Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michael C. Singer, Camille Parmesan
Summary: As species' poleward range limits expand under climate change, generalists are expected to expand their ranges faster than specialists. Through long-term studies, it has been found that colonization events can lead to an increase in diet breadth as a result of preference diversification among individuals, potentially caused by cryptic genetic variation or host shifts. Range expansions can lead to increases in population-level diet breadths and may drive specialization, influencing the persistence of populations at expanding range margins.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Qiang Li, Cui Chen, Yangxue Wu, Junaid Ali Siddiqui, Congcong Lu, Zhentao Cheng, Yonghui Li, Qian Liu, Xiaolei Huang
Summary: The study found significant genetic divergence and morphological differences between populations of Aphis aurantii on Ficus and populations on other host plants, suggesting specialized evolution of A. aurantii on Ficus and ongoing sympatric speciation in the Ficus population.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Avery P. Hill, Christopher B. Field
Summary: This study analyzes forest inventory data from the western US to test the hypothesis that wildfires can facilitate climate-induced range shifts in trees. Wildfires significantly increased the seedling range displacement for some tree species, indicating an important role of fire in influencing vegetation redistribution in response to climate change.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xia Liu, Zhaoshan Wang, Wei Wang, Qinqin Huang, Yanfei Zeng, Yu Jin, Honglei Li, Shuhui Du, Jianguo Zhang
Summary: This study examines the origin and biogeography of the Populus genus using phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast fragments. The results suggest that the early divergences of the Salicaceae family occurred in Eurasia after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction, with subsequent spread to other regions. Modern Populus species began to diversify during the early Oligocene, potentially facilitated by climate changes. Populus species from Eurasia colonized North America via the Bering Land Bridges. The present-day distribution of Populus can be explained by differences in extinction rates in different regions. Further research is needed to test these hypotheses. This study highlights the importance of combining phylogenetic analysis and biogeographic interpretations to understand the origin and distribution of biodiversity in temperate plant floras.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Huan-Wen Peng, Kun-Li Xiang, Andrey S. Erst, Tatyana V. Erst, Florian Jabbour, Rosa Del C. Ortiz, Wei Wang
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the diversification patterns in the subfamily Fumarioideae of the Papaveraceae family. The results suggest that the subfamily originated in Asia during the Late Cretaceous and dispersed to other regions in the Cenozoic era. The study also identifies two periods of rapid diversification in certain species, which coincided with changes in habitat and life history.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hiroki Kise, Maria Eduarda Alves Santos, Chloe Julie Lois Fourreau, Akira Iguchi, Ryutaro Goto, James Davis Reimer
Summary: Symbioses play important roles in forming marine diversity, and understanding how interspecies interactions through symbioses contribute to biodiversity is essential. Host switching is considered a main driver of diversification in symbiotic systems, but its process and patterns in the marine realm are poorly investigated. This study provides insight into the patterns of host switching and the diversification history of zoantharians, highlighting the role of symbioses in the morphological and ecological evolution of marine invertebrates.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Isaac D. Shepard, Scott A. Wissinger, Zachary T. Wood, Hamish S. Greig
Summary: This study found that climate change-induced range shifts can have negative effects on both shifting and resident species due to strong intraguild interactions. However, the presence of predators can mitigate these negative effects, stabilizing the community.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
G. Asha, Palatty Allesh Sinu
Summary: Using partial sequences of 16S mtDNA gene from dung beetles in the Western Ghats, India, the study suggests the need for tribal-level reclassification of the Scarabaeinae dung beetles, including reevaluating the positions of certain tribes and genera.
Article
Entomology
Chantelle Smit, Marion Javal, Desmond E. Conlong, Grant Hall, John S. Terblanche
Summary: The outbreak of Cacosceles newmannii causing damage to sugarcane in 2015 in South Africa was due to a rapid increase in the consumption of C-4 plants by the beetles. It was found that Fabaceae and Poaceae are the most likely host plants of this species. Further research is needed to determine the drivers of this rapid outbreak on sugarcane.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Lukas Eigentler, Nicola R. Stanley-Wall, Fordyce A. Davidson
Summary: This paper investigates the importance of competition and spatial landscape heterogeneities on range expansion. The study reveals that the area covered by range expansion is highly variable due to landscape heterogeneities. Furthermore, it shows that the competitive outcome is influenced by low initial population densities and is independent of landscape heterogeneities. The study also provides a predictive tool for accurately predicting the area covered by range expansion and the competitive outcome.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aleksi Lehikoinen, Pekka Pohjola, Jari Valkama, Marko Mutanen, Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismaki
Summary: Ectoparasites such as louse flies show tendencies for host specialization driven by host biology and competition avoidance, but certain bird-specific louse fly species exhibit a wide range of suitable hosts. Factors such as host size, habitat, and breeding strategy influence host preference among bird louse fly species. DNA barcodes for Finnish Hippoboscidae species are provided as a resource for future species identification and metabarcoding studies.
