1
|
Medina I, Dong C, Marquez R, Perez DM, Wang IJ, Stuart-Fox D. Anti-predator defences are linked with high levels of genetic differentiation in frogs. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232292. [PMID: 38264783 PMCID: PMC10806439 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Predator-prey interactions have been suggested as drivers of diversity in different lineages, and the presence of anti-predator defences in some clades is linked to higher rates of diversification. Warning signals are some of the most widespread defences in the animal world, and there is evidence of higher diversification rates in aposematic lineages. The mechanisms behind such species richness, however, are still unclear. Here, we test whether lineages that use aposematism as anti-predator defence exhibit higher levels of genetic differentiation between populations, leading to increased opportunities for divergence. We collated from the literature more than 3000 pairwise genetic differentiation values across more than 700 populations from over 60 amphibian species. We find evidence that over short geographical distances, populations of species of aposematic lineages exhibit greater genetic divergence relative to species that are not aposematic. Our results support a scenario where the use of warning signals could restrict gene flow, and suggest that anti-predator defences could impact divergence between populations and potentially have effects at a macro-evolutionary scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Iliana Medina
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
| | - Caroline Dong
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70115, USA
| | - Roberto Marquez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Michigan Society of Fellows, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Daniela M. Perez
- Max Plank Institute of Animal Behaviour, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Ian J. Wang
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Rausser College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Devi Stuart-Fox
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wan YC, Navarrete Méndez MJ, O'Connell LA, Uricchio LH, Roland AB, Maan ME, Ron SR, Betancourth-Cundar M, Pie MR, Howell KA, Richards-Zawacki CL, Cummings ME, Cannatella DC, Santos JC, Tarvin RD. Selection on Visual Opsin Genes in Diurnal Neotropical Frogs and Loss of the SWS2 Opsin in Poison Frogs. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad206. [PMID: 37791477 PMCID: PMC10548314 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Amphibians are ideal for studying visual system evolution because their biphasic (aquatic and terrestrial) life history and ecological diversity expose them to a broad range of visual conditions. Here, we evaluate signatures of selection on visual opsin genes across Neotropical anurans and focus on three diurnal clades that are well-known for the concurrence of conspicuous colors and chemical defense (i.e., aposematism): poison frogs (Dendrobatidae), Harlequin toads (Bufonidae: Atelopus), and pumpkin toadlets (Brachycephalidae: Brachycephalus). We found evidence of positive selection on 44 amino acid sites in LWS, SWS1, SWS2, and RH1 opsin genes, of which one in LWS and two in RH1 have been previously identified as spectral tuning sites in other vertebrates. Given that anurans have mostly nocturnal habits, the patterns of selection revealed new sites that might be important in spectral tuning for frogs, potentially for adaptation to diurnal habits and for color-based intraspecific communication. Furthermore, we provide evidence that SWS2, normally expressed in rod cells in frogs and some salamanders, has likely been lost in the ancestor of Dendrobatidae, suggesting that under low-light levels, dendrobatids have inferior wavelength discrimination compared to other frogs. This loss might follow the origin of diurnal activity in dendrobatids and could have implications for their behavior. Our analyses show that assessments of opsin diversification in across taxa could expand our understanding of the role of sensory system evolution in ecological adaptation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yin Chen Wan
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - María José Navarrete Méndez
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | | | - Lawrence H Uricchio
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - Alexandre-Benoit Roland
- FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), UMR5169 CNRS, Toulouse University, Toulouse, France
| | - Martine E Maan
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Santiago R Ron
- Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | | | - Marcio R Pie
- Department of Zoology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
- Biology Department, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United Kingdom
| | - Kimberly A Howell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Molly E Cummings
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - David C Cannatella
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Biodiversity Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Juan C Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca D Tarvin
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Pascal FJM, Vega A, Akopyan M, Hoke KL, Robertson JM. Sexual signal evolution and patterns of assortative mating across an intraspecific contact zone. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1077-1089. [PMID: 37306282 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Contact zones provide important insights into the evolutionary processes that underlie lineage divergence and speciation. Here, we use a contact zone to ascertain speciation potential in the red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas), a brightly coloured and polymorphic frog that exhibits unusually high levels of intraspecific variation. Populations of A. callidryas differ in a number of traits, several of which are known sexual signals that mediate premating reproductive isolation in allopatric populations. Along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, a ~100 km contact zone, situated between two phenotypically and genetically divergent parent populations, contains multiple colour pattern phenotypes and late-generation hybrids. This contact zone provides the opportunity to examine processes that are important in the earliest stages of lineage divergence. We performed analyses of colour pattern variation in five contact zone sites and six parental sites and found complex, continuous colour variation along the contact zone. We found discordance between the geographic distribution of colour pattern and previously described genomic population structure. We then used a parental site and contact zone site to measure assortative mating and directional selection from naturally-occurring amplectant mating pairs. We found assortative mating in a parental population, but no assortative mating in the contact zone. Furthermore, we uncovered evidence of directional preference towards the adjacent parental phenotype in the contact zone population, but no directional preference in the parent population. Combined, these data provide insights into potential dynamics at the contact zone borders and indicate that incipient speciation between parent populations will be slowed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Florine J M Pascal
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California, USA
| | | | - Maria Akopyan
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kim L Hoke
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Jeanne M Robertson
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Yeager J, Penacchio O. Outcomes of multifarious selection on the evolution of visual signals. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230327. [PMID: 37040810 PMCID: PMC10089717 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Multifarious sources of selection shape visual signals and can produce phenotypic divergence. Theory predicts that variance in warning signals should be minimal due to purifying selection, yet polymorphism is abundant. While in some instances divergent signals can evolve into discrete morphs, continuously variable phenotypes are also encountered in natural populations. Notwithstanding, we currently have an incomplete understanding of how combinations of selection shape fitness landscapes, particularly those which produce polymorphism. We modelled how combinations of natural and sexual selection act on aposematic traits within a single population to gain insights into what combinations of selection favours the evolution and maintenance of phenotypic variation. With a rich foundation of studies on selection and phenotypic divergence, we reference the poison frog genus Oophaga to model signal evolution. Multifarious selection on aposematic traits created the topology of our model's fitness landscape by approximating different scenarios found in natural populations. Combined, the model produced all types of phenotypic variation found in frog populations, namely monomorphism, continuous variation and discrete polymorphism. Our results afford advances into how multifarious selection shapes phenotypic divergence, which, along with additional modelling enhancements, will allow us to further our understanding of visual signal evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Yeager
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Facultad de Ingenierías y Ciencas Aplicadas, Universidad de Las Américas, Ecuador
| | - Olivier Penacchio
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK
- Computer Vision Center, Computer Science Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Peignier M, Bégué L, Gieseke A, Petri D, Ringler M, Ringler E. Mate choice in a promiscuous poison frog. Ethology 2022; 128:693-703. [PMID: 36632092 PMCID: PMC9826338 DOI: 10.1111/eth.13331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
In many animal species, members of one sex, most often females, exhibit a strong preference for mating partners with particular traits or resources. However, when females sequentially mate with multiple partners, strategies underlying female choice are not very well understood. Particularly, little is known if under such sequential polyandry females mate truly randomly, or if they actively try to spread mating events across multiple partners. In the present study, we used the highly promiscuous poison frog Allobates femoralis to investigate whether promiscuity could result from a preference for novel mates. Furthermore, we examined the importance of call characteristics for mate choice. We conducted mate choice experiments in a laboratory setup, by presenting females with recent mating partners or novel males. We recorded call characteristics of both males and the time females spent close to each male. In our trials, females preferred previous mating partners over novel males and also males with shorter advertisement calls. Results from previous studies on A. femoralis suggest that females in our trials recognized previous partners based on individual call characteristics. While mating decisions in the wild and in the laboratory might differ, our study provides first evidence for female mate choice in a poison frog with sequential polyandry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Peignier
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland,Messerli Research InstituteUniversity of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria,Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Lauriane Bégué
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland,Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria,Department of Biology and EcologyUniversity of MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Alina Gieseke
- Messerli Research InstituteUniversity of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Diana Petri
- Messerli Research InstituteUniversity of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Max Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland,Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria,Department of Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria,Institute of Electronic Music and AcousticsUniversity of Music and Performing Arts GrazGrazAustria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of BernBernSwitzerland,Messerli Research InstituteUniversity of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria,Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ponkshe A, Endler JA. Joint effects of female preference intensity and frequency-dependent predation on the polymorphism maintenance in aposematic sexual traits. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9356. [PMID: 36248673 PMCID: PMC9551523 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintenance of variation in aposematic traits within and among populations is paradoxical because aposematic species are normally under positive frequency‐dependent predation (PFD), which is expected to erode variation. Aposematic traits can evolve in an ecological context where aposematic traits are simultaneously under mate choice. Here, we examine how the mate preference intensity affects the permissiveness of polymorphism in sexually selected aposematic traits under different PFD regimes. We use the haploid version of the classical sexual selection model and show that strong mate preferences can substantially increase the permissiveness of polymorphism in aposematic traits under different PFD regimes. The Fisher process can interact with PFD, and their interaction can promote the maintenance of polymorphism within populations when mate preferences are strong. We show that the same selective conditions that promote the maintenance of polymorphism within populations reduce the likelihood of divergence in aposematic traits among populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Ponkshe
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityWaurn PondsVictoriaAustralia,MINT Lab, Edificio Luis Vives, Campus EspinardoUniversity of MurciaMurciaSpain
| | - John A. Endler
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityWaurn PondsVictoriaAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Betancourth-Cundar M, Palacios-Rodriguez P. Reproductive behaviors promote ecological and phenotypic sexual differentiation in the critically endangered Lehmann’s poison frog. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10207-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTerritoriality and parental care are complex reproductive behaviors found in many taxa from insects to mammals. Parental care can be carried out by the female, the male, or both, depending on the species. Territoriality, in contrast, is predominantly displayed by males. Different selective pressures imposed on individuals from the sex performing territorial or parental care behaviors may also lead to sexual differentiation in other life-history traits. Due to their territorial behavior and their diversity of parental care behaviors, Neotropical poison frogs are an excellent study system to investigate whether behavioral traits can influence sexual differentiation in intrinsic or extrinsic traits of individuals. Here, we evaluate whether territorial and parental care behaviors mediate sexual differentiation in ecological (habitat use) and phenotypic (coloration, morphology) traits in the critically endangered Lehmann’s poison frog (Oophaga lehmanni), a species in which males defend territories while females provide parental care. We found sex differences in habitat use and morphological traits, but not in coloration. Males use trunks and green leaves as perches more frequently and are found on higher substrates, than females. We found no sex differences in body size, but females have longer arms than males, which is probably associated with their parental duties (climbing trees to feed the tadpoles). Altogether, our results provide evidence that selection pressures act differently on male and female traits, and that territoriality and parental care may promote the evolution of sexual differentiation in dendrobatids. Long-term wildlife observations are essential to identify important life-history traits and to evaluate hypotheses about the behavioral ecology and conservation of this and other vertebrate species.
