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Gómez-Devia L, Nevo O. Effects of temperature gradient on functional fruit traits: an elevation-for-temperature approach. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:94. [PMID: 38982367 PMCID: PMC11232184 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02271-w] [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: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Fruit traits mediate animal-plant interactions and have to a large degree evolved to match the sensory capacities and morphology of their respective dispersers. At the same time, fruit traits are affected by local environmental factors, which may affect frugivore-plant trait match. Temperature has been identified as a major factor with a strong effect on the development of fruits, which is of serious concern because of the rising threat of global warming. Nonetheless, this primarily originates from studies on domesticated cultivars in often controlled environments. Little is known on the effect of rising temperatures on fruit traits of wild species and the implications this could have to seed dispersal networks, including downstream consequences to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In a case study of five plant species from eastern Madagascar, we addressed this using the elevation-for-temperature approach and examined whether a temperature gradient is systematically associated with variation in fruit traits relevant for animal foraging and fruit selection. We sampled across a gradient representing a temperature gradient of 1.5-2.6 °C, corresponding to IPCC projections. The results showed that in most cases there was no significant effect of temperature on the traits evaluated, although some species showed different effects, particularly fruit chemical profiles. This suggests that in these species warming within this range alone is not likely to drive substantial changes in dispersal networks. While no systemic effects were found, the results also indicate that the effect of temperature on fruit traits differs across species and may lead to mismatches in specific animal-plant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Gómez-Devia
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) , Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain.
- Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) , Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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2
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Messeder JVS, Carlo TA, Zhang G, Tovar JD, Arana C, Huang J, Huang CH, Ma H. A highly resolved nuclear phylogeny uncovers strong phylogenetic conservatism and correlated evolution of fruit color and size in Solanum L. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:765-780. [PMID: 38798267 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Mutualisms between plants and fruit-eating animals were key to the radiation of angiosperms. Still, phylogenetic uncertainties limit our understanding of fleshy-fruit evolution, as in the case of Solanum, a genus with remarkable fleshy-fruit diversity, but with unresolved phylogenetic relationships. We used 1786 nuclear genes from 247 species, including 122 newly generated transcriptomes/genomes, to reconstruct the Solanum phylogeny and examine the tempo and mode of the evolution of fruit color and size. Our analysis resolved the backbone phylogeny of Solanum, providing high support for its clades. Our results pushed back the origin of Solanum to 53.1 million years ago (Ma), with most major clades diverging between 35 and 27 Ma. Evolution of Solanum fruit color and size revealed high levels of trait conservatism, where medium-sized berries that remain green when ripe are the likely ancestral form. Our analyses revealed that fruit size and color are evolutionary correlated, where dull-colored fruits are two times larger than black/purple and red fruits. We conclude that the strong phylogenetic conservatism shown in the color and size of Solanum fruits could limit the influences of fruit-eating animals on fleshy-fruit evolution. Our findings highlight the importance of phylogenetic constraints on the diversification of fleshy-fruit functional traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Vitor S Messeder
- Department of Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Tomás A Carlo
- Department of Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Guojin Zhang
- Department of Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Juan David Tovar
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, 69060-001, Brazil
| | - César Arana
- Museo de Historia Natural and Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, 15072, Peru
| | - Jie Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, Center of Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Chien-Hsun Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, Center of Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation & Breeding of Grassland Livestock, Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biology of Ministry of Education, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010000, China
| | - Hong Ma
- Department of Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
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Vogelsang M, Vogelsang L, Gupta P, Gandhi TK, Shah P, Swami P, Gilad-Gutnick S, Ben-Ami S, Diamond S, Ganesh S, Sinha P. Impact of early visual experience on later usage of color cues. Science 2024; 384:907-912. [PMID: 38781366 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Human visual recognition is remarkably robust to chromatic changes. In this work, we provide a potential account of the roots of this resilience based on observations with 10 congenitally blind children who gained sight late in life. Several months or years following their sight-restoring surgeries, the removal of color cues markedly reduced their recognition performance, whereas age-matched normally sighted children showed no such decrement. This finding may be explained by the greater-than-neonatal maturity of the late-sighted children's color system at sight onset, inducing overly strong reliance on chromatic cues. Simulations with deep neural networks corroborate this hypothesis. These findings highlight the adaptive significance of typical developmental trajectories and provide guidelines for enhancing machine vision systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marin Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrueck, 49090 Osnabrueck, Germany
| | - Lukas Vogelsang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Priti Gupta
