1
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Corral-Lopez A, Bloch NI, van der Bijl W, Cortazar-Chinarro M, Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Darolti I, Buechel SD, Romenskyy M, Kolm N, Mank JE. Functional convergence of genomic and transcriptomic architecture underlies schooling behaviour in a live-bearing fish. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:98-110. [PMID: 37985898 PMCID: PMC10781616 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02249-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The organization and coordination of fish schools provide a valuable model to investigate the genetic architecture of affiliative behaviours and dissect the mechanisms underlying social behaviours and personalities. Here we used replicate guppy selection lines that vary in schooling propensity and combine quantitative genetics with genomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the genetic basis of sociability phenotypes. We show that consistent with findings in collective motion patterns, experimental evolution of schooling propensity increased the sociability of female, but not male, guppies when swimming with unfamiliar conspecifics. This finding highlights a relevant link between coordinated motion and sociability for species forming fission-fusion societies in which both group size and the type of social interactions are dynamic across space and time. We further show that alignment and attraction, the two major traits forming the sociability personality axis in this species, showed heritability estimates at the upper end of the range previously described for social behaviours, with important variation across sexes. The results from both Pool-seq and RNA-seq data indicated that genes involved in neuron migration and synaptic function were instrumental in the evolution of sociability, highlighting a crucial role of glutamatergic synaptic function and calcium-dependent signalling processes in the evolution of schooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-Lopez
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Division of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria Cortazar-Chinarro
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- MEMEG Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Alexander Szorkovszky
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Severine D Buechel
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maksym Romenskyy
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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2
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Thorson JT, van der Bijl W. phylosem: A fast and simple R package for phylogenetic inference and trait imputation using phylogenetic structural equation models. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1357-1364. [PMID: 37812155 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14234] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) can be used to study evolutionary relationships and trade-offs among species traits. Analysts using PCM may want to (1) include latent variables, (2) estimate complex trait interdependencies, (3) predict missing trait values, (4) condition predicted traits upon phylogenetic correlations and (5) estimate relationships as slope parameters that can be compared with alternative regression methods. The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) includes well-documented software for phylogenetic linear models (phylolm), phylogenetic path analysis (phylopath), phylogenetic trait imputation (Rphylopars) and structural equation models (sem), but none of these can simultaneously accomplish all five analytical goals. We therefore introduce a new package phylosem for phylogenetic structural equation models (PSEM) and summarize features and interface. We also describe new analytical options, where users can specify any combination of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck, Pagel's-δ and Pagel's-λ transformations for species covariance. For the first time, we show that PSEM exactly reproduces estimates (and standard errors) for simplified cases that are feasible in sem, phylopath, phylolm and Rphylopars and demonstrate the approach by replicating a well-known case study involving trade-offs in plant energy budgets.
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Affiliation(s)
- James T Thorson
- Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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3
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Corral-Lopez A, Kotrschal A, Szorkovszky A, Garate-Olaizola M, Herbert-Read J, van der Bijl W, Romenskyy M, Zeng HL, Buechel SD, Fontrodona-Eslava A, Pelckmans K, Mank JE, Kolm N. Evolution of schooling drives changes in neuroanatomy and motion characteristics across predation contexts in guppies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6027. [PMID: 37758730 PMCID: PMC10533906 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41635-6] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the most spectacular displays of social behavior is the synchronized movements that many animal groups perform to travel, forage and escape from predators. However, elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying the evolution of collective behaviors, as well as their fitness effects, remains challenging. Here, we study collective motion patterns with and without predation threat and predator inspection behavior in guppies experimentally selected for divergence in polarization, an important ecological driver of coordinated movement in fish. We find that groups from artificially selected lines remain more polarized than control groups in the presence of a threat. Neuroanatomical measurements of polarization-selected individuals indicate changes in brain regions previously suggested to be important regulators of perception, fear and attention, and motor response. Additional visual acuity and temporal resolution tests performed in polarization-selected and control individuals indicate that observed differences in predator inspection and schooling behavior should not be attributable to changes in visual perception, but rather are more likely the result of the more efficient relay of sensory input in the brain of polarization-selected fish. Our findings highlight that brain morphology may play a fundamental role in the evolution of coordinated movement and anti-predator behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-Lopez
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, UK.
