitwagen A, Wertheim B, Beukeboom LW. Artificial selection for nonreproductive host killing in a native parasitoid on the invasive pest, Drosophila suzukii. Evol Appl 2021; 14:1993-2011. [PMID: 34429744 PMCID: PMC8372078 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Establishment and spread of invasive species can be facilitated by lack of natural enemies in the invaded area. Host-range evolution of natural enemies augments their ability to reduce the impact of the invader and could enhance their value for biological control. We assessed the potential of the Drosophila parasitoid, Leptopilina heterotoma (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), to exploit the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii by focusing on three performance indices: (i) attack rate; (ii) host killing, consisting of killing rate and lethal attack rate (killing efficiency); and (iii) successful offspring development (reproductive success). We found significant intraspecific variation in attack rate and killing rate and lethal attack rate among seven European populations, but offspring generally failed to successfully develop from the D. suzukii host. We crossed these European lines to create a genetically variable source population and performed a half-sib analysis to quantify genetic variation. Using a Bayesian animal model, we found that attack rate and killing rate had a heritability ofh 2 = 0.2 , lethal attack rateh 2 = 0.4 , and offspring developmenth 2 = 0 . We then artificially selected wasps with the highest killing rate of D. suzukii for seven generations to test whether host-killing could be improved. There was a small and inconsistent response to selection in the three selection lines. Realized heritability ( h r 2 ) after four generations of selection was 0.17 but near zero after seven generations of selection. The genetic response might have been masked by an increased D. suzukii fitness resulting from adaptation to laboratory conditions. Our study reveals that native, European, L. heterotoma can attack the invasive pest, D. suzukii and significantly reduce fly survival and that different steps of the parasitization process need to be considered in the evolution of host-range. It highlights how evolutionary principles can be applied to optimize performance of native species for biological control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Kruitwagen
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Bregje Wertheim
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Leo W. Beukeboom
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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16
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Searle PC, Mercer M, Habit E, Belk MC. Ontogenetic shape trajectory of Trichomycterus areolatus varies in response to water velocity environment. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252780. [PMID: 34115773 PMCID: PMC8195363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Body and head shape among fishes both vary between environments influenced by water velocity and across ontogeny. Although the shape changes associated with variation in average water velocity and ontogeny are well documented, few studies have tested for the interaction between these two variables (i.e., does ontogenetic shape variation differ between velocity environments). We use geometric morphometrics to characterize shape differences in Trichomycterus areolatus, a freshwater catfish found in high and low-velocity environments in Chile. We identify a significant interaction between velocity environment and body size (i.e., ontogeny). Ontogenetic patterns of shape change are consistent with other studies, but velocity environment differentially affects the ontogenetic trajectory of shape development in T. areolatus. Shape change over ontogeny appears more constrained in high-velocity environments compared to low-velocity environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C. Searle
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Margaret Mercer
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
| | - Evelyn Habit
- Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Centro EULA, Departmento de Sistemas Acuáticos, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Mark C. Belk
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
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17
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Pettit L, Somaweera R, Kaiser S, Ward-Fear G, Shine R. The Impact of Invasive Toads (Bufonidae) on Monitor Lizards (Varanidae): An Overview and Prospectus. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/714483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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18
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Bowen GJ, Fiorella RP. Water emissions put a damper on the coal-to-gas transition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2024360118. [PMID: 33431586 PMCID: PMC7865140 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024360118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel J Bowen
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112;
- Global Change & Sustainability Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
| | - Richard P Fiorella
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
- Global Change & Sustainability Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
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Invasion of cane toads (Rhinella marina) affects the problem-solving performance of vulnerable predators (monitor lizards, Varanus varius). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-02978-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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20
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Achury R, Holway DA, Suarez AV. Pervasive and persistent effects of ant invasion and fragmentation on native ant assemblages. Ecology 2021; 102:e03257. [PMID: 33226643 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Biological invasions are a leading cause of global change, yet their long-term effects remain hard to predict. Invasive species can remain abundant for long periods of time, or exhibit population crashes that allow native communities to recover. The abundance and impact of nonnative species may also be closely tied to temporally variable habitat characteristics. We investigated the long-term effects of habitat fragmentation and invasion by the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) by resurveying ants in 40 scrub habitat fragments in coastal southern California that were originally sampled 21 yr ago. At a landscape scale, fragment area, but not fragment age or Argentine ant mean abundance, continued to explain variation in native ant species richness; the species-area relationship between the two sample years did not differ in terms of slope or intercept. At local scales, over the last 21 yr we detected increases in the overall area invaded (+36.7%, estimated as the proportion