1
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Pontarp M, Runemark A, Friberg M, Opedal ØH, Persson AS, Wang L, Smith HG. Evolutionary plant-pollinator responses to anthropogenic land-use change: impacts on ecosystem services. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:372-389. [PMID: 37866400 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13026] [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: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural intensification at field and landscape scales, including increased use of agrochemicals and loss of semi-natural habitats, is a major driver of insect declines and other community changes. Efforts to understand and mitigate these effects have traditionally focused on ecological responses. At the same time, adaptations to pesticide use and habitat fragmentation in both insects and flowering plants show the potential for rapid evolution. Yet we lack an understanding of how such evolutionary responses may propagate within and between trophic levels with ensuing consequences for conservation of species and ecological functions in agroecosystems. Here, we review the literature on the consequences of agricultural intensification on plant and animal evolutionary responses and interactions. We present a novel conceptualization of evolutionary change induced by agricultural intensification at field and landscape scales and emphasize direct and indirect effects of rapid evolution on ecosystem services. We exemplify by focusing on economically and ecologically important interactions between plants and pollinators. We showcase available eco-evolutionary theory and plant-pollinator modelling that can improve predictions of how agricultural intensification affects interaction networks, and highlight available genetic and trait-focused methodological approaches. Specifically, we focus on how spatial genetic structure affects the probability of propagated responses, and how the structure of interaction networks modulates effects of evolutionary change in individual species. Thereby, we highlight how combined trait-based eco-evolutionary modelling, functionally explicit quantitative genetics, and genomic analyses may shed light on conditions where evolutionary responses impact important ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Pontarp
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
| | - Anna Runemark
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
| | - Magne Friberg
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
| | - Øystein H Opedal
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
| | - Anna S Persson
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
| | - Lingzi Wang
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
- School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton, 58 Salisbury Rd, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Henrik G Smith
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, Lund, 22362, Sweden
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2
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Dixit T. A synthesis of coevolution across levels of biological organization. Evolution 2024; 78:211-220. [PMID: 38085659 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad082] [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: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
In evolutionary ecology, coevolution is typically defined as reciprocal evolution of interacting species. However, outside the context of interacting species, the term "coevolution" is also used at levels of biological organization within species (e.g., between males and females, between cells, and between genes or proteins). Furthermore, although evolution is typically defined as "genetic change over time", coevolution need not involve genetic changes in the interacting parties, since cultures can also evolve. In this review, I propose that coevolution be defined more broadly as "reciprocal adaptive evolution at any level of biological organisation". The classification of reciprocal evolution at all levels of biological organization as coevolution would maintain consistency in terminology. More importantly, the broader definition should facilitate greater integration of coevolution research across disciplines. For example, principles usually discussed only in the context of coevolution between species or coevolution between genes (e.g., tight and diffuse coevolution, and compensatory coevolution, respectively) could be more readily applied to new fields. The application of coevolutionary principles to new contexts could also provide benefits to society, for instance in deducing the dynamics of coevolution between cancer cells and cells of the human immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanmay Dixit
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
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3
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Duchenne F, Aubert S, Barreto E, Brenes E, Maglianesi MA, Santander T, Guevara EA, Graham CH. When cheating turns into a stabilizing mechanism of plant-pollinator communities. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002434. [PMID: 38150463 PMCID: PMC10752559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutualistic interactions, such as plant-mycorrhizal or plant-pollinator interactions, are widespread in ecological communities and frequently exploited by cheaters, species that profit from interactions without providing benefits in return. Cheating usually negatively affects the fitness of the individuals that are cheated on, but the effects of cheating at the community level remains poorly understood. Here, we describe 2 different kinds of cheating in mutualistic networks and use a generalized Lotka-Volterra model to show that they have very different consequences for the persistence of the community. Conservative cheating, where a species cheats on its mutualistic partners to escape the cost of mutualistic interactions, negatively affects community persistence. In contrast, innovative cheating occurs with species with whom legitimate interactions are not possible, because of a physiological or morphological barrier. Innovative cheating can enhance community persistence under some conditions: when cheaters have few mutualistic partners, cheat at low or intermediate frequency and the cost associated with mutualism is not too high. Under these conditions, the negative effects of cheating on partner persistence are overcompensated at the community level by the positive feedback loops that arise in diverse mutualistic communities. Using an empirical dataset of plant-bird interactions (hummingbirds and flowerpiercers), we found that observed cheating patterns are highly consistent with theoretical cheating patterns found to increase community persistence. This result suggests that the cheating patterns observed in nature could contribute to promote species coexistence in mutualistic communities, instead of necessarily destabilizing them.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Duchenne
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Stéphane Aubert
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Barreto
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Emanuel Brenes
- Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica
| | - María A. Maglianesi
- Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica
| | | | - Esteban A. Guevara
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Catherine H. Graham
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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4
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Qu H, Heifetz A, Seifan M. Batesian mimicry or general food deception? An evolutionary game between plants for pollinator services. J Theor Biol 2023; 575:111609. [PMID: 37708988 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Floral food deception is a well-known phenomenon which is not thoroughly understood. Particularly, it is unclear what drives a plant towards Batesian mimicry or towards generalized food deception. We analysed the evolutionary game between a Model species with nectar-secreting flowers and a Deceiver species that provides no nectar who share pollinators for reproduction. We focused our analysis on the effect of similarity of floral signals between participating plants and on costs of nectar production. We defined payoffs in the game between Models and Deceivers as the stationary visitation frequencies to participating species with different signal similarities and nectar costs. Therefore, fitness payoff of each strategy was a product of complex interactions between plant species composing the community and the pollinators visiting them. Our model provides a unified framework in which consequences of Model species interaction with different deception modes can be compared. Our findings suggest that plant-pollinator systems, like other mutualistic systems, are prone to exploitation, and that exploitation may persist at a large range of conditions. We showed that floral similarity, and thus, pollinators' ability to discriminate between Model and deceptive species, governs the stability of Batesian mimicry, while pollinator switching and sampling behaviour enables the persistence of general food deception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongchun Qu
- Institute of Ecological Safety, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Aviad Heifetz
- Management and Economics Department, the Open University of Israel, Israel
| | - Merav Seifan
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental & Energy Research, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 849900, Israel.
