1
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Clancey E, MacPherson A, Cheek RG, Mouton JC, Sillett TS, Ghalambor CK, Funk WC, Hohenlohe PA. Unraveling Adaptive Evolutionary Divergence at Microgeographic Scales. Am Nat 2024; 203:E35-E49. [PMID: 38306284 DOI: 10.1086/727723] [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: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
AbstractStriking examples of local adaptation at fine geographic scales are increasingly being documented in natural populations. However, the relative contributions made by natural selection, phenotype-dependent dispersal (when individuals disperse with respect to a habitat preference), and mate preference in generating and maintaining microgeographic adaptation and divergence are not well studied. Here, we develop quantitative genetics models and individual-based simulations (IBSs) to uncover the evolutionary forces that possibly drive microgeographic divergence. We also perform Bayesian estimation of the parameters in our IBS using empirical data on habitat-specific variation in bill morphology in the island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) to apply our models to a natural system. We find that natural selection and phenotype-dependent dispersal can generate the patterns of divergence we observe in the island scrub-jay. However, mate preference for a mate with similar bill morphology, even though observed in the species, does not play a significant role in driving divergence. Our modeling approach provides insights into phenotypic evolution occurring over small spatial scales relative to dispersal ranges, suggesting that adaptive divergence at microgeographic scales may be common across a wider range of taxa than previously thought. Our quantitative genetic models help to inform future theoretical and empirical work to determine how selection, habitat preference, and mate preference contribute to local adaptation and microgeographic divergence.
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2
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Torsekar VR, Lajmi A, Hawlena D. Prudent burrow-site selection in a landscape of fear. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230271. [PMID: 37875158 PMCID: PMC10597674 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0271] [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: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Prey should select safer breeding sites over riskier sites of otherwise similar habitats. This preference, however, may differ between conspecifics of different competitive abilities if the costs of intraspecific competition overpower the benefits of breeding in a safer site. Our goal was to test this hypothesis by exploring the burrow-site selection of different-sized desert isopods (Hemilepistus reaumuri) near and away from a scorpion burrow. We found that larger females are more likely to occupy burrows than smaller females, regardless of whether these burrows were close or away from scorpion burrows. We also found that larger females stayed longer in safer burrows and that smaller females tended to stay longer in riskier sites even in the absence of direct competition, implying a prudent burrow-site selection. We found no association between male size and the tendency to occupy or to spend time in a burrow, regardless of whether these burrows were close or away from scorpion burrows. Our work highlights the need to consider intraspecific competition when exploring how predators regulate prey behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viraj R. Torsekar
- Risk-Management Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Theoretical Ecology and Evolution Lab, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | - Aparna Lajmi
- Institute of Evolution, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Dror Hawlena
- Risk-Management Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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3
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Bonier F. Future directions in urban endocrinology - The effects of endocrine plasticity on urban tolerance. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2023; 565:111886. [PMID: 36775244 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.111886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
After twenty years of studies of endocrine traits in animals living in cities, the field of urban endocrinology has built a robust literature including numerous studies looking for signatures of the effects of urban living, usually in mean circulating hormone concentrations. The findings of this past research have primarily demonstrated the absence of any generalizable endocrine responses to city life. In this opinion paper, I suggest that a strong route forward would include investigations of the role of variation in endocrine plasticity in determining the degree to which organisms tolerate urban challenges (i.e., urban tolerance). Achieving this research aim will require creative experimental and comparative studies, consideration of alternative study systems, and teasing apart of sources of variation in plastic phenotypes (plasticity, sorting, and contemporary evolution). Insight into the role of endocrine plasticity in influencing urban tolerance could help us better understand and predict impacts of expanding urbanization on biodiversity across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frances Bonier
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
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4