of occupied traps) and the relative abundance of the Argentine ant (+121.95%, estimated as mean number of workers in pitfall traps). Argentine ant mean abundance also increased inward from urban edges in 2017 compared to 1996. The greater level of penetration into fragments likely reduced native ant richness by eliminating refugia for native ants in fragments that did not contain sufficient interior area. At one fragment where we sampled eight times over the last 21 yr, Argentine ant mean abundance increased over time while the diversity of native ground-foraging ants declined from 14 to 4 species. Notably, native species predicted to be particularly sensitive to the combined effect of invasion and habitat loss were not detected at any sites in our recent sampling, including the army ant genus Neivamyrmex. Conversely, two introduced ant species (Brachymyrmex patagonicus and Pheidole flavens) that were undetected in 1996 are now common and widespread at our sites. Our results indicate that behaviorally and numerically dominant invasive species can maintain high densities and suppress native diversity for extended periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Achury
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - David A Holway
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA
| | - Andrew V Suarez
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA.,Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
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21
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Shultz AJ, Adams BJ, Bell KC, Ludt WB, Pauly GB, Vendetti JE. Natural history collections are critical resources for contemporary and future studies of urban evolution. Evol Appl 2021; 14:233-247. [PMID: 33519967 PMCID: PMC7819571 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban environments are among the fastest changing habitats on the planet, and this change has evolutionary implications for the organisms inhabiting them. Herein, we demonstrate that natural history collections are critical resources for urban evolution studies. The specimens housed in these collections provide great potential for diverse types of urban evolution research, and strategic deposition of specimens and other materials from contemporary studies will determine the resources and research questions available to future urban evolutionary biologists. As natural history collections are windows into the past, they provide a crucial historical timescale for urban evolution research. While the importance of museum collections for research is generally appreciated, their utility in the study of urban evolution has not been explicitly evaluated. Here, we: (a) demonstrate that museum collections can greatly enhance urban evolution studies, (b) review patterns of specimen use and deposition in the urban evolution literature, (c) analyze how urban versus rural and native versus nonnative vertebrate species are being deposited in museum collections, and (d) make recommendations to researchers, museum professionals, scientific journal editors, funding agencies, permitting agencies, and professional societies to improve archiving policies. Our analyses of recent urban evolution studies reveal that museum specimens can be used for diverse research questions, but they are used infrequently. Further, although nearly all studies we analyzed generated resources that could be deposited in natural history collections (e.g., collected specimens), a minority (12%) of studies actually did so. Depositing such resources in collections is crucial to allow the scientific community to verify, replicate, and/or re-visit prior research. Therefore, to ensure that adequate museum resources are available for future urban evolutionary biology research, the research community-from practicing biologists to funding agencies and professional societies-must make adjustments that prioritize the collection and deposition of urban specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison J. Shultz
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Ornithology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Benjamin J. Adams
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Entomology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Department of Biological SciencesGeorge Washington UniversityWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Kayce C. Bell
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Mammalogy DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - William B. Ludt
- Ichthyology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Gregory B. Pauly
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Herpetology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Jann E. Vendetti
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Malacology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
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Body Size Variation in Italian Lesser Horseshoe Bats Rhinolophus hipposideros over 147 Years: Exploring the Effects of Climate Change, Urbanization and Geography. BIOLOGY 2020; 10:biology10010016. [PMID: 33396640 PMCID: PMC7824098 DOI: 10.3390/biology10010016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Body size in animals commonly shows geographic and temporal variations that may depend upon several environmental drivers, including climatic conditions, productivity, geography and species interactions. The topic of body size trends across time has gained momentum in recent years since this has been proposed as a third universal response to climate change along with changes in distribution and phenology. However, disentangling the genuine effects of climate change from those of other environmental factors is often far from trivial. In this study, we tested a set of hypotheses concerning body size variation across time and space in Italian populations of a rhinolophid bat, the lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros. We examined forearm length (FAL) and cranial linear traits in a unique historical collection of this species covering years from 1869 to 2016, representing, to the best of our knowledge, the longest time series ever considered in a morphological assessment of a bat species. No temporal changes occurred, rejecting the hypotheses that body size varied in response to climate change or urbanization (light pollution). We found that FAL increased with latitude following a Bergmann's rule trend, whereas the width of upper incisors, likely a diet-related trait, showed an opposite pattern which awaits explanation. We also confirmed that FAL is sexually dimorphic in this species and ruled out that insularity has any detectable effect on the linear traits we considered. This suggests that positive responses of body size to latitude do not mean per se that concurring temporal responses to climate change are also expected. Further investigations should explore the occurrence of these patterns over larger spatial scales and more species in order to detect the existence of general patterns across time and space.