- Amarnath and Shashi Khosla School of Information Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
- Cognitive Science Programme, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra 282005, India
| | - Tapan K Gandhi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Pragya Shah
- Project Prakash, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Piyush Swami
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Sharon Gilad-Gutnick
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shlomit Ben-Ami
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sidney Diamond
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Suma Ganesh
- Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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4
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Swart RC, Geerts S, Geldenhuys CJ, Pauw J, Coetzee A. Weak latitudinal trends in reproductive traits of Afromontane forest trees. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:711-724. [PMID: 37407025 PMCID: PMC11082511 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Is the increase in species diversity patterns towards lower latitudes linked to reproductive traits? Plant reproductive organs influence reproductive isolation and hence species divergence. Abiotic differences between temperate and tropical regions can also directly impact on plant reproductive traits. Here we provide a novel overview of southern hemisphere, Afromontane forest tree taxonomical patterns and ask whether reproductive traits relate to latitude, while accounting for environmental (tree height) and evolutionary (biogeographical affinity) selective forces. METHODS We compiled a novel dataset with (1) flower colour, size and pollination syndrome and (2) fruit colour, size and dispersal syndrome for 331 tree species found in six Afromontane forest regions. We categorized each species into latitudinal distribution using these six regions, spanning the southern Cape (34º S) to Mount Kenya (0º S). Additionally, we gathered maximum tree height (m) for each species and determined the global distribution of all 196 tree genera (Afrotropical, Palaeotropical or Pantropical). KEY RESULTS Species, genera and families showed a general decrease in richness away from tropical and subtropical forests towards warm temperate forests. Southern Afrotemperate forests (the furthest south) had the highest tree endemism. There was no relationship between latitude and the reproductive traits tested here. Biogeographical affinity related to fruit colour and dispersal syndrome, with palaeotropical genera showing relative increases in black-purple fruit colour compared with pantropical genera, and palaeotropical genera showing relative increases in biotic seed dispersal compared with Afrotropical genera, which showed higher relative abiotic seed dispersal. Taller trees had a higher chance to be wind or insect pollinated (compared with bird pollinated) and had larger fruits. CONCLUSIONS Latitude explained patterns in Afromontane tree taxonomic diversity; however, tree reproductive traits did not relate to latitude. We suggest that phylogenetic conservatism or convergence, or both, explain the reported patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C Swart
- Department of Conservation Management, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George 6530, South Africa
| | - S Geerts
- Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, PO Box 652, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
| | - C J Geldenhuys
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0184, South Africa
| | - J Pauw
- Department of Conservation Management, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George 6530, South Africa
| | - A Coetzee
- Department of Conservation Management, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George 6530, South Africa
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5
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Casorso JG, DePasquale AN, Romero Morales S, Cheves Hernandez S, Lopez Navarro R, Hockings KJ, Carrigan MA, Melin AD. Seed dispersal syndrome predicts ethanol concentration of fruits in a tropical dry forest. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230804. [PMID: 37464751 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studying fruit traits and their interactions with seed dispersers can improve how we interpret patterns of biodiversity, ecosystem function and evolution. Mounting evidence suggests that fruit ethanol is common and variable, and may exert selective pressures on seed dispersers. To test this, we comprehensively assess fruit ethanol content in a wild ecosystem and explore sources of variation. We hypothesize that both phylogeny and seed dispersal syndrome explain variation in ethanol levels, and we predict that fruits with mammalian dispersal traits will contain higher levels of ethanol than those with bird dispersal traits. We measured ripe fruit ethanol content in species with mammal- (n = 16), bird- (n = 14) or mixed-dispersal (n = 7) syndromes in a Costa Rican tropical dry forest. Seventy-eight per cent of fruit species yielded measurable ethanol concentrations. We detected a phylogenetic signal in maximum ethanol levels (Pagel's λ = 0.82). Controlling for phylogeny, we observed greater ethanol concentrations in mammal-dispersed fruits, indicating that dispersal syndrome helps explain variation in ethanol content, and that mammals may be more exposed to ethanol in their diets than birds. Our findings further our understanding of wild fruit ethanol and its potential role as a selective pressure on frugivore sensory systems and metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia G Casorso
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Allegra N DePasquale
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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6
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Enfield NJ. Linguistic concepts are self-generating choice architectures. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210352. [PMID: 36571132 PMCID: PMC9791480 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