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Edelaar P, Otsuka J, Luque VJ. A generalised approach to the study and understanding of adaptive evolution. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:352-375. [PMID: 36223883 PMCID: PMC10091731 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary theory has made large impacts on our understanding and management of the world, in part because it has been able to incorporate new data and new insights successfully. Nonetheless, there is currently a tension between certain biological phenomena and mainstream evolutionary theory. For example, how does the inheritance of molecular epigenetic changes fit into mainstream evolutionary theory? Is niche construction an evolutionary process? Is local adaptation via habitat choice also adaptive evolution? These examples suggest there is scope (and perhaps even a need) to broaden our views on evolution. We identify three aspects whose incorporation into a single framework would enable a more generalised approach to the understanding and study of adaptive evolution: (i) a broadened view of extended phenotypes; (ii) that traits can respond to each other; and (iii) that inheritance can be non-genetic. We use causal modelling to integrate these three aspects with established views on the variables and mechanisms that drive and allow for adaptive evolution. Our causal model identifies natural selection and non-genetic inheritance of adaptive parental responses as two complementary yet distinct and independent drivers of adaptive evolution. Both drivers are compatible with the Price equation; specifically, non-genetic inheritance of parental responses is captured by an often-neglected component of the Price equation. Our causal model is general and simplified, but can be adjusted flexibly in terms of variables and causal connections, depending on the research question and/or biological system. By revisiting the three examples given above, we show how to use it as a heuristic tool to clarify conceptual issues and to help design empirical research. In contrast to a gene-centric view defining evolution only in terms of genetic change, our generalised approach allows us to see evolution as a change in the whole causal structure, consisting not just of genetic but also of phenotypic and environmental variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pim Edelaar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013, Seville, Spain.,Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Thunbergsvägen 2, SE-75238, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jun Otsuka
- Department of Philosophy, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Hommachi, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, 1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Tokyo, 103-0027, Japan
| | - Victor J Luque
- Department of Philosophy, University of Valencia, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez, 30, 46010, València, Spain
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5
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Regan CE, Beck KB, McMahon K, Crofts S, Firth JA, Sheldon BC. Social phenotype-dependent selection of social environment in wild great and blue tits: an experimental study. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221602. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that individuals actively assess the match between their phenotype and their environment when making habitat choice decisions (so-called matching habitat choice). However, to our knowledge, no studies have considered how the social environment may interact with social phenotype in determining habitat choice, despite habitat choice being an inherently social process and growing evidence for individual variation in sociability. We conducted an experiment using wild great and blue tits to understand how birds integrate their social phenotype and social environment when choosing where and how to feed. We used programmable feeders to (i) record social interactions and estimate social phenotype, and (ii) experimentally manipulate the local density experienced by birds of differing social phenotype. By tracking feeder usage, we estimated how social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder choice and feeding behaviour. Both social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder usage, but a bird's decision to remain in a particular social environment did not depend on their social phenotype. By contrast, for feeding behaviour, responses to the social environment depended on social phenotype. Our results provide rare evidence of matching habitat choice and shed light on the dependence of habitat choice on between-individual differences in social phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte E. Regan
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Kristina B. Beck
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Keith McMahon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Sam Crofts
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Josh A. Firth
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Ben C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
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6
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Cheek RG, Forester BR, Salerno PE, Trumbo DR, Chen N, Sillett TS, Morrison SA, Ghalambor CK, Funk WC. Habitat-linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island-endemic bird species. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:2830-2846. [PMID: 35315161 PMCID: PMC9325526 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the potential mechanisms driving habitat-linked genetic divergence within a bird species endemic to a single 250 km2 island. The island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) exhibits microgeographic divergence in bill morphology across pine-oak ecotones on Santa Cruz Island, California (USA) similar to adaptive differences described in mainland congeners over much larger geographic scales. To test whether individuals exhibit genetic differentiation related to habitat type and divergence in bill length, we genotyped over 3,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 123 adult island scrub-jay males from across Santa Cruz Island using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). Neutral landscape genomic analyses revealed that genome-wide genetic differentiation was primarily related to geographic distance and differences in habitat composition. We also found 168 putatively adaptive loci associated with habitat type using multivariate redundancy analysis (RDA) while controlling for spatial effects. Finally, two genome-wide association analyses revealed a polygenic basis to variation in bill length with multiple loci detected in or near genes known to affect bill morphology in other birds. Our findings support the hypothesis that divergent selection at microgeographic scales can cause adaptive divergence in the presence of ongoing gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca G Cheek
