Featured
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| Open AccessLocally-adapted reproductive photoperiodism determines population vulnerability to climate change in burying beetles
Understanding whether intraspecific trait variation results from local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity is crucial to predict species responses to climate change. Here the authors investigate geographically distinct burying beetle populations, showing that photoperiodism is a locally adapted, not phenotypically plastic, trait.
- Hsiang-Yu Tsai
- , Dustin R. Rubenstein
- & Sheng-Feng Shen
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Article
| Open AccessEvolutionary conservation of within-family biodiversity patterns
Little is known about the phylogenetic conservation of higher-level properties. Here, the authors analyse the species distributions of 14 lichen families, 9 insect families, and 9 bird families in the Cantabrian mountains and show phylogenetic conservation of within-family biodiversity patterns.
- Paola Laiolo
- , Joaquina Pato
- & José Ramón Obeso
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Article
| Open AccessEvolutionary games with environmental feedbacks
Strategic game payoffs often depend on the state of the environment, which in turn can be influenced by game strategies. Here, Tilman et al. develop a general framework for modeling strategic games with environmental feedbacks and analyze case studies from decision-making, ecology, and economics.
- Andrew R. Tilman
- , Joshua B. Plotkin
- & Erol Akçay
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Article
| Open AccessBacterial adaptation is constrained in complex communities
A species’ ability to adapt to a new environment may be influenced by both intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors. Here, Scheuerl et al. show that bacterial adaptation to low pH depends on not only its genome size and initial level of adaptation, but also the diversity of the community.
- Thomas Scheuerl
- , Meirion Hopkins
- & Thomas Bell
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Article
| Open AccessCommunity diversity and habitat structure shape the repertoire of extracellular proteins in bacteria
Microbes secrete a repertoire of extracellular proteins to serve various functions depending on the ecological context. Here the authors examine how bacterial community composition and habitat structure affect the extracellular proteins, showing that generalist species and those living in more structured environments produce more extracellular proteins, and that costs of production are lower in more diverse communities.
- Marc Garcia-Garcera
- & Eduardo P. C. Rocha
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Article
| Open AccessThe origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates
Acoustic communication is widespread, but not universal, across terrestrial vertebrates. Here, the authors show that acoustic communication evolved anciently, but independently, in most tetrapod groups and that these origins were associated with nocturnal activity.
- Zhuo Chen
- & John J. Wiens
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Article
| Open AccessEvolutionary selection of biofilm-mediated extended phenotypes in Yersinia pestis in response to a fluctuating environment
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, can change its biofilm production to influence the dynamics of flea-borne transmission. Here, the authors sequence Y. pestis isolates sampled over 40 years in China and show evidence for climate-associated selection on rpoZ to increase biofilm production.
- Yujun Cui
- , Boris V. Schmid
- & Ruifu Yang
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Article
| Open AccessDemographic amplification is a predictor of invasiveness among plants
Prior studies have examined fixed traits that correlate with plant invasiveness. Here the authors use a database of population matrices to compare demographic traits of invasive species in their native and invaded ranges, finding that demographic amplification is an important predictor of invasiveness.
- Kim Jelbert
- , Danielle Buss
- & Dave Hodgson
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Article
| Open AccessResponses of unicellular predators to cope with the phototoxicity of photosynthetic prey
Photosynthesis generates reactive oxygen species that can damage cells. Here, the authors show that unicellular predators of photosynthetic prey have shared responses to photosynthetic oxidative stress and these may also have been important for the evolution of endosymbiosis.
- Akihiro Uzuka
- , Yusuke Kobayashi
- & Shin-ya Miyagishima
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Article
| Open AccessThe coincidence of ecological opportunity with hybridization explains rapid adaptive radiation in Lake Mweru cichlid fishes
Recent studies have suggested that hybridization can facilitate adaptive radiations. Here, the authors show that opportunity for hybridization differentiates Lake Mweru, where cichlids radiated, and Lake Bangweulu, where cichlids did not radiate despite ecological opportunity in both lakes.