Collapse
|
8
|
Schlippe Justicia L, Fouilloux CA, Rojas B. Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges. Acta Ethol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-022-00400-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe current and cascading effects of global change challenges the interactions both between animal individuals (i.e. social and sexual behaviour) and the environment they inhabit. Amphibians are an ecologically diverse class with a wide range of social and sexual behaviours, making them a compelling model to understand the potential adaptations of animals faced with the effects of human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC). Poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) are a particularly interesting system, as they display diverse social behaviours that are shaped by conspecific and environmental interactions, thus offering a tractable system to investigate how closely related species may respond to the impacts of HIREC. Here, we discuss the potential impacts of global change on poison frog behaviour, and the future challenges this group may face in response to such change. We pay special attention to parental care and territoriality, which are emblematic of this clade, and consider how different species may flexibly respond and adapt to increasingly frequent and diverse anthropogenic stress. More specifically, we hypothesise that some parents may increase care (i.e. clutch attendance and distance travelled for tadpole transport) in HIREC scenarios and that species with more generalist oviposition and tadpole deposition behaviours may fare more positively than their less flexible counterparts; we predict that the latter may either face increased competition for resources limited by HIREC or will be forced to adapt and expand their natural preferences. Likewise, we hypothesise that human-driven habitat alteration will disrupt the acoustic and visual communication systems due to increased noise pollution and/or changes in the surrounding light environment. We highlight the need for more empirical research combining behavioural ecology and conservation to better predict species’ vulnerability to global change and efficiently focus conservation efforts.
Collapse
|
9
|
Clark MA, Ota WM, Smith SJ, Muramoto BK, Ngo S, Chan GE, Kenyon MA, Sturtevant MC, Diamond MG, Bucciarelli GM, Kats LB. A natural experiment identifies an impending ecological trap for a neotropical amphibian in response to extreme weather events. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8848. [PMID: 35475175 PMCID: PMC9034451 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme weather events are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, yet amphibian responses to extreme disturbance events remain understudied, especially in the Neotropics. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites where we have studied behavioral responses of diurnal strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) to ultraviolet radiation for nearly two decades. Previous studies demonstrate that O. pumilio selects and defends perches where ultraviolet radiation (UV‐B) is relatively low, likely because of the lethal and sublethal effects of UV‐B. In this natural experiment, we quantified disturbance to O. pumilio habitat, surveyed for the presence of O. pumilio in both high‐disturbance and low‐disturbance areas of the forest, and assessed UV‐B levels and perch selection behavior in both disturbance levels. Fewer frogs were detected in high‐disturbance habitat than in low‐disturbance habitat. In general, frogs were found vocalizing at perches in both disturbance levels, and in both cases, in significantly lower UV‐B levels relative to ambient adjacent surroundings. However, frogs at perches in high‐disturbance areas were exposed to UV‐B levels nearly 10 times greater than males at perches in low‐disturbance areas. Thus, behavioral avoidance of UV‐B may not reduce the risks associated with elevated exposure under these novel conditions, and similarly, if future climate and human‐driven land‐use change lead to sustained analogous environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan A Clark
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - William M Ota
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Sierra J Smith
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Brett K Muramoto
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Summer Ngo
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Gabriella E Chan
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Maxwell A Kenyon
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | | | - Max G Diamond
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| | - Gary M Bucciarelli
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology UCLA Los Angeles California USA.,La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science Los Angeles California USA
| | - Lee B Kats
- Natural Science Division Pepperdine University Malibu California USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Mizuno A, Soma M. Star finches Neochmia ruficauda have a visual preference for white dot patterns: a possible case of trypophilia. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1271-1279. [PMID: 35294684 PMCID: PMC9617841 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01609-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Many animals have polka dot patterns on their body surface, some of which are known to have signalling functions; however, their evolutionary origins remain unclear. Dot patterns can trigger a fear response (trypophobia) in humans and are known to function as aposematic signals in non-human animals, suggesting that dots may deserve attention for biological reasons. Interestingly in many birds, plumage dot patterns serve for social/sexual signalling. To understand their evolution, we have focused on the sensory bias hypothesis, which predicts the role of pre-existing sensory preference driven by natural selection in shaping signal design. Our previous phylogenetic comparative study supported the hypothesis and showed that diet-driven visual preference promoted the evolution of plumage patterns, as there was an evolutionary correlation between termite-eating (white roundish gregarious prey) and the presence of plumage dot patterns in species of the family Estrildidae. This suggests that these species possess an intrinsic preference for dots. To test this, we compared the responses of an Estrildid species with dot plumage pattern (star finch Neochmia ruficauda) towards simultaneously presented monochrome-printed white dot vs white stripe patterns under both food-deprived and -supplied conditions. Overall, star finches preferred dots to stripes. They showed foraging-like behaviours almost only toward dots when hungry and gazed at dots frequently even when food was available, suggesting both hunger-related and hunger-neutral dot preferences. These results are rather surprising, given how strongly the subjects were attracted to abstract dot patterns without organic structure, but provided good support for the sensory bias hypothesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ayumi Mizuno
- Biosystems Science Course, The Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Masayo Soma
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Yeager J, Barnett JB. Continuous Variation in an Aposematic Pattern Affects Background Contrast, but Is Not Associated With Differences in Microhabitat Use. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.803996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in aposematic signals was once predicted to be rare, yet in recent years it has become increasingly well documented. Despite increases in the frequency with which polytypism and polymorphism have been suggested to occur, population-wide variance is rarely quantified. We comprehensively sampled a subpopulation of the poison frog Oophaga sylvatica, a species which is polytypic across its distribution and also shows considerable within-population polymorphism. On one hand, color pattern polymorphism could be the result of multifarious selection acting to balance different signaling functions and leading to the evolution of discrete sub-morphs which occupy different fitness peaks. Alternatively, variance could simply be due to relaxed selection, where variation would be predicted to be continuous. We used visual modeling of conspecific and heterospecific observers to quantify the extent of within population phenotypic variation and assess whether this variation produced distinct signals. We found that, despite considerable color pattern variation, variance could not be partitioned into distinct groups, but rather all viewers would be likely to perceive variation as continuous. Similarly, we found no evidence that frog color pattern contrast was either enhanced or diminished in the frogs’ chosen microhabitats compared to alternative patches in which conspecifics were observed. Within population phenotypic variance therefore does not seem to be indicative of strong selection toward multiple signaling strategies, but rather pattern divergence has likely arisen due to weak purifying selection, or neutral processes, on a signal that is highly salient to both conspecifics and predators.
