Article
Ecology
Joe P. P. Woodman, Ella F. F. Cole, Josh A. A. Firth, Christopher M. M. Perrins, Ben C. C. Sheldon
Summary: Age has significant effects on behavior, survival, and reproduction. Age-assortative mating is common, but the mechanisms driving it are not well understood. This study compares breeding data from great tits and mute swans to investigate the contributions of pair retention, cohort age structure, and active age-related mate selection to age assortment. The results show that the drivers of age assortment differ between the species, likely due to their different life histories and demographic differences. Understanding these mechanisms and their consequences is important for wild populations.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Richard M. Sibly, Robert N. Curnow
Summary: Sexual imprinting is a widespread phenomenon in birds and other species, but its existence requires explanation. Research suggests that if a neutral mating cue, such as novel plumage coloration, arises through mutation, sexual imprinting can lead to speciation in locally-adapted populations.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
M. Fernandez-Meirama, E. Rolan-Alvarez, A. Carvajal-Rodriguez
Summary: In recent years, there has been increasing interest in evolutionary divergence and speciation caused by ecologically based divergent natural selection at small spatial scales. Through individual-based simulations, the evolution of choice values can be observed to match empirical data, and it is found that speciation is influenced by the strength of selection.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Mark J. Margres, Kenneth P. Wray, Dragana Sanader, Preston J. McDonald, Lauren M. Trumbull, Austin H. Patton, Darin R. Rokyta
Summary: This study examines the venom dichotomy and potential ecological speciation among Timber Rattlesnake populations. By comparing genetic, proteomic, morphological, and ecological differences, it reveals signs of incipient ecological speciation between type A and type B C. horridus. However, range-wide analyses suggest a lack of reproductive isolation, indicating varying degrees of introgression across populations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Adeola Oluwakemi Ayoola, Bao-Lin Zhang, Richard P. Meisel, Lotanna M. Nneji, Yong Shao, Olanrewaju B. Morenikeji, Adeniyi C. Adeola, Said Ng'ang'a, Babafemi G. Ogunjemite, Agboola O. Okeyoyin, Christian Roos, Dong-Dong Wu
Summary: This study provides insights into the genomic diversity, natural selection, and introgression in guenons, the most widely distributed nonhuman primate in the tropical forest belt of Africa. Differentiation between populations from East and West of the Niger River, potential introgression in the East population, and signals of positive natural selection in immunity and malaria resistance genes were observed. The study sheds light on the evolutionary processes shaping the genetic diversity of guenons.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Darren Irwin, Dolph Schluter
Summary: This study simulated the coexistence outcomes of two sympatric species that are ecologically differentiated but have incomplete reproductive isolation. The study found that the fitness of hybrid offspring plays a crucial role in species coexistence. High hybrid fitness can lead to species collapse into one, while low hybrid fitness can cause population declines and increase the risk of species extinction. High intrinsic growth rates can reduce the probability of extinction and increase the likelihood of stable coexistence at moderate levels of assortative mating and hybrid fitness. Very strong but incomplete assortative mating can induce low hybrid fitness via a mating disadvantage to rare genotypes, stabilizing the coexistence of two species at high but incomplete levels of assortative mating.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Dirk Metzler, Ulrich Knief, Joshua Penalba, Jochen B. W. Wolf
Summary: This study used a mathematical model to investigate the effects of assortative mating on hybrid-zone dynamics, finding that assortative mating can maintain steep clines in mating-trait loci without generalizing to genome-wide reproductive isolation.
Article
Entomology
Frederico Hickmann, Erick Goes Cordeiro, Patricia Lima Soares, Mateus Souza L. Aurelio, Cristiano Feldens Schwertner, Alberto Soares Correa
Summary: Nonrandom mating was observed between the South strain (SS) and North strain (NS) of Euschistus heros, with SS individuals showing a preference for mating with their own strain. Pronotum width was found to be positively associated with mating choice, suggesting size-assortative mating in this species. Reciprocal crosses between strains yielded similar reproductive outputs, indicating similar fitness of hybrid pure strains.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Aaron A. Vogan, Jesper Svedberg, Magdalena Grudzinska-Sterno, Hanna Johannesson
Summary: This study reveals the role of meiotic drive in the formation of Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller (BDM) incompatibilities. Using the model fungus Neurospora, the researchers demonstrate that the large meiotic drive haplotypes Sk-2 and Sk-3 contain putative sexual incompatibilities. Their experiments show that when strains of N. intermedia carry Sk-2 or Sk-3, the proportion of viable progeny drops substantially, indicating the contribution of meiotic drive to reproductive isolation and speciation.
Article
Demography
Hon-Kwong Lui
Summary: With the increasing economic and social ties between Hong Kong and the Mainland, cross-border marriage patterns have changed significantly after the handover. The study shows that stronger economic ties and weakened social and cultural boundaries promote cross-border marriages and negative assortative mating in these marriages, as evidenced by the decreased assortative mating in age and educational attainment among Hong Kong husband-Mainland wife couples after the handover.
