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Mozdzer TJ, McCormick MK, Slette IJ, Blum MJ, Megonigal JP. Rapid evolution of a coastal marsh ecosystem engineer in response to global change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 853:157846. [PMID: 35948126 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that global change can alter ecosystems by eliciting rapid evolution of foundational plants capable of shaping vital attributes and processes. Here we describe results of a field-scale exposure experiment and multilocus assays illustrating that elevated CO2 (eCO2) and nitrogen (N) enrichment can result in rapid shifts in genetic and genotypic variation in Phragmites australis, an ecologically dominant plant that acts as an ecosystem engineer in coastal marshes worldwide. Compared to control treatments, genotypic diversity declined over three years of exposure, especially to N enrichment. The magnitude of loss also increased over time under conditions of N enrichment. Comparisons of genotype frequencies revealed that proportional abundances shifted with exposure to eCO2 and N in a manner consistent with expected responses to selection. Comparisons also revealed evidence of tradeoffs that constrained exposure responses, where any particular genotype responded favorably to one factor rather than to different factors or to combinations of factors. These findings challenge the prevailing view that plant-mediated ecosystem outcomes of global change are governed primarily by differences in species responses to shifting environmental pressures and highlight the value of accounting for organismal evolution in predictive models to improve forecasts of ecosystem responses to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Mozdzer
- Bryn Mawr College, Department of Biology, 101 N. Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, United States of America; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
| | - Melissa K McCormick
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
| | - Ingrid J Slette
- Colorado State University, Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, 251 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of America
| | - Michael J Blum
- University of Tennessee, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1416 Circle Dr, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States of America.
| | - J Patrick Megonigal
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD 21037, United States of America.
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2
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McCann HC, Sage RF. Seed size effects on plant establishment under low atmospheric CO2, with implications for seed size evolution. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 130:825-834. [PMID: 36094296 PMCID: PMC9758303 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Low atmospheric CO2 concentration depresses photosynthesis and resource use efficiency, and therefore can inhibit phases of the life cycle such as seedling establishment. Seed reserves can compensate for photosynthetic inhibition by accelerating seedling growth. We therefore hypothesize that seedlings arising from large seeds show less inhibition from low atmospheric CO2 than young plants from small seeds. Seed size effects on seedling responses to low CO2 may also be enhanced in warm environments, due to greater photorespiration at high temperature. METHODS Phaseolus and Vigna seeds differing in mass by over two orders of magnitude were planted and grown for 14 d in growth chambers with CO2 concentrations of 370, 180 or 100 ppm, in thermal regimes of 25 °C/19 °C, 30 °C/24 °C or 35 °C/29 °C (day/night). We measured leaf area expansion, shoot growth and mortality of the seedlings arising from the variously sized seeds at 14 days after planting (14 DAP). KEY RESULTS Relative to small-seeded plants, large-seeded genotypes produced greater leaf area and shoot mass at 14 DAP across the range of CO2 treatments in the 25 °C/19 °C and 30 °C/24 °C regimes, and at 100 ppm in the 35 °C/29 °C treatment. The proportional decline in leaf area and seed mass with CO2 reduction was generally greater for seedlings arising from small than from large seeds. Reductions in leaf area due to CO2 reduction increased in the warmer temperature treatments. In the 35 °C/19 °C treatment at 100 ppm CO2, seedling mortality was greater in small- than in large-seeded genotypes, and the small-seeded genotypes were unable to exit the seedling stage by the end of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS The results support a hypothesis that seedlings from large seeds grow and establish better than seedlings from small seeds in warm, low CO2 environments. During low CO2 episodes in Earth's history, such as the past 30 million years, large seeds may have been favoured by natural selection in warm environments. With the recent rise in atmospheric CO2 due to human activities, trade-offs between seed size and number may already be affected, such that seed size today may be non-optimal in their natural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honour C McCann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
- Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rowan F Sage
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
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3
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Symbiont genotype influences holobiont response to increased temperature. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18394. [PMID: 36319835 PMCID: PMC9626619 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
As coral reefs face warming oceans and increased coral bleaching, a whitening of the coral due to loss of microalgal endosymbionts, the possibility of evolutionary rescue offers some hope for reef persistence. In tightly linked mutualisms, evolutionary rescue may occur through evolution of the host and/or endosymbionts. Many obligate mutualisms are composed of relatively small, fast-growing symbionts with greater potential to evolve on ecologically relevant time scales than their relatively large, slower growing hosts. Numerous jellyfish species harbor closely related endosymbiont taxa to other cnidarian species such as coral, and are commonly used as a model system for investigating cnidarian mutualisms. We examined the potential for adaptation of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana to increased temperature via evolution of its microalgal endosymbiont, Symbiodinium microadriaticum. We quantified trait variation among five algal genotypes in response to three temperatures (26 °C, 30 °C, and 32 °C) and fitness of hosts infected with each genotype. All genotypes showed positive growth rates at each temperature, but rates of respiration and photosynthesis decreased with increased temperature. Responses varied among genotypes but were unrelated to genetic similarity. The effect of temperature on asexual reproduction and the timing of development in the host also depended on the genotype of the symbiont. Natural selection could favor different algal genotypes at different temperatures, affecting host fitness. This eco-evolutionary interaction may be a critical component of understanding species resilience in increasingly stressful environments.
