PARALLEL EVOLUTION IN ECOLOGICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS TO PRODUCE CRYPTIC DAMSELFLY SPECIES ACROSS THE HOLARCTIC

Natural Selection on Adults Has Trait-Dependent Consequences for Juvenile Evolution in Dragonflies

AbstractAlthough natural selection often fluctuates across ontogeny, it remains unclear what conditions enable selection in one life-cycle stage to shape evolution in others. Organisms that undergo metamorphosis are useful for addressing this topic because their highly specialized life-cycle stages cannot always evolve independently despite their dramatic life-history transition. Using a comparative study of dragonflies, we examined three conditions that are hypothesized to allow selection in one stage to affect evolution in others. First, we tested whether lineages with less dramatic metamorphosis (e.g., hemimetabolous insects) lack the capacity for stage-specific evolution. Rejecting this hypothesis, we found that larval body shape evolves independently from selection on adult shape. Next, we evaluated whether stage-specific evolution is limited for homologous and/or coadapted structures. Indeed, we found that selection for larger wings is associated with the evolution of coadapted larval sheaths that store developing wing tissue. Finally, we assessed whether stage-specific evolution is restricted for traits linked to a single biochemical pathway. Supporting this hypothesis, we found that species with more wing melanization in the adult stage have evolved weaker melanin immune defenses in the larval stage. Thus, our results collectively show that natural selection in one stage imposes trait-dependent constraints on evolution in others.

Effects of pesticide exposure and predation risk on nutrient cycling and primary production

Understanding how pesticides and natural stressors shape ecosystem functions remains a major challenge. A largely overlooked way how stressors may affect nutrient cycling and primary production is through effects on body stoichiometry and the egestion of elements. We investigated how exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos and to predation risk, an abundant natural stressor in aquatic systems, altered the stoichiometry of the bodies and the egested faecal pellets of Enallagma cyathigerum damselfly larvae and how this further cascaded into effects on primary production (algae growth). Chlorpyrifos exposure reduced egestion rates while predation risk had no effect. Chlorpyrifos exposure and predation risk affected both elemental composition of bodies and faecal pellets, and this in an additive way. Chlorpyrifos exposure increased body C(carbon), N(nitrogen), and P(phosphorous) contents, and increased the C content of the faecal pellets. Predation risk induced an increase of the N content, resulting in a decreased C:N ratio, of both the bodies and faecal pellets. The changes in the composition of the faecal pellets caused by predation risk but not by chlorpyrifos exposure increased algae growth under control conditions. This indicated that algae growth was N limited. Our results provide an important proof-of-principle how a stressor may shape nutrient cycling and subsequently primary productivity.

Additive bioenergetic responses to a pesticide and predation risk in an aquatic insect

Ignoring natural stressors such as predation risk may contribute to the failure of ecological risk assessment of pesticides to protect freshwater biodiversity. To better understand combined effects of multiple stressors, bioenergetic responses are important as these inform about the balance between energy input and consumption, and provide a unifying mechanism to integrate the impact of multiple stressors with different modes of action. We studied in Enallagma cyathigerum damselfly larvae the single and combined effects of exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos and predation risk on life history (survival and growth rate) and bioenergetic response variables at the organismal level (assimilation and conversion efficiency) and the cellular level (cellular energy allocation CEA, energy storage Ea, and energy consumption Ec). Chlorpyrifos exposure almost halved the survival of the damselfly larvae, while predation risk had no effect on survival. Both exposure to the pesticide and to predation risk reduced larval growth rates. This was caused by a reduced conversion efficiency under chlorpyrifos exposure, and by a reduced assimilation efficiency under predation risk. Both chlorpyrifos and predation risk reduced the CEA because of a decreased Ea, and for chlorpyrifos also an increased Ec. The lower Ea was driven by reductions in the fat and glycogen contents. Effects of the pesticide and predation risk were consistently additive and for most variables the strongest response was detected when both stressors were present. The absence of any synergisms may be explained by the high mortality and hypometabolism caused by the pesticide. Our results indicate that CEA can be a sensitive biomarker to evaluate effects of not only contaminants but also natural stressors, such as predation risk, and their combined impact on organisms.

Internest food sharing within wood ant colonies: resource redistribution behavior in a complex system

Resource sharing is an important cooperative behavior in many animals. Sharing resources is particularly important in social insect societies, as division of labor often results in most individuals including, importantly, the reproductives, relying on other members of the colony to provide resources. Sharing resources between individuals is therefore fundamental to the success of social insects. Resource sharing is complicated if a colony inhabits several spatially separated nests, a nesting strategy common in many ant species. Resources must be shared not only between individuals in a single nest but also between nests. We investigated the behaviors facilitating resource redistribution between nests in a dispersed-nesting population of wood ant Formica lugubris. We marked ants, in the field, as they transported resources along the trails between nests of a colony, to investigate how the behavior of individual workers relates to colony-level resource exchange. We found that workers from a particular nest "forage" to other nests in the colony, treating them as food sources. Workers treating other nests as food sources means that simple, pre-existing foraging behaviors are used to move resources through a distributed system. It may be that this simple behavioral mechanism facilitates the evolution of this complex life-history strategy.