POPULATION SPACE AND PLACE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
J. R. L. Depotter, B. Oekmen, M. K. Ebert, J. Beckers, J. Kruse, M. Thines, G. Doehlemann
Summary: Transposable elements (TEs) play a pivotal role in shaping diversity in eukaryotic genomes, and the recent genome expansion in the barley covered smut fungus is mainly attributed to a higher fraction of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs). In the smut genomes studied, LTR-RTs are associated with higher nucleotide substitution levels and larger mating-type locus sizes in U. hordei.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Matthew J. Wersebe, Ryan E. Sherman, Punidan D. Jeyasingh, Lawrence J. Weider
Summary: Speciation genomic studies have shown that genomes of divergent lineages are shaped by gene flow, selection, recombination, and gene density. This study focused on the role of recombination and gene density in shaping differentiation patterns between the cyclically parthenogenetic ecological sister-taxa, Daphnia pulicaria and Daphnia pulex. The study found sex-specific recombination rates in D. pulicaria, with regions of high gene density and recombination being more divergent. The results suggest that selection plays a role in shaping genome-wide differentiation patterns in this species complex, despite high local recombination rates.
Article
Ecology
Pierre Blacher, Sacha Zahnd, Jessica Purcell, Amaury Avril, Thalita Oliveira Honorato, Gaelle Bailat-Rosset, Davide Staedler, Alan Brelsford, Michel Chapuisat
Summary: This study investigates the hybridization barriers between two ant species and identifies the characteristics associated with these barriers. The findings suggest that ants use specific signals to recognize and distinguish species, thereby preventing hybridization.
Article
Ecology
Karine Durand, Sudeeptha Yainna, Kiwoong Nam
Summary: Genetic differentiation was observed between host-plant strains in the fall armyworm, suggesting that this occurs at the beginning of speciation process, especially on the Z chromosome.
BMC ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Eric C. Lai, Aaron A. Vogan
Summary: Killer meiotic drive elements are genetic entities that manipulate the sexual cycle to promote their own inheritance. Recent research has shown that many of these systems are caused by a single gene, and similar molecular genetic studies in fruit flies have identified individual loci that distort gamete sex. These meiotic drive elements can easily duplicate, forming gene families that provide the basis for their rapid functional diversification.
CURRENT OPINION IN GENETICS & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sergio Tusso, Fang Suo, Yue Liang, Li-Lin Du, Jochen B. W. Wolf
Summary: This study provides evidence for the genomic shock hypothesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, showing that hybridization activates transposable elements (TEs) and the degree of genomic admixture is positively correlated with the number of LTR retrotransposons.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vera M. Warmuth, Matthias H. Weissensteiner, Jochen B. W. Wolf
Summary: One defining feature of TEs is their ability to move in the host genome, and host mechanisms to control TE activity is often incomplete. The W chromosome of crows acts as a source of transcriptionally active TEs, which may have negative fitness consequences for female birds.
Article
Ecology
Daria Martchenko, Kevin S. White, Aaron B. A. Shafer
Summary: The potential negative artificial selection on horn size is a concern for hunting mountain goats. This study found that geographical location and artificial selection have little effect on horn size, while climate conditions may play a significant role. Additionally, mountain goats harvested closer to roads tend to have larger horns, possibly due to hunters' increased selectivity.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shane D. Widanagama, Joanna R. Freeland, Xinwei Xu, Aaron B. A. Shafer
Summary: Researchers have generated a high-quality whole-genome assembly of Typha latifolia using PacBio long-read and high coverage Illumina sequences, which will facilitate evolutionary and ecological studies.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Saskia Schirmer, Franzi Korner-Nievergelt, Jan A. C. von Roenn, Volkmar Liebscher
Summary: Spatial variation in survival has significant implications for individual fitness and population dynamics. Understanding the spatial patterns of migrating animals is crucial for studying their demography.