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Brenna R Forester
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Patricia E Salerno
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb), Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Daryl R Trumbo
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Nancy Chen
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - T Scott Sillett
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | | | - Cameron K Ghalambor
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
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7
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Gervais L, Morellet N, David I, Hewison AJM, Réale D, Goulard M, Chaval Y, Lourtet B, Cargnelutti B, Merlet J, Quéméré E, Pujol B. Quantifying heritability and estimating evolutionary potential in the wild when individuals that share genes also share environments. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1239-1250. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Gervais
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
- PSL Université Paris : EHPE‐UPVD‐CNRS Perpignan France
| | - N. Morellet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - I. David
- Université de Toulouse Castanet Tolosan France
| | - A. J. M. Hewison
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - D. Réale
- Département des sciences biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal QC Canada
| | - M. Goulard
- Université de Toulouse Castanet‐Tolosan France
| | - Y. Chaval
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - B. Lourtet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - B. Cargnelutti
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - J. Merlet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
| | - E. Quéméré
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, Castanet‐Tolosan, France ZA France
- INRAE, DECOD (Ecosystem Dynamics and Sustainability), Institut Agro, IFREMER Rennes France
| | - B. Pujol
- PSL Université Paris : EHPE‐UPVD‐CNRS Perpignan France
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8
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Cueva Del Castillo R, González-Zertuche M, Ramírez-Delgado VH. Interpopulation variation in sexual dichromatism in the Neotropical grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Cryptic coloration is an adaptative defensive mechanism against predators. Colour patterns appear cryptic through general background coloration matching or disruptive coloration. Disruptive coloration might evolve in visually heterogeneous microhabitats, whereas background matching could be favoured in chromatically homogeneous microhabitats. In this study, we used digital photography to explore the potential use of disruptive coloration and background matching in males and females of the Neotropical grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens in different habitats. We found chromatic differences in three habitats and sexual dichromatism that might be explained by local adaptation. Although females and males were sexually dichromatic, interpopulation differences were found in the magnitude of the sexual dichromatism. In a highly contrasting environment, both males and females seemed to follow a disruptive strategy, whereas in a heterogeneous environments males and females followed different colour cryptic strategies, in which males were more disruptive than females, and females exhibited high background matching with fewer disruptive elements. Selective predation in different microhabitats and differences in mobility between the sexes might explain the colour pattern divergence between females and males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Cueva Del Castillo
- UBIPRO, Laboratorio de Ecología, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 314, Tlalnepantla, Estatado de México, CP, Mexico
| | - Miguel González-Zertuche
- UBIPRO, Laboratorio de Ecología, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 314, Tlalnepantla, Estatado de México, CP, Mexico
| | - Víctor Hugo Ramírez-Delgado
- UBIPRO, Laboratorio de Ecología, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 314, Tlalnepantla, Estatado de México, CP, Mexico
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9
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Leveau L. United colours of the city: A review about urbanisation impact on animal colours. AUSTRAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Leveau
- Departamento de Ecología Genética y Evolución Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad de Buenos Aires – IEGEBA (CONICET – UBA) Ciudad Universitaria, Pab 2, Piso 4 Buenos Aires1426Argentina
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10
