Article
Ecology
Katherine E. E. Eisen, Sotiria Boutsi, John M. M. Halley, Loretta Pace, Hampus Petren, Hanna Thosteman, Magne Friberg
Summary: This study examined variation in honest signals across different populations and mating systems in Arabis alpina. The results suggest that larger flowers generally produce more nectar and corolla area may be correlated with pollen limitation across populations. However, total scent emission is not correlated with nectar production and two specific compounds may act as honest signals in some populations.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sean A. S. Anderson, Jason T. Weir
Summary: Most allopatric taxa that are speciating or recently speciated seem to evolve under similar macro-selective pressures rather than divergent adaptation, contradicting the classical view and synthesizing two historical controversies regarding species formation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qipian Chen, Hao Yang, Xiao Feng, Qingjian Chen, Suhua Shi, Chung- Wu, Ziwen He
Summary: There has been a large literature on adaptive DNA sequence evolution between species in the last two decades. The main evidence comes from the McDonald-Kreitman test and the phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood test. However, when these two tests were applied to genomic data of Drosophila and Arabidopsis, it was found that the identified genes did not overlap, possibly due to low power and high false negatives. The study also discovered that negative selection rarely remains constant in evolution, leading to the misinterpretation of variation in negative selection as a signal of positive selection.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kaitlyn S. Brown, Christina M. Caruso
Summary: Human-mediated environmental change can strengthen selection on traits of interacting species. This study found that reduced pollinator populations increased pollen limitation in Lobelia siphilitica plants, leading to stronger pollinator-mediated selection for traits such as taller inflorescences and more vibrant petals that can attract pollinators.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Paulo Milet-Pinheiro, Pablo Sandro Carvalho Santos, Samuel Prieto-Benitez, Manfred Ayasse, Stefan Dotterl
Summary: This study characterized the visual and olfactory floral cues in bee-pollinated Campanula species, revealing a species-specific pattern in color reflectance and scent chemistry, as well as a phylogenetic signal in some floral scent constituents. The results suggest unequal evolutionary pathways of visual and olfactory floral cues, with external agents and phylogeny playing different roles in shaping their evolution.
Article
Ecology
Ralph Dobler, Marc Charette, Katrin Kaplan, Biz R. Turnell, Klaus Reinhardt
Summary: Sexually selected traits can be influenced by non-sexual selection, leading to adaptation to different environments and driving ecological speciation through sexual selection. This study investigates the effects of narrow-sense natural selection on male postcopulatory success in Drosophila melanogaster and finds that selection under hypoxia decreases both defensive and offensive abilities of sperm. Limited evidence of local adaptation suggests a stronger positive environmental effect of hypoxia on defensive ability in hypoxia-selected males.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Marvin Moosmann, Cameron M. Hudson, Ole Seehausen, Blake Matthews
Summary: Lineages with independent evolutionary histories often differ in both their morphology and diet, but the reasons for dietary divergence are not well understood. This study explores the phenotypic causes of dietary divergence between two divergent lineages of threespine stickleback using common-garden experiments and analyses of foraging traits. The results suggest that dietary divergence arises from differences in both morphology and behaviors related to prey capture success.
Article
Plant Sciences
Nurbiye Ehmet, Yu-pei Wang, Xiang Zhao, Da Wei Chen, Kun Sun, Qin-Zheng Hou
Summary: The study found that variations in environmental factors and corresponding pollinators in different seasons lead to different phenotypes of Trifolium repens, ultimately resulting in divergence in plant reproductive traits. T. repens can adjust investments in two reproductive modes according to different environments, thereby regulating overall fitness.