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5
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Hao K, Liu T, Hembry DH, Luo S. Trait matching in a multi-species geographic mosaic of leafflower plants, brood pollinators, and cheaters. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10228. [PMID: 37408629 PMCID: PMC10318581 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10228] [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: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Trait matching between mutualistic species is usually expected to maintain mutualism, but empirical studies of trait complementarity and coadaptation in multi-species assemblages-which represent the reality of most interactions in nature-are few. Here, we studied trait matching between the leafflower shrub Kirganelia microcarpa and three associated seed-predatory leafflower moths (Epicephala spp.) across 16 populations. Behavioral and morphological observations suggested that two moths (E. microcarpa and E. tertiaria) acted as pollinators while a third (E. laeviclada) acted as a cheater. These species differed in ovipositor morphology but showed trait complementarity between ovipositor length and floral traits at both species level and population level, presumably as adaptations to divergent oviposition behaviors. However, this trait matching varied among populations. Comparisons of ovipositor length and floral traits among populations with different moth assemblages suggested an increase of ovary wall thickness where the locular-ovipositing pollinator E. microcarpa and cheater E. laeviclada were present, while stylar pit depth was less in populations with the stylar pit-ovipositing pollinator E. tertiaria. Our study indicates that trait matching between interacting partners occurs even in extremely specialized multi-species mutualisms, and that although these responses vary, sometimes non-intuitively, in response to different partner species. It seems that the moths can track changes in host plant tissue depth for oviposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Hao
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
| | - Ting‐Ting Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
| | - David H. Hembry
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Texas Permian BasinOdessaTexasUSA
| | - Shi‐Xiao Luo
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of ScienceGuangzhouChina
- South China National Botanical GardenGuangzhouChina
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6
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Houadria MYI, Barone G, Fayle TM, Schmitt T, Konik P, Feldhaar H. An experimental, behavioral, and chemical analysis of food limitations in mutualistic Crematogaster ant symbionts inhabiting Macaranga host plants. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9760. [PMID: 36778840 PMCID: PMC9905419 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Obligate mutualistic plant-ants are often constrained by their plant partner's capacity to provide resources. However, despite this limitation, some ant partners actively reject potential prey items and instead drop them from the plant rather than consuming them, leaving the ants entirely reliant on host plant-provided food, including that provided indirectly by the symbiotic scale insects that ants tend inside the plants. This dependency potentially increases the efficiency of these ants in defending their host. We hypothesize that if this ant behavior was beneficial to the symbiosis, prey rejection by ants would be observed across multiple plant host species. We also hypothesize that plant-provided food items and symbiotic scale insects from other ant plants should be rejected. We address these hypotheses in the Crematogaster ant-Macaranga plant system, in which plants provide living space and food, while ants protect plants from herbivory. We observed food acceptance and rejection behavior across five ant species and three plant host species. Ants were offered three types of food: termites as a surrogate herbivore, symbiotic scale insects, and nutritious food bodies (FB) produced by different host plant species. The unique ant species living in M. winkleri was the most likely to reject food items not provided by the plant species, followed by ants in M. glandibracteolata, while ants in M. pearsonii accepted most items offered to them. Using stable isotopes, chemical cues, and proteomic analyses, we demonstrate that this behavior was not related to differences between plant species in nutritional quality or composition of FB. Isotopic signatures revealed that certain species are primary consumers but other ant species can be secondary consumers even where surrogate herbivores are rejected, although these values varied depending on the ant developmental stage and plant species. Macaranga pearsonii and M. glandibracteolata, the two most closely related plant species, had most similar surface chemical cues of FB. However, M. glandibracteolata had strongest differences in food body nutritional content, isotopic signatures, and protein composition from either of the other two plant species studied. Taken together we believe our results point toward potential host coercion of symbiont ants by plants in the genus Macaranga Thouars (Euphorbiaceae).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mickal Y. I. Houadria
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Giulio Barone
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest SciencesUniversity of PalermoPalermoItaly
| | - Tom M. Fayle
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of SciencesInstitute of EntomologyCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic,School of Biological and Behavioural SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, BiocentreUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Petr Konik
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of South Bohemia in Ceske BudejoviceCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER)University of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
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7
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Uchiumi Y, Sato M, Sasaki A. Evolutionary double suicide in symbiotic systems. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:87-98. [PMID: 36331163 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14136] [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: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Mutualism is thought to face a threat of coextinction cascade because the loss of a member species could lead to the extinction of the other member. Despite this common emphasis on the perils of such knock-on effect, hitherto, the evolutionary causes leading to extinction have been less emphasised. Here, we examine how extinction could be triggered in mutualism and whether an evolutionary response to partner loss could prevent collateral extinctions, by theoretically examining the coevolution of the host exploitation by symbionts and host dependence on symbiosis. Our model reveals that mutualism is more vulnerable to co-extinction through adaptive evolution (evolutionary double suicide) than parasitism. Additionally, it shows that the risk of evolutionary double suicide rarely promotes the backward evolution to an autonomous (non-symbiotic) state. Our results provide a new perspective on the evolutionary fragility of mutualism and the rarity of observed evolutionary transitions from mutualism to parasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Uchiumi
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University of Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.,Department of Liberal Arts, Nihon University School of Medicine, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masato Sato
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University of Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.,Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Akira Sasaki
- Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan.,Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
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8
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Camacho LA, de Andreazzi CS, Medeiros LP, Birskis‐Barros I, Emer C, Reigada C, Guimarães PR. Cheating interactions favor modularity in mutualistic networks. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas A. Camacho
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia, Depto de Ecologia – Inst. de Biociências, USP São Paulo SP Brasil
| | - Cecilia Siliansky de Andreazzi
- Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos Rio de Janeiro RJ Brasil
| | | | | | - Carine Emer
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Rua Pacheco Leão, 915. Jardim Botânico Rio de Janeiro CEP 22460‐000 RJ Brasil
| | - Carolina Reigada
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Depto de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Univ. Federal de São Carlos, UFSCAR São Carlos SP Brasil
| | - Paulo R. Guimarães
- Depto de Ecologia – Inst. de Biociências, USP, Rua do Matão São Paulo SP Brasil
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9
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Lloyd-Jones DJ, St Clair JJH, Cram DL, Yassene O, van der Wal JEM, Spottiswoode CN. When wax wanes: competitors for beeswax stabilize rather than jeopardize the honeyguide–human mutualism. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221443. [PMID: 36448420 PMCID: PMC9709655 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many mutualisms are exploited by third-party species, which benefit without providing anything in return. Exploitation can either destabilize or promote mutualisms, via mechanisms that are highly dependent on the ecological context. Here we study a remarkable bird–human mutualism, in which wax-eating greater honeyguides (
Indicator indicator
) guide humans (
Homo sapiens
) to wild bees' nests, in an exchange of knowledge about the location of nests for access to the wax combs inside. We test whether the depletion of wax by mammalian and avian exploiter species either threatens or stabilizes the mutualism. Using camera traps, we monitored feeding visits to wax comb made available following honey harvests. We found that greater honeyguides face competition for wax from conspecifics and nine exploiter species, five of which were not previously known to consume wax. Our results support the hypothesis that heterospecific exploiters stabilize the mutualism, because wax depletion by these competitors probably limits feeding opportunities for conspecific exploiters, favouring the early-arriving individual that guided humans to the bees’ nest. These findings highlight the importance of the ecological context of species interactions and provide further evidence for how mutualisms can persist because of, and not in spite of, exploitation by third-party species.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Lloyd-Jones
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
| | - James J. H. St Clair
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AJ, UK
| | - Dominic L. Cram
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
| | - Orlando Yassene
- Mariri Environmental Centre, Concession L5 South, Niassa Special Reserve, Niassa Province, Mozambique
| | | | - Claire N. Spottiswoode
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
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10
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Arnscheidt CW, Rothman DH. Rate-induced collapse in evolutionary systems. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20220182. [PMID: 35642430 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent work has highlighted the possibility of 'rate-induced tipping', in which a system undergoes an abrupt transition when a perturbation exceeds a critical rate of change. Here, we argue that this is widely applicable to evolutionary systems: collapse, or extinction, may occur when external changes occur too fast for evolutionary adaptation to keep up. To bridge existing theoretical frameworks, we develop a minimal evolutionary-ecological model showing that rate-induced extinction and the established notion of 'evolutionary rescue' are fundamentally two sides of the same coin: the failure of one implies the other, and vice versa. We compare the minimal model's behaviour with that of a more complex model in which the large-scale dynamics emerge from the interactions of many individual agents; in both cases, there is a well-defined threshold rate to induce extinction, and a consistent scaling law for that rate as a function of timescale. Due to the fundamental nature of the underlying mechanism, we suggest that a vast range of evolutionary systems should in principle be susceptible to rate-induced collapse. This would include ecosystems on all scales as well as human societies; further research is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantin W Arnscheidt
- Lorenz Center, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel H Rothman
- Lorenz Center, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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11