Synergistic effects between pesticide stress and predator cues: conflicting results from life history and physiology in the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

There is increasing awareness that the negative effects of anthropogenic stressors may be magnified in the presence of natural stressors. Very few of these studies have included physiology, yet including physiological studies may help learning about the mechanistic base of such synergisms at the life history level and identify synergistic interactions not translated in life history traits. We studied in Enallagma cyathigerum damselfly larvae potential synergistic effects between exposure to the pesticide glyphosate and predator cues on a key life history trait, growth rate, its associated behavioural trait, food intake, and three types of physiological traits known to be affected by both stressors in isolation: the stress protein Hsp70, energy storage and variables related to oxidative stress and damage. The pesticide and predator cues reduced growth rate in an additive way. Food intake increased under pesticide exposure and was not affected by the predator cues, indicating physiological mediation of the growth reduction. One potential physiological mechanism was that both stressors additively increased Hsp70 levels, this may also have contributed to the reduced levels of total carbohydrates when exposed to predator cues. Chronic exposure to predator cues reduced oxygen consumption, possibly to avoid too high costs of an increased metabolic rate. This reduction did not occur in the presence of the pesticide, reflecting the need for energetically expensive defence mechanisms (such as Hsp70 upregulation). When both stressors were combined, there was a reduction of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and an associated increase of oxidative damage in lipids. While synergistic interactions were not present for growth rate and food intake, they were identified for antioxidant defence and oxidative damage. This novel type of "hidden" synergistic interaction may have profound fitness implications, and when ignored will lead to underestimations of the impact of pollutants in natural populations where predators are omnipresent.

Speciation in ninespine stickleback: reproductive isolation and phenotypic divergence among cryptic species of Japanese ninespine stickleback

Although similar patterns of phenotypic diversification are often observed in phylogenetically independent lineages, differences in the magnitude and direction of phenotypic divergence have been also observed among independent lineages, even when exposed to the same ecological gradients. The stickleback family is a good model with which to explore the ecological and genetic basis of parallel and nonparallel patterns of phenotypic evolution, because there are a variety of populations and species that are locally adapted to divergent environments. Although the patterns of phenotypic divergence as well as the genetic and ecological mechanisms have been well characterized in threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, we know little about the patterns of phenotypic diversification in other stickleback lineages. In eastern Hokkaido, Japan, there are three species of ninespine sticklebacks, Pungitius tymensis and the freshwater type and the brackish-water type of the P. pungitius-P. sinensis species complex. They utilize divergent habitats along coast-stream gradients of rivers. Here, we investigated genetic, ecological and phenotypic divergence among three species of Japanese ninespine sticklebacks. Divergence in trophic morphology and salinity tolerance occurred in the direction predicted by the patterns observed in threespine sticklebacks. However, the patterns of divergence in armour plate were different from those previously found in threespine sticklebacks. Furthermore, the genetic basis of plate variation may differ from that in threespine sticklebacks. Because threespine sticklebacks are well-established model for evolutionary research, the sympatric trio of ninespine sticklebacks will be an invaluable resource for ecological and genetic studies on both common and lineage-specific patterns of phenotypic diversification.

Regional divergence and mosaic spatial distribution of two closely related damselfly species (Enallagma hageni and Enallagma ebrium)

North American Enallagma damselflies radiated during the Pleistocene, and species differ mainly by reproductive structures. Although morphologically very different, Enallagma hageni and Enallagma ebrium are genetically very similar. Partitioning of genetic variation (AFLP), isolation by distance and clustering analyses indicate that these morphospecies are locally differentiated genetically. Spatial analyses show that they are rarely sympatric at local sites, and their distributions form a mosaic of patches where one is clearly dominant over hundreds of square kilometers. However, these morphospecies are also not genetically more similar when they are sympatric, indicating that hybridization is probably not occurring. Given that these morphospecies are ecologically equivalent, strong assortative mating, reproductive interference and fast post-glacial recolonization may explain the origin and maintenance of these distributional patches across eastern North America. By limiting opportunities for gene flow, reproductive interference may play an unsuspected role in accelerating genetic differentiation in the early phases of nonecological speciation.

Convergent and parallel evolution in life habit of the scallops (Bivalvia: Pectinidae)

Background

We employed a phylogenetic framework to identify patterns of life habit evolution in the marine bivalve family Pectinidae. Specifically, we examined the number of independent origins of each life habit and distinguished between convergent and parallel trajectories of life habit evolution using ancestral state estimation. We also investigated whether ancestral character states influence the frequency or type of evolutionary trajectories.