While the idea of a 'concept' has been defined in diverse ways, researchers in the cognitive science of language have largely agreed that linguistic concepts are objects, whether mental or physical, that bits of language stand for. This O-axis view (where O = object), focusing on sign-object relations, sees linguistic concepts as ideas that stand in a static relation to signs, with the function of mediating relations between agents and their environments. But this is only half the story. Because every linguistic concept is moored to a bit of language, and bits of language are mostly learned and encountered in sequences of social interaction, then we must look not only at what signs stand for (their objects), but at the interpretants, or rational responses, that they elicit. By focusing on sign-interpretant relations, and thus taking an I-axis view (where I = interpretant), we not only acknowledge the direct link between concepts and social interaction, we also discover causal mechanisms that explain how linguistic concepts are distributed in relatively stable form in populations. We find that while concepts are indeed mental objects, they function as choice architectures in the dynamic flow of situated language usage. This article is part of the theme issue 'Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. J. Enfield
- Discipline of Linguistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
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7
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Hazell RJ, Sam K, Sreekar R, Yama S, Koagouw W, Stewart AJA, Peck MR. Bird preferences for fruit size, but not color, vary in accordance with fruit traits along a tropical elevational gradient. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9835. [PMID: 36818525 PMCID: PMC9929344 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Birds constitute one of the most important seed dispersal agents globally, especially in the tropics. The feeding preferences of frugivorous birds are, therefore, potentially of great ecological importance. A number of laboratory-based and observational studies have attempted to ascertain the preferences of certain bird species for certain fruit traits. However, little attention has been paid to community-wide preferences of frugivorous birds and the impact this may have on fruit traits on a broader scale. Here, we used artificial fruits of different colors and sizes to investigate community-wide fruit trait preferences of birds at three sites along an elevational gradient in Papua New Guinea. We recorded attack rates on artificial fruits as visible impressions made by a bird's beak during a feeding attempt. We also measured the colors and sizes of real fruits at each site, and the gape widths of frugivorous birds, allowing for comparisons between bird feeding preferences and bird and fruit traits. Regardless of elevation, red and purple fruits were universally preferred to green and attacked at similar rates to one another, despite strong elevational patterns in real fruit color. However, elevation had a significant effect on fruit size preferences. A weak, non-significant preference for large fruits was recorded at 700 m, while medium fruits were strongly preferred at 1700 m and small fruits at 2700 m. These patterns mirror those of both real fruit size and frugivorous bird gape width along the gradient, suggesting the potential for selective pressure of birds on fruit size at different elevations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J. Hazell
- Department of Evolution, Behaviour and Environment, School of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - Katerina Sam
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
- Faculty of ScienceUniversity of South BohemiaCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Rachakonda Sreekar
- Biology Centre of Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Samson Yama
- New Guinea Binatang Research CentreMadangPapua New Guinea
| | - Wulan Koagouw
- National Research and Innovation AgencyCentral JakartaIndonesia
| | - Alan J. A. Stewart
- Department of Evolution, Behaviour and Environment, School of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
| | - Mika R. Peck
- Department of Evolution, Behaviour and Environment, School of Life SciencesUniversity of SussexBrightonUK
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8
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Spengler RN, Kienast F, Roberts P, Boivin N, Begun DR, Ashastina K, Petraglia M. Bearing Fruit: Miocene Apes and Rosaceous Fruit Evolution. BIOLOGICAL THEORY 2023; 18:134-151. [PMID: 37214192 PMCID: PMC10191964 DOI: 10.1007/s13752-022-00413-1] [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: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Extinct megafaunal mammals in the Americas are often linked to seed-dispersal mutualisms with large-fruiting tree species, but large-fruiting species in Europe and Asia have received far less attention. Several species of arboreal Maloideae (apples and pears) and Prunoideae (plums and peaches) evolved large fruits starting around nine million years ago, primarily in Eurasia. As evolutionary adaptations for seed dispersal by animals, the size, high sugar content, and bright colorful visual displays of ripeness suggest that mutualism with megafaunal mammals facilitated the evolutionary change. There has been little discussion as to which animals were likely candidate(s) on the late Miocene landscape of Eurasia. We argue that several possible dispersers could have consumed the large fruits, with endozoochoric dispersal usually relying on guilds of species. During the Pleistocene and Holocene, the dispersal guild likely included ursids, equids, and elephantids. During the late Miocene, large primates were likely also among the members of this guild, and the potential of a long-held mutualism between the ape and apple clades merits further discussion. If primates were a driving factor in the evolution of this large-fruit seed-dispersal system, it would represent an example of seed-dispersal-based mutualism with hominids millions of years prior to crop domestication or the development of cultural practices, such as farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N. Spengler
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Frank Kienast
- Senckenberg Research Station of Quaternary, Palaeontology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - David R. Begun
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kseniia Ashastina
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland Australia
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9