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23
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Pettit L, Ward-Fear G, Shine R. Choose your meals carefully if you need to coexist with a toxic invader. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21866. [PMID: 33318615 PMCID: PMC7736869 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78979-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Vulnerable native species may survive the impact of a lethally toxic invader by changes in behaviour, physiology and/or morphology. The roles of such mechanisms can be clarified by standardised testing. We recorded behavioural responses of monitor lizards (Varanus panoptes and V. varius) to legs of poisonous cane toads (Rhinella marina) and non-toxic control meals (chicken necks or chicken eggs and sardines) along 1300 and 2500 km transects, encompassing the toad's 85-year invasion trajectory across Australia as well as yet-to-be-invaded sites to the west and south of the currently colonised area. Patterns were identical in the two varanid species. Of monitors that consumed at least one prey type, 96% took control baits whereas toad legs were eaten by 60% of lizards in toad-free sites but 0% from toad-invaded sites. Our survey confirms that the ability to recognise and reject toads as prey enables monitor lizards to coexist with cane toads. As toxic invaders continue to impact ecosystems globally, it is vital to understand the mechanisms that allow some taxa to persist over long time-scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lachlan Pettit
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
| | - Georgia Ward-Fear
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2019, Australia
| | - Richard Shine
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2019, Australia
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24
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Tylan C, Horvat-Gordon M, Bartell PA, Langkilde T. Ecoimmune reallocation in a native lizard in response to the presence of invasive, venomous fire ants in their shared environment. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART 2020; 333:792-804. [PMID: 33038069 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to stressors over prolonged periods can have fitness-relevant consequences, including suppression of immune function. We tested for effects of presence of an invasive species threat on a broad panel of immune functions of a coexisting lizard. Eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) have been exposed to invasive fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) for over 80 years. Fire ants sting and envenomate lizards, causing physiological stress, but we do not have a comprehensive understanding of the broad immune consequences of lizard exposure to fire ant presence. We conducted a suite of immune measures on fence lizards caught from areas with long histories of fire ant invasion and lizards from areas not yet invaded by fire ants. The effect of fire ant presence on immunity varied depending on the immune component measured: within fire ant invaded areas, some portions of immunity were suppressed (lymphocytic cell-mediated immunity, complement), some were unaffected (phagocytic respiratory burst, natural antibodies), and some were enhanced (anti-fire ant immunoglobulin M, basophils) compared to within uninvaded areas. Rather than fire ants being broadly immunosuppressing, as generally assumed, the immune response appears to be tailored to this specific stressor: the immune measures that were enhanced are important to the lizards' ability to handle envenomation, whereas those that were unaffected or suppressed are less critical to surviving fire ant encounters. Several immune measures were suppressed in reproductive females when actively producing follicles, which may make them more susceptible to immunosuppressive costs of stressors such as interactions with fire ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Tylan
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, Mueller Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Maria Horvat-Gordon
- Department of Animal Science, The Pennsylvania State University, Forest Resource Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul A Bartell
- Department of Animal Science, The Pennsylvania State University, Forest Resource Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, Mueller Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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25
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Letnic M, Crowther MS. Pesticide use is linked to increased body size in a large mammalian carnivore. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Pollution and pesticide use have been linked to evolution of chemical resistance and phenotypic shifts in invertebrates, but less so in vertebrates. Here we provide evidence that poisoning directed towards a mammalian carnivore, the dingo (Canis dingo), is linked to an increase in dingo body mass. We compared the skull length of dingoes, a proxy for size, from three regions where dingo populations were controlled by distributing poisoned meat baits and an unbaited region, before and after the introduction of the toxin sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080). Following 1080 introduction, dingo skull length increased in baited regions but not in the unbaited region. We estimate that after 1080 introduction, the skull length of female and male dingoes in baited regions increased by 4.49 and 3.6 mm, respectively. This equates to a 1.02- and 0.86-kg increase in mean body masses of female and male dingoes, respectively. We hypothesize that dingo body size has increased in baited regions due to 1080 selecting for animals with larger body size or because a reduction in dingo abundance in baited areas may have removed constraints on growth imposed by intraspecific competition and prey availability. Our study provides evidence that pesticide use can prompt phenotypic change in comparatively large and long-lived large vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Letnic
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - M S Crowther
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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26
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Perry GH. How human behavior can impact the evolution of genetically-mediated behavior in wild non-human species. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2020; 206:337-342. [PMID: 32201915 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-020-01415-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Humans intensely modify the ecosystems we inhabit. Many of the impacts that this behavior can have on other species also sharing these spaces are obvious. A prime example is the devastating current extinction crisis. Yet some populations of non-human, non-domesticated species survive or even appear to thrive in heavily disturbed or human-built habitats. Theoretically, this apparent paradox could be facilitated partly by the evolution of genetically-mediated trait adaptations to the impacts of human behavior. At the least, persistence in strongly modified habitats would provide requisite selection pressures for this process to potentially occur in the future. In fact, we have a growing number of well-characterized examples of morphological trait adaptations to human behavior. However, our knowledge of genetically-mediated behavioral adaptations in similar contexts is less well developed. In this review I set up and discuss several evolutionary scenarios by which human behavior might have impacted the evolution of genetically mediated behavior in non-human, non-domestic species and highlight several approaches that could be used in future studies of this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- George H Perry
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. .,Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA. .,Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA. .,DFG Center for Advanced Studies, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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27