Results

We determined that temporary attachment to substrata by byssal threads is the most likely ancestral condition for the Pectinidae, with subsequent transitions to the five remaining habit types. Nearly all transitions between life habit classes were repeated in our phylogeny and the majority of these transitions were the result of parallel evolution from byssate ancestors. Convergent evolution also occurred within the Pectinidae and produced two additional gliding clades and two recessing lineages. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that byssal attaching gave rise to significantly more of the transitions than any other life habit and that the cementing and nestling classes are only represented as evolutionary outcomes in our phylogeny, never as progenitor states.

Conclusions

Collectively, our results illustrate that both convergence and parallelism generated repeated life habit states in the scallops. Bias in the types of habit transitions observed may indicate constraints due to physical or ontogenetic limitations of particular phenotypes.

An integrative approach to species discovery in odonates: from character-based DNA barcoding to ecology

Modern taxonomy requires an analytical approach incorporating all lines of evidence into decision-making. Such an approach can enhance both species identification and species discovery. The character-based DNA barcode method provides a molecular data set that can be incorporated into classical taxonomic data such that the discovery of new species can be made in an analytical framework that includes multiple sources of data. We here illustrate such a corroborative framework in a dragonfly model system that permits the discovery of two new, but visually cryptic species. In the African dragonfly genus Trithemis three distinct genetic clusters can be detected which could not be identified by using classical taxonomic characters. In order to test the hypothesis of two new species, DNA-barcodes from different sequence markers (ND1 and COI) were combined with morphological, ecological and biogeographic data sets. Phylogenetic analyses and incorporation of all data sets into a scheme called taxonomic circle highly supports the hypothesis of two new species. Our case study suggests an analytical approach to modern taxonomy that integrates data sets from different disciplines, thereby increasing the ease and reliability of both species discovery and species assignment.

Species recognition and patterns of population variation in the reproductive structures of a damselfly genus

The selection pressures imposed by mate choice for species identity should impose strong stabilizing selection on traits that confer species identity to mates. Thus, we expect that such traits should show nonoverlapping distributions among closely related species, but show little to no variance among populations within a species. We tested these predictions by comparing levels of population differentiation in the sizes and shapes of male cerci (i.e., the clasper structures used for species identity during mating) of six Enallagma damselfly species. Cerci shapes were nonoverlapping among Enallagma species, and five of six Enallagma species showed no population variation across their entire species ranges. In contrast, cerci sizes overlapped among species and varied substantially among populations within species. These results, taken with previous studies, suggest that cerci shape is a primary feature used in species recognition used to discriminate conspecific from heterospecifics during mating.

A Tale of Two Diversifications: Reciprocal Habitat Shifts to Fill Ecological Space along the Pond Permanence Gradient

The Enallagma and Lestes damselflies have both diversified and adapted over the past 10-15 million years to the various ecological milieus found along the pond permanence gradient among North American ponds and lakes. Previous articles have explored this diversification process for Enallagma. In this article, we present a phylogenetic hypothesis for the North American Lestes, use this hypothesis to reconstruct Lestes diversification, and compare the diversification processes inferred for Lestes and Enallagma. The results of this study suggest that Lestes began in temporary ponds where large dragonflies are the top predators, while Enallagma began in permanent lakes where fish are the top predators. Starting from these different ancestral habitats, both genera have invaded and adapted to habitats already occupied by the other genus. Moreover, these adaptive habitat shifts involved substantial convergence on the behaviors used to deal with fish and dragonfly predation in both genera and a major life-history shift from diapausing to directly developing eggs in Lestes. However, in Lestes lineages invading fish lakes, swimming speed and morphology did not change to match those of Enallagma species, illustrating that reciprocal shifts between alternative selection regimes are not necessarily evolutionary opposites. Also, the greater sizes and growth rates of Lestes species compared to Enallagma species, which should impart substantial ecological advantages in competition between the genera, were shown to result from phylogenetic inheritance and not from adaptive diversification. This historical analysis of diversification raises new questions about the relationship between the macroevolutionary mechanisms driving lineage diversification and the ecological mechanisms structuring local food webs and regional species assemblages.

DNA barcoding reveals extraordinary cryptic diversity in an amphipod genus: implications for desert spring conservation

DNA barcoding has revealed unrecognized species in several animal groups. In this study we have employed DNA barcoding to examine Hyalella, a taxonomically difficult genus of amphipod crustaceans, from sites in the southern Great Basin of California and Nevada, USA. We assessed the extent of species diversity using a species screening threshold (SST) set at 10 times the average intrapopulation cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotype divergence. Despite the fact that this threshold approach is more conservative in delineating provisional species than the phylogenetic species concept, our analyses revealed extraordinary levels of cryptic diversity and endemism. The SST discriminated two provisional species within Hyalella sandra, and 33 provisional species within Hyalella azteca. COI nucleotide divergences among these provisional species ranged from 4.4% to 29.9%. These results have important implications for the conservation of life in desert springs - habitats that are threatened as a result of groundwater over-exploitation.