Collapse
|
12
|
Lindstedt C, Bagley R, Calhim S, Jones M, Linnen C. The impact of life stage and pigment source on the evolution of novel warning signal traits. Evolution 2022; 76:554-572. [PMID: 35103303 PMCID: PMC9304160 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of how novel warning color traits evolve in natural populations is largely based on studies of reproductive stages and organisms with endogenously produced pigmentation. In these systems, genetic drift is often required for novel alleles to overcome strong purifying selection stemming from frequency‐dependent predation and positive assortative mating. Here, we integrate data from field surveys, predation experiments, population genomics, and phenotypic correlations to explain the origin and maintenance of geographic variation in a diet‐based larval pigmentation trait in the redheaded pine sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei), a pine‐feeding hymenopteran. Although our experiments confirm that N. lecontei larvae are indeed aposematic—and therefore likely to experience frequency‐dependent predation—our genomic data do not support a historical demographic scenario that would have facilitated the spread of an initially deleterious allele via drift. Additionally, significantly elevated differentiation at a known color locus suggests that geographic variation in larval color is currently maintained by selection. Together, these data suggest that the novel white morph likely spread via selection. However, white body color does not enhance aposematic displays, nor is it correlated with enhanced chemical defense or immune function. Instead, the derived white‐bodied morph is disproportionately abundant on a pine species with a reduced carotenoid content relative to other pine hosts, suggesting that bottom‐up selection via host plants may have driven divergence among populations. Overall, our results suggest that life stage and pigment source can have a substantial impact on the evolution of novel warning signals, highlighting the need to investigate diverse aposematic taxa to develop a comprehensive understanding of color variation in nature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carita Lindstedt
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Robin Bagley
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, USA.,Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University at Lima, Lima, OH, 45804, USA
| | - Sara Calhim
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Mackenzie Jones
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, USA
| | - Catherine Linnen
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Contrasting environmental drivers of genetic and phenotypic divergence in an Andean poison frog (Epipedobates anthonyi). Heredity (Edinb) 2022; 128:33-44. [PMID: 34718332 PMCID: PMC8733028 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00481-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic and genetic divergence are shaped by the homogenizing effects of gene flow and the differentiating processes of genetic drift and local adaptation. Herein, we examined the mechanisms that underlie phenotypic (size and color) and genetic divergence in 35 populations (535 individuals) of the poison frog Epipedobates anthonyi along four elevational gradients (0-1800 m asl) in the Ecuadorian Andes. We found phenotypic divergence in size and color despite relatively low genetic divergence at neutral microsatellite loci. Genetic and phenotypic divergence were both explained by landscape resistance between sites (isolation-by-resistance, IBR), likely due to a cold and dry mountain ridge between the northern and southern elevational transects that limits dispersal and separates two color morphs. Moreover, environmental differences among sites also explained genetic and phenotypic divergence, suggesting isolation-by-environment (IBE). When northern and southern transects were analyzed separately, genetic divergence was predicted either by distance (isolation-by-distance, IBD; northern) or environmental resistance between sites (IBR; southern). In contrast, phenotypic divergence was primarily explained by environmental differences among sites, supporting the IBE hypothesis. These results indicate that although distance and geographic barriers are important drivers of population divergence, environmental variation has a two-fold effect on population divergence. On the one hand, landscape resistance between sites reduces gene flow (IBR), while on the other hand, environmental differences among sites exert divergent selective pressures on phenotypic traits (IBE). Our work highlights the importance of studying both genetic and phenotypic divergence to better understand the processes of population divergence and speciation along ecological gradients.
Collapse
|
14
|
The geometry of decision-making in individuals and collectives. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2102157118. [PMID: 34880130 PMCID: PMC8685676 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102157118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Almost all animals must make decisions on the move. Here, employing an approach that integrates theory and high-throughput experiments (using state-of-the-art virtual reality), we reveal that there exist fundamental geometrical principles that result from the inherent interplay between movement and organisms’ internal representation of space. Specifically, we find that animals spontaneously reduce the world into a series of sequential binary decisions, a response that facilitates effective decision-making and is robust both to the number of options available and to context, such as whether options are static (e.g., refuges) or mobile (e.g., other animals). We present evidence that these same principles, hitherto overlooked, apply across scales of biological organization, from individual to collective decision-making. Choosing among spatially distributed options is a central challenge for animals, from deciding among alternative potential food sources or refuges to choosing with whom to associate. Using an integrated theoretical and experimental approach (employing immersive virtual reality), we consider the interplay between movement and vectorial integration during decision-making regarding two, or more, options in space. In computational models of this process, we reveal the occurrence of spontaneous and abrupt “critical” transitions (associated with specific geometrical relationships) whereby organisms spontaneously switch from averaging vectorial information among, to suddenly excluding one among, the remaining options. This bifurcation process repeats until only one option—the one ultimately selected—remains. Thus, we predict that the brain repeatedly breaks multichoice decisions into a series of binary decisions in space–time. Experiments with fruit flies, desert locusts, and larval zebrafish reveal that they exhibit these same bifurcations, demonstrating that across taxa and ecological contexts, there exist fundamental geometric principles that are essential to explain how, and why, animals move the way they do.
Collapse
|
15
|
Cotto O, Servedio MR, Day T. The evolution of age-specific choosiness and reproductive isolation in a model with overlapping generations. Evolution 2021; 76:225-235. [PMID: 34877658 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The strength of mate choice (choosiness) often varies with age, but theory to understand this variation is scarce. Additionally, theory has investigated the evolution of choosiness in speciation scenarios but has ignored that most organisms have overlapping generations. We investigate whether speciation can result in variation of choosiness with age, and whether such variation can in turn affect speciation. We develop a population-genetic model of the evolution of choosiness in organisms with overlapping generations in the context of secondary contact between two divergent populations. We assume that females choose males that match their phenotype, such that choosiness evolves by sexual selection. We demonstrate that speciation can result in the evolution of age-specific choosiness when the mating trait is under divergent ecological selection and age is not used as a mating cue. The cause of this result is that allele frequencies differ between choosy females and males. However, we find that the evolution of age-specific choosiness does not affect the overall level of reproductive isolation compared to a case without age-structure, supporting previous speciation theory. Overall, our results connect life history and speciation theory, and the mechanisms that we highlight have implications for the understanding of the role of sex-specific selection in the evolution of choosiness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Cotto
- Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Biology, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.,Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), College de France, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Maria R Servedio
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
| | - Troy Day
- Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Biology, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Yeager J, Barnett JB. The influence of ultraviolet reflectance differs between conspicuous aposematic signals in neotropical butterflies and poison frogs. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13633-13640. [PMID: 34707805 PMCID: PMC8525173 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning signals are often characterized by highly contrasting, distinctive, and memorable colors. Greater chromatic (hue) and achromatic (brightness) contrast have both been found to contribute to greater signal efficacy, making longwave colored signals (e.g., red and yellow), that are perceived by both chromatic and achromatic visual pathways, particularly common. Conversely, shortwave colors (e.g., blue and ultraviolet) do not contribute to luminance perception yet are also commonly found in warning signals. Our understanding of the role of UV in aposematic signals is currently incomplete as UV perception is not universal, and evidence for its utility is at best mixed. We used visual modeling to quantify how UV affects signal contrast in aposematic heliconiian butterflies and poison frogs both of which reflect UV wavelengths, occupy similar habitats, and share similar classes of predators. Previous work on butterflies has found that UV reflectance does not affect predation risk but is involved in mate choice. As the butterflies, but not the frogs, have UV-sensitive vision, the function of UV reflectance in poison frogs is currently unknown. We found that despite showing up strongly in UV photographs, UV reflectance only appreciably affected visual contrast in the butterflies. As such, these results support the notion that although UV reflectance is associated with intraspecific communication in butterflies, it appears to be nonfunctional in frogs. Consequently, our data highlight that we should be careful when assigning a selection-based benefit to the presence of UV reflectance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Yeager
- Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud Universidad de Las Américas Quito Ecuador
| | - James B Barnett
- Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour McMaster University Hamilton ON Canada