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Axelrod CJ, Laberge F, Robinson BW. Interspecific and intraspecific comparisons reveal the importance of evolutionary context in sunfish brain form divergence. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:639-652. [PMID: 33484022 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13763] [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: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Habitats can select for specialized phenotypic characteristics in animals. However, the consistency of evolutionary responses to particular environmental conditions remains difficult to predict. One trait of great ecological importance is brain form, which is expected to vary between habitats that differ in their cognitive requirements. Here, we compared divergence in brain form and oral jaw size across a common littoral-pelagic ecological axis in two sunfishes at both the intraspecific and interspecific levels. Brain form differed between habitats at every level of comparison; however, divergence was inconsistent, despite consistent differences in oral jaw size. Pumpkinseed and bluegill species differed in cerebellum, optic tectum and olfactory bulb size. These differences are consistent with a historical ecological divergence because they did not manifest between littoral and pelagic ecotypes within either species, suggesting constraints on changes to these regions over short evolutionary time scales. There were also differences in brain form between conspecific ecotypes, but they were inconsistent between species. Littoral pumpkinseed had larger brains than their pelagic counterpart, and littoral bluegill had smaller telencephalons than their pelagic counterpart. Inconsistent brain form divergence between conspecific ecotypes of pumpkinseed and bluegill sharing a common littoral-pelagic habitat axis suggests that contemporary ecological conditions and historic evolutionary context interact to influence evolutionary changes in brain form in fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb J Axelrod
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Frédéric Laberge
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Beren W Robinson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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11
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Theodorou P, Baltz LM, Paxton RJ, Soro A. Urbanization is associated with shifts in bumblebee body size, with cascading effects on pollination. Evol Appl 2021; 14:53-68. [PMID: 33519956 PMCID: PMC7819558 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is a global phenomenon with major effects on species, the structure of community functional traits and ecological interactions. Body size is a key species trait linked to metabolism, life-history and dispersal as well as a major determinant of ecological networks. Here, using a well-replicated urban-rural sampling design in Central Europe, we investigate the direction of change of body size in response to urbanization in three common bumblebee species, Bombus lapidarius, Bombus pascuorum and Bombus terrestris, and potential knock-on effects on pollination service provision. We found foragers of B. terrestris to be larger in cities and the body size of all species to be positively correlated with road density (albeit at different, species-specific scales); these are expected consequences of habitat fragmentation resulting from urbanization. High ambient temperature at sampling was associated with both a small body size and an increase in variation of body size in all three species. At the community level, the community-weighted mean body size and its variation increased with urbanization. Urbanization had an indirect positive effect on pollination services through its effects not only on flower visitation rate but also on community-weighted mean body size and its variation. We discuss the eco-evolutionary implications of the effect of urbanization on body size, and the relevance of these findings for the key ecosystem service of pollination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panagiotis Theodorou
- General ZoologyInstitute of BiologyMartin Luther University Halle‐WittenbergHalle (Saale)Germany
| | - Lucie M. Baltz
- General ZoologyInstitute of BiologyMartin Luther University Halle‐WittenbergHalle (Saale)Germany
| | - Robert J. Paxton
- General ZoologyInstitute of BiologyMartin Luther University Halle‐WittenbergHalle (Saale)Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Antonella Soro
- General ZoologyInstitute of BiologyMartin Luther University Halle‐WittenbergHalle (Saale)Germany
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12
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Peralta-Rincón JR, Aoulad FZ, Prado A, Edelaar P. Phenotype-dependent habitat choice is too weak to cause assortative mating between Drosophila melanogaster strains differing in light sensitivity. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234223. [PMID: 33057335 PMCID: PMC7561098 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Matching habitat choice is gaining attention as a mechanism for maintaining biodiversity and driving speciation. It revolves around the idea that individuals select the habitat in which they perceive to obtain greater fitness based on a prior evaluation of their local performance across heterogeneous environments. This results in individuals with similar ecologically relevant traits converging to the same patches, and hence it could indirectly cause assortative mating when mating occurs in those patches. White-eyed mutants of Drosophila fruit flies have a series of disadvantages compared to wild type flies, including a poorer performance under bright light. It has been previously reported that, when given a choice, wild type Drosophila simulans preferred a brightly lit habitat while white-eyed mutants occupied a dimly lit one. This spatial segregation allowed the eye color polymorphism to be maintained for several generations, whereas normally it is quickly replaced by the wild type. Here we compare the habitat choice decisions of white-eyed and wild type flies in another species, D. melanogaster. We released groups of flies in a light gradient and recorded their departure and settlement behavior. Departure depended on sex and phenotype, but not on the light conditions of the release point. Settlement depended on sex, and on the interaction between phenotype and light conditions of the point of settlement. Nonetheless, simulations showed that this differential habitat use by the phenotypes would only cause a minimal degree of assortative mating in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Ramón Peralta-Rincón