Article
Agronomy
Gui-fen Zhang, Xiao-qing Xian, Yi-bo Zhang, Wan-xue Liu, Hui Liu, Xiao-dong Feng, De-ying Ma, Yu-sheng Wang, You-hua Gao, Rong Zhang, Qing-hong Li, Fang-hao Wan, Wen-jun Fu, Jun Wang, Meng Kuang, Wen-jia Yang, Xi Rao, Ying Gao, Ai-mei Dai
Summary: The study found that Tuta absoluta populations in northwestern China's Xinjiang region exhibited a medium colonization coefficient, while populations in southwestern China's Yunnan and Guizhou regions had high colonization coefficients. The pest was found to infest four crop plant species and two wild plant species in China, with tomatoes being infested in every province with confirmed colonization. Damage severity was highest in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Xinjiang, and decreased with increasing distance from the initial discovery site of Tuta absoluta in southwestern China.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jillian F. del Sol, Yoshihito Hongo, Romain P. Boisseau, Gabriella H. Berman, Cerisse E. Allen, Douglas. J. Emlen
Summary: Research on rhinoceros beetles suggests that sexual selection on horn length may be influenced by local habitat conditions and the relative abundance of feeding territories, leading to differences in male weapon size selection among different populations.
Article
Horticulture
Alexander Balamurugan, Aundy Kumar
Summary: A severe fruit rot symptom was observed on green bell pepper in the local vegetable market in New Delhi, India. The pathogen causing the fruit rot was identified as Alternaria alternata and was found to be able to infect tomatoes and eggplant as well. These findings are important for developing suitable strategies for fruit rot management and postharvest handling.
SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Steven R. Beissinger, Eric A. Riddell
Summary: The study found that species' traits are not reliable predictors of range shifts occurring over decades to a century. Factors such as imperfect trait measurements, species detection issues, different responses to altitudinal and latitudinal ranges, and an emphasis on linear relationships instead of nonlinear responses contribute to the poor performance of traits in describing interspecific variation in range shifts. To improve trait-based approaches, it is important to recognize that traits interact in unexpected ways and that different trait combinations may have equivalent functionality.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS, VOL 52, 2021
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Maria Cuenca Cambronero, Bettina Zeis, Luisa Orsini
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Limnology
Tsegazeabe H. Haileselasie, Joachim Mergeay, Joost Vanoverbeke, Luisa Orsini, Luc De Meester
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2018)
Article
Ecology
Marlene Jahnke, Daniela D'Esposito, Luigi Orru, Antonella Lamontanara, Emanuela Dattolo, Fabio Badalamenti, Silvia Mazzuca, Gabriele Procaccini, Luisa Orsini
Article
Ecology
Kaisa Anneli Torppa, Helena Wirta, Ilkka Hanski
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Helena Wirta, Nerea Abrego, Kirsten Miller, Tomas Roslin, Eero Vesterinen
Summary: The regional origin of a food product commonly affects its value, and DNA-based methods can provide fine resolution in identifying the origin of honey through plant and fungal genetic information.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Maria Cuenca-Cambronero, Jelena H. Pantel, Hollie Marshall, Tien T. T. Nguyen, Henar Tomero-Sanz, Luisa Orsini
Summary: Multiple stressors linked to anthropogenic activities can influence how organisms adapt and evolve, but a consensus on how they drive adaptive trajectories in natural populations has not been reached. Studies show that exposure to one stressor can alter tolerance to second stressors and that multiple stressors shift trade-offs among fitness-linked life-history traits, providing new directions for mitigation interventions.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anurag Chaturvedi, Jiarui Zhou, Joost A. M. Raeymaekers, Till Czypionka, Luisa Orsini, Craig E. Jackson, Katina I. Spanier, Joseph R. Shaw, John K. Colbourne, Luc De Meester
Summary: Our study shows that genetic variation carried by only five founding individuals from the regional genotype pool is enough to fuel rapid evolution in response to strong selection pressures with no evidence of genetic erosion. Standing genetic variation allows natural populations to evolve rapidly.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Muhammad Abdullahi, Jiarui Zhou, Vignesh Dandhapani, Anurag Chaturvedi, Luisa Orsini
Summary: This study investigates the transgenerational effect of environmentally relevant concentrations of chemicals on a keystone species, Daphnia magna. The results show that historical exposure to chemical stress leads to reduced genome-wide diversity and lower cross-generational tolerance to novel chemical stress. The genes affected by historical chemical stress are conserved and potential targets in other species, including humans.