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Carvajal-Castro JD, Vargas-Salinas F, Casas-Cardona S, Rojas B, Santos JC. Aposematism facilitates the diversification of parental care strategies in poison frogs. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19047. [PMID: 34561489 PMCID: PMC8463664 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97206-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many organisms have evolved adaptations to increase the odds of survival of their offspring. Parental care has evolved several times in animals including ectotherms. In amphibians, ~ 10% of species exhibit parental care. Among these, poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well-known for their extensive care, which includes egg guarding, larval transport, and specialized tadpole provisioning with trophic eggs. At least one third of dendrobatids displaying aposematism by exhibiting warning coloration that informs potential predators about the presence of defensive skin toxins. Aposematism has a central role in poison frog diversification, including diet specialization, and visual and acoustic communication; and it is thought to have impacted their reproductive biology as well. We tested the latter association using multivariate phylogenetic methods at the family level. Our results show complex relationships between aposematism and certain aspects of the reproductive biology in dendrobatids. In particular, aposematic species tend to use more specialized tadpole-deposition sites, such as phytotelmata, and ferry fewer tadpoles than non-aposematic species. We propose that aposematism may have facilitated the diversification of microhabitat use in dendrobatids in the context of reproduction. Furthermore, the use of resource-limited tadpole-deposition environments may have evolved in tandem with an optimal reproductive strategy characterized by few offspring, biparental care, and female provisioning of food in the form of unfertilized eggs. We also found that in phytotelm-breeders, the rate of transition from cryptic to aposematic phenotype is 17 to 19 times higher than vice versa. Therefore, we infer that the aposematism in dendrobatids might serve as an umbrella trait for the evolution and maintenance of their complex offspring-caring activities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan D. Carvajal-Castro
- grid.264091.80000 0001 1954 7928Department of Biological Sciences, St. John’s University, Jamaica-Queens, NY USA ,grid.441861.e0000 0001 0690 6629Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- grid.441861.e0000 0001 0690 6629Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Santiago Casas-Cardona
- grid.441861.e0000 0001 0690 6629Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- grid.9681.60000 0001 1013 7965Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland ,grid.6583.80000 0000 9686 6466Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Juan C. Santos
- grid.264091.80000 0001 1954 7928Department of Biological Sciences, St. John’s University, Jamaica-Queens, NY USA
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Beltrán DF, Shultz AJ, Parra JL. Speciation rates are positively correlated with the rate of plumage color evolution in hummingbirds. Evolution 2021; 75:1665-1680. [PMID: 34037257 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A fascinating pattern in nature is the uneven distribution of biodiversity among clades, some with low species richness and phenotypic variation in contrast to others with remarkable species richness and phenotypic diversity. In animals, communication signals are crucial for intra- and interspecific interactions and are likely an important factor in speciation. However, evidence for the association between the evolution of such signals and speciation is mixed. In hummingbirds, plumage coloration is an important communication signal, particularly for mate selection. Here, using reflectance data for 237 hummingbird species (∼66% of total diversity), we demonstrate that color evolution rates are associated with speciation rates, and that differences among feather patches are consistent with an interplay between natural and sexual selection. We found that female color evolution rates of multiple plumage elements, including the gorget, were similar to those of males. Although male color evolution in this patch was associated with speciation, female gorget color evolution was not. In other patches, the relationship between speciation and color evolution rates was pervasive between sexes. We anticipate that future studies on animal communication will likely find that evolution of signaling traits of both sexes has played a vital role in generating signal and species diversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diego F Beltrán
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, 050010, Colombia.,Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA
| | - Allison J Shultz
- Ornithology Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, 90007, USA
| | - Juan L Parra
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, 050010, Colombia
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Barnett JB, Varela BJ, Jennings BJ, Lesbarrères D, Pruitt JN, Green DM. Habitat disturbance alters color contrast and the detectability of cryptic and aposematic frogs. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Animals use color both to conceal and signal their presence, with patterns that match the background, disrupt shape recognition, or highlight features important for communication. The forms that these color patterns take are responses to the visual systems that observe them and the environments within which they are viewed. Increasingly, however, these environments are being affected by human activity. We studied how pattern characteristics and habitat change may affect the detectability of three frog color patterns from the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama: Beige-Striped Brown Allobates talamancae and two spotted morphs of Oophaga pumilio, Black-Spotted Green and Black-Spotted Red. To assess detectability, we used visual modeling of conspecifics and potential predators, along with a computer-based detection experiment with human participants. Although we found no evidence for disruptive camouflage, we did find clear evidence that A. talamancae stripes are inherently more cryptic than O. pumilio spots regardless of color. We found no evidence that color pattern polytypism in O. pumilio is related to differences in the forest floor between natural sites. We did, however, find strong evidence that human disturbance affects the visual environment and modifies absolute and rank order frog detectability. Human-induced environmental change reduces the effectiveness of camouflage in A. talamancae, reduces detectability of Black-Spotted Green O. pumilio, and increases chromatic contrast, but not detectability, in Black-Spotted Red O. pumilio. Insofar as predators may learn about prey defenses and make foraging decisions based on relative prey availability and suitability, such changes may have wider implications for predator–prey dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James B Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Ben J Jennings
- The College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, UK
| | | | - Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - David M Green
- Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Gardner KM, Mennill DJ, Savi LM, Shangi NE, Doucet SM. Sexual selection in a tropical toad: Do female toads choose brighter males in a species with rapid colour change? Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katrina M. Gardner
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Daniel J. Mennill
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Lincoln M. Savi
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | - Nicole E. Shangi
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor ON Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Hausmann AE, Kuo CY, Freire M, Rueda-M N, Linares M, Pardo-Diaz C, Salazar C, Merrill RM. Light environment influences mating behaviours during the early stages of divergence in tropical butterflies. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210157. [PMID: 33757348 PMCID: PMC8059652 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Speciation is facilitated when traits under divergent selection also act as mating cues. Fluctuations in sensory conditions can alter signal perception independently of adaptation to the broader sensory environment, but how this fine-scale variation may constrain or promote behavioural isolation has received little attention. The warning patterns of Heliconius butterflies are under selection for aposematism and act as mating cues. Using computer vision, we extracted behavioural data from 1481 h of video footage, for 387 individuals. We show that the putative hybrid species H. heurippa and its close relative H. timareta linaresi differ in their response to divergent warning patterns, but that these differences are strengthened with increased local illuminance. Trials with live individuals reveal low-level assortative mating that is sufficiently explained by differences in visual attraction. Finally, results from hybrid butterflies are consistent with linkage between a major warning pattern gene and the corresponding behaviour, though the differences in behaviour we observe are unlikely to cause rapid reproductive isolation as predicted under a model of hybrid trait speciation. Overall, our results reveal that the contribution of ecological mating cues to reproductive isolation may depend on the immediate sensory conditions during which they are displayed to conspecifics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander E. Hausmann
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Chi-Yun Kuo
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Marília Freire
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Nicol Rueda-M
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No 63C-69, Bogotá 111221, Colombia
| | - Mauricio Linares
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No 63C-69, Bogotá 111221, Colombia
| | - Carolina Pardo-Diaz
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No 63C-69, Bogotá 111221, Colombia
| | - Camilo Salazar
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No 63C-69, Bogotá 111221, Colombia
| | - Richard M. Merrill
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Devigili A, Fernlund Isaksson E, Puniamoorthy N, Fitzpatrick JL. Behavioral Variation in the Pygmy Halfbeak Dermogenys collettei: Comparing Shoals With Contrasting Ecologies. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.607600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in biotic and abiotic factors among populations affects individual behaviors by transforming the social landscape and shaping mating systems. Consequently, describing behaviors in natural populations requires consideration of the biological and physical factors that different individuals face. Here, we examined variation in socio-sexual and locomotor behaviors in a small, livebearing, freshwater fish, the pygmy halfbeak Dermogenys collettei, across natural populations in Singapore. The pygmy halfbeak is a surface feeding fish that spends most of the time near the water surface, making it ideal for non-invasive behavioral observations. We compared behaviors between sexes among 26 shoals while simultaneously accounting for environmental variation. We demonstrated that sexual interactions and locomotor behaviors differed among shoals with varying levels of canopy cover and water flow. Specifically, in areas with greater canopy cover, sexual interactions decreased, whereas time spent in a stationary position increased. Sexual interactions were more numerous in still water, where fish spent less time swimming. Variation in the expression of socio-sexual and locomotor behaviors were not associated with differences in the amount of aquatic vegetation, water depth or halfbeak shoal size. Agonistic interactions were robust to environmental effects, showing little variation among environments. However, there were strong sex effects, with males performing more agonistic behaviors and spending less time in a stationary position compared to females, regardless of the environment. Moreover, sexual interactions, measured as actively performed by males and passively received by females, were on average more frequent in males than in females. Our findings help us explore the proximal causes of intraspecific behavioral variation and suggest that fundamental information on socio-sexual behaviors from wild populations can lead to a better understanding of how sexual selection operates when the strength of natural selection varies across environments.
