Article
Biology
Vera Weisbecker, Robin M. D. Beck, Thomas Guillerme, Arianna R. Harrington, Leonie Lange-Hodgson, Michael S. Y. Lee, Karine Mardon, Matthew J. Phillips
Summary: Incorporating morphological data into modern phylogenies can enhance divergence dating and macroevolutionary inferences. However, the usefulness of morphological data in phylogenetic reconstructions, especially in specific anatomical regions such as the basicranium, varies. This study demonstrates that basicranial data show less phylogenetic signal compared to the rest of the cranium, suggesting that easily computed metrics can provide guidance on phylogenetic information.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
David T. Bilton, Manfred A. Jaech, Ignacio Ribera, Emmanuel F. A. Toussaint
Summary: This article presents a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the diverse moss beetle genera in the family Hydraenidae. The research suggests that these beetles originated in Africa and Madagascar during the mid-Cretaceous, and their biogeographic history in the Southern Hemisphere was shaped by both vicariant and dispersal processes as well as extinctions. The study also reveals multiple shifts in habitat occupancy across the phylogeny, including the independent origins of terrestrial and humicolous taxa in different regions.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kaustubh Khandai, Cristian Navarro-Martinez, Brendan Smith, Rebecca Buonopane, Soyong Ashley Byun, Murray Patterson
Summary: When studying the evolutionary relationships among species, the principle of parsimony, which suggests that the relationship with the fewest number of evolutionary events is likely the correct one, is often used as a starting point. This study devises a method to determine if pairs of discrete characters are significantly correlated across all most parsimonious reconstructions, given a set of species and an evolutionary tree. The method analyzes the correlation between pairs of evolutionary events for characters and assesses the significance of this correlation using a null hypothesis.
JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Michele Rossini, Vasily Grebennikov, Thomas Merrien, Andreia Miraldo, Heidi Viljanen, Sergei Tarasov
Summary: The phylogenetic relationships of the Paleotropical dung beetle clades (Grebennikovius, Epactoides, and Ochicanthon) were reconstructed using morphology and molecular data. The study reveals the divergence and dispersal patterns of these clades in relation to geological changes and climate conditions between Africa, Madagascar, and Reunion island.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael J. Landis, Ignacio Quintero, Martha M. Munoz, Felipe Zapata, Michael J. Donoghue
Summary: Geographical features have an impact on species dispersal, extinction, and speciation. This study uses a Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework to transform regional features into evolutionary rates. The results show that distance between regions affects dispersal rates and speciation rates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthew McLean, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Sebastien Villeger, Arnaud Auber, Graham J. Edgar, M. Aaron MacNeil, Nicolas Loiseau, Fabien Leprieur, David Mouillot
Summary: Research indicates that despite differences in biogeography and evolutionary history, similar environments host reef fish assemblages with similar trait compositions. This suggests that similar trait-based management strategies can be applied across different regions, potentially leading to improved conservation outcomes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nelson Buainain, Marina F. A. Maximiano, Mateus Ferreira, Alexandre Aleixo, Brant C. Faircloth, Robb T. Brumfield, Joel Cracraft, Camila C. Ribas
Summary: This study evaluates the species limits and evolutionary history of Tunchiornis ochraceiceps, a forest songbird, using an integrative approach including plumage coloration, morphometrics, vocalization, and genomic data. The species has a relatively old crown age and comprises several lineages with little evidence of gene flow among them. The research proposes a taxonomic arrangement of four species, including a deeply divergent cryptic species.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Optics
Yong Yang, Meirong Zhao, Yinguo Huang, Dantong Li, Yelong Zheng, Yu Tian
Summary: A novel bionic coaxial micro-displacement sensor based on the shadow method, inspired by the water strider's ability to walk on water, is developed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor uses water as the sensitive element to measure micro-displacement. By applying coaxial displacement excitation on a superhydrophobic circular plate, a meniscus is formed, and a shadow is created when parallel light illuminates the meniscus. The experimental results show a maximum coaxial displacement sensitivity of 62 nm/pixel over a displacement range of 50 μm. The sensor exhibits a linearity error of 1.58% within the measurement range. Due to its simple structure and high resolution, it is expected that this displacement sensor can be utilized in various important ultraprecision measurement fields.
