Article
Environmental Sciences
Tristan Salles, Claire Mallard, Laurent Husson, Sabin Zahirovic, Anta-Clarisse Sarr, Pierre Sepulchre
Summary: Physiographic changes, such as river catchment drainage reorganisations, played an important role in Quaternary species diversification in Sundaland, Southeast Asia, according to simulations using combined landscape evolution and connectivity models. The changes have fragmented the environment into multiple habitats connected by migratory corridors. These results support the theory that rapidly evolving physiography could foster Quaternary biodiversification across Southeast Asia.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Antonio J. Perez-Delgado, Paula Arribas, Carles Hernando, Heriberto Lopez, Yurena Arjona, Daniel Suarez-Ramos, Brent C. Emerson, Carmelo Andujar
Summary: The study reveals the diversification process within a beetle species adapted to the soil environment. Through molecular phylogenetics, population genomics, and morphometric analysis, it was found that the species consists of at least seven lineages, suggesting the presence of a cryptic species complex.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
James S. Albert, Maxwell J. Bernt, Aaron H. Fronk, Joao P. Fontenelle, Shannon L. Kuznar, Nathan R. Lovejoy
Summary: Recent studies have revealed a large-scale biotic interchange between the Western and Eastern Amazon basins, associated with the uplift of the Northern Andes and the formation of the modern Amazon River. Tectonically-driven megariver capture events facilitated a massive biotic interchange between these basins, contributing to the overall biodiversity of Greater Amazonia.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guohong Albert Wu, Chikatoshi Sugimoto, Hideyasu Kinjo, Chika Azama, Fumimasa Mitsube, Manuel Talon, Frederick G. Gmitter, Daniel S. Rokhsar
Summary: The comparative genomic analysis of diverse east Asian citrus revealed a new wild species Citrus ryukyuensis native to the Ryukyu islands, as well as a new population of wild mainland Asian mandarin. This discovery explains the origin and diversity of mandarins and their ability to reproduce apomictically.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sha-Sha Wu, Ming-Tao Jiang, Jiang-lin Miao, Ming-He Li, Jie-Yu Wang, Li-Ming Shen, Dong-Hui Peng, Si-Ren Lan, Jun-Wen Zhai, Zhong-Jian Liu
Summary: The evolutionary history of Pleione, an orchid genus, was investigated using single-copy gene single nucleotide polymorphisms and chloroplast genome datasets. The results revealed the existence of five clades and reticulate evolution in Pleione. Ancestral area reconstruction suggested that Pleione originated in the Hengduan Mountains and experienced rapid diversification due to uplift and two periods of consolidation of the Asian monsoon climate. The interaction between Pleione and climate changes shaped the current distribution and dormancy characteristics of different clades.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Stilianos Louca
Summary: The study found that microorganisms exhibit continental-scale endemism, but this endemism generally occurs at extremely small phylogenetic scales, with most species and closely related strains being globally distributed. Human activities have a significant impact on microbial dispersal, with human-associated lineages dispersing faster than other terrestrial lineages.
Article
Ecology
Nicolas Leroux, Francois-Etienne Sylvain, Eric Normandeau, Aleicia Holland, Adalberto Luis Val, Nicolas Derome
Summary: Lowland central Amazonia is characterized by heterogeneous riverscapes dominated by chemically divergent black and white waters. Recent studies have found that ecological divergence plays a role in the genetic differentiation of fish in these environments, but neutral evolutionary processes explain most of the divergence between populations of Mesonauta festivus.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Ryan A. Folk, Michelle L. Gaynor, Nicholas J. Engle-Wrye, Brian C. O'Meara, Pamela S. Soltis, Douglas E. Soltis, Robert P. Guralnick, Stephen A. Smith, Charles J. Grady, Yudai Okuyama
Summary: Applications of molecular phylogenetic approaches have revealed evidence of hybridization across various clades of life. This study focuses on the Heuchereae clade in Saxifragaceae and uses a combination of nuclear and chloroplast data to confirm previous hybridization events and identify a new one. The results suggest that past climate change and species' ecological strategies play important roles in shaping patterns of range contact and opportunities for hybridization.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna N. Neretina, Dmitry P. Karabanov, Veronika Sacherova, Alexey A. Kotov
Summary: Representatives of the genus Alonella Sars are some of the smallest known water fleas, with poorly studied diversity. Genetic analysis revealed at least twelve divergent phylogenetic lineages, indicating a higher potential species diversity than traditionally accepted. This genetic data provides a background for further morphological analyses and detailed phylogeographical studies.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Felix Vaux, Elahe Parvizi, Dave Craw, Ceridwen Fraser, Jonathan M. Waters
Summary: Large-scale disturbance events can shape biodiversity patterns by generating distinct spatial sectors of genetic diversity within a species. This study investigated the impact of the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake on the genetic diversity of Durvillaea antarctica in the intertidal zone of New Zealand. The results highlight the presence of two parapatric spatial-genomic sectors and support the hypothesis that competing lineage expansions can lead to striking spatial structuring of genetic diversity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Connor M. Wood, Nick Kryshak, Michaela Gustafson, Daniel F. Hofstadter, Brendan K. Hobart, Sheila A. Whitmore, Brian P. Dotters, Kevin N. Roberts, John J. Keane, Sarah C. Sawyer, Rocky J. Gutierrez, M. Zachariah Peery
Summary: The study investigated niche overlap and hybridization between barred owls and spotted owls in different environments, finding significant overlap and hybridization in the low barred owl density Sierra Nevada, while high overlap but rare hybridization in the high barred owl density Pacific Northwest.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pedro Horta, Helena Raposeira, Adrian Banos, Carlos Ibanez, Orly Razgour, Hugo Rebelo, Javier Juste
Summary: The study investigated the impact of introgressive hybridization on the morphology of cryptic Iberian Eptesicus bats coexisting in sympatry. It found that introgressive hybridization may contribute to species adaptation to ecological space and affect morphological traits under selection.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sean B. Reilly, Alexander L. Stubbs, Benjamin R. Karin, Evy Arida, Umilaela Arifin, Amir Hamidy, Hinrich Kaiser, Ke Bi, Awal Riyanto, Djoko T. Iskandar, Jimmy A. McGuire
Summary: Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the study found that the diversity of Cyrtodactylus in southern Wallacea has been greatly underestimated, with potentially 25 candidate species instead of the currently described 8. Limited gene exchange and biogeographical analysis suggest independent dispersals from Sulawesi or its offshore islands into southern Wallacea. The study also indicates the presence of ecological partitioning or competitive exclusion in shaping the assemblages on individual islands.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sebastian Hofman, Robert A. D. Cameron, Malgorzata Prockow, Ioan Sirbu, Artur Osikowski, Aleksandra Jaszczynska, Magdalena Sokol, Andrzej Falniowski
Summary: This study investigated the phylogeny and phylogeography of Fruticicola fruticum using mitochondrial and nuclear markers, revealing three distinct species that likely diverged in southern European refugia during the ice age. Significant genetic diversity differences were found between these species, but no association between geographic distance and genetic variation within each species.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christopher T. Griffin, Brenen M. Wynd, Darlington Munyikwa, Tim J. Broderick, Michel Zondo, Stephen Tolan, Max C. Langer, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Hazel R. Taruvinga
Summary: This study reports a new Carnian assemblage from Zimbabwe, including Africa's oldest definitive dinosaurs Mbiresaurus raathi. This finding suggests the existence of similar vertebrate fauna at high latitudes in Antarctica, and the dispersal of dinosaurs was influenced by paleolatitude-linked climatic barriers.