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Veilleux CC, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. The sensory ecology of primate food perception, revisited. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:281-301. [PMID: 36519416 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, Dominy and colleagues published "The sensory ecology of primate food perception," an impactful review that brought new perspectives to understanding primate foraging adaptations. Their review synthesized information on primate senses and explored how senses informed feeding behavior. Research on primate sensory ecology has seen explosive growth in the last two decades. Here, we revisit this important topic, focusing on the numerous new discoveries and lines of innovative research. We begin by reviewing each of the five traditionally recognized senses involved in foraging: audition, olfaction, vision, touch, and taste. For each sense, we provide an overview of sensory function and comparative ecology, comment on the state of knowledge at the time of the original review, and highlight advancements and lingering gaps in knowledge. Next, we provide an outline for creative, multidisciplinary, and innovative future research programs that we anticipate will generate exciting new discoveries in the next two decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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10
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Nevo O, Valenta K, Helman A, Ganzhorn JU, Ayasse M. Fruit scent as an honest signal for fruit quality. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:139. [PMID: 36451093 PMCID: PMC9710009 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02064-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fleshy fruits evolved to be attractive to seed dispersers through various signals such as color and scent. Signals can evolve through different trajectories and have various degrees of reliability. The strongest substrate on which reliable signals can evolve is when there is an inherent link between signal and reward, rendering cheating costly or impossible. It was recently proposed that aliphatic esters in fruit scent may be predictive of sugar content due to their synthesis from products of sugar fermentation. We test this hypothesis on a case study of wild fig species (Ficus tiliifolia) from Madagascar, which relies on seed dispersal by lemurs. RESULTS We found a strong positive correlation between signal (esters) and reward (sugar). We also found that non-esters, including direct fermentation products, in fruit scent do not indicate sugar levels, which implies that this relationship is not simply a product of fruit maturation wherein more mature fruits emit more scent and contain more sugar. CONCLUSIONS While based on a single taxon, these results strongly support the hypothesis that a biochemical link between ester synthesis and sugar may render the ester fraction of fruit scent an honest signal for fruit quality, with consequences for animal sensory and feeding ecology, and the evolution of plants in the context of seed dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. .,Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany. .,Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Kim Valenta
- grid.15276.370000 0004 1936 8091Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Annabella Helman
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Jörg U. Ganzhorn
- grid.9026.d0000 0001 2287 2617Animal Ecology and Conservation, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- grid.6582.90000 0004 1936 9748Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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11
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Valenta K, Nevo O. The illusiveness of seed dispersal syndromes. A commentary on: Fleshy fruit traits and seed dispersers: which traits define syndromes? ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 129:vi-vii. [PMID: 35139151 PMCID: PMC9292597 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre of Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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12
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Tedore C, Tedore K, Westcott D, Suttner C, Nilsson DE. The role of detectability in the evolution of avian-dispersed fruit color. Vision Res 2022; 196:108046. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2022.108046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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13
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Using a Phylogenetic Framework to Assess the Role of Fruit Size in Food Selection by the Andean Night Monkey (Aotus lemurinus). INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00274-8] [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]
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14
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Abstract
Do we talk about some colors more often than others? And do the colors we communicate about most frequently vary across cultures? A classic finding shows that languages around the world partition colors into words in remarkably similar, although not identical, ways. The biology of human color perception helps explain similar color vocabularies across languages, but less is known about how often speakers need to reference different colors. The inference method we develop reveals extensive variation in communicative needs across colors, and a diversity in needs across 130 languages, which helps explain variation in their color vocabularies. Our results open the door to studying cross-cultural variation in demands on different colors, and factors that drive color demands in linguistic communities. Names for colors vary widely across languages, but color categories are remarkably consistent. Shared mechanisms of color perception help explain consistent partitions of visible light into discrete color vocabularies. But the mappings from colors to words are not identical across languages, which may reflect communicative needs—how often speakers must refer to objects of different color. Here we quantify the communicative needs of colors in 130 different languages by developing an inference algorithm for this problem. We find that communicative needs are not uniform: Some regions of color space exhibit 30-fold greater demand for communication than other regions. The regions of greatest demand correlate with the colors of salient objects, including ripe fruits in primate diets. Our analysis also reveals a hidden diversity in the communicative needs of colors across different languages, which is partly explained by differences in geographic location and the local biogeography of linguistic communities. Accounting for language-specific, nonuniform communicative needs improves predictions for how a language maps colors to words, and how these mappings vary across languages. Our account closes an important gap in the compression theory of color naming, while opening directions to study cross-cultural variation in the need to communicate different colors and its impact on the cultural evolution of color categories.