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Lie-Panis J, André JB. Cooperation as a signal of time preferences. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212266. [PMID: 35473379 PMCID: PMC9043704 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many evolutionary models explain why we cooperate with non-kin, but few explain why cooperative behaviour and trust vary. Here, we introduce a model of cooperation as a signal of time preferences, which addresses this variability. At equilibrium in our model (i) future-oriented individuals are more motivated to cooperate, (ii) future-oriented populations have access to a wider range of cooperative opportunities, and (iii) spontaneous and inconspicuous cooperation reveal stronger preference for the future, and therefore inspire more trust. Our theory sheds light on the variability of cooperative behaviour and trust. Since affluence tends to align with time preferences, results (i) and (ii) explain why cooperation is often associated with affluence, in surveys and field studies. Time preferences also explain why we trust others based on proxies for impulsivity, and, following result (iii), why uncalculating, subtle and one-shot cooperators are deemed particularly trustworthy. Time preferences provide a powerful and parsimonious explanatory lens, through which we can better understand the variability of trust and cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Lie-Panis
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université PSL, EHESS, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France.,LTCI, Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France.,Université de Paris, EURIP Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Research, 75004 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste André
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, Université PSL, EHESS, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
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12
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Weinbach A, Loeuille N, Rohr RP. Eco-evolutionary dynamics further weakens mutualistic interaction and coexistence under population decline. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10176-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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13
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Halloway AH, Heath KD, McNickle GG. When does mutualism offer a competitive advantage? A game-theoretic analysis of host-host competition in mutualism. AOB PLANTS 2022; 14:plac010. [PMID: 35444786 PMCID: PMC9015964 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plac010] [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: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Due to their non-motile nature, plants rely heavily on mutualistic interactions to obtain resources and carry out services. One key mutualism is the plant-microbial mutualism in which a plant trades away carbon to a microbial partner for nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Plants show much variation in the use of this partnership from the individual level to entire lineages depending upon ecological, evolutionary and environmental context. We sought to determine how this context dependency could result in the promotion, exclusion or coexistence of the microbial mutualism by asking if and when the partnership provided a competitive advantage to the plant. To that end, we created a 2 × 2 evolutionary game in which plants could either be a mutualist and pair with a microbe or be a non-mutualist and forgo the partnership. Our model includes both frequency dependence and density dependence, which gives us the eco-evolutionary dynamics of mutualism evolution. As in all models, mutualism only evolved if it could offer a competitive advantage and its net benefit was positive. However, surprisingly the model reveals the possibility of coexistence between mutualist and non-mutualist genotypes due to competition between mutualists over the microbially obtained nutrient. Specifically, frequency dependence of host strategies can make the microbial symbiont less beneficial if the microbially derived resources are shared, a phenomenon that increasingly reduces the frequency of mutualism as the density of competitors increases. In essence, ecological competition can act as a hindrance to mutualism evolution. We go on to discuss basic experiments that can be done to test and falsify our hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdel H Halloway
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue (M/C 116), Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Katy D Heath
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue (M/C 116), Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, 1206 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Gordon G McNickle
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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14
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Abstract
Human expression is open-ended, versatile, and diverse, ranging from ordinary language use to painting, from exaggerated displays of affection to micro-movements that aid coordination. Here we present and defend the claim that this expressive diversity is united by an interrelated suite of cognitive capacities, the evolved functions of which are the expression and recognition of informative intentions. We describe how evolutionary dynamics normally leash communication to narrow domains of statistical mutual benefit, and how expression is unleashed in humans. The relevant cognitive capacities are cognitive adaptations to living in a partner choice social ecology; and they are, correspondingly, part of the ordinarily developing human cognitive phenotype, emerging early and reliably in ontogeny. In other words, we identify distinctive features of our species' social ecology to explain how and why humans, and only humans, evolved the cognitive capacities that, in turn, lead to massive diversity and open-endedness in means and modes of expression. Language use is but one of these modes of expression, albeit one of manifestly high importance. We make cross-species comparisons, describe how the relevant cognitive capacities can evolve in a gradual manner, and survey how unleashed expression facilitates not only language use, but also novel behaviour in many other domains too, focusing on the examples of joint action, teaching, punishment, and art, all of which are ubiquitous in human societies but relatively rare in other species. Much of this diversity derives from graded aspects of human expression, which can be used to satisfy informative intentions in creative and new ways. We aim to help reorient cognitive pragmatics, as a phenomenon that is not a supplement to linguistic communication and on the periphery of language science, but rather the foundation of the many of the most distinctive features of human behaviour, society, and culture.
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15
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Wechsler D, Bascompte J. Cheating in mutualisms promotes diversity and complexity. Am Nat 2021; 199:393-405. [DOI: 10.1086/717865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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16
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Zeng Y, Wiens JJ. Do mutualistic interactions last longer than antagonistic interactions? Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211457. [PMID: 34493078 PMCID: PMC8424312 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1457] [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: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Species interactions are crucial and ubiquitous across organisms. However, it remains unclear how long these interactions last over macroevolutionary timescales, and whether the nature of these interactions (mutualistic versus antagonistic) helps predict how long they persist. Here, we estimated the ages of diverse species interactions, based on phylogenies from 60 studies spanning the Tree of Life. We then tested if mutualistic interactions persist longer than antagonistic interactions. We found that the oldest mutualisms were significantly older than the oldest antagonisms across all organisms, and within plants, fungi, bacteria and protists. Surprisingly, this pattern was reversed in animals, with the oldest mutualisms significantly younger than the oldest antagonisms. We also found that many mutualisms were maintained for hundreds of millions of years (some greater than 1 billion years), providing strong evidence for the long-term stability of mutualisms and for niche conservatism in species interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichao Zeng
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - John J. Wiens
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
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17
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AL-Kahtani SN, Bienefeld K. Strength surpasses relatedness-queen larva selection in honeybees. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0255151. [PMID: 34351980 PMCID: PMC8341480 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255151] [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: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Nepotism was initially theoretically predicted and sometimes found to trigger the selection of specific larvae to be reared as queens in the honeybee Apis mellifera. Although the importance of selecting the next queen for a colony indicates that it should not occur at random, nepotism is increasingly considered unlikely in eusocial insect societies. Different prenatal maternal supplies of embryos have been found to impact fitness in many other species and therefore could be a possible trigger underlying the likelihood of being raised as a queen. We offered related or unrelated larvae from six colonies originating from eggs of different weights for emergency queen rearing in queenless units with worker bees from these six colonies. We showed that nurses did not significantly prefer related larvae during queen rearing, which confirms the theory that different relatedness-driven kin preferences within a colony cannot be converted into a colony-level decision. However, we found that larvae originating from heavier eggs were significantly preferred for queen breeding. Studies on other species have shown that superior maternal supply is important for later reproductive success. However, we did observe tendencies in the expected direction (e.g., queens that hatched from heavier eggs had both more ovarioles and a shorter preoviposition period). Nevertheless, our data do not allow for a significant conclusion that the selection of larvae from heavy eggs truly offers fitness advantages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saad Naser AL-Kahtani
- Institute for Bee Research Hohen Neuendorf & Humboldt University Berlin, Hohen Neuendorf, Germany
- Department of Arid Land Agriculture, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Kaspar Bienefeld
- Institute for Bee Research Hohen Neuendorf & Humboldt University Berlin, Hohen Neuendorf, Germany
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18
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The evolution of parasitism from mutualism in wasps pollinating the fig, Ficus microcarpa, in Yunnan Province, China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021148118. [PMID: 34341115 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021148118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory identifies factors that can undermine the evolutionary stability of mutualisms. However, theory's relevance to mutualism stability in nature is controversial. Detailed comparative studies of parasitic species that are embedded within otherwise mutualistic taxa (e.g., fig pollinator wasps) can identify factors that potentially promote or undermine mutualism stability. We describe results from behavioral, morphological, phylogenetic, and experimental studies of two functionally distinct, but closely related, Eupristina wasp species associated with the monoecious host fig, Ficus microcarpa, in Yunnan Province, China. One (Eupristina verticillata) is a competent pollinator exhibiting morphologies and behaviors consistent with observed seed production. The other (Eupristina sp.) lacks these traits, and dramatically reduces both female and male reproductive success of its host. Furthermore, observations and experiments indicate that individuals of this parasitic species exhibit greater relative fitness than the pollinators, in both indirect competition (individual wasps in separate fig inflorescences) and direct competition (wasps of both species within the same fig). Moreover, phylogenetic analyses suggest that these two Eupristina species are sister taxa. By the strictest definition, the nonpollinating species represents a "cheater" that has descended from a beneficial pollinating mutualist. In sharp contrast to all 15 existing studies of actively pollinated figs and their wasps, the local F. microcarpa exhibit no evidence for host sanctions that effectively reduce the relative fitness of wasps that do not pollinate. We suggest that the lack of sanctions in the local hosts promotes the loss of specialized morphologies and behaviors crucial for pollination and, thereby, the evolution of cheating.