- Joana I. Meier
- , Rike B. Stelkens
- & Ole Seehausen
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Article
| Open AccessThe evolution of parental care diversity in amphibians
Parental care can take many forms but how this diversity arises is not well understood. Here, the authors compile data for over 1300 amphibian species and show that different forms of care evolve at different rates, prolonged care can be easily reduced, and biparental care is evolutionarily unstable.
- Andrew I. Furness
- & Isabella Capellini
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Article
| Open AccessArtificial intelligence reveals environmental constraints on colour diversity in insects
Deep learning has the potential to identify ecological relationships between environment and complex phenotypes that are difficult to quantify. Here, the authors use deep learning to analyse associations among elevation, climate and phenotype across ~2000 moth species in Taiwan.
- Shipher Wu
- , Chun-Min Chang
- & Sheng-Feng Shen
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Article
| Open AccessAlternative ecological strategies lead to avian brain size bimodality in variable habitats
Large brains are expected to be beneficial in variable environments by enabling flexible behavioral responses. Here, the authors show that relative brain size in birds is bimodally distributed in colder, seasonal environments, suggesting that both large and small brains can be adaptive solutions to harsh conditions.
- Trevor S. Fristoe
- & Carlos A. Botero
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient
It is unclear whether species’ responses to climate change tend to be adaptive or sufficient to keep up with climate change. Here, Radchuk et al. perform a meta-analysis showing that in birds phenology has advanced adaptively in some species, though not all the way to the new optima.
- Viktoriia Radchuk
- , Thomas Reed
- & Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
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Article
| Open AccessEuropean mushroom assemblages are darker in cold climates
The functions of color in fungi are not well characterized. Here, Krah and colleagues investigate the color of mushroom assemblages across Europe and show relationships with climate, nutritional mode (saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal) and seasonality.
- Franz-Sebastian Krah
- , Ulf Büntgen
- & Claus Bässler
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Article
| Open AccessCoevolution of vocal signal characteristics and hearing sensitivity in forest mammals
Sensory drive theory predicts that vocal signalling coevolves with auditory sensitivity, but empirical evidence is limited. Here, Charlton et al. show that vocal characteristics and hearing have coevolved in forest mammals, due to constraints imposed by the local signalling environment.
- Benjamin D. Charlton
- , Megan A. Owen
- & Ronald R. Swaisgood
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Article
| Open AccessFeather moult and bird appearance are correlated with global warming over the last 200 years
Most passerine bird species replace part of their plumage within the first year of life. Here, using data from 4,012 individuals of 19 species, Kiat et al. find that the extent of post-juvenile moult has increased over the past 212 years and this correlated with the global temperature increase in this period.
- Y. Kiat
- , Y. Vortman
- & N. Sapir
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Article
| Open AccessPhylogenetic conservation of bacterial responses to soil nitrogen addition across continents
Developing a predictive understanding of bacterial community responses to environmental change is an ongoing challenge. Here, Isobe et al. reanalyze data on soil microbial responses to nitrogen addition across 5 continents, finding that responses are predictable based on phylogeny.
- Kazuo Isobe
- , Steven D. Allison
- & Jennifer B. H. Martiny
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Review Article
| Open AccessThe reach of gene–culture coevolution in animals
The reciprocal interaction between genetic and cultural evolution is well recognised in humans. Here, Whitehead and colleagues review the growing body of evidence that culture is also a major driver of both neutral and adaptive genetic evolution in non-human animals.
- Hal Whitehead
- , Kevin N. Laland
- & Andrew Whiten
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Article
| Open AccessFruit scent and observer colour vision shape food-selection strategies in wild capuchin monkeys
We know little about the relative contributions of visual and olfactory senses for wild, frugivorous mammals. Here, the authors show that in capuchin monkeys, frequency of olfactory evaluation of fruits is higher when scent production increases with ripening, and among monkeys with red-green colorblindness.