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Burghardt LT, Epstein B, Hoge M, Trujillo DI, Tiffin P. Host-Associated Rhizobial Fitness: Dependence on Nitrogen, Density, Community Complexity, and Legume Genotype. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0052622. [PMID: 35852362 PMCID: PMC9361818 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00526-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The environmental context of the nitrogen-fixing mutualism between leguminous plants and rhizobial bacteria varies over space and time. Variation in resource availability, population density, and composition likely affect the ecology and evolution of rhizobia and their symbiotic interactions with hosts. We examined how host genotype, nitrogen addition, rhizobial density, and community complexity affected selection on 68 rhizobial strains in the Sinorhizobium meliloti-Medicago truncatula mutualism. As expected, host genotype had a substantial effect on the size, number, and strain composition of root nodules (the symbiotic organ). The understudied environmental variable of rhizobial density had a stronger effect on nodule strain frequency than the addition of low nitrogen levels. Higher inoculum density resulted in a nodule community that was less diverse and more beneficial but only in the context of the more selective host genotype. Higher density resulted in more diverse and less beneficial nodule communities with the less selective host. Density effects on strain composition deserve additional scrutiny as they can create feedback between ecological and evolutionary processes. Finally, we found that relative strain rankings were stable across increasing community complexity (2, 3, 8, or 68 strains). This unexpected result suggests that higher-order interactions between strains are rare in the context of nodule formation and development. Our work highlights the importance of examining mechanisms of density-dependent strain fitness and developing theoretical predictions that incorporate density dependence. Furthermore, our results have translational relevance for overcoming establishment barriers in bioinoculants and motivating breeding programs that maintain beneficial plant-microbe interactions across diverse agroecological contexts. IMPORTANCE Legume crops establish beneficial associations with rhizobial bacteria that perform biological nitrogen fixation, providing nitrogen to plants without the economic and greenhouse gas emission costs of chemical nitrogen inputs. Here, we examine the influence of three environmental factors that vary in agricultural fields on strain relative fitness in nodules. In addition to manipulating nitrogen, we also use two biotic variables that have rarely been examined: the rhizobial community's density and complexity. Taken together, our results suggest that (i) breeding legume varieties that select beneficial strains despite environmental variation is possible, (ii) changes in rhizobial population densities that occur routinely in agricultural fields could drive evolutionary changes in rhizobial populations, and (iii) the lack of higher-order interactions between strains will allow the high-throughput assessments of rhizobia winners and losers during plant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana T. Burghardt
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
- Plant Science Department, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brendan Epstein
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Michelle Hoge
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Diana I. Trujillo
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Peter Tiffin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Angulo V, Beriot N, Garcia-Hernandez E, Li E, Masteling R, Lau JA. Plant-microbe eco-evolutionary dynamics in a changing world. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 234:1919-1928. [PMID: 35114015 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Both plants and their associated microbiomes can respond strongly to anthropogenic environmental changes. These responses can be both ecological (e.g. a global change affecting plant demography or microbial community composition) and evolutionary (e.g. a global change altering natural selection on plant or microbial populations). As a result, global changes can catalyse eco-evolutionary feedbacks. Here, we take a plant-focused perspective to discuss how microbes mediate plant ecological responses to global change and how these ecological effects can influence plant evolutionary response to global change. We argue that the strong and functionally important relationships between plants and their associated microbes are particularly likely to result in eco-evolutionary feedbacks when perturbed by global changes and discuss how improved understanding of plant-microbe eco-evolutionary dynamics could inform conservation or even agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violeta Angulo
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, the Netherlands
| | - Nicolas Beriot
- Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, PO Box 47, Wageningen, 6700AA, the Netherlands