Collapse
|
23
|
Yeager J, Barnett JB. Ultraviolet components offer minimal contrast enhancement to an aposematic signal. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:13576-13582. [PMID: 33391663 PMCID: PMC7771128 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Aposematic and sexual signals are often characterized by bright, highly contrasting colors. Many species can see colors beyond the human visible spectrum, and ultraviolet (UV) reflection has been found to play an important role in communication and sexual selection. However, the role of UV in aposematic signals is poorly explored. Poison frogs frequently produce high-contrast signals that have been linked to both aposematism and intraspecific communication. Yet despite considerable efforts studying interspecific and intraspecific diversity in color, poison frogs are not known to perceive UV, and UV reflection of the integument has not been described. We report UV-reflective spots in a population of Oophaga sylvatica and quantify the effect of UV on visual contrast with models of avian vision. We found that the frogs are highly contrasting, but UV had a minimal effect on signal saliency. These data highlight the importance of considering UV reflectance within aposematic signals, but that UV should not necessarily be regarded as an independent signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Yeager
- Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y SaludUniversidad de Las AméricasQuitoEcuador
| | - James B. Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & BehaviourMcMaster UniversityHamiltonONCanada
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Hyeun-Ji L, Rendón MÁ, Liedtke HC, Gomez-Mestre I. Shifts in the developmental rate of spadefoot toad larvae cause decreased complexity of post-metamorphic pigmentation patterns. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19624. [PMID: 33184389 PMCID: PMC7665075 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76578-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Amphibian larvae are plastic organisms that can adjust their growth and developmental rates to local environmental conditions. The consequences of such developmental alterations have been studied in detail, both at the phenotypic and physiological levels. While largely unknown, it is of great importance to assess how developmental alterations affect the pigmentation pattern of the resulting metamorphs, because pigmentation is relevant for communication, mate choice, and camouflage and hence influences the overall fitness of the toads. Here we quantify the variation in several aspects of the pigmentation pattern of juvenile spadefoot toads experimentally induced to accelerate their larval development in response to decreased water level. It is known that induced developmental acceleration comes at the cost of reduced size at metamorphosis, higher metabolic rate, and increased oxidative stress. In this study, we show that spadefoot toads undergoing developmental acceleration metamorphosed with a less complex, more homogeneous, darker dorsal pattern consisting of continuous blotches, compared to the more contrasted pattern with segregated blotches and higher fractal dimension in normally developing individuals, and at a smaller size. We also observed a marked effect of population of origin in the complexity of the pigmentation pattern. Complexity of the post-metamorphic dorsal pigmentation could therefore be linked to pre-metamorphic larval growth and development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lee Hyeun-Ji
- Ecology, Evolution, and Development Group, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Rendón
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Hans Christoph Liedtke
- Ecology, Evolution, and Development Group, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Ivan Gomez-Mestre
- Ecology, Evolution, and Development Group, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain.
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Seville, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Yang Y, Richards-Zawacki CL. Male–male contest limits the expression of assortative mate preferences in a polymorphic poison frog. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Codivergence of sexual traits and mate preferences can lead to assortative mating and subsequently reproductive isolation. However, mate choice rarely operates without intrasexual competition, and the effects of the latter on speciation are often overlooked. Maintaining trait polymorphisms despite gene flow and limiting assortative female preferences for less-competitive male phenotypes are two important roles that male–male competition may play in the speciation process. Both roles rely on the assumption that male–male competition limits the expression of divergent female preferences. We tested this assumption in the highly color-polymorphic strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio). Females prefer males of the local color, suggesting that reproductive isolation may be evolving among color morphs. However, this inference does not account for male–male competition, which is also color-mediated. We housed females with two differently colored males, and compared reproductive patterns when the more attractive male was the territory holder versus when he was the nonterritorial male. Females mated primarily with the territory winner, regardless of coloration, suggesting that when a choice must be made between the two, male territoriality overrides female preferences for male coloration. Our results highlight the importance of considering the combined effects of mate choice and intrasexual competition in shaping phenotypic divergence and speciation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yusan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Corinne L Richards-Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Tupper, Balboa, Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Márquez R, Linderoth TP, Mejía-Vargas D, Nielsen R, Amézquita A, Kronforst MR. Divergence, gene flow, and the origin of leapfrog geographic distributions: The history of colour pattern variation in Phyllobates poison-dart frogs. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:3702-3719. [PMID: 32814358 PMCID: PMC8164878 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The geographic distribution of phenotypic variation among closely related populations is a valuable source of information about the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. Leapfrog distributions, in which phenotypically similar populations are disjunctly distributed and separated by one or more phenotypically distinct populations, represent geographic replicates for the existence of a phenotype, and are therefore especially informative. These geographic patterns have mostly been studied from phylogenetic perspectives to understand how common ancestry and divergent evolution drive their formation. Other processes, such as gene flow between populations, have not received as much attention. Here, we investigate the roles of divergence and gene flow between populations in the origin and maintenance of a leapfrog distribution in Phyllobates poison frogs. We found evidence for high levels of gene flow between neighbouring populations but not over long distances, indicating that gene flow between populations exhibiting the central phenotype may have a homogenizing effect that maintains their similarity, and that introgression between 'leapfroging' taxa has not played a prominent role as a driver of phenotypic diversity in Phyllobates. Although phylogenetic analyses suggest that the leapfrog distribution was formed through independent evolution of the peripheral (i.e. leapfrogging) populations, the elevated levels of gene flow between geographically close populations poise alternative scenarios, such as the history of phenotypic change becoming decoupled from genome-averaged patterns of divergence, which we cannot rule out. These results highlight the importance of incorporating gene flow between populations into the study of geographic variation in phenotypes, both as a driver of phenotypic diversity and as a confounding factor of phylogeographic inferences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Márquez
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. Chicago, IL. 60637, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes. A.A. 4976, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
| | - Tyler P. Linderoth
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA. 94720, USA
| | - Daniel Mejía-Vargas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes. A.A. 4976, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
| | - Rasmus Nielsen
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA. 94720, USA
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA. 94720, USA
- Center for GeoGenetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark
| | - Adolfo Amézquita
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes. A.A. 4976, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
| | - Marcus R. Kronforst
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. Chicago, IL. 60637, USA
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Yang Y, Prémel V, Richards‐Zawacki CL. Prior residence effect determines success of male–male territorial competition in a color polymorphic poison frog. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | | | - Corinne L. Richards‐Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Ancon Panamá
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Twomey E, Johnson JD, Castroviejo-Fisher S, Van Bocxlaer I. A ketocarotenoid-based colour polymorphism in the Sira poison frog Ranitomeya sirensis indicates novel gene interactions underlying aposematic signal variation. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:2004-2015. [PMID: 32402099 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The accumulation of red ketocarotenoids is an important component of coloration in many organisms, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In some organisms, ketocarotenoids are sequestered from the diet and can accumulate when enzymes responsible for carotenoid breakdown are disrupted. In other organisms, ketocarotenoids are formed endogenously from dietary precursors via oxidation reactions carried out by carotenoid ketolase enzymes. Here, we study the genetic basis of carotenoid coloration in an amphibian. We demonstrate that a red/yellow polymorphism in the dendrobatid poison frog Ranitomeya sirensis is due to the presence/absence of ketocarotenoids. Using whole-transcriptome sequencing of skins and livers, we found that a transcript encoding a cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP3A80) is expressed 3.4-fold higher in livers of red frogs versus yellow. As CYP3A enzymes are known carotenoid ketolases in other organisms, our results point to CYP3A80 as a strong candidate for a carotenoid ketolase in amphibians. Furthermore, in red frogs, the transcript encoding the carotenoid cleavage enzyme BCO2 is expressed at a low level or as a splice variant lacking key catalytic amino acids. This suggests that BCO2 function may be disrupted in red frogs, providing a mechanism whereby the accumulation of ketocarotenoids and their dietary precursors may be enhanced.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan Twomey
- Laboratorio de Sistemática de Vertebrados, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Amphibian Evolution Laboratory, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - James D Johnson
- Department of Chemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher
- Laboratorio de Sistemática de Vertebrados, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ines Van Bocxlaer
- Amphibian Evolution Laboratory, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Assis BA, Jarrett BJM, Koscky G, Langkilde T, Avery JD. Plastic sexual ornaments: Assessing temperature effects on color metrics in a color-changing reptile. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233221. [PMID: 32433700 PMCID: PMC7239470 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Conspicuous coloration is an important subject in social communication and animal behavior, and it can provide valuable insight into the role of visual signals in social selection. However, animal coloration can be plastic and affected by abiotic factors such as temperature, making its quantification problematic. In such cases, careful consideration is required so that metric choices are consistent across environments and least sensitive to abiotic factors. A detailed assessment of plastic trait in response to environmental conditions could help identify more robust methods for quantifying color. Temperature affects sexual ornamentation of eastern fence lizards, Sceloporus undulatus, with ventral coloration shifting from green to blue hues as temperatures rise, making the calculation of saturation (color purity) difficult under conditions where temperatures vary. We aimed to characterize how abiotic factors influence phenotypic expression and to identify a metric for quantifying animal color that is either independent from temperature (ideally) or best conserves individual's ranks. We compared the rates of change in saturation across two temperature treatments using seven metrics: three that are based on fixed spectral ranges (with two of them designed by us specifically for this system) and three that track the expressed hue (with one of them designed by us to circumvent spurious results in unornamented individuals). We also applied a lizard visual sensitivity model to understand how temperature-induced color changes may be perceived by conspecifics. We show that the rate of change in saturation between two temperatures is inconsistent across individuals, increasing at a higher rate in individuals with higher baseline saturation at lower temperatures. In addition, the relative color rank of individuals in a population varies with the temperature standardized by the investigator, but more so for some metrics than others. While we were unable to completely eliminate the effect of temperature, current tools for quantifying color allowed us to use spectral data to estimate saturation in a variety of ways and to largely preserve saturation ranks of individuals across temperatures while avoiding erroneous color scores. We describe our approaches and suggest best-practices for quantifying and interpreting color, particularly in cases where color changes in response to environmental factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Braulio A. Assis
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of America
| | - Benjamin J. M. Jarrett
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of America
| | - Gabe Koscky