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Wesselmann M, Anton A, Duarte CM, Hendriks IE, Agustí S, Savva I, Apostolaki ET, Marbà N. Tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea shifts thermal tolerance during Mediterranean invasion. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20193001. [PMID: 32156215 PMCID: PMC7126082 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.3001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Exotic species often face new environmental conditions that are different from those that they are adapted to. The tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea is a Lessepsian migrant that colonized the Mediterranean Sea around 100 years ago, where at present the minimum seawater temperature is cooler than in its native range in the Red Sea. Here, we tested if the temperature range in which H. stipulacea can exist is conserved within the species or if the exotic populations have shifted their thermal breadth and optimum due to the cooler conditions in the Mediterranean. We did so by comparing the thermal niche (e.g. optimal temperatures, and upper and lower thermal limits) of native (Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea) and exotic (Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea) populations of H. stipulacea. We exposed plants to 12 temperature treatments ranging from 8 to 40°C for 7 days. At the end of the incubation period, we measured survival, rhizome elongation, shoot recruitment, net population growth and metabolic rates. Upper and lower lethal thermal thresholds (indicated by 50% plant mortality) were conserved across populations, but minimum and optimal temperatures for growth and oxygen production were lower for Mediterranean populations than for the Red Sea one. The displacement of the thermal niche of exotic populations towards the colder Mediterranean Sea regime could have occurred within 175 clonal generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Wesselmann
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain
| | - Andrea Anton
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Iris E. Hendriks
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain
| | - Susana Agustí
- Red Sea Research Centre (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ioannis Savva
- Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab, Limassol 4533, Cyprus
| | - Eugenia T. Apostolaki
- Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, PO Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Núria Marbà
- Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain
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28
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Vanek JP, Burke RL. Insular dwarfism in female Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes ( Heterodon platirhinos; Dipsadidae) on a barrier island. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The island rule postulates that the special ecological conditions on islands, such as limited resource availability, can cause populations of large-bodied animals to evolve smaller sizes and small-bodied populations to evolve larger sizes. Although support for the island rule is well documented (with notable exceptions and debate) in mammals and birds, similar trends are poorly explored in ectothermic vertebrates. As part of a larger study investigating the ecology of Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos Latreille, 1801), we compared the mean and maximum sizes of a population from a barrier island (∼4 000 ha) to snakes on an adjacent larger island (∼363 000 ha) and two mainland sites (450 total snakes across all study sites). We did not observe a difference between the small and the large islands, but we did find differences between the smallest island and the mainland. Female snakes on the barrier island were 8% smaller than those on the mainland, and the female from the largest barrier island was 35% smaller than the largest documented H. platirhinos. In addition, we found that males did not exhibit dwarfism. We hypothesize that the observed dwarfism is a result of limited availability of large prey items and recommend that future studies distinguish between sexes in their analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P. Vanek
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549–1140, USA
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549–1140, USA
| | - Russell L. Burke
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549–1140, USA
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549–1140, USA
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29
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Romanuk TN, Binzer A, Loeuille N, Carscallen WMA, Martinez ND. Simulated evolution assembles more realistic food webs with more functionally similar species than invasion. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18242. [PMID: 31796765 PMCID: PMC6890687 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54443-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
While natural communities are assembled by both ecological and evolutionary processes, ecological assembly processes have been studied much more and are rarely compared with evolutionary assembly processes. We address these disparities here by comparing community food webs assembled by simulating introductions of species from regional pools of species and from speciation events. Compared to introductions of trophically dissimilar species assumed to be more typical of invasions, introducing species trophically similar to native species assumed to be more typical of sympatric or parapatric speciation events caused fewer extinctions and assembled more empirically realistic networks by introducing more persistent species with higher trophic generality, vulnerability, and enduring similarity to native species. Such events also increased niche overlap and the persistence of both native and introduced species. Contrary to much competition theory, these findings suggest that evolutionary and other processes that more tightly pack ecological niches contribute more to ecosystem structure and function than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara N Romanuk
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Pacific Informatics and Computational Ecology Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Amrei Binzer
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Loeuille
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, IA, United States
| | | | - Neo D Martinez
- Pacific Informatics and Computational Ecology Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, IA, United States.
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30
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Bloch CP, Curry KD, Fisher-Reid MC, Surasinghe TD. Population Decline of the Invasive Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) and Dynamics of Associated Intertidal Invertebrates on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Northeast Nat (Steuben) 2019. [DOI: 10.1656/045.026.0408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P. Bloch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325
| | - Kevin D. Curry
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325
| | | | - Thilina D. Surasinghe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325
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31
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Luiz OJ, Crook DA, Kennard MJ, Olden JD, Saunders TM, Douglas MM, Wedd D, King AJ. Does a bigger mouth make you fatter? Linking intraspecific gape variability to body condition of a tropical predatory fish. Oecologia 2019; 191:579-585. [PMID: 31583451 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04522-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In gape-limited predators, gape size restricts the maximum prey size a predator is capable to ingest. However, studies investigating the energetic consequences of this relationship remain scarce. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that gape-size variability influences individual body condition (a common proxy for fitness) in one of the largest freshwater teleost predators, the barramundi. We found that individual barramundi with larger gapes relative to body size had higher body condition values compared to conspecifics with smaller gapes. Body condition was highest soon after the wet season, a period of high feeding activity on productive inundated floodplains, and body condition decreased as the dry season progressed when fish were restricted to dry season remnant habitats. The increased condition obtained during the wet season apparently offsets weight loss through the dry season, as individuals with large gapes were still in better condition than fish with small gapes in the late-dry season. Elucidation of the links between intraspecific variability in traits and performance is a critical challenge in functional ecology. This study emphasizes that even small intraspecific variability in morphological trait values can potentially affect individual fitness within a species' distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osmar J Luiz
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia.