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19
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Ocampo‐Sandoval M, Arizmendi‐Arriaga MDC, Olson ME, Sánchez‐González LA. Geographical variation in the bill–flower fit in a plant–pollinator interaction in western Mexico. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marisol Ocampo‐Sandoval
- Depto. de Biología Evolutiva Facultad de Ciencias Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera” Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Tlalnepantla México
| | | | - Mark E. Olson
- Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Tlalnepantla México
| | - Luis A. Sánchez‐González
- Depto. de Biología Evolutiva Facultad de Ciencias Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera” Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Tlalnepantla México
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20
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Afkhami ME, Friesen ML, Stinchcombe JR. Multiple Mutualism Effects generate synergistic selection and strengthen fitness alignment in the interaction between legumes, rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1824-1834. [PMID: 34110064 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Nearly all organisms participate in multiple mutualisms, and complementarity within these complex interactions can result in synergistic fitness effects. However, it remains largely untested how multiple mutualisms impact eco-evolutionary dynamics in interacting species. We tested how multiple microbial mutualists-N-fixing bacteria and mycorrrhizal fungi-affected selection and heritability of traits in their shared host plant (Medicago truncatula), as well as fitness alignment between partners. Our results demonstrate for the first time that multiple mutualisms synergistically affect the selection and heritability of host traits and enhance fitness alignment between mutualists. Specifically, we found interaction with multiple microbial symbionts doubled the strength of natural selection on a plant architectural trait, resulted in 2- to 3-fold higher heritability of plant reproductive success, and more than doubled fitness alignment between N-fixing bacteria and plants. These findings show synergism generated by multiple mutualisms extends to key components of microevolutionary change, emphasising the importance of multiple mutualism effects on evolutionary trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Pathology, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - John R Stinchcombe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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21
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Van Goor J, Piatscheck F, Houston DD, Nason JD. Differential effects of nematode infection on pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps: Can shared antagonism provide net benefits to a mutualism? J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1764-1775. [PMID: 33934356 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Species pairs that form mutualistic associations are also components of broader organismal community networks. These interaction networks have shaped the evolution of individual mutualisms through interspecific interactions ranging from secondarily mutualistic to intensely antagonistic. Our understanding of this complex context remains limited because characterizing the impacts of species interacting with focal mutualists is often difficult. How is the fitness of mutualists impacted by the co-occurring interactive network of community associates? We investigated this context using a model interaction network comprised of a fig and fig wasp mutualist, eight non-pollinating fig wasp (NPFW) antagonists/commensals and a nematode previously believed to be associated only with the pollinator wasp mutualist. Through repeated sampling and field observations, we characterized the ecological roles of these mutualist-associated organisms to identify key antagonists. We then investigated how potential nematode infection of NPFWs could impact wasp survival across key life stages and, in turn, inferred how this influences the fitness of the fig-pollinator mutualists. Unexpectedly, we found all Ficus petiolaris-associated NPFWs to be the targets for nematode infection, with infection levels sometimes exceeding that of pollinators. Experimental data collected for the most abundant NPFW species suggest that nematode infection significantly reduces their longevity. Further, comparisons of nematode loads for emerging and successfully arriving NPFWs suggest that infection severely limits their dispersal ability. Through these observations, we conclude that this infection could impact NPFWs more severely than either mutualistic partner, suggesting a novel role of density-dependent facultative mutualism between figs, pollinator wasps and the nematode. This antagonist-mediated suppression of other network antagonists may present an ecologically common mechanism through which antagonists can present net benefits for mutualists' fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Van Goor
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Finn Piatscheck
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - Derek D Houston
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.,Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Western Colorado University, Gunnison, CO, USA
| | - John D Nason
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
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22
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23
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Sato M, Sasaki A. Evolution and Maintenance of Mutualism between Tubeworms and Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacteria. Am Nat 2021; 197:351-365. [PMID: 33625963 DOI: 10.1086/712780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTubeworms and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria mutualism, an essential part of the chemosynthetic ecosystem in the deep sea, has several puzzling features. After acquiring sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from the environment, tubeworms become fully dependent on their symbiont bacteria for nutrient intake. Once ingested by the tubeworm larva, no additional symbionts join from the environment, and no symbionts are released until the host tubeworm dies. Despite this very narrow window to acquire symbionts, some tubeworm species can live for >200 years. Such a restricted release of symbionts could lead to a shortage of symbiont bacteria in the environment without which tubeworms could not survive. In our study, we examine the conditions under which this mutualism can persist and whether the host mortality rate evolves toward a low value using a mathematical model for the tubeworm-symbiont bacteria system. Our model reveals that mutualism can persist only when the host mortality rate is within an intermediate range. With cohabitation of multiple symbionts strains in the same host, host mortality rate evolves toward a low value without driving either host or symbiont to extinction when competition among symbionts is weak and their growth within a host is slow. We also find the parameter conditions that lead to unlimited evolutionary escalation of host mortality rate toward coextinction of both tubeworms and symbionts populations (evolutionary double suicide). The generality of this evolutionary fragility in obligate mutualistic systems as well as the contrasting evolutionary robustness in host-parasite systems are discussed.
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24
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Senthilnathan A, Gavrilets S. Ecological Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Coevolutionary Systems. Am Nat 2021; 197:1-17. [PMID: 33417526 DOI: 10.1086/711886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe patterns and outcomes of coevolution are expected to depend on intraspecific trait variation. Various evolutionary factors can change this variation in time. As a result, modeling coevolutionary processes solely in terms of mean trait values may not be sufficient; one may need to study the dynamics of the whole trait distribution. Here, we develop a theoretical framework for studying the effects of evolving intraspecific variation in two-species coevolutionary systems. In particular, we build and study mathematical models of competition, exploiter-victim interactions, and mutualism in which the strength of within- and between-species interactions depends on the difference in continuously varying traits between individuals reproducing asexually. We use analytical approximations based on the invasion analysis and supplement them with numerical results. We find that intraspecific variation can be maintained if stabilizing selection is weak in at least one species. When intraspecific variation is maintained under competition or mutualism, coexistence in a stable equilibrium is promoted when between-species interactions mostly happen between individuals similar in trait values. In contrast, in exploiter-victim systems coexistence typically requires strong interactions between dissimilar exploiters and victims. We show that trait distributions can become multimodal. Our approach and results contribute to the understanding of the ecological consequences of intraspecific variation in coevolutionary systems by exploring its effects on population densities and trait distributions.
