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Graham ZA, Padilla Perez DJ. Correlated evolution of conspicuous colouration and burrowing in crayfish. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240632. [PMID: 38981529 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0632] [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: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Conspicuous colours have fascinated biologists for centuries, leading to research on the evolution and functional significance of colour traits. In many cases, research suggests that conspicuous colours are adaptive and serve a function in sexual or aposematic signalling. In other cases, a lack of evidence for the adaptive value of conspicuous colours garners interest from biologists, such as when organisms that live underground and are rarely exposed to the surface are nevertheless colourful. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate colour evolution throughout freshwater crayfishes that vary in burrowing ability. Within the taxa we analysed, conspicuous colours have evolved independently over 50 times, and these colours are more common in semi-terrestrial crayfishes that construct extensive burrows. The intuitive but not evolutionarily justified assumption when presented with these results is to assume that these colours are adaptive. But contrary to this intuition, we discuss the hypothesis that colouration in crayfish is neutral. Supporting these ideas, the small population sizes and reduced gene flow within semi-terrestrial burrowing crayfishes may lead to the fixation of colour-phenotype mutations. Overall, our work brings into question the traditional view of animal colouration as a perfectly adapted phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zackary A Graham
- Department of Organismal Biology, Ecology, and Zoo Science, West Liberty University, 208 University Drive , West Liberty, WV 26074, USA
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Zenni TM, Crivelaro AZ, Pestana GC, Guillermo-Ferreira R. How to train your dragon: absolute conditioning in larval dragonflies. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2024; 111:32. [PMID: 38856769 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-024-01919-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Insects, despite possessing relatively small brains, exhibit noteworthy adaptive behaviors, making them intriguing subjects for understanding learning mechanisms. This study explores the learning capabilities of dragonfly larvae (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) in conditioning experiments, shedding light on the cognitive processes that underpin their remarkable abilities. As apex predators, dragonflies play a crucial role in ecosystems, necessitating a diverse range of learning behaviors for survival and reproductive success. We addressed whether dragonfly larvae can differentiate between different colored stimuli and associate color with prey. Our experimental design demonstrated that dragonfly larvae are able to recognize conditioning stimuli. The findings contribute valuable insights into the cognitive abilities of dragonflies, suggesting that these insects can learn and discriminate colors of stimuli. Overall, this research broadens our understanding of insect learning and cognition, contributing to the broader field of animal behavior and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiene M Zenni
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Natural Resources, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Amanda Z Crivelaro
- Graduate Program in Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation, Federal University of Grand Dourados, Dourados, MS, Brazil
| | - Gabrielle C Pestana
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Natural Resources, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira
- Entomology and Experimental Biology Center, Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Av. Tutunas 490, Uberaba, MG, 38061-500, Brazil.
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Gefaell J, Vigo R, González-Vázquez AH, Galindo J, Rolán-Alvarez E. Temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of a marine snail from NW Spain. Curr Zool 2024; 70:163-173. [PMID: 38726245 PMCID: PMC11078050 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The evolution and maintenance of color clines is a classic topic of research in evolutionary ecology. However, studies analyzing the temporal dynamics of such clines are much less frequent, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable data about past color distributions along environmental gradients. In this article, we describe a case of decades-long temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis along the coastal inlet of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). L. saxatilis from this area shows a clear color cline with 3 distinct areas from the innermost to the more wave-exposed localities of the Ría: the inner, protected localities show an abundance of fawn-like individuals; the intermediate localities show a high diversity of colors; and the outer, wave-exposed localities show populations with a high frequency of a black and lineated morph. We compare data from the 1970s and 2022 in the same localities, showing that the cline has kept relatively stable for at least over half a century, except for some directional change and local variability in the frequency of certain morphs. Multiple regression analyses and biodiversity measures are presented to provide clues into the selective pressures that might be involved in the maintenance of this color cline. Future research avenues to properly test the explanatory power of these selective agents as well as the possible origins of the cline are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Gefaell
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Ramón Vigo
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - A Honorato González-Vázquez
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Juan Galindo
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Emilio Rolán-Alvarez
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, 36310 Vigo, Spain
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Stavenga DG, Kats K, Leertouwer HL. Polarized iridescence of the tropical carpenter bee, Xylocopa latipes. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:877-883. [PMID: 36385431 PMCID: PMC10643292 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01592-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The tropical carpenter bee, Xylocopa latipes, has metallic-reflecting, iridescent wings. The wing reflectance spectra for TE- and TM-polarized light depend on the angle of light incidence in a way characteristic for dielectric multilayers. Anatomy indicates the presence of melanin multilayers in the wing's chitinous matrix. A simple optical model of melanin multilayers explains the angle dependence of the wing reflectance spectra. The wing reflections that occur upon oblique illumination exhibit colourful and strongly polarized light patterns, which may mediate intraspecific signaling and mutual recognition by conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doekele G Stavenga
- Department of Biomedical Science of Cells and Systems, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Kim Kats
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Hein L Leertouwer
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Moore MP. Ornamented species incur higher male mortality in the larval stage. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230108. [PMID: 37194259 PMCID: PMC10189301 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0108] [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: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Life-cycle stages are not always capable of evolving independently from each other, but it remains unclear if evolving to meet the demands of one stage actually imposes costs on other stages. Male ornamentation is a useful trait in which to test this potential evolutionary constraint because ornaments improve reproduction in the adult stage but can require the expression of risky traits in the juvenile stage. Here, I compared larval mortality between populations of ornamented and non-ornamented dragonfly species. Since males produce more exaggerated melanin wing ornaments than females, I tested if larval mortality of males is higher in populations of species that have evolved adult male wing ornamentation. My analyses uncover male-biased larval mortality in species that have evolved male ornamentation. These findings indicate that evolving to optimize mating for the adult stage imposes a cost to survival in the larval stage. Thus, this study reveals that evolution in one life-cycle stage can impose fitness costs on other stages that persist over macroevolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. Moore
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80204, USA
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Massote C, Pessoa DMA, Peixoto PEC. The conspicuousness contradiction: brighter males have lower mating chances in the damselfly Argia hasemani but not in Argia croceipennis. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In odonates, male coloration is often more conspicuous than female coloration. This difference is frequently attributed to the role of male colour in male–male competition to access females. However, there are sexually dimorphic odonate species, such as the damselflies Argia hasemani and Argia croceipennis, in which male–male interactions are much less intense. In these species, it might be that male coloration affects male success directly when interacting with females. Therefore, we hypothesized that males with more intense coloration present higher copulation success. To investigate this hypothesis, we registered which males copulated in the field during 4 days and estimated the coloration of all observed males in the female visual spectrum. Surprisingly, we found that dull males had higher chances of copulation in A. hasemani, whereas in A. croceipennis male coloration did not influence the chances of copulation. Our data also indicated that brighter males of A. hasemani were also more conspicuous to potential avian predators, whereas this was not the case in A. croceipennis. We suggest that females of A. hasemani might avoid brighter males owing to increased risk of predation during copulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Massote
- Laboratory of Agonistic Interactions and Sexual Selection, Federal University of Minas Gerais , Avenida Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG , Brazil
| | - Daniel Marques Almeida Pessoa
- Laboratory of Sensory Ecology, Department of Physiology and Behavior, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte , Natal, RN , Brazil
| | - Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto
- Laboratory of Agonistic Interactions and Sexual Selection, Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Federal University of Minas Gerais , Avenida Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG , Brazil
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