Article
Ecology
Marvin Moosmann, Maria Cuenca-Cambronero, Stephen De Lisle, Ryan Greenway, Cameron M. Hudson, Moritz Luerig, Blake Matthews
Summary: The trophic structure of food webs is determined by trophic positions of species and individuals, which can evolve via natural selection. Understanding the temporal dynamics of food web structure is crucial for energy and nutrient fluxes. Evolution of trophic positions is influenced by environmental and genetic factors, and can be a target of selection in heterogeneous fitness landscapes along food chains. Recognizing trophic position as an evolving trait that depends on food web context provides a valuable link between behavioral foraging theory and food web dynamics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Sara Martin-Hernanz, Rafael G. Albaladejo, Sebastien Lavergne, Encarnacion Rubio, Macarena Marin-Rodulfo, Juan Arroyo, Abelardo Aparicio
Summary: Through studying the genus Helianthemum, it was found that the different breeding systems and floral morphology were not linked to species diversification and environmental niche divergence. This suggests that evolutionary radiations can be decoupled from floral morphology evolution, even in lineages that diversified in heterogeneous environments like the Mediterranean Basin.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Garrett A. Roberts Kingman, Deven N. Vyas, Felicity C. Jones, Shannon D. Brady, Heidi I. Chen, Kerry Reid, Mark Milhaven, Thomas S. Bertino, Windsor E. Aguirre, David C. Heins, Frank A. von Hippel, Peter J. Park, Melanie Kirch, Devin M. Absher, Richard M. Myers, Federica Di Palma, Michael A. Bell, David M. Kingsley, Krishna R. Veeramah
Summary: This study explores the repeated evolution in stickleback to identify key genomic loci that change during colonization of freshwater habitats by marine fish, showing rapid genotypic and phenotypic changes within 5 years. The speed and location of these changes can be predicted using empirical observations or fundamental genomic features, suggesting the importance of similar features for evolution across diverse taxa.
Article
Ecology
Fang Wang, Yonas I. Tekle
Summary: The evolution and diversity of the Amoebozoa supergroup is complex and poorly understood. Natural selection plays a crucial role in its evolution, and there is heterogeneity in selection across different lineages, potentially related to their ecological environment and adaptation optimization.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Katherine A. Inskeep, Meredith M. Doellman, Thomas H. Q. Powell, Stewart H. Berlocher, Nicholas R. Seifert, Glen R. Hood, Gregory J. Ragland, Peter J. Meyers, Jeffrey L. Feder
Summary: The study demonstrates how divergent phenological adaptation can drive the initiation of reproductive isolation and enhance genetic exchange across broader adaptive radiations, potentially serving as a source of novel genotypic variation.
Article
Ecology
Carlos Roberto Fonseca, Martin M. Gossner, Johannes Kollmann, Martin Braendle, Gustavo Brant Paterno
Summary: The question of why sex has evolved and is maintained remains unanswered in evolutionary biology. The Red Queen hypothesis suggests that host lineages facing more intense parasite pressure invest more in sexual reproduction. This study of angiosperms found that hermaphrodite plant species associated with higher insect herbivore diversity evolved flowers with higher allocation towards the male sex, indicating greater outcrossing effort. Long-term herbivory pressure was identified as a key factor driving the selfing-outcrossing gradient in higher plants.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carolyn A. Wessinger, Amanda M. Katzer, Paul M. Hime, Mark D. Rausher, John K. Kelly, Lena C. Hileman
Summary: In the formation of species, adaptation by natural selection generates distinct combinations of traits. The strength and nature of selection acting on genetic loci determine the maintenance of these adaptive trait combinations. Floral pollination syndromes exemplify the evolution of trait combinations adaptive for specific pollinators. A study on a Penstemon species complex with both bee and hummingbird floral syndromes reveals minimal genome-wide differentiation between species despite clear phenotypic differences. However, a small number of strongly differentiated genetic loci are found between species, which are located in high recombination regions and closely related to floral trait quantitative trait loci.