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Gabriela Borja-Martinez, Daniel Tapia-Flores, Aaron B. A. Shafer, Ella Vazquez-Dominguez
Summary: This study evaluates how the environmental complexity of La Malinche volcano influences patterns of genomic variation in Peromyscus melanotis. The researchers found that the forest environmental complexity has a significant impact on dispersal, genomic structure, and connectivity patterns in this rodent. Higher elevation populations show reduced genetic variation, limited connectivity, and isolation, while intermediate elevation populations exhibit higher genetic diversity and lower connectivity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Helena Westerdahl, Samantha Mellinger, Hanna Sigeman, Verena E. Kutschera, Estelle Proux-Wera, Max Lundberg, Matthias Weissensteiner, Allison Churcher, Ignas Bunikis, Bengt Hansson, Jochen B. W. Wolf, Maria Strandh
Summary: The MHC genomic region in birds, especially passerines, shows substantial structural differences and diversity in gene numbers. The MHC genes in passerines are found in two different chromosomal arrangements, with some genes being old and putatively orthologous among species, while others have evolved by simultaneous duplication of multiple genes.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marie-Laurence Cossette, Donald T. Stewart, Amin Haghani, Joseph A. Zoller, Aaron B. A. Shafer, Steve Horvath
Summary: Geographically isolated populations, such as the island population of Nova Scotia masked shrews in this study, often exhibit phenotypic and epigenetic differences compared to their mainland counterparts. This study provides novel insights into the role of DNA methylation in phenotypic and epigenetic divergence in island-mainland mammal populations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Camille Kessler, Eric Wootton, Aaron B. A. Shafer
Summary: Under the ecological speciation model, divergent selection creates barriers to gene flow and leads to reproductive isolation. Hybridisation can both promote and inhibit speciation. Using white-tailed and mule deer, we found negligible ancestral introgression and no divergence with gene flow, but localized allopatric and balancing selection. Balancing selection affected genes related to immunity, MHC, and smell perception, consistent with deer biology. The lack of historical gene flow suggests spatial separation during glaciation cycles and differentiation via genetic drift. Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities and selection against hybrids are hypothesized to be acting, and diversity correlations suggest advanced speciation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Catriona L. C. Jones, Aaron B. A. Shafer, Paul C. C. Frost
Summary: In this study, nutrigenomics was used to identify nutritional biomarkers in Daphnia pulex. Transcriptome sequencing identified 13 potential biomarkers that accurately predicted the nutritional status of the zooplankter. These biomarkers were able to classify samples into the correct nutritional group with 100% accuracy. The findings provide insights into the causes and consequences of nutritional limitation in animal consumers and their responses to changes in biogeochemical cycles.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eric Wootton, Claude Robert, Jolle Taillon, Steeve Cote, Aaron B. A. Shafer
Summary: In this study, the relationships between measures of inbreeding, genomic constraint, and mutational load were investigated in white-tailed deer, caribou, and mountain goat. The results showed that mountain goats had higher inbreeding coefficients and more evolutionarily constrained regions compared to caribou and white-tailed deer. Additionally, white-tailed deer had the highest mutational load, followed by caribou, while mountain goats had the lowest.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fernando Lopes, Larissa R. Oliveira, Yago Beux, Amanda Kessler, Susana Cardenas-Alayza, Patricia Majluf, Diego Paez-Rosas, Jaime Chaves, Enrique Crespo, Robert L. Brownell Jr, Alastair M. M. Baylis, Maritza Sepulveda, Valentina Franco-Trecu, Carolina Loch, Bruce C. Robertson, Claire R. Peart, Jochen B. W. Wolf, Sandro L. Bonatto
Summary: Hybridization is an important source of genetic diversity and evolution, and its role in generating novel lineages has been debated in animals. We provide genomic evidence that the Peruvian fur seal (Pfs) is a genetically distinct species resulting from hybridization between the South American fur seal (SAfs) and the Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis) around 400,000 years ago. Our findings support the occurrence of homoploid hybrid speciation in Pfs and highlight the significance of hybridization in promoting biodiversity in large vertebrates.
Article
Ecology
Daria Martchenko, Aaron B. A. Shafer
Summary: This study compared whole genome and reduced representation sequencing methods to study the population demographic and adaptive signals of the North American mountain goat. The results showed that both methods supported glacial-induced population vicariance and extremely low effective population size. Geography and climate variables explained a moderate proportion of genetic diversity, suggesting the role of drift and local adaptation. Whole genome sequencing had advantages over reduced representation sequencing in inferring adaptive processes and calculating runs-of-homozygosity estimates. Considering climate-induced changes and the genetically depauperate mountain goat, its long-term adaptive capabilities are questionable.
Article
Biology
Saskia Schirmer, Fraenzi Korner-Nievergelt, Jan A. C. von Roenn, Volkmar Liebscher
Summary: Understanding spatially varying survival is crucial for ecology and evolution of migratory animals and can aid in species conservation. This article presents a method to estimate continuous geographic variation in annual survival probability and migratory connectivity, based on density function and recovery data. The method is implemented using kernel density estimates and shows unbiased estimations with some edge effects in survival and connectivity.
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daniel Bolnick, Amanda K. Hund, Patrik Nosil, Foen Peng, Mark Ravinet, Sean Stankowski, Swapna Subramanian, Jochen B. W. Wolf, Roman Yukilevich
Summary: The concept of a speciation continuum has gained popularity as a continuous process that may be studied by comparing different levels of divergence in modern population pairs. Stankowski and Ravinet's perspective article formally defines the speciation continuum as a continuum of reproductive isolation, based on opinions from speciation researchers. However, we propose a multivariate extension, the speciation hypercube, which has conceptual and practical advantages over the one-dimensional model, and allows for visualization and comparison of different speciation trajectories.