- Sustainable Use, Management and Reclamation of Soil and Water Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, Cartagena, 30203, Spain
| | - Edisa Garcia-Hernandez
- Microbial Community Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9700 CC, the Netherlands
| | - Erqin Li
- Plant-Microbe Interactions Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, the Netherlands
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Raul Masteling
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO Box 50, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333 BE, the Netherlands
| | - Jennifer A Lau
- Biology Department and the Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, 1001 East 3rd St., Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
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Govaert L, Gilarranz LJ, Altermatt F. Competition alters species' plastic and genetic response to environmental change. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23518. [PMID: 34876603 PMCID: PMC8651732 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02841-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Species react to environmental change via plastic and evolutionary responses. While both of them determine species' survival, most studies quantify these responses individually. As species occur in communities, competing species may further influence their respective response to environmental change. Yet, how environmental change and competing species combined shape plastic and genetic responses to environmental change remains unclear. Quantifying how competition alters plastic and genetic responses of species to environmental change requires a trait-based, community and evolutionary ecological approach. We exposed unicellular aquatic organisms to long-term selection of increasing salinity-representing a common and relevant environmental change. We assessed plastic and genetic contributions to phenotypic change in biomass, cell shape, and dispersal ability along increasing levels of salinity in the presence and absence of competition. Trait changes in response to salinity were mainly due to mean trait evolution, and differed whether species evolved in the presence or absence of competition. Our results show that species' evolutionary and plastic responses to environmental change depended both on competition and the magnitude of environmental change, ultimately determining species persistence. Our results suggest that understanding plastic and genetic responses to environmental change within a community will improve predictions of species' persistence to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Govaert
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland. .,URPP Global Change and Biodiversity, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Luis J. Gilarranz
- grid.418656.80000 0001 1551 0562Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Florian Altermatt
- grid.7400.30000 0004 1937 0650Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland ,grid.418656.80000 0001 1551 0562Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland ,grid.7400.30000 0004 1937 0650URPP Global Change and Biodiversity, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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7
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Costa e Silva J, Jordan R, Potts BM, Pinkard E, Prober SM. Directional Selection on Tree Seedling Traits Driven by Experimental Drought Differs Between Mesic and Dry Populations. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.722964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We evaluated population differences and drought-induced phenotypic selection on four seedling traits of the Australian forest tree Eucalyptus pauciflora using a glasshouse dry-down experiment. We compared dry and mesic populations and tested for directional selection on lamina length (reflecting leaf size), leaf shape, the node of ontogenetic transition to the petiolate leaf (reflecting the loss of vegetative juvenility), and lignotuber size (reflecting a recovery trait). On average, the dry population had smaller and broader leaves, greater retention of the juvenile leaf state and larger lignotubers than the mesic population, but the populations did not differ in seedling survival. While there was statistical support for directional selection acting on the focal traits in one or other population, and for differences between populations in selection gradient estimates for two traits, only one trait—lamina length—exhibited a pattern of directional selection consistent with the observed population differences being a result of past adaptation to reduce seedling susceptibility to acute drought. The observed directional selection for lamina length in the mesic population suggests that future increases in drought risk in the wild will shift the mean of the mesic population toward that of the dry population. Further, we provide evidence suggesting an early age trade-off between drought damage and recovery traits, with phenotypes which develop larger lignotubers early being more susceptible to drought death. Such trade-offs could have contributed to the absence of population mean differences in survival, despite marked differentiation in seedling traits.