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Fatima Zohra Aoulad
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Antonio Prado
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Pim Edelaar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
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13
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Mortier F, Bonte D. Trapped by habitat choice: Ecological trap emerging from adaptation in an evolutionary experiment. Evol Appl 2020; 13:1877-1887. [PMID: 32908592 PMCID: PMC7463321 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals moving in heterogeneous environments can improve their fitness considerably by habitat choice. Induction by past exposure, genetic preference alleles and comparison of local performances can all drive this decision-making process. Despite the importance of habitat choice mechanisms for eco-evolutionary dynamics in metapopulations, we lack insights on the connection of their cue with its effect on fitness optimization. We selected a laboratory population of Tetranychus urticae Koch (two-spotted spider mite) according to three distinct host-choice selection treatments for ten generations. Additionally, we tested the presence of induced habitat choice mechanisms and quantified the adaptive value of a choice before and after ten generations of artificial selection in order to gather insight on the habitat choice mechanisms at play. Unexpectedly, we observed no evolution of habitat choice in our experimental system: the initial choice of cucumber over tomato remained. However, this choice became maladaptive as tomato ensured a higher fitness at the end of the experiment. Furthermore, a noteworthy proportion of induced habitat choice can modify this ecological trap depending on past environments. Despite abundant theory and applied relevance, we provide the first experimental evidence of an emerging trap. The maladaptive choice also illustrates the constraints habitat choice has in rescuing populations endangered by environmental challenges or in pest control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik Mortier
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit Department of Biology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Dries Bonte
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit Department of Biology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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14
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Camacho C, Sanabria-Fernández A, Baños-Villalba A, Edelaar P. Experimental evidence that matching habitat choice drives local adaptation in a wild population. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200721. [PMID: 32429813 PMCID: PMC7287376 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Matching habitat choice is a unique, flexible form of habitat choice based on self-assessment of local performance. This mechanism is thought to play an important role in adaptation and population persistence in variable environments. Nevertheless, the operation of matching habitat choice in natural populations remains to be unequivocally demonstrated. We investigated the association between body colour and substrate use by ground-perching grasshoppers (Sphingonotus azurescens) in an urban mosaic of dark and pale pavements, and then performed a colour manipulation experiment to test for matching habitat choice based on camouflage through background matching. Naturally, dark and pale grasshoppers occurred mostly on pavements that provided matching backgrounds. Colour-manipulated individuals recapitulated this pattern, such that black-painted and white-painted grasshoppers recaptured after the treatment aggregated together on the dark asphalt and pale pavement, respectively. Our study demonstrates that grasshoppers adjust their movement patterns to choose the substrate that confers an apparent improvement in camouflage given their individual-specific colour. More generally, our study provides unique experimental evidence of matching habitat choice as a driver of phenotype-environment correlations in natural populations and, furthermore, suggests that performance-based habitat choice might act as a mechanism of adaptation to changing environments, including human-modified (urban) landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Pim Edelaar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km. 1, 41013 Seville, Spain
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15
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Boyle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto ON Canada
| | - Denon Start
- Center for Population Biology University of California Davis CA USA
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16
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Maciejewski MF, Jiang C, Stuart YE, Bolnick DI. Microhabitat contributes to microgeographic divergence in threespine stickleback. Evolution 2020; 74:749-763. [PMID: 32058582 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Since the New Synthesis, most migration-selection balance theory has predicted that there should be negligible differentiation over small spatial scales (relative to dispersal), because gene flow should erode any effect of divergent selection. Nevertheless, there are classic examples of microgeographic divergence, which theory suggests can arise under specific conditions: exceptionally strong selection, phenotypic plasticity in philopatric individuals, or nonrandom dispersal. Here, we present evidence of microgeographic morphological variation within lake and stream populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). It seems reasonable to assume that a given lake or stream population of fish is well-mixed. However, we found this assumption to be untenable. We examined trap-to-trap variation in 34 morphological traits measured on stickleback from 16 lakes and 16 streams. Most traits varied appreciably among traps within populations. Both between-trap distance and microhabitat characteristics such as depth and substrate explained some of the within-population morphological variance. Microhabitat was also associated with genotype at particular loci but there was no genetic isolation by distance, implying that heritable habitat preferences may contribute to microgeographic variation. Our study adds to growing evidence that microgeographic divergence can occur across small spatial scales within individuals' daily dispersal neighborhood where gene flow is expected to be strong.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan F Maciejewski