- Amanda D. Melin
- , Omer Nevo
- & Shoji Kawamura
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Article
| Open AccessProjected losses of global mammal and bird ecological strategies
Animal diversity, measured in numbers of species, is rapidly being lost to extinction. Here, Cooke et al. show that the diversity of ecological strategies employed by land mammals and birds is also expected to narrow towards small, fecund, insect-eating generalists with fast-paced life histories.
- Robert S. C. Cooke
- , Felix Eigenbrod
- & Amanda E. Bates
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Article
| Open AccessNonlinearity of root trait relationships and the root economics spectrum
Kong et al. use a global trait dataset of 800 plant species to examine the root economics spectrum in relation to root diameter, tissue density and root nitrogen concentration. Nonlinear trait relationships were observed, suggesting allometry-based nonlinearity in root trait relationships.
- Deliang Kong
- , Junjian Wang
- & Yulong Feng
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Article
| Open AccessMeta-analytic evidence that sexual selection improves population fitness
Sexual selection has the potential to either increase or decrease absolute fitness. Here, Cally et al. perform a meta-analysis of 65 experimental evolution studies and find that sexual selection on males tends to increase fitness, especially in females evolving under stressful conditions.
- Justin G. Cally
- , Devi Stuart-Fox
- & Luke Holman
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Article
| Open AccessGenetics and evidence for balancing selection of a sex-linked colour polymorphism in a songbird
Gouldian finches have a head colour polymorphism that is also associated with physiological and behavioural differentiation. Here, the authors map this colour polymorphism to a putative regulatory region for follistatin on the Z chromosome and suggest it is maintained by balancing selection.
- Kang-Wook Kim
- , Benjamin C. Jackson
- & Terry Burke
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptive individual variation in phenological responses to perceived predation levels
For phenotypic plasticity to evolve to a changing world, there must be variation in plasticity. Here, the authors show that whether great tits advance or delay breeding in response to perceived predation risk depends on their personality, linking variation in plasticity with that in personality.
- Robin N. Abbey-Lee
- & Niels J. Dingemanse
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Article
| Open AccessEcological and geographical overlap drive plumage evolution and mimicry in woodpeckers
Many abiotic and biotic factors shape the macroevolution of phenotype, but these factors are rarely disentangled across large radiations. Here, Miller et al. investigate plumage evolution across woodpeckers, finding influences of habitat and climate, but also convergence apparently driven by mimicry
- Eliot T. Miller
- , Gavin M. Leighton
- & Russell A. Ligon
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Article
| Open AccessBreeders that receive help age more slowly in a cooperatively breeding bird
Sociality explains substantial variation in ageing across species, but less is known about this relationship within species. Here, the authors show that female dominant Seychelles warblers with helpers at the nest have higher late-life survival and lower telomere attrition and the probability of having helpers increases with age.
- Martijn Hammers
- , Sjouke A. Kingma
- & David S. Richardson
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Article
| Open AccessBisnorgammacerane traces predatory pressure and the persistent rise of algal ecosystems after Snowball Earth
It remains unclear when and why the world’s oceans, once largely occupied by bacteria, became dominated by photosynthetic algae. Here, using fossil lipids in million year old rocks, the authors show that predation after the Snowball Earth glaciations created the opportunity for a global shift to algal ecosystems.
- Lennart M. van Maldegem
- , Pierre Sansjofre
- & Christian Hallmann
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Article
| Open AccessEnvironment and evolutionary history shape phylogenetic turnover in European tetrapods
Phylogenetic turnover measures the evolutionary distance between species assemblages. Here, Saladin et al. analyze the phylogenetic turnover of European tetrapods after controlling for geographic distance and show greater roles of environment in recent evolutionary history for ectotherms than for endotherms.
- Bianca Saladin
- , Wilfried Thuiller
- & Niklaus E. Zimmermann
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Article
| Open AccessUnifying host-associated diversification processes using butterfly–plant networks
Herbivorous insects could diversify through radiations after major host switches or through constant variability in new host use. With phylogenetic and network analyses, Braga et al. show that variability in host use supports most butterfly diversification, while rare radiations can further boost diversity.