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8
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Lau JA, terHorst CP. Evolutionary responses to global change in species‐rich communities. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2019; 1476:43-58. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A. Lau
- Department of Biology, Environmental Resilience Institute Indiana University Bloomington Indiana
| | - Casey P. terHorst
- Biology Department California State University Northridge California
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9
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Plastic responses to novel environments are biased towards phenotype dimensions with high additive genetic variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:13452-13461. [PMID: 31217289 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821066116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmentally induced phenotypes have been proposed to initiate and bias adaptive evolutionary change toward particular directions. The potential for this to happen depends in part on how well plastic responses are aligned with the additive genetic variance and covariance in traits. Using meta-analysis, we demonstrate that plastic responses to novel environments tend to occur along phenotype dimensions that harbor substantial amounts of additive genetic variation. This suggests that selection for or against environmentally induced phenotypes typically will be effective. One interpretation of the alignment between the direction of plasticity and the main axis of additive genetic variation is that developmental systems tend to respond to environmental novelty as they do to genetic mutation. This makes it challenging to distinguish if the direction of evolution is biased by plasticity or genetic "constraint." Our results therefore highlight a need for new theoretical and empirical approaches to address the role of plasticity in evolution.
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Jonas M, Cioce B. Patterns of univariate and multivariate plasticity to elevated carbon dioxide in six European populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:5906-5915. [PMID: 31161007 PMCID: PMC6540656 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The impact of elevated carbon dioxide on plants is a growing concern in evolutionary ecology and global change biology. Characterizing patterns of phenotypic integration and multivariate plasticity to elevated carbon dioxide can provide insights into ecological and evolutionary dynamics in future human-altered environments. Here, we examined univariate and multivariate responses to carbon enrichment in six functional traits among six European accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. We detected phenotypic plasticity in both univariate and multivariate phenotypes, but did not find significant variation in plasticity (genotype by environment interactions) within or among accessions. Eigenvector, eigenvalue variance, and common principal components analyses showed that elevated carbon dioxide altered patterns of trait covariance, reduced the strength of phenotypic integration, and decreased population-level differentiation in the multivariate phenotype. Our data suggest that future carbon dioxide conditions may influence evolutionary dynamics in natural populations of A. thaliana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Jonas
- Department of Biology, School of Natural and Social SciencesState University of New York—Purchase CollegePurchaseNew York
| | - Brandon Cioce
- Department of Biology, School of Natural and Social SciencesState University of New York—Purchase CollegePurchaseNew York
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11
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Zhang R, Tielbörger K. Facilitation from an intraspecific perspective - stress tolerance determines facilitative effect and response in plants. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 221:2203-2212. [PMID: 30298569 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Plant-plant interactions are reciprocal and include effects on and response to neighbours. Distinct traits confer competitive effect and response ability, but how specific traits determine effect and response in facilitative interactions has not been studied experimentally. We utilized the model species Arabidopsis thaliana to test for trait dependence of facilitative interactions. Salt-sensitive (sos) mutants or salt-tolerant wild-types were exposed to an experimental salinity gradient with and without intraspecific neighbours and the intensity of plant-plant interactions was measured for three performance variables. We tested whether salt tolerance can predict facilitative effect and response and whether a tradeoff exists between competitive ability and tolerance to stress. Interactions shifted very clearly from negative to positive with increasing stress. Salt-sensitive genotypes were less negatively affected by competition but more dependent on facilitation than were wild-types, indicating a tradeoff between competitive ability and stress tolerance. Surprisingly, sensitive genotypes imposed stronger facilitative effects, despite being much smaller under stress, probably because they retrieved more salt from the soil. Stress tolerance defined facilitative effect and response via distinct mechanisms. We advocate more controlled experiments with model species to advance our understanding of the trait dependence of biotic interactions and their consequences for community organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruichang Zhang
- Plant Ecology Group, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katja Tielbörger
- Plant Ecology Group, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, D-72076, Tübingen, Germany
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12