Article
Plant Sciences
Elsa Fogelstrom, Giulia Zacchello, Daniela Guasconi, Johan P. Dahlgren, Johan Ehrlen
Summary: Climate warming has affected the timing of growing seasons in temperate regions, but little is known about how previous seasonal life-history events, temperature, and plant-resource state simultaneously influence the phenology of plant individuals. In this study, the relationships between leaf-out and shoot senescence were studied in a natural population of the understory herb Lathyrus vernus over 3 years. It was found that plant size, reproductive status, and spring temperature all had effects on spring and autumn phenology.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Torbjorn Lindell, Johan Ehrlen, Johan P. Dahlgren
Summary: This study utilized a 34-year individual-based dataset to investigate the effects of precipitation and temperature variations on flowering and population dynamics. Results showed that climatic variables had a significant impact on flowering, with increased precipitation and lower temperatures leading to more flowering instances, but had no significant effects on individual growth or survival. Furthermore, simulations indicated that persistent changes in precipitation and temperature could result in considerable reductions in population sizes compared to current conditions.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ditte Marie Christiansen, Lars Lonsmann Iversen, Johan Ehrlen, Kristoffer Hylander
Summary: The study found that after clear-cutting, the temperature preference values of understorey plant communities increase, while they decrease as the forest becomes denser. During forest regeneration and post-inventory periods, changes in CTI values are driven by species colonization and extinction. Changes in understorey CTI values are primarily influenced by changes in forest density, rather than macroclimate change.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. Grey Monroe, Thanvi Srikant, Pablo Carbonell-Bejerano, Claude Becker, Mariele Lensink, Moises Exposito-Alonso, Marie Klein, Julia Hildebrandt, Manuela Neumann, Daniel Kliebenstein, Mao-Lun Weng, Eric Imbert, Jon Agren, Matthew T. Rutter, Charles B. Fenster, Detlef Weigel
Summary: This study challenges the prevailing paradigm that mutations occur randomly by demonstrating that mutations occur less frequently in functionally constrained regions of the genome in Arabidopsis. It also shows that epigenomic and physical features explain the majority of the variance in the genome-wide pattern of mutation bias surrounding genes. The findings suggest that mutation bias is the primary force driving patterns of sequence evolution in natural accessions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Laura J. A. an Dijk, Johan Ehrlen, Ayco J. M. Tack
Summary: Plant pathogen traits, such as transmission mode and overwintering strategy, have significant effects on disease dynamics. Combining experimental assays, theory and field surveys, this study shows that pathogen life-history traits can predict pathogen metapopulation dynamics. Fungal pathogens infecting new plants via spores had higher patch occupancies and colonization rates compared to pathogens causing systemic infections and overwintering in rhizomes. Host patch size was positively related to patch occupancy and colonization rates for all pathogens.
Article
Ecology
Giulia Zacchello, Svenja Bomers, Cecilia Bohme, Froukje M. Postma, Jon Agren
Summary: Seed dormancy is a key life-history trait in plants, and its strength affects the timing of germination. There is continental-wide genetic variation in seed dormancy, which is related to climate and suitable conditions for seedling establishment. In this study, Italian populations of Arabidopsis thaliana showed stronger seed dormancy compared to Fennoscandian populations. Seed dormancy varied widely within both regions. Among Fennoscandian populations, seed dormancy tended to increase with higher summer temperature and lower precipitation at the site of population origin. However, there was no significant association between mean seed dormancy and climate in Italian populations. The weak correlation between population mean seed dormancy and flowering time suggests that these two traits can evolve independently.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Paloma Duran, Thomas James Ellis, Thorsten Thiergart, Jon Agren, Stephane Hacquard
Summary: Understanding the contribution of climate and soil factors to microbiome variation and local adaptation in plants is important. In this study, an experiment was conducted using microbial inocula, soil matrices, and plant genotypes from two natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana in Europe. The results showed that seasonal changes in temperature, day length, and light intensity had a strong influence on the adaptive differentiation between the populations, while the effects of soil factors were weaker. Furthermore, differences in below-ground soil characteristics were more important than climate differences in shaping the rhizosphere microbiome.