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25
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Vidal MC, Segraves KA. Coevolved mutualists experience fluctuating costs and benefits over time. Evolution 2021; 75:219-230. [PMID: 33368192 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how mutualisms persist over time requires investigations of how mutualist species coevolve and adapt to the interaction. In particular, the key factors in the evolution of mutualisms are the costs and benefits mutualists experience during the interaction. Here, we used a yeast nutritional mutualism to test how mutualists coevolve and adapt in an obligate mutualism. We allowed two yeast mutualists to evolve together for 15 weeks (about 150 generations), and then we tested if the mutualists had coevolved using time-shift assays. We also examined two mutualistic traits associated with the costs and benefits: resource use efficiency and commodity production. We found that the mutualists quickly coevolved. Furthermore, the changes in benefits and costs were nonlinear and varied with evolutionary changes occurring in the mutualist partner. One mutualist initially evolved to reduce mutualistic commodity production and increase efficiency in mutualistic resource use; however, this negatively affected its mutualist partner that evolved reduced commodity production and resource use efficiency. As a result, the former increased commodity production, resulting in an increase in benefits for its partner. The quick, nonlinear, and asynchronous evolution of yeast mutualists closely resembles antagonistic coevolutionary patterns, supporting the view that mutualisms should be considered as reciprocal exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra C Vidal
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244.,Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 02125
| | - Kari A Segraves
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244
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26
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Cai J, Tan T, Joshua Chan SH. Predicting Nash equilibria for microbial metabolic interactions. Bioinformatics 2020; 36:5649-5655. [PMID: 33315094 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa1014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Microbial metabolic interactions impact ecosystems, human health and biotechnology profoundly. However, their determination remains elusive, invoking an urgent need for predictive models seamlessly integrating metabolism with evolutionary principles that shape community interactions. RESULTS Inspired by the evolutionary game theory, we formulated a bi-level optimization framework termed NECom for which any feasible solutions are Nash equilibria of microbial community metabolic models with/without an outer-level (community) objective function. Distinct from discrete matrix games, NECom models the continuous interdependent strategy space of metabolic fluxes. We showed that NECom successfully predicted several classical games in the context of metabolic interactions that were falsely or incompletely predicted by existing methods, including prisoner's dilemma, snowdrift and cooperation. The improved capability originates from the novel formulation to prevent 'forced altruism' hidden in previous static algorithms while allowing for sensing all potential metabolite exchanges to determine evolutionarily favorable interactions between members, a feature missing in dynamic methods. The results provided insights into why mutualism is favorable despite seemingly costly cross-feeding metabolites and demonstrated similarities and differences between games in the continuous metabolic flux space and matrix games. NECom was then applied to a reported algae-yeast co-culture system that shares typical cross-feeding features of lichen, a model system of mutualism. 488 growth conditions corresponding to 3,221 experimental data points were simulated. Without training any parameters using the data, NECom is more predictive of species' growth rates given uptake rates compared with flux balance analysis with an overall 63.5% and 81.7% reduction in root-mean-square error for the two species. AVAILABILITY Simulation code and data are available at https://github.com/Jingyi-Cai/NECom.git. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Cai
- National Energy R&D Center for Biorefinery, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Tianwei Tan
- National Energy R&D Center for Biorefinery, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - S H Joshua Chan
- Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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27
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Yule KM, Johnson CA, Bronstein JL, Ferrière R. Interactions among interactions: The dynamical consequences of antagonism between mutualists. J Theor Biol 2020; 501:110334. [PMID: 32492378 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Species often interact with multiple mutualistic partners that provide functionally different benefits and/or that interact with different life-history stages. These functionally different partners, however, may also interact directly with one another in other ways, indirectly altering net outcomes and persistence of the mutualistic system as a whole. We present a population dynamical model of a three-species system involving antagonism between species sharing a mutualist partner species with two explicit life stages. We find that, regardless of whether the antagonism is predatory or non-consumptive, persistence of the shared mutualist is possible only under a restrictive set of conditions. As the rate of antagonism between the species sharing the mutualist increases, indirect rather than direct interactions increasingly determine species' densities and sometimes result in complex, oscillatory dynamics for all species. Surprisingly, persistence of the mutualistic system is particularly dependent upon the degree to which each of the two mutualistic interactions is specialized. Our work investigates a novel mechanism by which changing ecological conditions can lead to extinction of mutualist partners and provides testable predictions regarding the interactive roles of mutualism and antagonism in net outcomes for species' densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey M Yule
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Christopher A Johnson
- Center for Adaptation to a Changing Environment, Institute of Integrative Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich Universitäetstrasse 16, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Judith L Bronstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Régis Ferrière
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Eco-Evo-Math Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France; International Research Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Studies (iGLOBES), University of Arizona, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences & Lettres University, 845 N Park Avenue, AZ 85721, USA
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28
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Abs E, Leman H, Ferrière R. A multi-scale eco-evolutionary model of cooperation reveals how microbial adaptation influences soil decomposition. Commun Biol 2020; 3:520. [PMID: 32958833 PMCID: PMC7505970 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01198-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) is a critical process in global terrestrial ecosystems. SOM decomposition is driven by micro-organisms that cooperate by secreting costly extracellular (exo-)enzymes. This raises a fundamental puzzle: the stability of microbial decomposition in spite of its evolutionary vulnerability to “cheaters”—mutant strains that reap the benefits of cooperation while paying a lower cost. Resolving this puzzle requires a multi-scale eco-evolutionary model that captures the spatio-temporal dynamics of molecule-molecule, molecule-cell, and cell-cell interactions. The analysis of such a model reveals local extinctions, microbial dispersal, and limited soil diffusivity as key factors of the evolutionary stability of microbial decomposition. At the scale of whole-ecosystem function, soil diffusivity influences the evolution of exo-enzyme production, which feeds back to the average SOM decomposition rate and stock. Microbial adaptive evolution may thus be an important factor in the response of soil carbon fluxes to global environmental change. Abs et al. develop a multi-scale model to explain the evolution of microbial cooperation driving the decomposition of soil organic matter. Their model shows that the evolutionary stability of decomposition depends on a combination of local extinctions, microbial dispersal, and limited soil diffusivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Abs
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. .,Interdisciplinary Center for Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Studies (iGLOBES), CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences & Lettres University, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
| | - Hélène Leman
- Numed Inria team, UMPA UMR 5669, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Lyon, 69364, France. .,Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas, Guanajuato, 36240, Mexico.
| | - Régis Ferrière
- Interdisciplinary Center for Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Studies (iGLOBES), CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences & Lettres University, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. .,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. .,Institut de Biologie (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences & Lettres University, CNRS, INSERM, Paris, 75005, France.