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Costa e Silva J, Harrison PA, Wiltshire R, Potts BM. Evidence that divergent selection shapes a developmental cline in a forest tree species complex. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2018; 122:181-194. [PMID: 29788049 PMCID: PMC6025196 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Evolutionary change in developmental trajectories (heterochrony) is a major mechanism of adaptation in plants and animals. However, there are few detailed studies of the variation in the timing of developmental events among wild populations. We here aimed to identify the climatic drivers and measure selection shaping a genetic-based developmental cline among populations of an endemic tree species complex on the island of Tasmania. METHODS Seed lots from 38 native provenances encompassing the clinal transition from the heteroblastic Eucalyptus tenuiramis to the homoblastic Eucalyptus risdonii were grown in a common-garden field trial in southern Tasmania for 20 years. We used 27 climatic variables to model the provenance variation in vegetative juvenility as assessed at age 5 years. A phenotypic selection analysis was used to measure the fitness consequences of variation in vegetative juvenility based on its impact on the survival and reproductive capacity of survivors at age 20 years. KEY RESULTS Significant provenance divergence in vegetative juvenility was shown to be associated with home-site aridity, with the retention of juvenile foliage increasing with increasing aridity. Our results indicated that climate change may lead to different directions of selection across the geographic range of the complex, and in our mesic field site demonstrated that total directional selection within phenotypically variable provenances was in favour of reduced vegetative juvenility. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence that heteroblasty is adaptive and argue that, in assessing the impacts of rapid global change, developmental plasticity and heterochrony are underappreciated processes which can contribute to populations of long-lived organisms, such as trees, persisting and ultimately adapting to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Costa e Silva
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Peter A Harrison
- School of Natural Sciences and ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Robert Wiltshire
- School of Natural Sciences and ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Brad M Potts
- School of Natural Sciences and ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Yakub M, Tiffin P. Living in the city: urban environments shape the evolution of a native annual plant. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:2082-2089. [PMID: 27718531 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 09/11/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Urban environments are warmer, have higher levels of atmospheric CO2 and have altered patterns of disturbance and precipitation than nearby rural areas. These differences can be important for plant growth and are likely to create distinct selective environments. We planted a common garden experiment with seeds collected from natural populations of the native annual plant Lepidium virginicum, growing in five urban and nearby rural areas in the northern United States to determine whether and how urban populations differ from those from surrounding rural areas. When grown in a common environment, plants grown from seeds collected from urban areas bolted sooner, grew larger, had fewer leaves, had an extended time between bolting and flowering, and produced more seeds than plants grown from seeds collected from rural areas. Interestingly, the rural populations exhibited larger phenotypic differences from one another than urban populations. Surprisingly, genomic data revealed that the majority of individuals in each of the urban populations were more closely related to individuals from other urban populations than they were to geographically proximate rural areas - the one exception being urban and rural populations from New York which were nearly identical. Taken together, our results suggest that selection in urban environments favors different traits than selection in rural environments and that these differences can drive adaptation and shape population structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Yakub
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Peter Tiffin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
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14
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Kleynhans EJ, Otto SP, Reich PB, Vellend M. Adaptation to elevated CO2 in different biodiversity contexts. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12358. [PMID: 27510545 PMCID: PMC4987528 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 06/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In the absence of migration, species persistence depends on adaption to a changing environment, but whether and how adaptation to global change is altered by community diversity is not understood. Community diversity may prevent, enhance or alter how species adapt to changing conditions by influencing population sizes, genetic diversity and/or the fitness landscape experienced by focal species. We tested the impact of community diversity on adaptation by performing a reciprocal transplant experiment on grasses that evolved for 14 years under ambient and elevated CO2, in communities of low or high species richness. Using biomass as a fitness proxy, we find evidence for local adaptation to elevated CO2, but only for plants assayed in a community of similar diversity to the one experienced during the period of selection. Our results indicate that the biological community shapes the very nature of the fitness landscape within which species evolve in response to elevated CO2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth J. Kleynhans
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2212 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Sarah P. Otto
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2212 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Peter B. Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 1530 Cleveland Avenue North, St Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
- Hawksbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales 2751, Australia
| | - Mark Vellend
- Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1