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15
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Santana SE, Kaliszewska ZA, Leiser-Miller LB, Lauterbur ME, Arbour JH, Dávalos LM, Riffell JA. Fruit odorants mediate co-specialization in a multispecies plant-animal mutualism. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210312. [PMID: 34375556 PMCID: PMC8354748 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the widespread notion that animal-mediated seed dispersal led to the evolution of fruit traits that attract mutualistic frugivores, the dispersal syndrome hypothesis remains controversial, particularly for complex traits such as fruit scent. Here, we test this hypothesis in a community of mutualistic, ecologically important neotropical bats (Carollia spp.) and plants (Piper spp.) that communicate primarily via chemical signals. We found greater bat consumption is significantly associated with scent chemical diversity and presence of specific compounds, which fit multi-peak selective regime models in Piper. Through behavioural assays, we found Carollia prefer certain compounds, particularly 2-heptanol, which evolved as a unique feature of two Piper species highly consumed by these bats. Thus, we demonstrate that volatile compounds emitted by neotropical Piper fruits evolved in tandem with seed dispersal by scent-oriented Carollia bats. Specifically, fruit scent chemistry in some Piper species fits adaptive evolutionary scenarios consistent with a dispersal syndrome hypothesis. While other abiotic and biotic processes likely shaped the chemical composition of ripe fruit scent in Piper, our results provide some of the first evidence of the effect of bat frugivory on plant chemical diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharlene E. Santana
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | | | - M. Elise Lauterbur
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Jessica H. Arbour
- Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
| | - Liliana M. Dávalos
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Center for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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16
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Valenta K, Bhramdat HD, Calhoun GV, Daegling DJ, Nevo O. Variation in ripe fruit hardness: a mechanical constraint? OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Henna D. Bhramdat
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Grace V. Calhoun
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - David J. Daegling
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena, Inst. of Biodiversity Jena Germany
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17
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Messeder JVS, Silveira FAO, Cornelissen TG, Fuzessy LF, Guerra TJ. Frugivory and seed dispersal in a hyperdiverse plant clade and its role as a keystone resource for the Neotropical fauna. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2021; 127:577-595. [PMID: 33151331 PMCID: PMC8052926 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcaa189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Much of our understanding of the ecology and evolution of seed dispersal in the Neotropics is founded on studies involving the animal-dispersed, hyperdiverse plant clade Miconia (Melastomataceae). Nonetheless, no formal attempt has been made to establish its relevance as a model system or indeed provide evidence of the role of frugivores as Miconia seed dispersers. METHODS We built three Miconia databases (fruit phenology/diaspore traits, fruit-frugivore interactions and effects on seed germination after gut passage) to determine how Miconia fruiting phenology and fruit traits for >350 species interact with and shape patterns of frugivore selection. In addition, we conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the effects of animal gut passage/seed handling on Miconia germination. KEY RESULTS Miconia produce numerous small berries that enclose numerous tiny seeds within water- and sugar-rich pulps. In addition, coexisting species provide sequential, year long availability of fruits within communities, with many species producing fruits in periods of resource scarcity. From 2396 pairwise interactions, we identified 646 animal frugivore species in five classes, 22 orders and 60 families, including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and ants that consume Miconia fruits. Endozoochory is the main dispersal mechanism, but gut passage effects on germination were specific to animal clades; birds, monkeys and ants reduced seed germination percentages, while opossums increased it. CONCLUSIONS The sequential fruiting phenologies and wide taxonomic and functional diversity of animal vectors associated with Miconia fruits underscore the likely keystone role that this plant clade plays in the Neotropics. By producing fruits morphologically and chemically accessible to a variety of animals, Miconia species ensure short- and long-distance seed dispersal and constitute reliable resources that sustain entire frugivore assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Vitor S Messeder
- Biology Department & Ecology Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Fernando A O Silveira
- Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Tatiana G Cornelissen
- Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Lisieux F Fuzessy
- Departamento de Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Tadeu J Guerra
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- For correspondence. E-mail
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18
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Lim JY, Svenning JC, Göldel B, Faurby S, Kissling WD. Frugivore-fruit size relationships between palms and mammals reveal past and future defaunation impacts. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4904. [PMID: 32994391 PMCID: PMC7524719 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18530-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian frugivores are critical seed dispersers, but many are under threat of extinction. Futhermore, the impact of past and future defaunation on plant assemblages has yet to be quantified at the global scale. Here, we integrate palm and mammalian frugivore trait and occurrence data and reveal a global positive relationship between fruit size and frugivore body size. Global variation in fruit size is better explained by present-day frugivore assemblages than by Late Pleistocene assemblages, suggesting ecological and evolutionary reorganization after end-Pleistocene extinctions, except in the Neotropics, where some large-fruited palm species may have outlived their main seed dispersers by thousands of years. Our simulations of frugivore extinction over the next 100 years suggest that the impact of defaunation will be highest in the Old World tropics, and an up to 4% assemblage-level decrease in fruit size would be required to maintain the global body size–fruit size relationship. Overall, our results suggest that while some palm species may be able to keep pace with future defaunation through evolutionary changes in fruit size, large-fruited species may be especially vulnerable to continued defaunation. Extinctions of megafauna can have cascading effects on their ecological communities. Here, Lim et al. investigate the relationships of historical and current mammalian frugivore body size with palm fruit size, then project how further mammal extinctions are likely to affect palm communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ying Lim
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. .,School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637551, Singapore.
