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Lavanchy G, Brandt A, Bastardot M, Dumas Z, Labédan M, Massy M, Toubiana W, Tran Van P, Luchetti A, Scali V, Mantovani B, Schwander T. Evolution of alternative reproductive systems in Bacillus stick insects. Evolution 2024:qpae045. [PMID: 38501929 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Reproduction is a key feature of all organisms, yet the way in which it is achieved varies greatly across the tree of life. One striking example of this variation is the stick insect genus Bacillus, in which five different reproductive modes have been described: sex, facultative and obligate parthenogenesis, and two highly unusual reproductive modes: hybridogenesis and androgenesis. Under hybridogenesis, the entire genome from the paternal species is eliminated, and replaced each generation by mating with the corresponding species. Under androgenesis, an egg is fertilized but the developing diploid offspring bear two paternal genomes, and no maternal genome, as a consequence of unknown mechanisms. Here, we re-evaluate previous descriptions of Bacillus lineages and the proposed F1 hybrid ancestries of the hybridogenetic and obligately parthenogenetic lineages (based on allozymes and karyotypes) from Sicily, where all these reproductive modes are found. We generate a chromosome-level genome assembly for a facultative parthenogenetic species (B. rossius) and combine extensive field sampling with RADseq and mtDNA data. We identify and genetically corroborate all previously described species and confirm the ancestry of hybrid lineages. All hybrid lineages have fully retained their F1 hybrid constitution throughout the genome, indicating that the elimination of the paternal genome in hybridogens is always complete and that obligate parthenogenesis in Bacillus hybrid species is not associated with an erosion of heterozygosity as known in other hybrid asexuals. Our results provide a stepping stone towards understanding the transitions between reproductive modes and the proximate mechanisms of genome elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexander Brandt
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marc Bastardot
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Zoé Dumas
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marjorie Labédan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Morgane Massy
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - William Toubiana
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Tran Van
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Luchetti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Valerio Scali
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Barbara Mantovani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Tanja Schwander
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Heim W, Antonov A, Kunz F, Sander MM, Bastardot M, Beermann I, Heim RJ, Thomas A, Volkova V. Habitat use, survival, and migration of a little-known East Asian endemic, the yellow-throated bunting Emberiza elegans. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10030. [PMID: 37153014 PMCID: PMC10154376 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Basic information on the ecology of species is key for their conservation. Here we study the ecology of the little-known yellow-throated bunting Emberiza elegans based on a multi-year study on its breeding grounds in the Russian Far East. For the first time in this species, we quantified breeding habitat parameters, calculated sex-specific apparent survival, and determined individual nonbreeding locations using light-level geolocation. We found that the habitat around song posts of male yellow-throated buntings is characterized by tree and shrub layers on richly littered moist ground. Habitat use overlaps with co-occurring Tristram's Buntings Emberiza tristrami and Black-faced Buntings E. spodocephala, but territories differ especially in tree cover and litter cover. Based on 4 years of color-ringing data of 72 individuals, we calculated an apparent survival rate of 36%, with higher survival estimates for male than for female yellow-throated buntings. We found no effect of carrying a geolocator on survival. We retrieved six geolocators from males. All birds migrated south-westward during autumn and spent the nonbreeding season at locations in China 700-1700 km away from their breeding sites. At least two individuals spent the boreal winter outside of the known range in northern or central China. Birds left the breeding area between early October and early November and returned between mid-March and mid-April. Our data on habitat use, survival rate, and migratory connectivity will help to assess threats to the populations of this enigmatic species, which might include habitat loss due to forest fires on the breeding grounds, and unsustainable harvest for consumption during the nonbreeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
- University of TurkuTurkuFinland
- Swiss Ornithological InstituteSempachSwitzerland
| | | | - Friederike Kunz
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
- Independent ResearcherMuensterGermany
| | - Martha Maria Sander
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems BiologyUniversity of TurinTurinItaly
- NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland) e.V.BerlinGermany
| | | | - Ilka Beermann
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
- EuroNatur FoundationRadolfzellGermany
| | - Ramona Julia Heim
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | | | - Vera Volkova
- State budgetary educational institution of additional education of the city of Moscow "Zelenograd Palace of Creativity for Children and Youth"ZelenogradRussia
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Beermann I, Thomas A, Anisimov Y, Bastardot M, Batbayar N, Davaasuren B, Gerasimov Y, Hasebe M, Nakul G, Nergui J, Ktitorov P, Kulikova O, Heim W. Range-wide breeding habitat use of the critically endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola after population collapse. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:8410-8419. [PMID: 34257906 PMCID: PMC8258230 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The population of the Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola, a formerly widely distributed and abundant songbird of northern Eurasia, suffered a catastrophic decline and a strong range contraction between 1980 and 2013. There is evidence that the decline was driven by illegal trapping during migration, but potential contributions of other factors to the decline, such as land-use change, have not yet been evaluated. Before the effects of land-use change can be evaluated, a basic understanding of the ecological requirements of the species is needed. We therefore compared habitat use in ten remaining breeding regions across the range, from European Russia to Japan and the Russian Far East. We also assessed large-scale variation in habitat parameters across the breeding range. We found large variation in habitat use, within and between populations. Differences were related to the cover and height of trees and shrubs at Yellow-breasted Bunting territories. In many regions, Yellow-breasted Buntings occupied early successional stages, including anthropogenic habitats characterized by mowing, grazing, or fire regimes. We found that the probability of presence can be best predicted with the cover of shrubs, herbs, and grasses. Highest probabilities were found at shrub cover values of 40%-70%. Differences in habitat use along a longitudinal gradient were small, but we found strong differences across latitudes, possibly related to habitat availability. We conclude that the remaining Yellow-breasted Bunting populations are not limited to specific habitat types. Our results provide important baseline information to model the range-wide distribution of this critically endangered species and to guide targeted conservation measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilka Beermann
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
- EuroNatur FoundationRadolfzellGermany
| | - Alexander Thomas
- School of Environmental Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenChina
| | | | - Marc Bastardot
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | | | | | - Yury Gerasimov
- Kamchatka Department of Pacific Geographical InstituteFar‐eastern Branch of Russian Academy of SciencePetropavlovsk‐KamchatskyRussia
| | | | - Gleb Nakul
- Institute of Biology of Komi Science Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesSyktyvkarRussia
| | | | - Pavel Ktitorov
- Institute of Biological Problems of the North FEB RASMagadanRussia
- Birds Russia, Sakhalin BranchYuzhno‐SakhalinskRussia
| | - Olga Kulikova
- Institute of Biological Problems of the North FEB RASMagadanRussia
- University of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
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