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Bataillon T, Galtier N, Bernard A, Cryer N, Faivre N, Santoni S, Severac D, Mikkelsen TN, Larsen KS, Beier C, Sørensen JG, Holmstrup M, Ehlers BK. A replicated climate change field experiment reveals rapid evolutionary response in an ecologically important soil invertebrate. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2016; 22:2370-2379. [PMID: 27109012 PMCID: PMC5021122 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Whether species can respond evolutionarily to current climate change is crucial for the persistence of many species. Yet, very few studies have examined genetic responses to climate change in manipulated experiments carried out in natural field conditions. We examined the evolutionary response to climate change in a common annelid worm using a controlled replicated experiment where climatic conditions were manipulated in a natural setting. Analyzing the transcribed genome of 15 local populations, we found that about 12% of the genetic polymorphisms exhibit differences in allele frequencies associated to changes in soil temperature and soil moisture. This shows an evolutionary response to realistic climate change happening over short-time scale, and calls for incorporating evolution into models predicting future response of species to climate change. It also shows that designed climate change experiments coupled with genome sequencing offer great potential to test for the occurrence (or lack) of an evolutionary response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Bataillon
- Bioinformatics Research Center (BiRC)Aarhus UniversityC.F. Møllers Allé 8, Building 11108000Aarhus CDenmark
| | - Nicolas Galtier
- CNRS UMR 5554Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierUniversité Montpellier 234095 Montpellier Cedex 05France
| | - Aurelien Bernard
- CNRS UMR 5554Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierUniversité Montpellier 234095 Montpellier Cedex 05France
| | - Nicolai Cryer
- Bioinformatics Research Center (BiRC)Aarhus UniversityC.F. Møllers Allé 8, Building 11108000Aarhus CDenmark
| | - Nicolas Faivre
- CNRS UMR 5554Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierUniversité Montpellier 234095 Montpellier Cedex 05France
| | | | - Dany Severac
- c/o Institut de Génomique FonctionnelleMGX‐Montpellier GenomiX34094 Montpellier Cedex 05France
| | - Teis N. Mikkelsen
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical EngineeringEcosystems CentreTechnical University of Denmark2800Kgs. LyngbyDenmark
| | - Klaus S. Larsen
- Department for Geosciences and Natural Resource ManagementUniversity of CopenhagenRolighedsvej 23DK‐1958FrederiksbergDenmark
| | - Claus Beier
- Department for Geosciences and Natural Resource ManagementUniversity of CopenhagenRolighedsvej 23DK‐1958FrederiksbergDenmark
- Centre for Catchments and Urban Water ResearchNorwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)Gaustadalléen 210349OsloNorway
| | - Jesper G. Sørensen
- Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityNy Munkegade 1168000Aarhus CDenmark
| | - Martin Holmstrup
- Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityVejlsøvej 258600SilkeborgDenmark
| | - Bodil K. Ehlers
- Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityVejlsøvej 258600SilkeborgDenmark
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16
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Anderson JT. Plant fitness in a rapidly changing world. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2016; 210:81-7. [PMID: 26445400 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/25/2015] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Modern reliance on fossil fuels has ushered in extreme temperatures globally and abnormal precipitation patterns in many regions. Although the climate is changing rapidly, other agents of natural selection such as photoperiod remain constant. This decoupling of previously reliable environmental cues shifts adaptive landscapes, favors novel suites of traits and likely increases the extinction risk of local populations. Here, I examine the fitness consequences of changing climates. Meta-analyses demonstrate that simulated future climates depress viability and fecundity components of fitness for native plant species in the short term, which could reduce population growth rates. Contracting populations that cannot adapt or adjust plastically to new climates might not be capable of producing sufficient migrants to track changing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill T Anderson
- Department Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
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17
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Weathers KC, Groffman PM, Van Dolah E, Bernhardt E, Grimm NB, McMahon K, Schimel J, Paolisso M, Maranger R, Baer S, Brauman K, Hinckley E. Frontiers in Ecosystem Ecology from a Community Perspective: The Future is Boundless and Bright. Ecosystems 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-016-9967-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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18
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Barraclough TG. How Do Species Interactions Affect Evolutionary Dynamics Across Whole Communities? ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2015. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Theories of how species evolve in changing environments mostly consider single species in isolation or pairs of interacting species. Yet all organisms live in diverse communities containing many hundreds of species. This review discusses how species interactions influence the evolution of constituent species across whole communities. When species interactions are weak or inconsistent, evolutionary dynamics should be predictable by factors identified by single-species theory. Stronger species interactions, however, can alter evolutionary outcomes and either dampen or promote evolution of constituent species depending on the number of species and the distribution of interaction strengths across the interaction network. Genetic interactions, such as horizontal gene transfer, might also affect evolutionary outcomes. These evolutionary mechanisms in turn affect whole-community properties, such as the level of ecosystem functioning. Successful management of both ecosystems and focal species requires new understanding of evolutionary interactions across whole communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy G. Barraclough
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
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19