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29
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Abstract
Plant pathogens are a critical component of the microbiome that exist as populations undergoing ecological and evolutionary processes within their host. Many aspects of virulence rely on social interactions mediated through multiple forms of public goods, including quorum-sensing signals, exoenzymes, and effectors. Virulence and disease progression involve life-history decisions that have social implications with large effects on both host and microbe fitness, such as the timing of key transitions. Considering the molecular basis of sequential stages of plant-pathogen interactions highlights many opportunities for pathogens to cheat, and there is evidence for ample variation in virulence. Case studies reveal systems where cheating has been demonstrated and others where it is likely occurring. Harnessing the social interactions of pathogens, along with leveraging novel sensing and -omics technologies to understand microbial fitness in the field, will enable us to better manage plant microbiomes in the interest of plant health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Pathology and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, USA;
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30
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Nguyen PL, van Baalen M. On the difficult evolutionary transition from the free-living lifestyle to obligate symbiosis. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235811. [PMID: 32730262 PMCID: PMC7392539 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Obligate symbiosis evolved from free-living individuals most likely via the intermediate stage of facultative symbiosis. However, why should facultative symbionts, who can live independently but also benefit from their partners if these are available, give up this best of both worlds? Using the adaptive dynamics approach, we analyse a simple model, focusing on one partner of the symbiosis, to gain more insight into the selective forces that make individuals forgo the ability to reproduce in the free-living state. Our results suggest that, similar to the parasitism-mutualism continuum, the free-living way of life and obligate symbiosis are two extremes of a continuum of the ability to reproduce independently of a partner. More importantly, facultative symbiosis should be the rule as for many parameter combinations completely giving up independent reproduction or adopting a pure free-living strategy is not so easy. We also show that if host encounter comes at a cost, individuals that put more effort into increasing the chances to meet with their partners are more likely to give up the ability to reproduce independently. Finally, our model does not specify the ecological interactions between hosts and symbionts but we discuss briefly how the ecological nature of an interaction can influence the transition from facultative to obligate symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Minus van Baalen
- Institut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieur, Paris, France
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31
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Preussger D, Giri S, Muhsal LK, Oña L, Kost C. Reciprocal Fitness Feedbacks Promote the Evolution of Mutualistic Cooperation. Curr Biol 2020; 30:3580-3590.e7. [PMID: 32707067 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Mutually beneficial interactions are ubiquitous in nature and have played a pivotal role for the evolution of life on earth. However, the factors facilitating their emergence remain poorly understood. Here, we address this issue both experimentally and by mathematical modeling using cocultures of auxotrophic strains of Escherichia coli, whose growth depends on a reciprocal exchange of amino acids. Coevolving auxotrophic pairs in a spatially heterogeneous environment for less than 150 generations transformed the initial interaction that was merely based on an exchange of metabolic byproducts into a costly metabolic cooperation, in which both partners increased the amounts of metabolites they produced to benefit their corresponding partner. The observed changes were afforded by the formation of multicellular clusters, within which increased cooperative investments were favored by positive fitness feedbacks among interacting genotypes. Under these conditions, non-cooperative individuals were less fit than cooperative mutants. Together, our results highlight the ease with which mutualistic cooperation can evolve, suggesting similar mechanisms likely operate in natural communities. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Preussger
- Experimental Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Beutenberg Campus, Hans-Knöll Str. 8, Jena 07745, Germany; Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany
| | - Samir Giri
- Experimental Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Beutenberg Campus, Hans-Knöll Str. 8, Jena 07745, Germany; Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany
| | - Linéa K Muhsal
- Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany
| | - Leonardo Oña
- Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany
| | - Christian Kost
- Experimental Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Beutenberg Campus, Hans-Knöll Str. 8, Jena 07745, Germany; Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück 49076, Germany.
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Younginger BS, Friesen ML. Connecting signals and benefits through partner choice in plant-microbe interactions. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2020; 366:5626345. [PMID: 31730203 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnz217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Stabilizing mechanisms in plant-microbe symbioses are critical to maintaining beneficial functions, with two main classes: host sanctions and partner choice. Sanctions are currently presumed to be more effective and widespread, based on the idea that microbes rapidly evolve cheating while retaining signals matching cooperative strains. However, hosts that effectively discriminate among a pool of compatible symbionts would gain a significant fitness advantage. Using the well-characterized legume-rhizobium symbiosis as a model, we evaluate the evidence for partner choice in the context of the growing field of genomics. Empirical studies that rely upon bacteria varying only in nitrogen-fixation ability ignore host-symbiont signaling and frequently conclude that partner choice is not a robust stabilizing mechanism. Here, we argue that partner choice is an overlooked mechanism of mutualism stability and emphasize that plants need not use the microbial services provided a priori to discriminate among suitable partners. Additionally, we present a model that shows that partner choice signaling increases symbiont and host fitness in the absence of sanctions. Finally, we call for a renewed focus on elucidating the signaling mechanisms that are critical to partner choice while further aiming to understand their evolutionary dynamics in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett S Younginger
- Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, PO Box 646430, 345 Johnson Hall, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, PO Box 646430, 345 Johnson Hall, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.,Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 646420, 115 Johnson Hall, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
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33
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Perez-Lamarque B, Selosse MA, Öpik M, Morlon H, Martos F. Cheating in arbuscular mycorrhizal mutualism: a network and phylogenetic analysis of mycoheterotrophy. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 226:1822-1835. [PMID: 32022272 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Although mutualistic interactions are widespread and essential in ecosystem functioning, the emergence of uncooperative cheaters threatens their stability, unless there are some physiological or ecological mechanisms limiting interactions with cheaters. In this framework, we investigated the patterns of specialization and phylogenetic distribution of mycoheterotrophic cheaters vs noncheating autotrophic plants and their respective fungi, in a global arbuscular mycorrhizal network with> 25 000 interactions. We show that mycoheterotrophy evolved repeatedly among vascular plants, suggesting low phylogenetic constraints for plants. However, mycoheterotrophic plants are significantly more specialized than autotrophic plants, and they tend to be associated with specialized and closely related fungi. These results raise new hypotheses about the mechanisms (e.g. sanctions, or habitat filtering) that actually limit the interaction of mycoheterotrophic plants and their associated fungi with the rest of the autotrophic plants. Beyond mycorrhizal symbiosis, this unprecedented comparison of mycoheterotrophic vs autotrophic plants provides a network and phylogenetic framework to assess the presence of constraints upon cheating emergences in mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Perez-Lamarque
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP39, 57 rue Cuvier, 75 005, Paris, France
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75 005, Paris, France
| | - Marc-André Selosse
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP39, 57 rue Cuvier, 75 005, Paris, France
- Department of Plant Taxonomy and Nature Conservation, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Maarja Öpik
- University of Tartu, 40 Lai Street, 51 005, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Hélène Morlon
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75 005, Paris, France
| | - Florent Martos
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP39, 57 rue Cuvier, 75 005, Paris, France
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34
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Moderate parasitoidism on pollinators contributes to population oscillations and increases species diversity in the fig-fig wasp community. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-019-00448-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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35
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Gupta S, Borges RM. Density‐dependent fitness effects stabilize parasitic hitchhiking within a mutualism. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Satyajeet Gupta
- Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore India
| | - Renee M. Borges
- Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore India
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36
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Caves EM, Chen C, Johnsen S. The cleaner shrimp Lysmata amboinensis adjusts its behaviour towards predatory versus non-predatory clients. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190534. [PMID: 31530112 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In cleaning mutualisms, small cleaner organisms remove ectoparasites and dead skin from larger clients. Because cheating by predatory clients can result in cleaner death, cleaners should assess the potential risk of interacting with a given client and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Cleaner shrimp are small marine crustaceans that interact with numerous client fish species, many of which are potential predators. We use in situ observations of cleaner-client interactions to show that the cleaner shrimp Lysmata amboinensis adjusts several behaviours when interacting with predatory versus non-predatory clients. Predatory clients were cleaned in a significantly lower proportion of interactions than non-predatory clients, and cleaners also exhibited a leg rocking behaviour-potentially signalling their identity or intent to clean-almost exclusively toward predatory clients. Incidence of leg rocking was positively correlated with client size, and laboratory experiments showed that it can be elicited by dark visual stimuli and decreases in illumination level. Thus, cleaners clean less frequently when predation risk is higher, and may use leg rocking as a signal advertising cleaning services and directed specifically at predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M Caves