| | - David A Crook
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia
| | - Mark J Kennard
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Julian D Olden
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thor M Saunders
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia
- Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Darwin, NT, Australia
| | - Michael M Douglas
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Dion Wedd
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia
| | - Alison J King
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Dr, Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia
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32
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Komine H, Fukasawa K, Akasaka M, Watari Y, Iwai N, Kaji K. Rapid behavioural responses of native frogs caused by past predation pressure from invasive mongooses. J Zool (1987) 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- H. Komine
- Institute of Global Innovation Research Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
| | - K. Fukasawa
- Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies National Institute for Environmental Studies Tsukuba Japan
| | - M. Akasaka
- Institute of Global Innovation Research Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
- Institute of Agriculture Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
| | - Y. Watari
- Department of Wildlife Biology Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Tsukuba Japan
| | - N. Iwai
- Institute of Global Innovation Research Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
- Institute of Agriculture Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
| | - K. Kaji
- Institute of Agriculture Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo Japan
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33
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Cheng D, Chen S, Huang Y, Pierce NE, Riegler M, Yang F, Zeng L, Lu Y, Liang G, Xu Y. Symbiotic microbiota may reflect host adaptation by resident to invasive ant species. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007942. [PMID: 31323076 PMCID: PMC6668852 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Exotic invasive species can influence the behavior and ecology of native and resident species, but these changes are often overlooked. Here we hypothesize that the ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum, living in areas that have been invaded by the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, displays behavioral differences to interspecific competition that are reflected in both its trophic position and symbiotic microbiota. We demonstrate that T. melanocephalum workers from S. invicta invaded areas are less aggressive towards workers of S. invicta than those inhabiting non-invaded areas. Nitrogen isotope analyses reveal that colonies of T. melanocephalum have protein-rich diets in S. invicta invaded areas compared with the carbohydrate-rich diets of colonies living in non-invaded areas. Analysis of microbiota isolated from gut tissue shows that T. melanocephalum workers from S. invicta invaded areas also have different bacterial communities, including a higher abundance of Wolbachia that may play a role in vitamin B provisioning. In contrast, the microbiota of workers of T. melanocephalum from S. invicta-free areas are dominated by bacteria from the orders Bacillales, Lactobacillales and Enterobacteriales that may be involved in sugar metabolism. We further demonstrate experimentally that the composition and structure of the bacterial symbiont communities as well as the prevalence of vitamin B in T. melanocephalum workers from S. invicta invaded and non-invaded areas can be altered if T. melanocephalum workers are supplied with either protein-rich or carbohydrate-rich food. Our results support the hypothesis that bacterial symbiont communities can help hosts by buffering behavioral changes caused by interspecies competition as a consequence of biological invasions. Insects display a wide range of dependence on symbiotic bacteria for basic functions. Responses by resident species to selective pressures imposed by invasive species, as well as specific underlying mechanisms that give rise to these responses are still poorly understood. Here we investigate the role of the symbiotic bacteria of the ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum, to changes in host behavior associated with interspecies competition in areas invaded by fire ants, Solenopsis invicta. We show that Wolbachia is significantly enriched in workers of T. melanocephalum from S. invicta infested areas, and that these bacteria also increase in abundance in colonies that have been supplied with protein-rich food. Our results suggest that bacterial symbiont communities can play an important role in enabling ants to tolerate changes in behavior and diet as a result of biological invasions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daifeng Cheng
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Siqi Chen
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuquan Huang
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Naomi E. Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, United States of America
| | - Markus Riegler
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ling Zeng
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yongyue Lu
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guangwen Liang
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yijuan Xu
- Department of Entomology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
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Venable CP, Langkilde T. Eastern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) display an ontogenetic shift in relative consumption of native and invasive prey. CAN J ZOOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2018-0228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Interactions between invasive prey and native predators can provide an opportunity to better understand predator–prey dynamics and how these may change through ontogeny. Eastern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus (Bosc and Daudin in Sonnini and Latreille, 1801)) are ant specialist, particularly as juveniles. Invasive red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972) pose a lethal risk to S. undulatus that eat them, especially smaller-bodied juveniles. We examine ontogenetic shifts in S. undulatus consumption of toxic invasive fire ants versus palatable native pyramid ants (Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager, 1988)). We predicted that hatchlings should avoid eating fire ants in favor of native ants, whereas less-vulnerable adults should take advantage of both prey sources. However, when given the choice between fire ants and native ants, hatchlings consumed similar numbers of these species, whereas adults consumed nearly three times as many native ants as invasive fire ants. Increased consumption of fire ants in adulthood could be the result of lifetime experience, strategies to safely consume fire ants, ontogenetic shifts in the ability to distinguish between ants, or reduced costs to adults of eating venomous ants. Future research should aim to distinguish these alternative mechanisms and examine the long-term consequences of native species incorporating toxic invasive prey into their diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron P. Venable