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity & Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Bastian Göldel
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity & Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark
| | - Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden.,Gothenberg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden
| | - W Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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19
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Middleton R, Sinnott-Armstrong M, Ogawa Y, Jacucci G, Moyroud E, Rudall PJ, Prychid C, Conejero M, Glover BJ, Donoghue MJ, Vignolini S. Viburnum tinus Fruits Use Lipids to Produce Metallic Blue Structural Color. Curr Biol 2020; 30:3804-3810.e2. [PMID: 32763166 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Viburnum tinus is an evergreen shrub that is native to the Mediterranean region but cultivated widely in Europe and around the world. It produces ripe metallic blue fruits throughout winter [1]. Despite its limited fleshy pulp [2], its high lipid content [3] makes it a valuable resource to the small birds [4] that act as its seed-dispersers [5]. Here, we find that the metallic blue appearance of the fruits is produced by globular lipid inclusions arranged in a disordered multilayer structure. This structure is embedded in the cell walls of the epicarp and underlaid with a dark layer of anthocyanin pigments. The presence of such large, organized lipid aggregates in plant cell walls represents a new mechanism for structural coloration and may serve as an honest signal of nutritional content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rox Middleton
- Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Yu Ogawa
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Cermav, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - Gianni Jacucci
- Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Edwige Moyroud
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK; Department of genetics, University of Cambridge, 20 Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Paula J Rudall
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK
| | | | - Maria Conejero
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK
| | - Beverley J Glover
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Michael J Donoghue
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Silvia Vignolini
- Chemistry Department, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
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20
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Valenta K, Nevo O. The dispersal syndrome hypothesis: How animals shaped fruit traits, and how they did not. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Omer Nevo
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics Ulm University Ulm Germany
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21
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Nascimento LFD, Guimarães PR, Onstein RE, Kissling WD, Pires MM. Associated evolution of fruit size, fruit colour and spines in Neotropical palms. J Evol Biol 2020; 33:858-868. [PMID: 32198956 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how ecological interactions have shaped the evolutionary dynamics of species traits remains a challenge in evolutionary ecology. Combining trait evolution models and phylogenies, we analysed the evolution of characters associated with seed dispersal (fruit size and colour) and herbivory (spines) in Neotropical palms to infer the role of these opposing animal-plant interactions in driving evolutionary patterns. We found that the evolution of fruit colour and fruit size was associated in Neotropical palms, supporting the adaptive interpretation of seed-dispersal syndromes and highlighting the role of frugivores in shaping plant evolution. Furthermore, we revealed a positive association between fruit size and the presence of spines on palm leaves, bracteas and stems. We hypothesize that interactions between palms and large-bodied frugivores/herbivores may explain the evolutionary relationship between fruit size and spines. Large-bodied frugivores, such as extinct megafauna, besides consuming the fruits and dispersing large seeds, may also have consumed the leaves or damaged the plants, thus simultaneously favouring the evolution of large fruits and defensive structures. Our findings show how current trait patterns can be understood as the result of the interplay between antagonistic and mutualistic interactions that have happened throughout the evolutionary history of a clade.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paulo R Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renske E Onstein
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - W Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
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22
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Onstein RE, Vink DN, Veen J, Barratt CD, Flantua SGA, Wich SA, Kissling WD. Palm fruit colours are linked to the broad-scale distribution and diversification of primate colour vision systems. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192731. [PMID: 32097588 PMCID: PMC7062032 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
A long-standing hypothesis in ecology and evolution is that trichromatic colour vision (the ability to distinguish red from green) in frugivorous primates has evolved as an adaptation to detect conspicuous (reddish) fruits. This could provide a competitive advantage over dichromatic frugivores which cannot distinguish reddish colours from a background of green foliage. Here, we test whether the origin, distribution and diversity of trichromatic primates is positively associated with the availability of conspicuous palm fruits, i.e. keystone fruit resources for tropical frugivores. We combine global data of colour vision, distribution and phylogenetic data for more than 400 primate species with fruit colour data for more than 1700 palm species, and reveal that species richness of trichromatic primates increases with the proportion of palm species that have conspicuous fruits, especially in subtropical African forests. By contrast, species richness of trichromats in Asia and the Americas is not positively associated with conspicuous palm fruit colours. Macroevolutionary analyses further indicate rapid and synchronous radiations of trichromats and conspicuous palms on the African mainland starting 10 Ma. These results suggest that the distribution and diversification of African trichromatic primates is strongly linked to the relative availability of conspicuous (versus non-conspicuous) palm fruits, and that interactions between primates and palms are related to the coevolutionary dynamics of primate colour vision systems and palm fruit colours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renske E Onstein
