Article
Ecology
Maider Iglesias-Carrasco, Joseph A. Tobias, David A. Duchene
Summary: Studies have shown that species with traits promoting urban colonization have historically undergone faster diversification compared to urban-avoidant species, indicating that urbanization favors clades with a historical tendency towards rapid speciation or reduced extinction. Additionally, a portion of urban-avoidant passerines have been found to be recent and undergoing fast diversification.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Oscar Alejandro Perez-Escobar, Alexander Zizka, Mauricio A. Bermudez, Andrea S. Meseguer, Fabien L. Condamine, Carina Hoorn, Henry Hooghiemstra, Yuanshu Pu, Diego Bogarin, Lydian M. Boschman, R. Toby Pennington, Alexandre Antonelli, Guillaume Chomicki
Summary: This study provides a synthesis of the vascular plant diversity in the Andes and reveals that the Northern Andean mid-elevation cloud forests are the most species-rich ecosystems. The Andes play a crucial role as a source and sink of Neotropical plant diversity, and there have been significant biotic interchanges between the Andes, Amazonia, and other Neotropical biomes throughout history.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Benjamin G. Freeman, Jonathan Rolland, Graham A. Montgomery, Dolph Schluter
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between bird song, a premating barrier, and speciation rates in birds. The researchers find that while song discrimination is an important reproductive barrier, the evolutionary rates of this barrier are not consistently associated with recent speciation rates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hirotoshi Sato
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the driving mechanism of evolutionary diversification in the fungal class Agaricomycetes, specifically focusing on the evolution of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) symbiosis. The results revealed that the evolution of EcM symbiosis in the Late Cretaceous, in conjunction with the rapid diversification of EcM angiosperms, played a key role in the explosive diversification of Agaricomycetes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Manuel A. Barrios-Izas, Juan J. Morrone
Summary: Plumolepilius Barrios-Izas & Anderson, 2016 is a leaf litter weevil genus found in montane broadleaf forests from southern Mexico to northern Panama, consisting of 27 species. Phylogenetic analysis based on external body characters and genitalia revealed redundant species distributions across different regions, possibly due to dispersal events during Pleistocene glaciations.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Andrew J. Helmstetter, Sylvain Glemin, Jos Kafer, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Herv Sauquet, Hugo de Boer, Leo-Paul M. J. Dagallier, Nathan Mazet, Eliette L. Reboud, Thomas L. P. Couvreur, Fabien L. Condamine
Summary: Estimating time-dependent rates of speciation and extinction from phylogenetic trees is crucial for understanding biodiversity. However, recent findings have raised questions about the reliability of these estimations. Despite this, studying macroevolution using phylogenetic trees is still exciting and promising. By acknowledging limitations and advancing modeling techniques, we can make progress as a scientific community.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Francisca Cunha Almeida, Lucila Ines Amador, Norberto Pedro Giannini
Summary: This study reexamined the hypothesis of explosive diversification at the origin of Pteropodidae and found strong statistical signals of rapid diversification. Additionally, diversification-rate shifts were detected in Pteropus, as well as in crown Hipposideridae and Rhinolophidae. The results suggest a complex dynamics in the evolution of bat families, possibly influenced by key innovations, demographic factors, and global-scale climatic and geographic changes.
ORGANISMS DIVERSITY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Mezzalina Vankan, Simon Y. W. Ho, David A. Duchene
Summary: Phylogenetic analyses using genomic data are powerful for reconstructing evolutionary relationships, but conflicting signals between loci can be a challenge. By identifying influential signals for species-tree estimation, researchers can make informed choices when selecting data for phylogenomics. Analysis of 30 phylogenomic data sets revealed associations between branch-length characteristics of gene trees and their distance from species trees, suggesting that loci with high root-to-tip distance variation may provide distinct signals for tree topology in phylogenomic studies.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Tomas Bartonicka, Jana Kremenova, Ondrej Balvin, Zdenek Simek, Oliver Otti
Summary: Understanding the number of mates an animal has in its lifetime is crucial for sexual selection. Differences in an organism's ecology can affect mating rates. Mating rate significantly impacts female fitness, but laboratory measurements might not accurately reflect the situation in the wild.
FRONTIERS IN ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Pavel Karel Bystricky, Tereza Rutova, Vojtech Broz, Magdalena Gajdosova, Petr Jan Juraska, Denis Copilas-Ciocianu, Adam Petrusek
Summary: Recent discoveries of cryptic diversity among Gammarus fossarum species complex in the Western Carpathians pose a challenge for understanding their coexistence. This study found that the distribution of divergent lineages of Gammarus fossarum was influenced by river network position, altitude, stream width, and anthropogenic stress, but not by mesohabitat flow rates. Despite highly imbalanced lineage ratios, strong prezygotic reproductive barriers exist between the studied lineages, indicating the absence of recent gene flow. The frequent and temporally stable syntopy of these reproductively isolated lineages warrants further research on the processes facilitating their coexistence.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hanghui Kong, Fabien L. Condamine, Lihua Yang, A. J. Harris, Chao Feng, Fang Wen, Ming Kang
Summary: This study analyzed and explored the evolutionary process of the Gesneriaceae plant genus Oreocharis, revealing a significant early burst of speciation in the mid-Miocene, followed by a drastic decline in species differentiation towards the present; diversification dynamics differed between the Hengduan Mountains and non-Hengduan Mountains lineages, with higher diversification rates in HDM lineages.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Mahwash Jamy, Charlie Biwer, Daniel Vaulot, Aleix Obiol, Hongmei Jing, Sari Peura, Ramon Massana, Fabien Burki
Summary: Successful colonization of new habitats plays a significant role in the evolution of life. The salt barrier is a strong obstacle for organisms to cross, leading to the evolution of distinct marine and non-marine communities. This study investigates the evolution of habitats across the tree of eukaryotes, revealing that marine and non-marine microbial communities are phylogenetically distinct but have experienced transitions in both directions in all major eukaryotic lineages, with fungi being particularly affected. These findings highlight the importance of the salt barrier in eukaryote evolution.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Hector Figueroa, Stephen A. Smith
Summary: The study integrated data on life-history traits, phylogeny, and occurrence records to analyze functional diversity patterns in Ericales and Fabales in the Americas. The results showed consistent latitudinal variation in trait values, evidence of correlated evolution, and quantitative differences in trait syndromes between the two clades. This variation is interpreted as a strategy of resource acquisition influenced by habitat characteristics.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ze-Long Nie, Richard Hodel, Zhi-Yao Ma, Gabriel Johnson, Chen Ren, Ying Meng, Stefanie M. Ickert-Bond, Xiu-Qun Liu, Elizabeth Zimmer, Jun Wen
Summary: The north temperate region had a warm climate and a rich thermophilic flora before the Eocene, but the early diversifications of the temperate biome under global climate change and biome shift are not well understood. Hybridization/introgression is an important driving force of speciation in plant diversity. In this study, we analyzed genomic data from the New World Vitis, a temperate North American flora, and found strong evidence for widespread incongruence and reticulate evolution among nuclear genes within both recent and ancient lineages.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ciaran McMonagle, Denise Brown, Richard Reeve, Rebecca Mancy
Summary: Previous research has shown that the diversity of mortality causes is increasing in high-income nations, with men experiencing a faster rate of increase. This poses challenges for public health and medical sectors, requiring a broader range of interventions to reduce death rates from various causes.
SSM-POPULATION HEALTH
(2022)