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Alexander Szorkovszky
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Maddi Garate-Olaizola
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - James Herbert-Read
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Aquatic Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Maksym Romenskyy
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Hong-Li Zeng
- School of Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China
| | - Severine Denise Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Ada Fontrodona-Eslava
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | | | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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4
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Lin Y, Darolti I, van der Bijl W, Morris J, Mank JE. Extensive variation in germline de novo mutations in Poecilia reticulata. Genome Res 2023; 33:1317-1324. [PMID: 37442578 PMCID: PMC10547258 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277936.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
The rate of germline mutation is fundamental to evolutionary processes, as it generates the variation upon which selection acts. The guppy, Poecilia reticulata, is a model of rapid adaptation, however the relative contribution of standing genetic variation versus de novo mutation (DNM) to evolution in this species remains unclear. Here, we use pedigree-based approaches to quantify and characterize germline DNMs in three large guppy families. Our results suggest germline mutation rate in the guppy varies substantially across individuals and families. Most DNMs are shared across multiple siblings, suggesting they arose during early embryonic development. DNMs are randomly distributed throughout the genome, and male-biased mutation rate is low, as would be expected from the short guppy generation time. Overall, our study shows remarkable variation in germline mutation rate and provides insights into rapid evolution of guppies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuying Lin
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada;
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jake Morris
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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5
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Hansen Wheat C, van der Bijl W, Wynne CDL. Rearing condition and willingness to approach a stranger explain differences in point following performance in wolves and dogs. Learn Behav 2023; 51:127-130. [PMID: 36224508 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-022-00544-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The relative importance of adaptation and individual ontogenetic experience in dogs' high levels of behavioral compatibility with humans has been a topic of intense scientific attention over the past two decades. Salomons et al. Current Biology, 31, 3137-3144, (2021) recently presented a particularly rich data set of observations on both wolf and dog puppies that has the potential to contribute substantially to this debate. In their study subjecting wolf and dog puppies to batteries of tests, including the ability to follow human pointing gestures, Salomons et al. (2021) reported that dogs, but not wolves, have a specialized innate capacity for cooperation with humans. However, upon reanalyzing this data set, we reach a different conclusion-namely, that when controlling adequately for various environmental factors, wolves and dogs perform similarly in their cooperation with humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology & Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Clive D L Wynne
- Canine Science Collaboratory, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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6
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van der Bijl W, Mank JE. Sexual selection: Changing the definition of the fittest. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R277-R279. [PMID: 37040712 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Sexual selection has long been known to produce rapid evolution of spectacular traits. A new study reveals how sexual selection can also rapidly reshape the genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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7
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Fong S, Rogell B, Amcoff M, Kotrschal A, van der Bijl W, Buechel SD, Kolm N. Rapid mosaic brain evolution under artificial selection for relative telencephalon size in the guppy ( Poecilia reticulata). Sci Adv 2021; 7:eabj4314. [PMID: 34757792 PMCID: PMC8580313 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj4314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The mosaic brain evolution hypothesis, stating that brain regions can evolve relatively independently during cognitive evolution, is an important idea to understand how brains evolve with potential implications even for human brain evolution. Here, we provide the first experimental evidence for this hypothesis through an artificial selection experiment in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). After four generations of selection on relative telencephalon volume (relative to brain size), we found substantial changes in telencephalon size but no changes in other regions. Further comparisons revealed that up-selected lines had larger telencephalon, while down-selected lines had smaller telencephalon than wild Trinidadian populations. Our results support that independent evolutionary changes in specific brain regions through mosaic brain evolution can be important facilitators of cognitive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Fong
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Corresponding author. (S.F.); (N.K.)
| | - Björn Rogell
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Drottningholm, Sweden
| | - Mirjam Amcoff
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Corresponding author. (S.F.); (N.K.)