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daphne N Vink
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jorin Veen
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christopher D Barratt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Suzette G A Flantua
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Serge A Wich
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, L33AF, Liverpool, UK
| | - W Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94240, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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23
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24
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Rudall PJ. Colourful cones: how did flower colour first evolve? JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:759-767. [PMID: 31714579 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erz479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Angiosperms that are biotically pollinated typically produce flowers with bright and contrasting colours that help to attract pollinators and hence contribute to the reproductive success of the species. This colourful array contrasts with the much less multicoloured reproductive structures of the four living gymnosperm lineages, which are mostly wind pollinated, though cycads and Gnetales are predominantly pollinated by insects that feed on surface fluids from the pollination drops. This review examines the possible evolutionary pathways and cryptic clues for flower colour in both living and fossil seed plants. It investigates how the ancestral flowering plants could have overcome the inevitable trade-off that exists between attracting pollinators and minimizing herbivory, and explores the possible evolutionary and biological inferences from the colours that occur in some living gymnosperms. The red colours present in the seed-cone bracts of some living conifers result from accumulation of anthocyanin pigments; their likely primary function is to help protect the growing plant tissues under particular environmental conditions. Thus, the visual cue provided by colour in flower petals could have first evolved as a secondary effect, probably post-dating the evolution of bee colour vision but occurring before the subsequent functional accumulation of a range of different flower pigments.
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25
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Nevo O, Razafimandimby D, Valenta K, Jeffrey JAJ, Reisdorff C, Chapman CA, Ganzhorn JU, Ayasse M. Signal and reward in wild fleshy fruits: Does fruit scent predict nutrient content? Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10534-10543. [PMID: 31624565 PMCID: PMC6787828 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant species with fleshy fruits offer animals rewards such as sugar, protein, and fat, to feed on their fruits and disperse their seeds. They have also evolved visual and olfactory signals indicating their presence and ripeness.In some systems, fruit color serves as a reliable visual signal of nutrient content. Yet even though many volatile chemicals used as olfactory signals derive from nutrients animals seek, it is still unknown whether fruit scent encodes information regarding nutrient content in wild fruits.We examine the relationship between olfactory signals and nutrient rewards in 28 fruiting plant species in Madagascar. We measured the relative amounts of four chemical classes in fruit scent using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, as well as the relative amounts of sugar and protein in fruit pulp.We found that protein levels are not associated with elevated amounts of chemically related volatile compounds in fruit scent. In contrast, sugar content is strongly associated with the chemical composition of fruit scent.To our knowledge, this is the first research to explore the connection between fruit chemical signals and nutrient rewards. Our results imply that in the case of sugar, fruit scent is predictive of nutrient content and hence an honest signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omer Nevo
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation GenomicsUlm UniversityUlmGermany
| | - Diary Razafimandimby
- Faculty of Sciences, Zoology and Animal BiodiversityUniversity of AntananarivoAntananarivoMadagascar
| | - Kim Valenta
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFLUSA
| | - Juan Antonio James Jeffrey
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation GenomicsUlm UniversityUlmGermany
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of ConnecticutStorrsCTUSA
| | - Christoph Reisdorff
- Institute of Plant Science and MicrobiologyUniversity of HamburgHamburgGermany
| | - Colin A. Chapman
- Department of AnthropologyMcGill UniversityMontrealQCCanada
- School of Life ScienceUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalScottsvilleSouth Africa
- Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China of Ministry of EducationCollege of Life ScienceNorthwest UniversityXianChina
| | - Jörg U. Ganzhorn
- Animal Ecology and ConservationUniversity of HamburgHamburgGermany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation GenomicsUlm UniversityUlmGermany
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26
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Ripperger SP, Rehse S, Wacker S, Kalko EKV, Schulz S, Rodriguez-Herrera B, Ayasse M. Nocturnal scent in a 'bird-fig': A cue to attract bats as additional dispersers? PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220461. [PMID: 31415602 PMCID: PMC6695144 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The plant genus Ficus is a keystone resource in tropical ecoystems. One of the unique features of figs is the diversity of fruit traits, which in many cases match their various dispersers, the so-called fruit syndromes. The classic example of this is the strong phenotypic differences found between figs with bat and bird dispersers (color, size, presentation, and scent). The 'bird-fig' Ficus colubrinae represents an exception to this trend since it attracts the small frugivorous bat species Ectophylla alba at night, but during the day it attracts bird visitors. Here we investigate day to night changes in fruit scent as a possible mechanism by which this 'bird-fig' could attract bats despite its fruit traits, which should appeal solely to birds. Analyses of odor bouquets from the bat- and bird-dispersal phases (i.e. day and night) differed significantly in their composition of volatiles. We observed a significant increase in relative amounts of sesquiterpene and aromatic compounds at night while relative amounts of two compounds of the fatty acid pathway were significantly higher during day. This finding raises the question whether Ficus colubrinae, a phenotypically classic 'bird-fig', might be able to attract bat dispersers by an olfactory signal at night. Preliminary observations from feeding experiments which indicate that Ectophylla alba is capable of finding ripe figs by scent alone point in this direction. However, additional behavioral experiments on whether bats prefer the 'night-bouquet' over the 'day-bouquet' will be needed to unequivocally answer this question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon P. Ripperger