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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DeLong JP, Belmaker J. Ecological pleiotropy and indirect effects alter the potential for evolutionary rescue. Evol Appl 2019; 12:636-654. [PMID: 30828379 PMCID: PMC6383740 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Invading predators can negatively affect naïve prey populations due to a lack of evolved defenses. Many species therefore may be at risk of extinction due to overexploitation by exotic predators. Yet the strong selective effect of predation might drive evolution of imperiled prey toward more resistant forms, potentially allowing the prey to persist. We evaluated the potential for evolutionary rescue in an imperiled prey using Gillespie eco-evolutionary models (GEMs). We focused on a system parameterized for protists where changes in prey body size may influence intrinsic rate of population growth, space clearance rate (initial slope of the functional response), and the energetic benefit to predators. Our results show that the likelihood of rescue depends on (a) whether multiple parameters connected to the same evolving trait (i.e., ecological pleiotropy) combine to magnify selection, (b) whether the evolving trait causes negative indirect effects on the predator population by altering the energy gain per prey, (c) whether heritable trait variation is sufficient to foster rapid evolution, and (d) whether prey abundances are stable enough to avoid very rapid extinction. We also show that when evolution fosters rescue by increasing the prey equilibrium abundance, invasive predator populations also can be rescued, potentially leading to additional negative effects on other species. Thus, ecological pleiotropy, indirect effects, and system dynamics may be important factors influencing the potential for evolutionary rescue for both imperiled prey and invading predators. These results suggest that bolstering trait variation may be key to fostering evolutionary rescue, but also that the myriad direct and indirect effects of trait change could either make rescue outcomes unpredictable or, if they occur, cause rescue to have side effects such as bolstering the populations of invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan Belmaker
- School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life SciencesTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural HistoryTel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
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Venable CP, Adams TS, Langkilde T. Aversion learning in response to an invasive venomous prey depends on stimulus strength. Biol Invasions 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-019-01949-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Kelly E, Phillips BL. Targeted gene flow and rapid adaptation in an endangered marsupial. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:112-121. [PMID: 29896894 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Targeted gene flow is an emerging conservation strategy. It involves translocating individuals with favorable genes to areas where they will have a conservation benefit. The applications for targeted gene flow are wide-ranging but include preadapting native species to the arrival of invasive species. The endangered carnivorous marsupial, the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), has declined rapidly since the introduction of the cane toad (Rhinella marina), which fatally poisons quolls that attack them. There are, however, a few remaining toad-invaded quoll populations in which the quolls survive because they know not to eat cane toads. It is this toad-smart behavior we hope to promote through targeted gene flow. For targeted gene flow to be feasible, however, toad-smart behavior must have a genetic basis. To assess this, we used a common garden experiment, comparing offspring from toad-exposed and toad-naïve parents raised in identical environments, to determine whether toad-smart behavior is heritable. Offspring from toad-exposed populations were substantially less likely to eat toads than those with toad-naïve parents. Hybrid offspring showed similar responses to quolls with 2 toad-exposed parents, indicating the trait may be dominant. Together, these results suggest a heritable trait and rapid adaptive response in a small number of toad-exposed populations. Although questions remain about outbreeding depression, our results are encouraging for targeted gene flow. It should be possible to introduce toad-smart behavior into soon to be affected quoll populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Kelly
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Ben L Phillips
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
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Abstract
Our understanding of the human gut microbiome continues to evolve at a rapid pace, but practical application of thisknowledge is still in its infancy. This review discusses the type of studies that will be essential for translating microbiome research into targeted modulations with dedicated benefits for the human host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S B Schmidt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jeroen Raes
- KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; VIB, Center for Microbiology, Heerestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Peer Bork
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit, University of Heidelberg and European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, 13125 Berlin, Germany; Department of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
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Loeuille N. Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a disturbed world: implications for the maintenance of ecological networks. F1000Res 2019; 8:F1000 Faculty Rev-97. [PMID: 30728953 PMCID: PMC6347037 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.15629.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Past management of exploited species and of conservation issues has often ignored the evolutionary dynamics of species. During the 70s and 80s, evolution was mostly considered a slow process that may be safely ignored for most management issues. However, in recent years, examples of fast evolution have accumulated, suggesting that time scales of evolutionary dynamics (variations in genotype frequencies) and of ecological dynamics (variations in species densities) are often largely comparable, so that complex feedbacks commonly exist between the ecological and the evolutionary context ("eco-evolutionary dynamics"). While a first approach is of course to consider the evolution of a given species, in ecological communities, species are interlinked by interaction networks. In the present article, I discuss how species (co)evolution in such a network context may alter our understanding and predictions for species coexistence, given the disturbed world we live in. I review some concepts and examples suggesting that evolution may enhance the robustness of ecological networks and then show that, in many situations, the reverse may also happen, as evolutionary dynamics can harm diversity maintenance in various ways. I particularly focus on how evolution modifies indirect effects in ecological networks, then move to coevolution and discuss how the outcome of coevolution for species coexistence depends on the type of interaction (mutualistic or antagonistic) that is considered. I also review examples of phenotypes that are known to be important for ecological networks and shown to vary rapidly given global changes. Given all these components, evolution produces indirect eco-evolutionary effects within networks that will ultimately influence the optimal management of the current biodiversity crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Loeuille