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8
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van der Bijl W, Mank JE. Widespread cryptic variation in genetic architecture between the sexes. Evol Lett 2021; 5:359-369. [PMID: 34367661 PMCID: PMC8327960 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [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: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The majority of the genome is shared between the sexes, and it is expected that the genetic architecture of most traits is shared as well. This common architecture has been viewed as a major source of constraint on the evolution of sexual dimorphism (SD). SD is nonetheless common in nature, leading to assumptions that it results from differential regulation of shared genetic architecture. Here, we study the effect of thousands of gene knockout mutations on 202 mouse phenotypes to explore how regulatory variation affects SD. We show that many traits are dimorphic to some extent, and that a surprising proportion of knockouts have sex-specific phenotypic effects. Many traits, regardless whether they are monomorphic or dimorphic, harbor cryptic differences in genetic architecture between the sexes, resulting in sexually discordant phenotypic effects from sexually concordant regulatory changes. This provides an alternative route to dimorphism through sex-specific genetic architecture, rather than differential regulation of shared architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
- Biodiversity Research CentreUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - Judith E. Mank
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
- Biodiversity Research CentreUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
- BiosciencesUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusPenrynTR10 9FEUK
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9
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Morris J, Darolti I, van der Bijl W, Mank JE. High-resolution characterization of male ornamentation and re-evaluation of sex linkage in guppies. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201677. [PMID: 33081622 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Coloration plays a key role in the ecology of many species, influencing how an organism interacts with its environment, other species and conspecifics. Guppies are sexually dimorphic, with males displaying sexually selected coloration resulting from female preference. Previous work has suggested that much of guppy colour pattern variation is Y-linked. However, it remains unclear how many individual colour patterns are Y-linked in natural populations as much of the previous work has focused on phenotypes either not found in the wild, or aggregate measures such as total colour area. Moreover, ornaments have traditionally been identified and delineated by hand, and computational methods now make it possible to extract pixels and identify ornaments with automated methods, reducing the potential for human bias. Here we developed a pipeline for semi-automated ornament identification and high-resolution image analysis of male guppy colour patterns and applied it to a multigenerational pedigree. Our results show that loci controlling the presence or the absence of individual male ornaments in our population are not predominantly Y-linked. However, we find that ornaments of similar colour are not independent of each other, and modifier loci that affect whole animal coloration appear to be at least partially Y-linked. Considering these results, Y-linkage of individual ornaments may not be important in driving colour changes in natural populations of guppies, or in expansions of the non-recombining Y region, while Y-linked modifier loci that affect aggregate traits may well play an important role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Morris
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Iulia Darolti
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Judith E Mank
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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10
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van der Bijl W, Zeuss D, Chazot N, Tunström K, Wahlberg N, Wiklund C, Fitzpatrick JL, Wheat CW. Butterfly dichromatism primarily evolved via Darwin's, not Wallace's, model. Evol Lett 2020; 4:545-555. [PMID: 33312689 PMCID: PMC7719551 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [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: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism is typically thought to result from sexual selection for elaborated male traits, as proposed by Darwin. However, natural selection could reduce expression of elaborated traits in females, as proposed by Wallace. Darwin and Wallace debated the origins of dichromatism in birds and butterflies, and although evidence in birds is roughly equal, if not in favor of Wallace's model, butterflies lack a similar scale of study. Here, we present a large‐scale comparative phylogenetic analysis of the evolution of butterfly coloration, using all European non‐hesperiid butterfly species (n = 369). We modeled evolutionary changes in coloration for each species and sex along their phylogeny, thereby estimating the rate and direction of evolution in three‐dimensional color space using a novel implementation of phylogenetic ridge regression. We show that male coloration evolved faster than female coloration, especially in strongly dichromatic clades, with male contribution to changes in dichromatism roughly twice that of females. These patterns are consistent with a classic Darwinian model of dichromatism via sexual selection on male coloration, suggesting this model was the dominant driver of dichromatism in European butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm SE-10691 Sweden.,Department of Zoology University of British Columbia Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4 Canada
| | - Dirk Zeuss
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm SE-10691 Sweden.,Department of Environmental Informatics Philipps-University of Marburg Marburg DE-35032 Germany
| | - Nicolas Chazot
- Department of Biology University of Lund Lund SE-22362 Sweden.,Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala SE-75007 Sweden
| | - Kalle Tunström
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm SE-10691 Sweden
| | - Niklas Wahlberg
- Department of Biology University of Lund Lund SE-22362 Sweden
| | - Christer Wiklund
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm SE-10691 Sweden
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11
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Hansen Wheat C, van der Bijl W, Wheat CW. Morphology does not covary with predicted behavioral correlations of the domestication syndrome in dogs. Evol Lett 2020; 4:189-199. [PMID: 32547780 PMCID: PMC7293089 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Domesticated animals display suites of altered morphological, behavioral, and physiological traits compared to their wild ancestors, a phenomenon known as the domestication syndrome (DS). Because these alterations are observed to co-occur across a wide range of present day domesticates, the traits within the DS are assumed to covary within species and a single developmental mechanism has been hypothesized to cause the observed co-occurrence. However, due to the lack of formal testing it is currently not well-resolved if the traits within DS actually covary. Here, we test the hypothesis that the presence of the classic morphological domestication traits white pigmentation, floppy ears, and curly tails predict the strength of behavioral correlations in support of the DS in 78 dog breeds. Contrary to the expectations of covariation among DS traits, we found that morphological traits did not covary among themselves, nor did they predict the strength of behavioral correlations among dog breeds. Further, the number of morphological traits in a breed did not predict the strength of behavioral correlations. Our results thus contrast with the hypothesis that the DS arises due to a shared underlying mechanism, but more importantly, questions if the morphological traits embedded in the DS are actual domestication traits or postdomestication improvement traits. For dogs, it seems highly likely that strong selection for breed specific morphological traits only happened recently and in relation to breed formation. Present day dogs therefore have limited bearing of the initial selection pressures applied during domestication and we should reevaluate our expectations of the DS accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSE‐10961Sweden
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research CentreUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
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12
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Tsuboi M, van der Bijl W, Kopperud BT, Erritzøe J, Voje KL, Kotrschal A, Yopak KE, Collin SP, Iwaniuk A, Kolm N. Reply to: Comparisons of static brain-body allometries across vertebrates must distinguish between indeterminate and determinate growth. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1405-1406. [PMID: 31548650 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0986-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Masahito Tsuboi
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis and Evogene, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. .,Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. .,Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University of Advanced Studies, Hayama, Japan.