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee, Ulm, Germany
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße, Berlin, Germany
| | - Saskia Rehse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee, Ulm, Germany
| | - Stefanie Wacker
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee, Ulm, Germany
| | - Elisabeth K. V. Kalko
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Stefan Schulz
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Hagenring, Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee, Ulm, Germany
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27
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Melin AD, Nevo O, Shirasu M, Williamson RE, Garrett EC, Endo M, Sakurai K, Matsushita Y, Touhara K, Kawamura S. Fruit scent and observer colour vision shape food-selection strategies in wild capuchin monkeys. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2407. [PMID: 31160592 PMCID: PMC6546703 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10250-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The senses play critical roles in helping animals evaluate foods, including fruits that can change both in colour and scent during ripening to attract frugivores. Although numerous studies have assessed the impact of colour on fruit selection, comparatively little is known about fruit scent and how olfactory and visual data are integrated during foraging. We combine 25 months of behavioural data on 75 wild, white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) with measurements of fruit colours and scents from 18 dietary plant species. We show that frequency of fruit-directed olfactory behaviour is positively correlated with increases in the volume of fruit odours produced during ripening. Monkeys with red-green colour blindness sniffed fruits more often, indicating that increased reliance on olfaction is a behavioural strategy that mitigates decreased capacity to detect red-green colour contrast. These results demonstrate a complex interaction among fruit traits, sensory capacities and foraging strategies, which help explain variation in primate behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
- Department of Medical Genetics and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
| | - Omer Nevo
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Mika Shirasu
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
- ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
| | - Rachel E Williamson
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Eva C Garrett
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Mizuki Endo
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan
| | - Kodama Sakurai
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan
| | - Yuka Matsushita
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan
| | - Kazushige Touhara
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
- ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
| | - Shoji Kawamura
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8562, Japan.
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Valenta K, Kalbitzer U, Razafimandimby D, Omeja P, Ayasse M, Chapman CA, Nevo O. The evolution of fruit colour: phylogeny, abiotic factors and the role of mutualists. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14302. [PMID: 30250307 PMCID: PMC6155155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32604-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The adaptive significance of fruit colour has been investigated for over a century. While colour can fulfil various functions, the most commonly tested hypothesis is that it has evolved to increase fruit visual conspicuousness and thus promote detection and consumption by seed dispersing animals. However, fruit colour is a complex trait which is subjected to various constraints and selection pressures. As a result, the effect of animal selection on fruit colour are often difficult to identify, and several studies have failed to detect it. Here, we employ an integrative approach to examine what drives variation in fruit colour. We quantified the colour of ripe fruit and mature leaves of 97 tropical plant species from three study sites in Madagascar and Uganda. We used phylogenetically controlled models to estimate the roles of phylogeny, abiotic factors, and dispersal mode on fruit colour variation. Our results show that, independent of phylogeny and leaf coloration, mammal dispersed fruits are greener than bird dispersed fruits, while the latter are redder than the former. In addition, fruit colour does not correlate with leaf colour in the visible spectrum, but fruit reflection in the ultraviolet area of the spectrum is strongly correlated with leaf reflectance, emphasizing the role of abiotic factors in determining fruit colour. These results demonstrate that fruit colour is affected by both animal sensory ecology and abiotic factors and highlight the importance of an integrative approach which controls for the relevant confounding factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Duke University, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, 130 Science Dr., Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Urs Kalbitzer
- McGill University, McGill School of the Environment and Department of Anthropology, 3534 University Ave., Montreal, Quebec, H3A-2A7, Canada
| | - Diary Razafimandimby
- Faculty of Sciences, Zoology and Animal Biodiversity, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Patrick Omeja
- Makerere University Biological Field Station, P.O. Box 907, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, 89081, Germany
| | - Colin A Chapman
- McGill University, McGill School of the Environment and Department of Anthropology, 3534 University Ave., Montreal, Quebec, H3A-2A7, Canada
| | - Omer Nevo
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, 89081, Germany.
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