- iEES Paris (UMR7618), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
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40
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Moon BR, Penning DA, Segall M, Herrel A. Feeding in Snakes: Form, Function, and Evolution of the Feeding System. FEEDING IN VERTEBRATES 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Tennessen JB, Parks SE, Swierk L, Reinert LK, Holden WM, Rollins-Smith LA, Walsh KA, Langkilde T. Frogs adapt to physiologically costly anthropogenic noise. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20182194. [PMID: 30464067 PMCID: PMC6253376 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Human activities impose novel pressures on amphibians, which are experiencing unprecedented global declines, yet population-level responses are poorly understood. A growing body of literature has revealed that noise is an anthropogenic stressor that impacts ecological processes spanning subcellular to ecosystem levels. These consequences can impose novel selective pressures on populations, yet whether populations can adapt to noise is unknown. We tested for adaptation to traffic noise, a widespread sensory 'pollutant'. We collected eggs of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) from populations from different traffic noise regimes, reared hatchlings under the same conditions, and tested frogs for differences in sublethal fitness-relevant effects of noise. We show that prolonged noise impaired production of antimicrobial peptides associated with defence against disease. Additionally, noise and origin site interacted to impact immune and stress responses. Noise exposure altered leucocyte production and increased baseline levels of the stress-relevant glucocorticoid, corticosterone, in frogs from quiet sites, but noise-legacy populations were unaffected. These results suggest noise-legacy populations have adapted to avoid fitness-relevant physiological costs of traffic noise. These findings advance our understanding of the consequences of novel soundscapes and reveal a pathway by which anthropogenic disturbance can enable adaptation to novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer B Tennessen
- Department of Biology, Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Susan E Parks
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, 107 College Place, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
| | - Lindsey Swierk
- Department of Biology, Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Laura K Reinert
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, A-5301 Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Whitney M Holden
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, A-5301 Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Louise A Rollins-Smith
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, A-5301 Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Koranda A Walsh
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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Konopka JK, Poinapen D, Gariepy T, McNeil JN. Understanding the mismatch between behaviour and development in a novel host-parasitoid association. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15677. [PMID: 30356173 PMCID: PMC6200765 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33756-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging parasitoid females should preferentially oviposit on hosts most suitable for progeny development to maximize their fitness. However, the introduction of a new host species may disrupt the link between the reliability of the cues and the expected adaptive outcome of female choice, leading to an evolutionary trap. This mismatch between behavioural acceptance and lack of development exists for North American and European egg parasitoids (Scelionidae) that encounter invasive Halyomorpha halys in areas where this exotic host has recently established. To explain this mismatch, we utilized an L9 orthogonal array design to assess and rank the influence of several critical factors characterizing host resource (host species, egg age, egg status, and surface wash) on behaviour (acceptance, patch residence and patch exploitation) and development of North American native Trissolcus euschisti egg parasitoid. Our results indicate that the host egg age is most important for behaviour, but is least influential for development of the progeny. This study suggests that the maladaptive decision to oviposit in an unsuitable host is due to a mismatch between the cues that females use, and the subsequent expected outcome of this choice. Therefore, it is the relative importance of individual factors when assessed simultaneously that influences the decision-making of female parasitoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna K Konopka
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, N6A 3K7, Ontario, Canada. .,London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 4T3, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Danny Poinapen
- Preclinical Imaging Research Centre, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, N6A 5B7, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tara Gariepy
- London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 4T3, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jeremy N McNeil
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, N6A 3K7, Ontario, Canada
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Toussaint A, Charpin N, Beauchard O, Grenouillet G, Oberdorff T, Tedesco PA, Brosse S, Villéger S. Non-native species led to marked shifts in functional diversity of the world freshwater fish faunas. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1649-1659. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 06/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aurèle Toussaint
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences; Department of Botany; University of Tartu; Lai 40 Tartu 51005 Estonia
| | - Nicolas Charpin
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Olivier Beauchard
- Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ); Wandelaarkaai 7 8400 Oostende Belgium
- Ecosystem Management Research Group; University of Antwerp; Universiteitsplein 1 2610 Wilrijk Belgium
| | - Gaël Grenouillet
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Thierry Oberdorff
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Pablo A. Tedesco
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Sébastien Brosse
- Université Paul Sabatier; CNRS; IRD; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
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Behavioural responses of an Australian colubrid snake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) to a novel toxic prey item (the Cane Toad Rhinella marina). Biol Invasions 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-018-1716-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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45