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Catherine Chen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.,Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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Bisht K, Wakeman CA. Discovery and Therapeutic Targeting of Differentiated Biofilm Subpopulations. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:1908. [PMID: 31507548 PMCID: PMC6718512 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The association of microorganisms into biofilms produces functionally organized microbial structures that promote community survival in a wide range of environments. Much like when individual cells within a multicellular organism express different genes from the same DNA blueprint, individual microbial cells located within different regions of a biofilm structure can exhibit distinct genetic programs. These spatially defined regions of physiologically differentiated cells are reminiscent of the role of tissues in multicellular organisms, with specific subpopulations in the microbial community serving defined roles to promote the overall health of the biofilm. The functions of these subpopulations are quite diverse and can range from dormant cells that can withstand antibiotic onslaughts to cells actively producing extracellular polymeric substances providing integrity to the entire community. The purpose of this review is to discuss the diverse roles of subpopulations in the stability and function of clonal biofilms, the methods for studying these subpopulations, and the ways these subpopulations can potentially be exploited for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karishma Bisht
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Catherine Ann Wakeman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
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38
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Libby E, Hébert-Dufresne L, Hosseini SR, Wagner A. Syntrophy emerges spontaneously in complex metabolic systems. PLoS Comput Biol 2019; 15:e1007169. [PMID: 31339876 PMCID: PMC6655585 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Syntrophy allows a microbial community as a whole to survive in an environment, even though individual microbes cannot. The metabolic interdependence typical of syntrophy is thought to arise from the accumulation of degenerative mutations during the sustained co-evolution of initially self-sufficient organisms. An alternative and underexplored possibility is that syntrophy can emerge spontaneously in communities of organisms that did not co-evolve. Here, we study this de novo origin of syntrophy using experimentally validated computational techniques to predict an organism’s viability from its metabolic reactions. We show that pairs of metabolisms that are randomly sampled from a large space of possible metabolism and viable on specific primary carbon sources often become viable on new carbon sources by exchanging metabolites. The same biochemical reactions that are required for viability on primary carbon sources also confer viability on novel carbon sources. Our observations highlight a new and important avenue for the emergence of metabolic adaptations and novel ecological interactions. By exchanging resources, the members of a microbial community can survive in environments where individual species cannot. Despite the abundance of such syntrophy, little is known about its evolutionary origin. The predominant hypothesis is that syntrophy arises when originally independent organisms in the same community become interdependent by accumulating mutations. In this view, syntrophy arises when organisms co-evolve. In sharp contrast we find that different metabolism can interact syntrophically without a shared evolutionary history. We show that syntrophy is an inherent and emergent property of the complex chemical reaction networks that constitute metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Libby
- Integrated Science Lab, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Laurent Hébert-Dufresne
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
- Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Sayed-Rzgar Hosseini
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Wagner
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Geoffroy F, Baumard N, André JB. Why cooperation is not running away. J Evol Biol 2019; 32:1069-1081. [PMID: 31298759 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A growing number of experimental and theoretical studies show the importance of partner choice as a mechanism to promote the evolution of cooperation, especially in humans. In this paper, we focus on the question of the precise quantitative level of cooperation that should evolve under this mechanism. When individuals compete to be chosen by others, their level of investment in cooperation evolves towards higher values, a process called competitive altruism, or runaway cooperation. Using a classic adaptive dynamics model, we first show that when the cost of changing partner is low, this runaway process can lead to a profitless escalation of cooperation. In the extreme, when partner choice is entirely frictionless, cooperation even increases up to a level where its cost entirely cancels out its benefit. That is, at evolutionary equilibrium, individuals gain the same payoff than if they had not cooperated at all. Second, importing models from matching theory in economics we, however, show that when individuals can plastically modulate their choosiness in function of their own cooperation level, partner choice stops being a runaway competition to outbid others and becomes a competition to form the most optimal partnerships. In this case, when the cost of changing partner tends towards zero, partner choice leads to the evolution of the socially optimum level of cooperation. This last result could explain the observation that human cooperation seems to be often constrained by considerations of social efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Félix Geoffroy
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution, UMR 5554 - CNRS - Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Nicolas Baumard
- Institut Jean-Nicod (CNRS - EHESS - ENS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste André
- Institut Jean-Nicod (CNRS - EHESS - ENS), Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
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40
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Yamawo A, Suzuki N, Tagawa J. Extrafloral nectary-bearing plant Mallotus japonicus uses different types of extrafloral nectaries to establish effective defense by ants. JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH 2019; 132:499-507. [PMID: 31228016 PMCID: PMC7196952 DOI: 10.1007/s10265-019-01119-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Extrafloral nectary (EFN)-bearing plants attract ants to gain protection against herbivores. Some EFN-bearing plants possess different types of EFNs, which might have different effects on ants on the plants. Mallotus japonicus (Thunb.) Muell. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) bears two types of EFNs, including a pair of large EFNs at the leaf base and many small EFNs along the leaf edge. This study aimed to determine the different roles of the two types of EFNs in biotic defense by ants. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of leaf damage on EFN production and on the distribution pattern of ants. After leaf damage, the number of leaf edge EFNs increased in the leaves first-produced. The number of ants on the leaves also increased, and the foraging area of ants extended from the leaf base to the leaf tip. An EFN-covering field experiment revealed that leaf edge EFNs had a greater effect than leaf base EFNs on ant dispersal on leaves. The extended foraging area of ants resulted in an increase of encounter or attack rate against an experimentally placed herbivore, Spodoptera litura. These results suggest that M. japonicus plants control the foraging area of ants on their leaves using different types of EFNs in response to leaf damage, thus achieving a very effective biotic defense against herbivores by ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akira Yamawo
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, Saga, 840-8502, Japan.
| | - Nobuhiko Suzuki
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, Saga, 840-8502, Japan
| | - Jun Tagawa
- Department of Biosphere-Geosphere System Science, Faculty of Informatics, Okayama University of Science, Okayama, 700-0005, Japan
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41
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Giri S, Waschina S, Kaleta C, Kost C. Defining Division of Labor in Microbial Communities. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:4712-4731. [PMID: 31260694 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In order to survive and reproduce, organisms must perform a multitude of tasks. However, trade-offs limit their ability to allocate energy and resources to all of these different processes. One strategy to solve this problem is to specialize in some traits and team up with other organisms that can help by providing additional, complementary functions. By reciprocally exchanging metabolites and/or services in this way, both parties benefit from the interaction. This phenomenon, which has been termed functional specialization or division of labor, is very common in nature and exists on all levels of biological organization. Also, microorganisms have evolved different types of synergistic interactions. However, very often, it remains unclear whether or not a given example represents a true case of division of labor. Here we aim at filling this gap by providing a list of criteria that clearly define division of labor in microbial communities. Furthermore, we propose a set of diagnostic experiments to verify whether a given interaction fulfills these conditions. In contrast to the common use of the term, our analysis reveals that both intraspecific and interspecific interactions meet the criteria defining division of labor. Moreover, our analysis identified non-cooperators of intraspecific public goods interactions as growth specialists that divide labor with conspecific producers, rather than being social parasites. By providing a conceptual toolkit, our work will help to unambiguously identify cases of division of labor and stimulate more detailed investigations of this important and widespread type of inter-microbial interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samir Giri
- Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Silvio Waschina
- Research Group Medical Systems Biology, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Christoph Kaleta
- Research Group Medical Systems Biology, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Christian Kost
- Department of Ecology, School of Biology/Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.