Article
Ecology
Hampus Petren, Hanna Thosteman, Marc Stift, Per Toreang, Jon Agren, Magne Friberg
Summary: Mating system shifts from outcrossing to selfing are common in plant evolution. Selfing reduces parental conflict over seed provisioning, potentially leading to postzygotic, asymmetric, reproductive isolation between populations. In a crossing experiment with Arabis alpina, we found strong reproductive isolation between self-compatible and self-incompatible populations, resulting in smaller and less viable seeds. Differences in parental conflict also influenced seed mass, with larger seeds produced when the paternal plant had the stronger genome. These findings suggest that differences in mating system and parental conflict can contribute to strong post-pollination reproductive barriers and speciation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oystein H. Opedal, W. Scott Armbruster, Thomas F. Hansen, Agnes Holstad, Christophe Pelabon, Stefan Andersson, Diane R. Campbell, Christina M. Caruso, Lynda F. Delph, Christopher G. Eckert, Asa Lankinen, Greg M. Walter, Jon Agren, Geir H. Bolstad
Summary: Understanding the causes and limits of population divergence in phenotypic traits is important for evolutionary biology and can predict adaptation to environmental change. This study analyzed a large database of plant populations and found that evolutionary divergence scaled positively with genetic variability within populations. Additionally, vegetative traits showed greater divergence compared to reproductive traits. These results suggest that there is predictability and genetic constraints in trait divergence.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Irene Bisang, Johan Ehrlen, Lars Hedenas
Summary: This study found that sex expression levels, sex ratios, and genetic diversity in two moss species were not directly associated with the frequency of sexual reproduction. These relationships and patterns of variation differed between species. It suggests that species-specific life histories, such as longevity, overall degree of successful sexual reproduction and recruitment, and historical factors are important factors in explaining this variation.
Article
Ecology
Fernando Pulido, Bastien Castagneyrol, Francisco Rodriguez-Sanchez, Yonatan Caceres, Adara Pardo, Eva Moracho, Johannes Kollmann, Fernando Valladares, Johan Ehrlen, Alistair S. Jump, Jens-Christian Svenning, Arndt Hampe
Summary: By conducting a meta-analysis on global populations of plants and animals, it was found that marginal populations perform significantly worse than central populations, especially those at low latitudes. This performance difference is likely to be influenced by global climate change, and changes in demographic rates of marginal populations can serve as early-warning signals for range shifts.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher G. Oakley, Douglas W. Schemske, John K. McKay, Jon Agren
Summary: This study on the self-pollinating Arabidopsis thaliana found that local adaptation involves multiple loci, which have significant effects on average fitness. The results also indicate that both genetic trade-offs and conditional neutrality play important roles in local adaptation.
Article
Ecology
Ditte M. Christiansen, Gesa Romer, Johan P. Dahlgren, Malin Borg, Owen R. Jones, Sonia Merinero, Kristoffer Hylander, Johan Ehrlen
Summary: Climate has a strong influence on species distribution and population growth. However, the coarse spatial resolution of climate data used to model distributions can lead to inaccurate assessments of climate effects. This study highlights the importance of using high-resolution climate data to examine the effects of climate on individual performance, population dynamics, and species distributions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Matilda Arnell, Ove Eriksson, Johan Ehrlen
Summary: In this study, the spatial distribution of Daphne mezereum in a forest in Sweden was mapped, showing a positive correlation between the density of individuals and proximity to the forest edge. The number of flowers produced, fruit set, and fruit removal also showed a positive relationship with proximity to forest edges. The study also found that individuals of D. mezereum were aggregated within approximately 10 meters. The flower production of neighboring individuals within 10 meters was negatively related to fruit set, while the fruit production of neighbors was positively related to fruit removal. The spatial distribution of D. mezereum affects reproductive success and fruit removal, which can, in turn, influence the spatial distribution pattern.
NORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ditte Marie Christiansen, Tanya Strydom, Caroline Greiser, Ryan McClory, Johan Ehrlen, Kristoffer Hylander
Summary: The study shows the potential importance of past and present microclimate heterogeneity for the co-existence of species with different temperature preferences in the same landscape, and the possibility to manage microclimates to mitigate climate change impacts on forest biodiversity.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)