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Gould B, Geber M. Lack of adaptation from standing genetic variation despite the presence of putatively adaptive alleles in introduced sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum). J Evol Biol 2015; 29:178-87. [PMID: 26468961 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Revised: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Population genetic theory predicts that the availability of appropriate standing genetic variation should facilitate rapid evolution when species are introduced to new environments. However, few tests of rapid evolution have been paired with empirical surveys for the presence of previously identified adaptive genetic variants in natural populations. In this study, we examined local adaptation to soil Al toxicity in the introduced range of sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), and we genotyped populations for the presence of Al tolerance alleles previously identified at the long-term ecological Park Grass Experiment (PGE, Harpenden, UK) in the species native range. We found that markers associated with Al tolerance at the PGE were present at appreciable frequency in introduced populations. Despite this, there was no strong evidence of local adaptation to soil Al toxicity among populations. Populations demonstrated significantly different intrinsic root growth rates in the absence of Al. This suggests that selection on correlated root growth traits may constrain the ability of populations to evolve significantly different root growth responses to Al. Our results demonstrate that genotype-phenotype associations may differ substantially between the native and introduced parts of a species range and that adaptive alleles from a native species range may not necessarily promote phenotypic differentiation in the introduced range.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Gould
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - M Geber
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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20
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Baron E, Richirt J, Villoutreix R, Amsellem L, Roux F. The genetics of intra‐ and interspecific competitive response and effect in a local population of an annual plant species. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Baron
- Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales UMR CNRS 8198 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 F‐59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex France
- INRA Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes‐Microorganismes (LIPM) UMR441 F‐31326 Castanet‐Tolosan France
- CNRS Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes‐Microorganismes (LIPM) UMR2594 F‐31326 Castanet‐Tolosan France
| | - Julien Richirt
- Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales UMR CNRS 8198 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 F‐59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex France
| | - Romain Villoutreix
- Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales UMR CNRS 8198 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 F‐59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex France
| | - Laurent Amsellem
- Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales UMR CNRS 8198 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 F‐59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex France
| | - Fabrice Roux
- Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales UMR CNRS 8198 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 F‐59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex France
- INRA Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes‐Microorganismes (LIPM) UMR441 F‐31326 Castanet‐Tolosan France
- CNRS Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes‐Microorganismes (LIPM) UMR2594 F‐31326 Castanet‐Tolosan France
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21
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Koskella B. Research highlights for issue 4: Predicting the evolutionary response of populations to climate change. Evol Appl 2014; 7:431-2. [PMID: 24822077 PMCID: PMC4001441 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
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22
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Grossman JD, Rice KJ. Contemporary evolution of an invasive grass in response to elevated atmospheric CO(2) at a Mojave Desert FACE site. Ecol Lett 2014; 17:710-6. [PMID: 24674649 PMCID: PMC4345824 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Revised: 12/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Elevated atmospheric CO2 has been shown to rapidly alter plant physiology and ecosystem productivity, but contemporary evolutionary responses to increased CO2 have yet to be demonstrated in the field. At a Mojave Desert FACE (free-air CO2 enrichment) facility, we tested whether an annual grass weed (Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens) has evolved in response to elevated atmospheric CO2. Within 7 years, field populations exposed to elevated CO2 evolved lower rates of leaf stomatal conductance; a physiological adaptation known to conserve water in other desert or water-limited ecosystems. Evolution of lower conductance was accompanied by reduced plasticity in upregulating conductance when CO2 was more limiting; this reduction in conductance plasticity suggests that genetic assimilation may be ongoing. Reproductive fitness costs associated with this reduction in phenotypic plasticity were demonstrated under ambient levels of CO2. Our findings suggest that contemporary evolution may facilitate this invasive species' spread in this desert ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judah D Grossman
- The Nature Conservancy, 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 1290, Sacramento, CA, 95814-4605, USA
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23
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Stinchcombe JR, Simonsen AK, Blows MW. ESTIMATING UNCERTAINTY IN MULTIVARIATE RESPONSES TO SELECTION. Evolution 2013; 68:1188-96. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 11/06/2013] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- John R. Stinchcombe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario M5S3B2 Canada
- Centre for Genome Evolution and Function; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Anna K. Simonsen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario M5S3B2 Canada
| | - Mark. W. Blows
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
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