- Independent scholar, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of America
| | - Julian D. Avery
- The Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Rodríguez A, Mundy NI, Ibáñez R, Pröhl H. Being red, blue and green: the genetic basis of coloration differences in the strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio). BMC Genomics 2020; 21:301. [PMID: 32293261 PMCID: PMC7158012 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-6719-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Animal coloration is usually an adaptive attribute, under strong local selection pressures and often diversified among species or populations. The strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) shows an impressive array of color morphs across its distribution in Central America. Here we quantify gene expression and genetic variation to identify candidate genes involved in generating divergence in coloration between populations of red, green and blue O. pumilio from the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama. Results We generated a high quality non-redundant reference transcriptome by mapping the products of genome-guided and de novo transcriptome assemblies onto a re-scaffolded draft genome of O. pumilio. We then measured gene expression in individuals of the three color phenotypes and identified color-associated candidate genes by comparing differential expression results against a list of a priori gene sets for five different functional categories of coloration – pteridine synthesis, carotenoid synthesis, melanin synthesis, iridophore pathways (structural coloration), and chromatophore development. We found 68 candidate coloration loci with significant expression differences among the color phenotypes. Notable upregulated examples include pteridine synthesis genes spr, xdh and pts (in red and green frogs); carotenoid metabolism genes bco2 (in blue frogs), scarb1 (in red frogs), and guanine metabolism gene psat1 (in blue frogs). We detected significantly higher expression of the pteridine synthesis gene set in red and green frogs versus blue frogs. In addition to gene expression differences, we identified 370 outlier SNPs on 162 annotated genes showing signatures of diversifying selection, including eight pigmentation-associated genes. Conclusions Gene expression in the skin of the three populations of frogs with differing coloration is highly divergent. The strong signal of differential expression in pteridine genes is consistent with a major role of these genes in generating the coloration differences among the three morphs. However, the finding of differentially expressed genes across pathways and functional categories suggests that multiple mechanisms are responsible for the coloration differences, likely involving both pigmentary and structural coloration. In addition to regulatory differences, we found potential evidence of differential selection acting at the protein sequence level in several color-associated loci, which could contribute to the color polymorphism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Rodríguez
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine of Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
| | - Nicholas I Mundy
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, England
| | - Roberto Ibáñez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá.,Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Apartado, 0816-02852, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - Heike Pröhl
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine of Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Twomey E, Kain M, Claeys M, Summers K, Castroviejo-Fisher S, Van Bocxlaer I. Mechanisms for Color Convergence in a Mimetic Radiation of Poison Frogs. Am Nat 2020; 195:E132-E149. [PMID: 32364784 DOI: 10.1086/708157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In animals, bright colors often evolve to mimic other species when a resemblance is selectively favored. Understanding the proximate mechanisms underlying such color mimicry can give insights into how mimicry evolves-for example, whether color convergence evolves from a shared set of mechanisms or through the evolution of novel color production mechanisms. We studied color production mechanisms in poison frogs (Dendrobatidae), focusing on the mimicry complex of Ranitomeya imitator. Using reflectance spectrometry, skin pigment analysis, electron microscopy, and color modeling, we found that the bright colors of these frogs, both within and outside the mimicry complex, are largely structural and produced by iridophores but that color production depends crucially on interactions with pigments. Color variation and mimicry are regulated predominantly by iridophore platelet thickness and, to a lesser extent, concentration of the red pteridine pigment drosopterin. Compared with each of the four morphs of model species that it resembles, R. imitator displays greater variation in both structural and pigmentary mechanisms, which may have facilitated phenotypic divergence in this species. Analyses of nonmimetic dendrobatids in other genera demonstrate that these mechanisms are widespread within the family and that poison frogs share a complex physiological "color palette" that can produce diverse and highly reflective colors.
Collapse
|
32
|
Ebersbach J, Posso-Terranova A, Bogdanowicz S, Gómez-Díaz M, García-González MX, Bolívar-García W, Andrés J. Complex patterns of differentiation and gene flow underly the divergence of aposematic phenotypes in Oophaga poison frogs. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1944-1956. [PMID: 31971303 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Hybridization and introgression can have complex consequences for both species evolution and conservation. Here, we investigated the origin and characteristics of a putative hybrid zone between two South American poison dart frog species, Oophaga anchicayensis and the critically endangered Oophaga lehmanni, which are heavily sought after on the illegal pet market. Using a combination of phenotypic (49 traits) and genomic (ddRADseq) data, we found that the putative hybrids are morphologically distinct from their parental species and confirmed genomic signatures of admixture in these populations. Several lines of evidence (hybrid indices, interspecific hybrid heterozygosity, genomic clines, comparisons with simulated hybrids and demographic modelling) support the conclusion that these populations are not comprised of early-generation hybrids and thus, they probably did not arise as a result of illegal translocations associated with wildlife trafficking. Instead, they probably represent an independent lineage which has persisted through isolation and has only relatively recently re-established gene flow with both parental species. Furthermore, we detected signals of differential introgression from parental species into these hybrid populations which suggest relaxed stabilizing selection on these aposematic colour morphs, potentially via context-dependent female choice. These populations thus provide a fascinating window into the role of hybridization, isolation and female choice in the diversification of South American poison dart frogs. In addition, our results underline the importance of landscape conservation measures to protect, not only known localities of nominal species, but also the phenotypic and genomic variation harbored by admixed lineages which represent crucial repositories for the impressive diversity in this system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Ebersbach
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Andrés Posso-Terranova
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.,Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Palmira, Palmira, Colombia
| | - Steven Bogdanowicz
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Mónica Gómez-Díaz
- Research Group in Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | | | - Wilmar Bolívar-García
- Research Group in Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - José Andrés
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Leslie CE, Rosencrans RF, Walkowski W, Gordon WC, Bazan NG, Ryan MJ, Farris HE. Reproductive State Modulates Retinal Sensitivity to Light in Female Túngara Frogs. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 13:293. [PMID: 32076402 PMCID: PMC6985269 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual cues are often a vital part of animal communication and courtship. While a plethora of studies have focused on the role that hormones play in acoustic communication of anurans, relatively few have explored hormonal modulation of vision in these animals. Much of what we do know comes from behavioral studies, which show that a frog’s hormonal state can significantly affect both its visual behavior and mating decisions. However, to fully understand how frogs use visual cues to make these mating decisions, we must first understand how their visual system processes these cues, and how hormones affect these processes. To do this, we performed electroretinograms (ERGs) to measure retinal sensitivity of túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus), a neotropical species whose mating behavior includes previously described visual cues. To determine the effect of hormonal state on visual sensitivity, ERGs were recorded under scotopic and photopic conditions in frogs that were either non-reproductive or hormone-treated with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) prior to testing. Additionally, measurements of optical anatomy determined how túngara frog eye and retina morphology related to physiological sensitivity. As expected, we found that both sexes display higher visual sensitivity under scotopic conditions compared to photopic conditions. However, hormone injections significantly increased retinal sensitivity of females under scotopic conditions. These results support the hypothesis that hormonal modulation of neural mechanisms, such as those mediating visually guided reproductive behavior in this species, include modulation of the receptor organ: the retina. Thus, our data serve as a starting point for elucidating the mechanism of hormonal modulation of visual sensitivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E Leslie
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Robert F Rosencrans
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Whitney Walkowski
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - William C Gordon
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Nicolas G Bazan
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Michael J Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Hamilton E Farris
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Mate choice decisions of female serrate-legged small treefrogs are affected by ambient light under natural, but not enhanced artificial nocturnal light conditions. Behav Processes 2019; 169:103997. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
35
|
Prates I, Paz A, Brown JL, Carnaval AC. Links between prey assemblages and poison frog toxins: A landscape ecology approach to assess how biotic interactions affect species phenotypes. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14317-14329. [PMID: 31938521 PMCID: PMC6953698 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecological studies of species pairs showed that biotic interactions promote phenotypic change and eco-evolutionary feedbacks. However, it is unclear how phenotypes respond to synergistic interactions with multiple taxa. We investigate whether interactions with multiple prey species explain spatially structured variation in the skin toxins of the neotropical poison frog Oophaga pumilio. Specifically, we assess how dissimilarity (i.e., beta diversity) of alkaloid-bearing arthropod prey assemblages (68 ant species) and evolutionary divergence between frog populations (from a neutral genetic marker) contribute to frog poison dissimilarity (toxin profiles composed of 230 different lipophilic alkaloids sampled from 934 frogs at 46 sites). We find that models that incorporate spatial turnover in the composition of ant assemblages explain part of the frog alkaloid variation, and we infer unique alkaloid combinations across the range of O. pumilio. Moreover, we find that alkaloid variation increases weakly with the evolutionary divergence between frog populations. Our results pose two hypotheses: First, the distribution of only a few prey species may explain most of the geographic variation in poison frog alkaloids; second, different codistributed prey species may be redundant alkaloid sources. The analytical framework proposed here can be extended to other multitrophic systems, coevolutionary mosaics, microbial assemblages, and ecosystem services.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Prates
- Department of Vertebrate ZoologyNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Andrea Paz
- Department of BiologyCity College of New York, and Graduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Jason L. Brown
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory & The Center for EcologySouthern Illinois UniversityCarbondaleILUSA
| | - Ana C. Carnaval
- Department of BiologyCity College of New York, and Graduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew YorkNYUSA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Preferences for and use of light microhabitats differ among and within populations of a polytypic poison frog. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Anti-predator strategies can influence trade-offs governing other activities important to fitness. Crypsis, for example, might make conspicuous sexual display especially costly, whereas aposematism might reduce or remove such costs. We tested for correlates of anti-predator strategy in Oophaga pumilio, a polytypic poison frog with morphs spanning the crypsis–aposematism continuum. In the wild, males of visually conspicuous morphs display from conspicuous perches and behave as if they perceive predation risk to be low. We thus predicted that, given a choice of ambient light microhabitats, these males would use high ambient light conditions the most and be most likely to perch in high-light conditions. We found no evidence that differently colored male O. pumilio preferentially used bright microhabitats or that ambient light influenced perching in a morph-specific manner. Independent of light conditions, males from the most conspicuous population perched the least, but the most conspicuous individuals from a polymorphic population perched the most. These patterns suggest that preferences do not necessarily underlie among-morph differences observed in the wild. This could be explained, and remain consistent with theory, if risk aversion is shaped, in part, by experience.