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Bower DS, Yasumiba K, Trumbo DR, Alford RA, Schwarzkopf L. Spinal arthritis in cane toads across the Australian landscape. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12458. [PMID: 30127531 PMCID: PMC6102202 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30099-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Loss of fitness can be a consequence of selection for rapid dispersal ability in invasive species. Increased prevalence of spinal arthritis may occur in cane toad populations at the invasion front as a cost of increased invasiveness, but our knowledge of the ecological drivers of this condition is lacking. We aimed to determine the factors explaining the prevalence of spinal arthritis in populations across the Australian landscape. We studied populations across a gradient of invasion histories. We collected 2415 toads over five years and determined the presence and size of spondylosis for each individual. We examined the effect of host size, leg length and invasion history on the prevalence of spondylosis. Host size was a significant predictor of spondylosis across populations. Contrary to our expectation, the overall prevalence of spondylosis was not positively related to invasion history and did not correlate with toad relative leg length. Rather than invasion age, the latitude at which populations were sampled provided an alternate explanation for the prevalence of spondylosis in cane toad populations and suggested that the incidence of this condition did not increase as a physiological cost of invasion, but is instead related to physical variables, such as climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah S Bower
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia. .,School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Kiyomi Yasumiba
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia
| | - Daryl R Trumbo
- Washington State University, School of Biological Sciences, Pullman, WA, 99164, United States of America
| | - Ross A Alford
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia
| | - Lin Schwarzkopf
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Queensland, Australia
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Carthey AJR, Banks PB. Naïve, bold, or just hungry? An invasive exotic prey species recognises but does not respond to its predators. Biol Invasions 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-018-1782-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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Bourne SD, Hudson J, Holman LE, Rius M. Marine Invasion Genomics: Revealing Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Biological Invasions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/13836_2018_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Tingley R, Ward-Fear G, Schwarzkopf L, Greenlees MJ, Phillips BL, Brown G, Clulow S, Webb J, Capon R, Sheppard A, Strive T, Tizard M, Shine R. New Weapons in the Toad Toolkit: A Review of Methods to Control and Mitigate the Biodiversity Impacts of Invasive Cane Toads (Rhinella Marina). QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2018; 92:123-49. [PMID: 29562120 DOI: 10.1086/692167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Our best hope of developing innovative methods to combat invasive species is likely to come from the study of high-profile invaders that have attracted intensive research not only into control, but also basic biology. Here we illustrate that point by reviewing current thinking about novel ways to control one of the world’s most well-studied invasions: that of the cane toad in Australia. Recently developed methods for population suppression include more effective traps based on the toad’s acoustic and pheromonal biology. New tools for containing spread include surveillance technologies (e.g., eDNA sampling and automated call detectors), as well as landscape-level barriers that exploit the toad’s vulnerability to desiccation—a strategy that could be significantly enhanced through the introduction of sedentary, range-core genotypes ahead of the invasion front. New methods to reduce the ecological impacts of toads include conditioned taste aversion in free-ranging predators, gene banking, and targeted gene flow. Lastly, recent advances in gene editing and gene drive technology hold the promise of modifying toad phenotypes in ways that may facilitate control or buffer impact. Synergies between these approaches hold great promise for novel and more effective means to combat the toad invasion and its consequent impacts on biodiversity.
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Frog size on continental islands of the coast of Rio de Janeiro and the generality of the Island Rule. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0190153. [PMID: 29324790 PMCID: PMC5764252 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Island Rule postulated that individuals on islands tend to dwarfism when individuals from mainland populations are large and to gigantism when mainland populations present small individuals. There has been much discussion about this rule, but only few studies were carried out aiming to reveal this pattern for anurans. Our study focused on measuring the size of individuals on islands and to find a possible pattern of size modification for insular anurans. Individuals were collected on continental islands, measured and compared to mainland populations. We selected four species with different natural history aspects during these analyses. Island parameters were compared to size of individuals in order to find an explanation to size modification. Three of the four species presented size shifting on islands. Ololygon trapicheiroi and Adenomera marmorata showed dwarfism, Boana albomarginata showed gigantism and in Thoropa miliaris there was no evident size modification. Allometric analysis also revealed differential modification, which might be a result of different selective pressures on islands in respect of mainland populations. Regression model explained most of the size modification in B. albomarginata, but not for the other species. Our results indicate that previous assumptions, usually proposed for mammals from older islands, do not fit to the anurans studied here. We support the assumption that size modification on islands are population-specific. Hence, in B. albomarginata some factor associated to competition, living area and isolation time might likely be responsible for gigantism on islands.
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Pinch K, Madsen T, Ujvari B. No signs of Na +
/K +
-ATPase adaptations to an invasive exotic toxic prey in native squamate predators. AUSTRAL ECOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Pinch
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Deakin University; Geelong Victoria 3218 Australia
| | - Thomas Madsen
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Deakin University; Geelong Victoria 3218 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Wollongong; Wollongong New South Wales Australia
| | - Beata Ujvari
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Deakin University; Geelong Victoria 3218 Australia
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