| | | | - Bjørn Tore Kopperud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis and Evogene, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Kjetil L Voje
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis and Evogene, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Kara E Yopak
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, UNCW Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA.,Oceans Graduate School and the Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Shaun P Collin
- Oceans Graduate School and the Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Iwaniuk
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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13
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Hansen Wheat C, van der Bijl W, Temrin H. Dogs, but Not Wolves, Lose Their Sensitivity Toward Novelty With Age. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2001. [PMID: 31555182 PMCID: PMC6742907 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [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: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Selection of behavioral traits holds a prominent role in the domestication of animals, and domesticated species are generally assumed to express reduced fear and reactivity toward novel stimuli compared to their ancestral species. However, very few studies have explicitly tested this proposed link between domestication and reduced fear responses. Of the limited number of studies experimentally addressing the alterations of fear during domestication, the majority has been done on canids. These studies on foxes, wolves, and dogs suggest that decreased expression of fear in domesticated animals is linked to a domestication-driven delay in the first onset of fearful behavior during early ontogeny. Thus, wolves are expected to express exaggerated fearfulness earlier during ontogeny compared to dogs. However, while adult dogs are less fearful toward novelty than adult wolves and wolf-dog hybrids, consensus is lacking on when differences in fear expression arise in wolves and dogs. Here we present the first extended examination of fear development in hand-raised dogs and European gray wolves, using repeated novel object tests from 6 to 26 weeks of age. Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence in support of an increase in fearfulness in wolves with age or a delayed onset of fear response in dogs compared to wolves. Instead, we found that dogs strongly reduced their fear response in the period between 6 and 26 weeks of age, resulting in a significant species difference in fear expression toward novelty from the age of 18 weeks. Critically, as wolves did not differ in their fear response toward novelty over time, the detected species difference was caused solely by a progressive reduced fear response in dogs. Our results thereby suggest that species differences in fear of novelty between wolves and dogs are not caused by a domestication-driven shift in the first onset of fear response. Instead, we suggest that a loss of sensitivity toward novelty with age in dogs causes the difference in fear expression toward novelty in wolves and dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Hans Temrin
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Szorkovszky A, Kotrschal A, Herbert-Read JE, Buechel SD, Romenskyy M, Rosén E, van der Bijl W, Pelckmans K, Kolm N, Sumpter DJ. Assortative interactions revealed by sorting of animal groups. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Abstract
Confirmatory path analysis allows researchers to evaluate and compare causal models using observational data. This tool has great value for comparative biologists since they are often unable to gather experimental data on macro-evolutionary hypotheses, but is cumbersome and error-prone to perform. I introduce phylopath, an R package that implements phylogenetic path analysis (PPA) as described by von Hardenberg & Gonzalez-Voyer (2013). In addition to the published method, I provide support for the inclusion of binary variables. I illustrate PPA and phylopath by recreating part of a study on the relationship between brain size and vulnerability to extinction. The package aims to make the analysis straight-forward, providing convenience functions, and several plotting methods, which I hope will encourage the spread of the method.