- Mariana P. Braga
- , Paulo R. Guimarães Jr
- & Niklas Janz
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Review Article
| Open AccessEcology and evolution of facilitation among symbionts
Facilitation is a well-known ecological interaction among free-living species, but symbionts residing in or on a host can also positively affect other symbiont species. Here, the authors review examples of facilitation among symbionts, revealing how facilitation theory can improve understanding of these interactions.
- Flore Zélé
- , Sara Magalhães
- & Alison B. Duncan
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Article
| Open AccessExperimental heatwaves compromise sperm function and cause transgenerational damage in a model insect
Animal physiology, including reproduction, could respond to climate change in complex ways. Here, the authors use experiments with an insect model system to show that simulated heatwaves harm male reproductive potential by reducing sperm number and viability, an effect which persisted into the next generation
- Kris Sales
- , Ramakrishnan Vasudeva
- & Matthew J. G. Gage
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Article
| Open AccessSchedule and magnitude of reproductive investment under immune trade-offs explains sex differences in immunity
Females and males tend to emphasize different defenses against pathogens: pathogen detection and pathogen killing, respectively. Here, Metcalf and Graham show that these alternate strategies can be explained by immune trade-offs only because the sexes differ in reproductive life history.
- C. Jessica E. Metcalf
- & Andrea L. Graham
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Article
| Open AccessThe dimensionality of niche space allows bounded and unbounded processes to jointly influence diversification
The degree to which species diversity is bounded by limited niche space is under debate. Here, Larcombe and colleagues show that bounded and unbounded processes contribute more-or-less equally to conifer diversification, and that it may be niche dimensionality that facilitates these opposing forces.
- Matthew J. Larcombe
- , Gregory J. Jordan
- & Steven I. Higgins
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Article
| Open AccessSex and species specific hearing mechanisms in mosquito flagellar ears
Auditory processing is an important component of mosquito behaviour including mating. Here the authors demonstrate substantial sex- and also species-specific variation in mosquito auditory transduction, amplification and gain control.
- Matthew P. Su
- , Marta Andrés
- & Joerg T. Albert
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Article
| Open AccessReflection of near-infrared light confers thermal protection in birds
More than half of solar radiation is at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Here, Medina et al. show that among Australian birds NIR reflectivity is higher in species from hot, arid environments and their biophysical modelling further shows that this can reduce water loss from evaporative cooling.
- Iliana Medina
- , Elizabeth Newton
- & Devi Stuart-Fox
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Article
| Open AccessDifferences in age-specific mortality between wild-caught and captive-born Asian elephants
Wild Asian elephants have been and continue to be captured to supplement captive populations. Here, Lahdenperä et al. use records from Myanmar timber elephants to show that wild-caught elephants have increased mortality compared to captive-born elephants for many years after capture.
- Mirkka Lahdenperä
- , Khyne U. Mar
- & Virpi Lummaa
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Article
| Open AccessAn antifungal polyketide associated with horizontally acquired genes supports symbiont-mediated defense in Lagria villosa beetles
Burkholderia bacteria protect the offspring of Lagria beetles against pathogens. Here, Flórez et al. identify an antifungal polyketide that is likely encoded by a horizontally acquired gene cluster on the genome of a dominant, uncultured Burkholderia symbiont of Lagria villosa.
- Laura V. Flórez
- , Kirstin Scherlach
- & Martin Kaltenpoth
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Article
| Open AccessTransmission-clearance trade-offs indicate that dengue virulence evolution depends on epidemiological context
Theory predicts that pathogens will evolve towards intermediate virulence, yet the necessary trade-offs invoked by this theory have rarely been demonstrated empirically. Here, the authors show that dengue virus dynamics exhibit a trade-off between transmission and clearance rates.
- Rotem Ben-Shachar
- & Katia Koelle
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Article
| Open AccessAsynchronous evolution of interdependent nest characters across the avian phylogeny
Nearly all bird species build nests; however, there is extensive variation in both how and where their nests are built. Here, Fang and colleagues reconstruct the evolution of nest structure, nest site and nest attachment across all extant bird families.