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Smith NW, Shorten PR, Altermann E, Roy NC, McNabb WC. The Classification and Evolution of Bacterial Cross-Feeding. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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43
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Tsoi R, Dai Z, You L. Emerging strategies for engineering microbial communities. Biotechnol Adv 2019; 37:107372. [PMID: 30880142 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
From biosynthesis to bioremediation, microbes have been engineered to address a variety of biotechnological applications. A promising direction in these endeavors is harnessing the power of designer microbial consortia that consist of multiple populations with well-defined interactions. Consortia can accomplish tasks that are difficult or potentially impossible to achieve using monocultures. Despite their potential, the rules underlying microbial community maintenance and function (i.e. the task the consortium is engineered to carry out) are not well defined, though rapid progress is being made. This limited understanding is in part due to the greater challenges associated with increased complexity when dealing with multi-population interactions. Here, we review key features and design strategies that emerge from the analysis of both natural and engineered microbial communities. These strategies can provide new insights into natural consortia and expand the toolbox available to engineers working to develop novel synthetic consortia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Tsoi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Zhuojun Dai
- Institute for Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Lingchong You
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
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44
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Sun Z, Koffel T, Stump SM, Grimaud GM, Klausmeier CA. Microbial cross-feeding promotes multiple stable states and species coexistence, but also susceptibility to cheaters. J Theor Biol 2019; 465:63-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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45
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Schepens D, Carlson RP, Heys J, Beck AE, Gedeon T. Role of resource allocation and transport in emergence of cross-feeding in microbial consortia. J Theor Biol 2019; 467:150-163. [PMID: 30707974 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Microbial communities that implement mutual cross-feeding are commonly observed in nature and with synthetic constructs in laboratory experiments. A mathematical model of competition in a chemostat is developed to investigate the role that resource allocation and transport of metabolites play in cooperation. The model contains four cell types that differ by whether they produce two, one, or none of two essential metabolites. Producing cell types may export these resources into the environment, and those that do not produce both metabolites must import the missing resource. The contribution to the emergence of a collaborative consortium of single resource producers from the transport rate of these metabolites and the type of transport used by the cell (active vs. passive) is studied. Multiple instances of bi-stability and tri-stability are observed, and the effect of the initial concentration of a non-cooperative cheater cell type on the final outcome of the competition is examined. When the cost of producing metabolites is introduced into the model, significant changes to the outcome of the competition are observed, including coexistence of multiple cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jeff Heys
- Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | | | - Tomáš Gedeon
- Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
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46
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Govaert L, Fronhofer EA, Lion S, Eizaguirre C, Bonte D, Egas M, Hendry AP, De Brito Martins A, Melián CJ, Raeymaekers JAM, Ratikainen II, Saether B, Schweitzer JA, Matthews B. Eco‐evolutionary feedbacks—Theoretical models and perspectives. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Govaert
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
- Department of Aquatic Ecology Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Dübendorf Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zürich Switzerland
| | | | - Sébastien Lion
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CNRS, IRD, EPHE Université de Montpellier Montpellier France
| | | | - Dries Bonte
- Department of Biology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Martijn Egas
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Andrew P. Hendry
- Redpath Museum and Department of Biology McGill University Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Ayana De Brito Martins
- Fish Ecology and Evolution DepartmentCenter for Ecology, Evolution and BiogeochemistryEawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Dübendorf Switzerland
| | - Carlos J. Melián
- Fish Ecology and Evolution DepartmentCenter for Ecology, Evolution and BiogeochemistryEawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Dübendorf Switzerland
| | | | - Irja I. Ratikainen
- Department of Biology Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
| | - Bernt‐Erik Saether
- Department of Biology Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Jennifer A. Schweitzer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee
| | - Blake Matthews
- Department of Aquatic Ecology Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Dübendorf Switzerland
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47
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Santos ATF, Leal LC. My plant, my rules: bodyguard ants of plants with extrafloral nectaries affect patterns of pollinator visits but not pollination success. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Thiciane F Santos
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Laura C Leal
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil
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Hare D, Blossey B, Reeve HK. Value of species and the evolution of conservation ethics. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:181038. [PMID: 30564400 PMCID: PMC6281939 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The theory of evolution by natural selection can help explain why people care about other species. Building upon recent insights that morality evolves to secure fitness advantages of cooperation, we propose that conservation ethics (moral beliefs, attitudes, intuitions and norms regarding other species) could be adaptations that support cooperation between humans and non-humans. We present eco-evolutionary cost-benefit models of conservation behaviours as interspecific cooperation (altruism towards members of other species). We find that an evolutionary rule identical in structure to Hamilton's rule (which explains altruistic behaviour towards related conspecifics) can explain altruistic behaviour towards members of other species. Natural selection will favour traits for selectively altering the success of members of other species (e.g. conserving them) in ways that maximize inclusive fitness return benefits. Conservation behaviours and the ethics that evolve to reinforce them will be sensitive to local ecological and socio-cultural conditions, so will assume different contours in different places. Difficulties accurately assessing costs and benefits provided by other species, time required to adapt to ecological and socio-cultural change and barriers to collective action could explain the apparent contradiction between the widespread existence of conservation ethics and patterns of biodiversity decline globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darragh Hare
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Bernd Blossey
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - H. Kern Reeve
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Mudd Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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Minoarivelo HO, Hui C. Alternative assembly processes from trait-mediated co-evolution in mutualistic communities. J Theor Biol 2018; 454:146-153. [PMID: 29885411 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ecological and evolutionary dynamics observed in mutualistic communities can be shaped by several mechanisms, including ecological interactions and their co-evolutionary consequences. Here we explore how intra and interspecific competition, together with mutualistic interactions, can affect community assembly through their effects on adaptive diversification and the emergence of biodiversity. To capture both ecological and evolutionary processes simultaneously, we used the adaptive dynamics approach based on a Lotka-Volterra framework and simulated the ecological dynamics of populations as well as the evolutionary dynamics of phenotypic traits. Depending on the initial trait values, two possible alternative evolutionary regimes emerged: traits evolve towards either optimal utilization of environmental resources or maximizing the benefits from mutualistic interactions. Diversification and overall biodiversity are mostly driven by frequency-dependent competition, while mutualism plays an important role in enhancing ecosystem productivity and evolutionary stability. Because different initial trait values in a community can lead to alternative evolutionary regimes, species loss and biological invasions could not only alter ecological dynamics but also push the system onto an alternative successional climax or evolutionary end point. It thus becomes essential to clarify the past evolutionary dynamics so as to draw conclusions on key community assembly processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henintsoa O Minoarivelo
- Theoretical Ecology Group, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Wits University, Gauteng 2050, South Africa.
| | - Cang Hui
- Theoretical Ecology Group, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Mathematical and Physical BioSciences, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Muizenberg 7945, South Africa
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Porter SS, Faber-Hammond J, Montoya AP, Friesen ML, Sackos C. Dynamic genomic architecture of mutualistic cooperation in a wild population of Mesorhizobium. ISME JOURNAL 2018; 13:301-315. [PMID: 30218020 PMCID: PMC6331556 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0266-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Revised: 07/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Research on mutualism seeks to explain how cooperation can be maintained when uncooperative mutants co-occur with cooperative kin. Gains and losses of the gene modules required for cooperation punctuate symbiont phylogenies and drive lifestyle transitions between cooperative symbionts and uncooperative free-living lineages over evolutionary time. Yet whether uncooperative symbionts commonly evolve from within cooperative symbiont populations or from within distantly related lineages with antagonistic or free-living lifestyles (i.e., third-party mutualism exploiters or parasites), remains controversial. We use genomic data to show that genotypes that differ in the presence or absence of large islands of symbiosis genes are common within a single wild recombining population of Mesorhizobium symbionts isolated from host tissues and are an important source of standing heritable variation in cooperation in this population. In a focal population of Mesorhizobium, uncooperative variants that lack a symbiosis island segregate at 16% frequency in nodules, and genome size and symbiosis gene number are positively correlated with cooperation. This finding contrasts with the genomic architecture of variation in cooperation in other symbiont populations isolated from host tissues in which the islands of genes underlying cooperation are ubiquitous and variation in cooperation is primarily driven by allelic substitution and individual gene gain and loss events. Our study demonstrates that uncooperative mutants within mutualist populations can comprise a significant component of genetic variation in nature, providing biological rationale for models and experiments that seek to explain the maintenance of mutualism in the face of non-cooperators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie S Porter
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA.
| | - Joshua Faber-Hammond
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA
| | - Angeliqua P Montoya
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA
| | - Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.,Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.,Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Cynthia Sackos
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA
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