Article
Ecology
Alyssa R. Cirtwill, Riikka Kaartinen, Claus Rasmussen, Deanne Redr, Helena Wirta, Jens M. Olesen, Mikko Tiusanen, Gavin Ballantyne, Helen Cunnold, Graham N. Stone, Niels Martin Schmidt, Tomas Roslin
Summary: Insects play a crucial role in pollination services, but climate change can impact the interaction between insects and plants. This study investigates the resilience of the high Arctic plant-pollinator network to climate warming. The findings suggest that the pollination ecosystem service in the high Arctic is remarkably resilient, although it heavily depends on a few key pollinators. If these pollinators are negatively affected, the structure of the network and the pollination service would be compromised.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Vasilissa Manova, Zornitsa Stoyanova, Rossitza Rodeva, Irina Boycheva, Helena Korpelainen, Eero Vesterinen, Helena Wirta, Georgi Bonchev
Summary: The study aimed to identify and characterize 26 pathogenic Colletotrichum isolates threatening solanaceous crops based on morphological, pathogenic, and molecular data, enriching the knowledge of their biodiversity and specific features.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Matti Leponiemi, Helena Wirta, Dalial Freitak
Summary: Honeybees are important pollinators for food crops, but they face various stressors worldwide. Bacterial diseases, especially American Foulbrood, pose a major threat to honeybee health. A trans-generational vaccination approach has been proposed to protect colonies from AFB outbreaks, however, the potential side-effects of colony priming remain unstudied.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pablo Pena-Aguilera, Niels M. Schmidt, Laerke Stewart, Bastien Parisy, Rene van Der Wal, Ly Lindman, Eero J. Vesterinen, Ilya M. D. Maclean, Tuomas Kankaanpaa, Helena Wirta, Tomas Roslin
Summary: We investigated the differences in microclimatic conditions and regional species pools in two subarctic regions and found that microclimate plays a significant role in shaping local community characteristics. Both plants and arthropods respond to similar drivers, such as elevation, soil moisture, and temperature. However, plant species richness is not a good predictor of ground-dwelling arthropod richness.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Helena Wirta, Mirkka Jones, Pablo Pena-Aguilera, Camilo Chacon-Duque, Eero Vesterinen, Otso Ovaskainen, Nerea Abrego, Tomas Roslin
Summary: This study investigated the impact of seasonality and management on honeybee interactions by analyzing DNA content in beehive samples collected during the honey-storing period in Finland. The results showed that honeybee interactions with other taxa varied among different taxonomic and functional groups, with relatively minor effects of seasonality.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Adam S. Ward, Jay P. Zarnetske, Viktor Baranov, Phillip J. Blaen, Nicolai Brekenfeld, Rosalie Chu, Romain Derelle, Jennifer Drummond, Jan H. Fleckenstein, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Emily Graham, David Hannah, Ciaran J. Harman, Skuyler Herzog, Jase Hixson, Julia L. A. Knapp, Stefan Krause, Marie J. Kurz, Joerg Lewandowski, Angang Li, Eugenia Marti, Melinda Miller, Alexander M. Milner, Kerry Neil, Luisa Orsini, Aaron I. Packman, Stephen Plont, Lupita Renteria, Kevin Roche, Todd Royer, Noah M. Schmadel, Catalina Segura, James Stegen, Jason Toyoda, Jacqueline Hager, Nathan I. Wisnoski, Steven M. Wondzell
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kenji Toyota, Maria Cambronero Cuenca, Vignesh Dhandapani, Antonio Suppa, Valeria Rossi, John K. Colbourne, Luisa Orsini
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Markus Osaland Fjelde, Einar Timdal, Reidar Haugan, Mika Bendiksby
Summary: This study investigated the taxonomy of the crustose lichen genus Calvitimela using molecular phylogenetics and morphological observations. The results revealed evolutionarily old and deeply divergent lineages within Calvitimela, with overlapping morphological characters between different subgenera. Chemical characters were informative at the level of subgenera but often homoplastic at the species level. A practical taxonomy of Calvitimela was proposed based on these findings.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bo-Yang Shi, Da Pan, Kang-Qin Zhang, Tian-Yu Gu, Darren C. J. Yeo, Peter K. L. Ng, Neil Cumberlidge, Hong-Ying Sun