Article
Biology
Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, Diana Ochoa, Stephane Jouve, Pedro E. Romero, Jorge Cardich, Alexander Perez, Thomas DeVries, Patrice Baby, Mario Urbina, Matthieu Carre
Summary: Fossils from marine deposits in Peru reveal that crocodylians were coastal residents in the southeastern Pacific for approximately 14 million years during the Miocene epoch. The fossil record shows that the evolution of marine crocodylians primarily occurred in gavialids and their stem relatives. Marine gavialoids were shallow sea dwellers and their diversification was influenced by coastal habitats. However, they disappeared from the sea during the Pliocene marine megafauna extinction.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert M. Lasley Jr, Nathaniel Evans, Gustav Paulay, Francois Michonneau, Amanda Windsor, Irwansyah, Peter K. L. Ng
Summary: Molecular studies have found that many species in the Indo-West Pacific have allopatric mosaics of endemic lineages, indicating the need for substantial time for isolating mechanisms to evolve. A phylogeny of Chlorodiellinae crabs showed allopatric lineages without divergent male genitalia, suggesting that divergence occurs after isolation in allopatry. However, genital morphological evolution plays an important role in completing speciation in these crabs.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chase Doran Brownstein
Summary: During the Cretaceous period, terrestrial vertebrates experienced diversifications and turnovers due to global geographical change, although the poor fossil record from the early Late Cretaceous has concealed how dinosaurs and other terrestrial vertebrates responded to these events. This study describes two dinosaurs from the North American paleolandmass Appalachia, shedding light on the timing of important anatomical innovations in two widespread dinosaur lineages. The phylogenetic positions of the dinosaurs show similarities between Appalachian and Eurasian dinosaur faunas, indicating a degree of endemism in Appalachian dinosaur assemblages due to episodes of vicariance.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Roberto Bernasconi, Davide Carniani, Min-Soo Kim, Salvador Pane, Luca Magagnin
Summary: This paper describes the realization of artificial water striders using an inkjet-assisted electroforming approach. The striders are propelled by externally applied magnetic fields, and they show good maneuverability at different fluid interfaces. The research is significant for the development of microdevices capable of navigating various liquid environments.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Pascale Lubbe, Nicolas J. Rawlence, Olga Kardailsky, Bruce C. Robertson, Robert Day, Michael Knapp, Nicolas Dussex
Summary: The biogeographical origins of the endemic birds of New Zealand, particularly the Callaeidae family, have attracted great interest. The formation of Pliocene marine seaways, such as the Manawatu Strait, is likely to have played a significant role in the divergence of North Island and South Island kokako and saddlebacks/tieke.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina, John D. Konvalina, Ryan S. Mohammed, Brandon Gross, Ryan Vazquez, Juan Felipe Moncada, Saiyaad Ali, Eric A. Hoffman, Llewellyn D. Densmore
Summary: The study investigated the genetic diversity of the spectacled caiman populations on Trinidad and Tobago in comparison to mainland populations, and found that samples from these islands clustered together with samples from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil in a well-supported clade, indicating a dispersal process from the Orinoco River to the islands.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Chase D. Brownstein, Daemin Kim, Oliver D. Orr, Gabriela M. Hogue, Bryn H. Tracy, M. Worth Pugh, Randal Singer, Chelsea Myles-McBurney, Jon Michael Mollish, Jeffrey W. Simmons, Solomon R. David, Gregory Watkins-Colwell, Eva A. Hoffman, Thomas J. Near
Summary: This article describes an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes, using DNA sequencing and morphology to confirm the existence of a second species and its origin dating back to the Plio-Pleistocene period. This discovery is significant for vertebrate genomics and developmental research, but the lineage is currently facing conservation threats due to the caviar fishery.