- Yi-Ting Fang
- , Mao-Ning Tuanmu
- & Chih-Ming Hung
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Article
| Open AccessEnvironmental fluctuations accelerate molecular evolution of thermal tolerance in a marine diatom
A better mechanistic understanding of how marine diatoms adapt to global warming is pertinent to project changes in global ocean primary production. Here, Schaum et al. show substantial phenotypic and genomic changes in Thalassiosira pseudonana during a 300-generation selection experiment in stable and fluctuating environments.
- C.-Elisa Schaum
- , A. Buckling
- & G. Yvon-Durocher
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Article
| Open AccessPopulation size changes and selection drive patterns of parallel evolution in a host–virus system
Pathogens exert strong selection on hosts and thus may promote parallel evolution. Here, the authors find that hosts experimentally coevolving with a virus have parallel changes in population size, phenotype, and genomic regions, but accelerated divergence in genome sequence likely due to population size fluctuation.
- Jens Frickel
- , Philine G. D. Feulner
- & Lutz Becks
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Article
| Open AccessManipulation of insulin signaling phenocopies evolution of a host-associated polyphenism
The red-shouldered soapberry bug, Jadera haematoloma, is a potential model system for developmental plasticity. Here, the authors show that the reaction norm for wing polyphenism has evolved in a recently derived ecotype and identify insulin signaling as a candidate pathway underlying this adaptive change.
- Meghan M. Fawcett
- , Mary C. Parks
- & David R. Angelini
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Article
| Open AccessHunting regulation favors slow life histories in a large carnivore
Hunting and harvesting are generally expected to select for faster life histories in the exploited species. Here, the authors analyse data from a hunted population of brown bears in Sweden and show that regulations protecting females with dependent young lead hunting to favor prolonged maternal care.
- Joanie Van de Walle
- , Gabriel Pigeon
- & Fanie Pelletier
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Article
| Open AccessStrong phenotypic plasticity limits potential for evolutionary responses to climate change
Phenotypic plasticity—the ability to express multiple phenotypes from the same genome—is a widespread adaptation to environmental variability. Here, Oostra et al analyze transcriptomes of an African butterfly with distinct seasonal phenotypes, and observe lack of variation for plasticity, limiting potential for evolutionary responses to climate change.
- Vicencio Oostra
- , Marjo Saastamoinen
- & Christopher W. Wheat
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Article
| Open AccessHerbivorous turtle ants obtain essential nutrients from a conserved nitrogen-recycling gut microbiome
Gut bacteria are prevalent across insects including ants, but their precise roles are often unclear. Here, Hu et al. show that microbes aid ants by recycling nitrogen into bio-available amino acids. This function is conserved across the turtle ants, suggesting an ancient nutritional mutualism.
- Yi Hu
- , Jon G. Sanders
- & Jacob A. Russell
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Article
| Open AccessConvergent shifts in host-associated microbial communities across environmentally elicited phenotypes
Symbiotic microbial communities aid their hosts through developmental and environmental transitions. Here, the authors show that host morphological plasticity is associated with predictable changes in a phenotype-specific microbiome in three species of sea urchin larvae.
- Tyler J. Carrier
- & Adam M. Reitzel
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Article
| Open AccessThe assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens
Venom can be used both offensively for prey capture and defensively to deter predators. Here, Walker and colleagues demonstrate that the assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis has two distinct venom glands that produce venoms with distinct compositions that can be elicited by different stimuli.
- Andrew A. Walker
- , Mark L. Mayhew
- & Glenn F. King
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Article
| Open AccessNo evidence that carotenoid pigments boost either immune or antioxidant defenses in a songbird
Dietary carotenoids have been proposed to have physiological benefits in addition to contributing to coloration. Here, Koch et al. compare immune and antioxidant functions in yellow, carotenoid-rich vs. white, carotenoid-deficient canaries and find no difference, suggesting a limited physiological role of carotenoids.
- Rebecca E. Koch
- , Andreas N. Kavazis
- & Geoffrey E. Hill