Summary: This study investigates the evolutionary history and speciation mechanisms of montane potamids in the Hengduan Mountains Region. The results suggest that the vicariance events of these crabs are correlated with the emergence of sky islands due to the uplift of the mountains. The mountain ridges provided corridors for their dispersal and past climatic conditions played a crucial role in their evolutionary history. The mechanisms isolating sky islands are reinforced by the climatic features of dry-hot valleys and continue to affect local diversification.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Attila Nemeth, Edvard Mizsei, Levente Laczko, David Czaban, Zsolt Hegyeli, Szabolcs Lengyel, Gabor Csorba, Gabor Sramko
Summary: Species delimitation of European blind mole rats is challenging due to their small morphological differences and complex chromosomal evolution. This study provides a comprehensive framework to improve understanding of their evolutionary history and revise their taxonomy. The results reveal the presence of multiple superspecies and species, with distinct geographic patterns and rapid chromosomal evolution.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ying Qi, Zhaoyan Zhong, Xu Liu, Xing He, Yadong Zhou, Lili Zhang, Chong Chen, Katrin Linse, Jian-Wen Qiu, Jin Sun
Summary: This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships among patellogastropod families using mitochondrial and phylogenomic data. The results show that the mitochondrial phylogeny recovers monophyly of most families, but the relationships among families are still contentious. However, a more robust family-level topology consistent with morphology is achieved by phylogenomics. Additionally, the mainly deep-water families are found to be monophyletic, suggesting a single colonization of the deep water during the Jurassic.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu-Jie Shi, Jin -Liang Huang, Jia-Xuan Mi, Jing Li, Fan-Yu Meng, Yu Zhong, Fang He, Fei -Fei Tian, Fan Zhang, Liang-Hua Chen, Han-Bo Yang, Hong-Lin Hu, Xue-Qin Wan
Summary: Despite numerous studies on hybrid speciation, our understanding of this process remains limited. In this study, we conducted an 18-year systematic investigation on Populus taxa on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and discovered three new taxa that originated from distant hybridization between two different sections. These hybrid taxa demonstrate greater ecological adaptability than their ancestral species due to heterosis. We propose a hybrid speciation process model that can explain important evolutionary concerns.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anna Cho, Denis Tikhonenkov, Gordon Lax, Kristina I. Prokina, Patrick J. Keeling
Summary: Unlike conspicuous ochrophytes, many small and overlooked flagellates belonging to basally branching stramenopiles remain poorly characterized at the cellular or genomic level. This study describes four new species, including two new genera, of sediment-dwelling MAST-6 and provides updated phylogenomic tree of stramenopiles. The characterization of these flagellates is important due to their phylogenetic diversity and abundance in various environments.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tian-Tian Xue, Steven B. Janssens, Bin-Bin Liu, Sheng-Xiang Yu
Summary: Phylogenomic conflicts are widespread among genomic data, with most previous studies primarily focusing on nuclear datasets instead of organellar genomes. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic conflicts within and between plastid and mitochondrial genomes using Potentilla as a case study. We found that both plastid and mitochondrial genomes divided Potentilla into eight highly supported clades, with two newly identified clades. Our results demonstrate that mitochondrial genes can fully resolve phylogenetic relationships among major clades of Potentilla and are not always linked with plastomes in evolutionary history.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexandra A. Grossi, Chunpo Tian, Mengjiao Ren, Fasheng Zou, Daniel R. Gustafsson
Summary: This study suggests that the coevolutionary relationships between chewing lice, endosymbiotic bacteria, and birds are not independent, but the patterns vary depending on the analysis method used. Additionally, louse host-switching does not seem to affect bacterial strains.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ingrid Olivares, Sergio Tusso, Maria Jose Sanin, Marylaure de La Harpe, Oriane Loiseau, Jonathan Rolland, Nicolas Salamin, Michael Kessler, Kentaro K. Shimizu, Margot Paris
Summary: Traditionally, differences between species have been associated with morphological variation. However, the discovery of cryptic diversity suggests that the evolution of distinct lineages can occur without morphological differences. Through genetic analysis, we found that a tropical montane plant lineage is composed of numerous unrecognized genetic groups that are not morphologically distinct. Geographic distance and topography play a crucial role in determining the genetic divergence of these groups.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