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Buechel SD, Boussard A, Kotrschal A, van der Bijl W, Kolm N. Brain size affects performance in a reversal-learning test. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172031. [PMID: 29367391 PMCID: PMC5805926 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
It has become increasingly clear that a larger brain can confer cognitive benefits. Yet not all of the numerous aspects of cognition seem to be affected by brain size. Recent evidence suggests that some more basic forms of cognition, for instance colour vision, are not influenced by brain size. We therefore hypothesize that a larger brain is especially beneficial for distinct and gradually more complex aspects of cognition. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the performance of brain size selected female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in two distinct aspects of cognition that differ in cognitive complexity. In a standard reversal-learning test we first investigated basic learning ability with a colour discrimination test, then reversed the reward contingency to specifically test for cognitive flexibility. We found that large-brained females outperformed small-brained females in the reversed-learning part of the test but not in the colour discrimination part of the test. Large-brained individuals are hence cognitively more flexible, which probably yields fitness benefits, as they may adapt more quickly to social and/or ecological cognitive challenges. Our results also suggest that a larger brain becomes especially advantageous with increasing cognitive complexity. These findings corroborate the significance of brain size for cognitive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Séverine D Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Annika Boussard
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden
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17
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Kotrschal A, Zeng HL, van der Bijl W, Öhman-Mägi C, Kotrschal K, Pelckmans K, Kolm N. Evolution of brain region volumes during artificial selection for relative brain size. Evolution 2017; 71:2942-2951. [PMID: 28986929 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The vertebrate brain shows an extremely conserved layout across taxa. Still, the relative sizes of separate brain regions vary markedly between species. One interesting pattern is that larger brains seem associated with increased relative sizes only of certain brain regions, for instance telencephalon and cerebellum. Till now, the evolutionary association between separate brain regions and overall brain size is based on comparative evidence and remains experimentally untested. Here, we test the evolutionary response of brain regions to directional selection on brain size in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) selected for large and small relative brain size. In these animals, artificial selection led to a fast response in relative brain size, while body size remained unchanged. We use microcomputer tomography to investigate how the volumes of 11 main brain regions respond to selection for larger versus smaller brains. We found no differences in relative brain region volumes between large- and small-brained animals and only minor sex-specific variation. Also, selection did not change allometric scaling between brain and brain region sizes. Our results suggest that brain regions respond similarly to strong directional selection on relative brain size, which indicates that brain anatomy variation in contemporary species most likely stem from direct selection on key regions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hong-Li Zeng
- Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | | | - Kurt Kotrschal
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Wolf Science Center, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Ernstbrunn, Austria
| | | | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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18
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Corral-López A, Bloch NI, Kotrschal A, van der Bijl W, Buechel SD, Mank JE, Kolm N. Female brain size affects the assessment of male attractiveness during mate choice. Sci Adv 2017; 3:e1601990. [PMID: 28345039 PMCID: PMC5362185 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Mate choice decisions are central in sexual selection theory aimed to understand how sexual traits evolve and their role in evolutionary diversification. We test the hypothesis that brain size and cognitive ability are important for accurate assessment of partner quality and that variation in brain size and cognitive ability underlies variation in mate choice. We compared sexual preference in guppy female lines selected for divergence in relative brain size, which we have previously shown to have substantial differences in cognitive ability. In a dichotomous choice test, large-brained and wild-type females showed strong preference for males with color traits that predict attractiveness in this species. In contrast, small-brained females showed no preference for males with these traits. In-depth analysis of optomotor response to color cues and gene expression of key opsins in the eye revealed that the observed differences were not due to differences in visual perception of color, indicating that differences in the ability to process indicators of attractiveness are responsible. We thus provide the first experimental support that individual variation in brain size affects mate choice decisions and conclude that differences in cognitive ability may be an important underlying mechanism behind variation in female mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-López
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Natasha I. Bloch
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Severine D. Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Judith E. Mank
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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19
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology; Stockholm University; Stockholm Sweden
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20
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Abstract
Large brains are thought to result from selection for cognitive benefits, but how enhanced cognition leads to increased fitness remains poorly understood. One explanation is that increased cognitive ability results in improved monitoring and assessment of predator threats. Here, we use male and female guppies (Poecilia reticulata), artificially selected for large and small brain size, to provide an experimental evaluation of this hypothesis. We examined their behavioural response as singletons, pairs or shoals of four towards a model predator. Large-brained females, but not males, spent less time performing predator inspections, an inherently risky behaviour. Video analysis revealed that large-brained females were further away from the model predator when in pairs but that they habituated quickly towards the model when in shoals of four. Males stayed further away from the predator model than females but again we found no brain size effect in males. We conclude that differences in brain size affect the female predator response. Large-brained females might be able to assess risk better or need less sensory information to reach an accurate conclusion. Our results provide experimental support for the general idea that predation pressure is likely to be important for the evolution of brain size in prey species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter van der Bijl
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Malin Thyselius
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
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