Collapse
|
37
|
Aubier TG, Kokko H, Joron M. Coevolution of male and female mate choice can destabilize reproductive isolation. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5122. [PMID: 31719522 PMCID: PMC6851176 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12860-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual interactions play an important role in the evolution of reproductive isolation, with important consequences for speciation. Theoretical studies have focused on the evolution of mate preferences in each sex separately. However, mounting empirical evidence suggests that premating isolation often involves mutual mate choice. Here, using a population genetic model, we investigate how female and male mate choice coevolve under a phenotype matching rule and how this affects reproductive isolation. We show that the evolution of female preferences increases the mating success of males with reciprocal preferences, favouring mutual mate choice. However, the evolution of male preferences weakens indirect selection on female preferences and, with weak genetic drift, the coevolution of female and male mate choice leads to periodic episodes of random mating with increased hybridization (deterministic 'preference cycling' triggered by stochasticity). Thus, counterintuitively, the process of establishing premating isolation proves rather fragile if both male and female mate choice contribute to assortative mating.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G Aubier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE - UMR 5175 - CNRS, Université de Montpellier, EPHE, Université Paul Valéry, 1919 route de Mende, F-34293, Montpellier 5, France.
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mathieu Joron
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE - UMR 5175 - CNRS, Université de Montpellier, EPHE, Université Paul Valéry, 1919 route de Mende, F-34293, Montpellier 5, France.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Guillory WX, French CM, Twomey EM, Chávez G, Prates I, von May R, De la Riva I, Lötters S, Reichle S, Serrano-Rojas SJ, Whitworth A, Brown JL. Phylogenetic relationships and systematics of the Amazonian poison frog genus Ameerega using ultraconserved genomic elements. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019; 142:106638. [PMID: 31586688 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The Amazonian poison frog genus Ameerega is one of the largest yet most understudied of the brightly colored genera in the anuran family Dendrobatidae, with 30 described species ranging throughout tropical South America. Phylogenetic analyses of Ameerega are highly discordant, lacking consistency due to variation in data types and methods, and often with limited coverage of species diversity in the genus. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenomic reconstruction of Ameerega, utilizing state-of-the-art sequence capture techniques and phylogenetic methods. We sequenced thousands of ultraconserved elements from over 100 tissue samples, representing almost every described Ameerega species, as well as undescribed cryptic diversity. We generated topologies using maximum likelihood and coalescent methods and compared the use of maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods for estimating divergence times. Our phylogenetic inference diverged strongly from those of previous studies, and we recommend steps to bring Ameerega taxonomy in line with the new phylogeny. We place several species in a phylogeny for the first time, as well as provide evidence for six potential candidate species. We estimate that Ameerega experienced a rapid radiation approximately 7-11 million years ago and that the ancestor of all Ameerega was likely an aposematic, montane species. This study underscores the utility of phylogenomic data in improving our understanding of the phylogeny of understudied clades and making novel inferences about their evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wilson X Guillory
- Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA.
| | - Connor M French
- Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA; Department of Biology, Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Evan M Twomey
- Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Germán Chávez
- División de Herpetología, Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI), Santa Rita N°105 36 Of. 202, Urb. Huertos de San Antonio, Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru
| | - Ivan Prates
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20560-0162, USA
| | - Rudolf von May
- Biology Program, California State University Channel Islands, 1 University Drive, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA
| | - Ignacio De la Riva
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Stefan Lötters
- Department of Biogeography, Universität Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296, Trier, Germany
| | | | - Shirley J Serrano-Rojas
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru; Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Whitworth
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Jason L Brown
- Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Rojas B, Pašukonis A. From habitat use to social behavior: natural history of a voiceless poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7648. [PMID: 31576237 PMCID: PMC6753930 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Descriptive studies of natural history have always been a source of knowledge on which experimental work and scientific progress rely. Poison frogs are a well-studied group of small Neotropical frogs with diverse parental behaviors, distinct calls, and bright colors that warn predators about their toxicity; and a showcase of advances in fundamental biology through natural history observations. The dyeing poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, is emblematic of the Guianas region, widespread in the pet trade, and increasingly popular in research. This species shows several unusual behaviors, such as the lack of advertisement calls and the aggregation around tree-fall gaps, which remain poorly described and understood. Here, we summarize our observations from a natural population of D. tinctorius in French Guiana collected over various field trips between 2009 and 2017; our aim is to provide groundwork for future fundamental and applied research spanning parental care, animal dispersal, disease spread, habitat use in relation to color patterns, and intra-specific communication, to name a few. We report sex differences in habitat use and the striking invasion of tree-fall gaps; describe their courtship and aggressive behaviors; document egg development and tadpole transport; and discuss how the knowledge generated by this study could set the grounds for further research on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of this species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Andrius Pašukonis
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Engelbrecht‐Wiggans E, Tumulty JP. “Reverse” sexual dichromatism in a Neotropical frog. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - James P. Tumulty
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Sibeaux A, Cole GL, Endler JA. The relative importance of local and global visual contrast in mate choice. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
|
42
|
Phylogenomic Reconstruction of the Neotropical Poison Frogs (Dendrobatidae) and Their Conservation. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11080126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The evolutionary history of the Dendrobatidae, the charismatic Neotropical poison frog family, remains in flux, even after a half-century of intensive research. Understanding the evolutionary relationships between dendrobatid genera and the larger-order groups within Dendrobatidae is critical for making accurate assessments of all aspects of their biology and evolution. In this study, we provide the first phylogenomic reconstruction of Dendrobatidae with genome-wide nuclear markers known as ultraconserved elements. We performed sequence capture on 61 samples representing 33 species across 13 of the 16 dendrobatid genera, aiming for a broadly representative taxon sample. We compare topologies generated using maximum likelihood and coalescent methods and estimate divergence times using Bayesian methods. We find most of our dendrobatid tree to be consistent with previously published results based on mitochondrial and low-count nuclear data, with notable exceptions regarding the placement of Hyloxalinae and certain genera within Dendrobatinae. We also characterize how the evolutionary history and geographic distributions of the 285 poison frog species impact their conservation status. We hope that our phylogeny will serve as a backbone for future evolutionary studies and that our characterizations of conservation status inform conservation practices while highlighting taxa in need of further study.