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269
| | - Cynthia Jiang
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78705.,Long School of Medicine, UT Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, 78229
| | - Yoel E Stuart
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78705.,Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 60660
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78705
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17
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Camacho
- Dept of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana – CSIC Seville Spain
- Dept of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research (CAnMove). Lund Univ. Ecology Building SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Andrew P. Hendry
- Redpath Museum and Dept of Biology, McGill Univ. Montréal QC Canada
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18
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Laurent E, Schtickzelle N, Jacob S. Fragmentation mediates thermal habitat choice in ciliate microcosms. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192818. [PMID: 31992166 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation is expected to reduce dispersal movements among patches as a result of increased inter-patch distances. Furthermore, since habitat fragmentation is expected to raise the costs of moving among patches in the landscape, it should hamper the ability or tendency of organisms to perform informed dispersal decisions. Here, we used microcosms of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila to test experimentally whether habitat fragmentation, manipulated through the length of corridors connecting patches differing in temperature, affects habitat choice. We showed that a twofold increase of inter-patch distance can as expected hamper the ability of organisms to choose their habitat at immigration. Interestingly, it also increased their habitat choice at emigration, suggesting that organisms become choosier in their decision to either stay or leave their patch when obtaining information about neighbouring patches gets harder. This study points out that habitat fragmentation might affect not only dispersal rate but also the level of non-randomness of dispersal, with emigration and immigration decisions differently affected. These consequences of fragmentation might considerably modify ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations facing environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Laurent
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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19
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Edelaar P, Baños-Villalba A, Quevedo DP, Escudero G, Bolnick DI, Jordán-Andrade A. Biased movement drives local cryptic coloration on distinct urban pavements. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191343. [PMID: 31575366 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Explanations of how organisms might adapt to urban environments have mostly focused on divergent natural selection and adaptive plasticity. However, differential habitat choice has been suggested as an alternative. Here, we test for habitat choice in enhancing crypsis in ground-perching grasshoppers colonizing an urbanized environment, composed of a mosaic of four distinctly coloured substrates (asphalt roads and adjacent pavements). Additionally, we determine its relative importance compared to present-day natural selection and phenotypic plasticity. We found that grasshoppers are very mobile, but nevertheless approximately match the colour of their local substrate. By manipulating grasshopper colour, we confirm that grasshoppers increase the usage of those urban substrates that resemble their own colours. This selective movement actively improves crypsis. Colour divergence between grasshoppers on different substrates is not or hardly owing to present-day natural selection, because observed mortality rates are too low to counteract random substrate use. Additional experiments also show negligible contributions from plasticity in colour. Our results confirm that matching habitat choice can be an important driver of adaptation to urban environments. In general, studies should more fully incorporate that individuals are not only selective targets (i.e. selected on by the environment), but also selective agents (i.e. selecting their own environments).
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Affiliation(s)
- Pim Edelaar
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Adrian Baños-Villalba
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - David P Quevedo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013 Seville, Spain.,Department of Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation, Doñana Biological Station-Spanish Research Council (EBD-CSIC), Avenida Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Graciela Escudero
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013 Seville, Spain
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75N. Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Aída Jordán-Andrade
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km.1, 41013 Seville, Spain
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