Collapse
|
43
|
Rogers RL, Zhou L, Chu C, Márquez R, Corl A, Linderoth T, Freeborn L, MacManes MD, Xiong Z, Zheng J, Guo C, Xun X, Kronforst MR, Summers K, Wu Y, Yang H, Richards-Zawacki CL, Zhang G, Nielsen R. Genomic Takeover by Transposable Elements in the Strawberry Poison Frog. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:2913-2927. [PMID: 30517748 PMCID: PMC6278860 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We sequenced the genome of the strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, at a depth of 127.5× using variable insert size libraries. The total genome size is estimated to be 6.76 Gb, of which 4.76 Gb are from high copy number repetitive elements with low differentiation across copies. These repeats encompass DNA transposons, RNA transposons, and LTR retrotransposons, including at least 0.4 and 1.0 Gb of Mariner/Tc1 and Gypsy elements, respectively. Expression data indicate high levels of gypsy and Mariner/Tc1 expression in ova of O. pumilio compared with Xenopus laevis. We further observe phylogenetic evidence for horizontal transfer (HT) of Mariner elements, possibly between fish and frogs. The elements affected by HT are present in high copy number and are highly expressed, suggesting ongoing proliferation after HT. Our results suggest that the large amphibian genome sizes, at least partially, can be explained by a process of repeated invasion of new transposable elements that are not yet suppressed in the germline. We also find changes in the spliceosome that we hypothesize are related to permissiveness of O. pumilio to increases in intron length due to transposon proliferation. Finally, we identify the complement of ion channels in the first genomic sequenced poison frog and discuss its relation to the evolution of autoresistance to toxins sequestered in the skin.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah L Rogers
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
| | - Long Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,China National Genebank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Chong Chu
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Roberto Márquez
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | - Ammon Corl
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
| | - Tyler Linderoth
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
| | - Layla Freeborn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Matthew D MacManes
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.,Hubbard Center for Genomic Studies, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
| | - Zijun Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Jiao Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Chunxue Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Xu Xun
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | | | - Kyle Summers
- Department of Biology, Eastern Carolina University, Greenville, NC
| | - Yufeng Wu
- Department of Computer Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
| | - Huanming Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | | | - Guojie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,China National Genebank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.,Department of Biology, Centre for Social Evolution, Universitetsparken 15, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rasmus Nielsen
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Klonoski K, Bi K, Rosenblum EB. Phenotypic and genetic diversity in aposematic Malagasy poison frogs (genus Mantella). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:2725-2742. [PMID: 30891212 PMCID: PMC6406014 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific color variation has long fascinated evolutionary biologists. In species with bright warning coloration, phenotypic diversity is particularly compelling because many factors, including natural and sexual selection, contribute to intraspecific variation. To better understand the causes of dramatic phenotypic variation in Malagasy poison frogs, we quantified genetic structure and color and pattern variation across three closely related species, Mantella aurantiaca, Mantella crocea, and Mantella milotympanum. Although our restriction site-associated DNA (RAD) sequencing approach identified clear genetic clusters, they do not align with current species designations, which has important conservation implications for these imperiled frogs. Moreover, our results suggest that levels of intraspecific color variation within this group have been overestimated, while species diversity has been underestimated. Within major genetic clusters, we observed distinct patterns of variation including: populations that are phenotypically similar yet genetically distinct, populations where phenotypic and genetic breaks coincide, and populations that are genetically similar but have high levels of within-population phenotypic variation. We also detected admixture between two of the major genetic clusters. Our study suggests that several mechanisms-including hybridization, selection, and drift-are contributing to phenotypic diversity. Ultimately, our work underscores the need for a reevaluation of how polymorphic and polytypic populations and species are classified, especially in aposematic organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karina Klonoski
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
- Museum of Vertebrate ZoologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
| | - Ke Bi
- Museum of Vertebrate ZoologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
- Computational Genomics Resource Laboratory (CGRL), California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3)University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
| | - Erica Bree Rosenblum
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
- Museum of Vertebrate ZoologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Yang Y, Blomenkamp S, Dugas MB, Richards-Zawacki CL, Pröhl H. Mate Choice versus Mate Preference: Inferences about Color-Assortative Mating Differ between Field and Lab Assays of Poison Frog Behavior. Am Nat 2019; 193:598-607. [PMID: 30912970 DOI: 10.1086/702249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Codivergence of mating traits and mate preferences can lead to behavioral isolation among lineages in early stages of speciation. However, mate preferences limit gene flow only when expressed as mate choice, and numerous factors might be more important than preferences in nature. In the extremely color polytypic strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio), female mate preferences have codiverged with color in most allopatric populations tested. Whether these lab-assayed preferences predict mating (gene flow) in the wild remains unclear. We observed courting pairs in a natural contact zone between red and blue lineages until oviposition or courtship termination. We found color-assortative mating in a disturbed habitat with high population density but not in a secondary forest with lower density. Our results suggest color-assortative O. pumilio mate choice in the wild but also mating patterns that do not match those predicted by lab-assayed preferences.
Collapse
|
46
|
Tseng H, Liao C, Hsu J, Wang L, Huang W. Parental behavior drives large bite force in an insular skink population. J Zool (1987) 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- H.‐Y. Tseng
- Department of Biology National Museum of Natural Science Taichung Taiwan
| | - C.‐P. Liao
- Department of Biology National Museum of Natural Science Taichung Taiwan
- Department of Life Science Tunghai University Taichung Taiwan
| | - J.‐Y. Hsu
- Department of Biology National Museum of Natural Science Taichung Taiwan
| | - L.‐Y. Wang
- Functional Morphology and Biomechanics Institute of Zoology Kiel University Kiel Germany
| | - W.‐S. Huang
- Department of Biology National Museum of Natural Science Taichung Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Rosencrans RF, Leslie CE, Perkins KA, Walkowski W, Gordon WC, Richards-Zawacki CL, Bazan NG, Farris HE. Quantifying the relationship between optical anatomy and retinal physiological sensitivity: A comparative approach. J Comp Neurol 2018; 526:3045-3057. [PMID: 30198557 PMCID: PMC10075234 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Light intensity varies 1 million-fold between night and day, driving the evolution of eye morphology and retinal physiology. Despite extensive research across taxa showing anatomical adaptations to light niches, surprisingly few empirical studies have quantified the relationship between such traits and the physiological sensitivity to light. In this study, we employ a comparative approach in frogs to determine the physiological sensitivity of eyes in two nocturnal (Rana pipiens, Hyla cinerea) and two diurnal species (Oophaga pumilio, Mantella viridis), examining whether differences in retinal thresholds can be explained by ocular and cellular anatomy. Scotopic electroretinogram (ERG) analysis of relative b-wave amplitude reveals 10- to 100-fold greater light sensitivity in nocturnal compared to diurnal frogs. Ocular and cellular optics (aperture, focal length, and rod outer segment dimensions) were assessed via the Land equation to quantify differences in optical sensitivity. Variance in retinal thresholds was overwhelmingly explained by Land equation solutions, which describe the optical sensitivity of single rods. Thus, at the b-wave, stimulus-response thresholds may be unaffected by photoreceptor convergence (which create larger, combined collecting areas). Follow-up experiments were conducted using photopic ERGs, which reflect cone vision. Under these conditions, the relative difference in thresholds was reversed, such that diurnal species were more sensitive than nocturnal species. Thus, photopic data suggest that rod-specific adaptations, not ocular anatomy (e.g., aperture and focal distance), drive scotopic thresholds differences. To the best of our knowledge, these data provide the first quantified relationship between optical and physiological sensitivity in vertebrates active in different light regimes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert F Rosencrans
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - Caitlin E Leslie
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
| | - Keith A Perkins
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - Whitney Walkowski
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - William C Gordon
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.,Department of Ophthalmology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | | | - Nicolas G Bazan
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.,Department of Ophthalmology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| | - Hamilton E Farris
- Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.,Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.,Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Robertson JM, Nava R, Vega A, Kaiser K. Uniformity in premating reproductive isolation along an intraspecific cline. Curr Zool 2018; 64:641-652. [PMID: 30323843 PMCID: PMC6178793 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zox066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Premating reproductive isolation (RI) may reduce gene flow across populations that have differentiated in traits important for mate choice. Examining RI across genetic and phenotypic clines can inform the fundamental evolutionary processes that underlie population and lineage differentiation. We conducted female mate-choice studies across an intraspecific red-eyed treefrog cline in Costa Rica and Panama with 2 specific aims: (1) to characterize RI across the cline and examine the relationship between premating RI and genetic and phenotypic distance and (2) to evaluate our results within a broader evolutionary and taxonomic perspective through examination of other RI studies. We found that female red-eyed treefrogs prefer local males relative to non-local males, indicating that some premating RI has evolved in this system, but that preference strength is not associated with phenotypic or geographic distance. Our analysis of 65 other studies revealed no clear pattern between the strength of RI and geographic distribution (allopatry, parapatry, cline) or phenotypic distance, but revealed extreme variation and overlap in levels of intra- and interspecific levels of RI. This work contributes to a growing body of literature that examines intraspecific RI across a cline to understand the selective processes that shape evolutionary patterns at the earliest stages of divergence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeanne Marie Robertson
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, USA.,Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Roman Nava
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, USA.,Department of Biology, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Andrés Vega
- AMBICOR, 400 E., 75 S., 75 E. de la Municipalidad de Tibas, Tibas, Costa Rica
| | - Kristine Kaiser
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, USA.,Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Sex ratio and density may affect temporal variation in size-assortative mating in a Neotropical ant species. ZOOL ANZ 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
50
|
Rojas B, Burdfield-Steel E, De Pasqual C, Gordon S, Hernández L, Mappes J, Nokelainen O, Rönkä K, Lindstedt C. Multimodal Aposematic Signals and Their Emerging Role in Mate Attraction. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|