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Alila DO, Ten Brink H, Haesler M, Seehausen O. Ecological character displacement among Nothobranchius annual killifishes in Tanzania. Evolution 2024; 78:679-689. [PMID: 38241699 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae005] [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: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Divergent ecological character displacement (ECD) is the competition-driven divergence in resource use-related phenotypic traits between coexisting species. It is considered one of the primary drivers of ecological diversification and adaptive radiation. We analyzed phenotypic and ecological variation in 2 African annual killifish species of the genus Nothobranchius: N. eggersi and N. melanospilus in sympatry and N. melanospilus in allopatry. Our aim was to test whether allopatric and sympatric populations of N. melanospilus differ morphologically from each other and from N. eggersi and examine whether these differences are consistent with the predictions of ECD. We find that sympatric N. melanospilus differ from allopatric N. melanospilus and differ from N. eggersi more strongly than the latter. Our data satisfy four criteria for demonstrating ECD: Differences in phenotypes between allopatric and sympatric N. melanospilus are greater than expected by chance; the divergence pattern between allopatric and sympatric N. melanospilus results from an evolutionary shift rather than from ecological sorting; morphological differences observed reflect differences in resource use; and, lastly, sites of allopatry and sympatry do not differ in food resource availability or other ecological conditions. Our results suggest that competition is the main driver of the observed divergence between two N. melanospilus populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David O Alila
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre of Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mkwawa University College of Education, University of Dar es salaam, Iringa, Tanzania
| | - Hanna Ten Brink
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Fish Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel Haesler
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre of Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ole Seehausen
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre of Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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De Lisle SP. Rapid evolution of ecological sexual dimorphism driven by resource competition. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:124-131. [PMID: 36366784 PMCID: PMC10099664 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences in ecologically important traits are common in animals and plants, and prompted Darwin to first propose an ecological cause of sexual dimorphism. Despite theoretical plausibility and Darwin's original notion, a role for ecological resource competition in the evolution of sexual dimorphism has never been directly demonstrated and remains controversial. I used experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to test the hypothesis that resource competition can drive the evolution of sex differences in diet. Following just three generations of adaptation, offspring from flies evolved in low-resource, high-competition environments show elevated sexual dimorphism in diet preference compared to both the ancestor and populations evolved on high-resource availability. This increased sexual dimorphism was the result of divergence in male sucrose intake and female yeast intake consistent with the differential nutritional requirements of the sexes. These results provide the first real-time direct evidence for evolution of sexual dimorphism driven by resource competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P De Lisle
- Evolutionary Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Bauld JT, Abernethy KA, Newton J, Lehmann D, Jones IL, Bussière LF. Can diet niche partitioning enhance sexual dimorphism? Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9599. [PMID: 36545364 PMCID: PMC9760898 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9599] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Classic evolutionary theory suggests that sexual dimorphism evolves primarily via sexual and fecundity selection. However, theory and evidence are beginning to accumulate suggesting that resource competition can drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism, via ecological character displacement between sexes. A key prediction of this hypothesis is that the extent of ecological divergence between sexes will be associated with the extent of sexual dimorphism. As the stable isotope ratios of animal tissues provide a quantitative measure of various aspects of ecology, we carried out a meta-analysis examining associations between the extent of isotopic divergence between sexes and the extent of body size dimorphism. Our models demonstrate that large amounts of between-study variation in isotopic (ecological) divergence between sexes is nonrandom and may be associated with the traits of study subjects. We, therefore, completed meta-regressions to examine whether the extent of isotopic divergence between sexes is associated with the extent of sexual size dimorphism. We found modest but significantly positive associations across species between size dimorphism and ecological differences between sexes, that increased in strength when the ecological opportunity for dietary divergence between sexes was greatest. Our results, therefore, provide further evidence that ecologically mediated selection, not directly related to reproduction, can contribute to the evolution of sexual dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua T. Bauld
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | - Katharine A. Abernethy
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
- Institut de Recherche en Ecologie TropicaleCENARESTLibrevilleGabon
| | - Jason Newton
- National Environmental Isotope FacilityScottish Universities Environmental Research CentreEast KilbrideUK
| | - David Lehmann
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN)LibrevilleGabon
| | - Isabel L. Jones
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | - Luc F. Bussière
- Biology and Environmental Sciences and Gothenburg Global Biodiversity CentreUniversity of GothenburgGothenburgSweden
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Wasiljew BD, Pfaender J, Wipfler B, Gabelaia M, Utama IV, Wantania LL, Herder F. Sexual dimorphism in an adaptive radiation: Does intersexual niche differentiation result in ecological character displacement? Ecol Evol 2021; 11:14615-14629. [PMID: 34765129 PMCID: PMC8571569 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8137] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary radiations are one plausible explanation for the rich biodiversity on Earth. Adaptive radiations are the most studied form of evolutionary radiations, and ecological opportunity has been identified as one factor permitting them. Competition among individuals is supposedly highest in populations of conspecifics. Divergent modes of resource use might minimize trophic overlap, and thus intersexual competition, resulting in ecological character displacement between sexes. However, the role of intersexual differentiation in speciation processes is insufficiently studied. The few studies available suggest that intersexual niche differentiation exists in adaptive radiations, but their role within the radiation, and the extent of differentiation within the organism itself, remains largely unexplored. Here, we test the hypothesis that multiple morphological structures are affected by intersexual niche differentiation in "roundfin" Telmatherina, the first case where intersexual niche differentiation was demonstrated in an adaptive fish radiation. We show that sexes of two of the three morphospecies differ in several structural components of the head, all of these are likely adaptive. Sexual dimorphism is linked to the respective morphospecies-specific ecology and affects several axes of variation. Trait variation translates into different feeding modes, processing types, and habitat usages that add to interspecific variation in all three morphospecies. Intrasexual selection, that is, male-male competition, may contribute to variation in some of the traits, but appears unlikely in internal structures, which are invisible to other individuals. We conclude that intersexual variation adds to the adaptive diversity of roundfins and might play a key role in minimizing intersexual competition in emerging radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ilham Vemandra Utama
- Division of ZoologyIchthyology LaboratoryResearch Center for BiologyIndonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)CibinongIndonesia
| | - Letha Louisiana Wantania
- Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander KoenigBonnGermany
- Faculty of Fisheries and Marine ScienceSam Ratulangi UniversityManadoIndonesia
| | - Fabian Herder
- Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander KoenigBonnGermany
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Bocedi G. Ecological sexual dimorphism is modulated by the spatial scale of intersexual resource competition. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1810-1813. [PMID: 34346069 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13556] [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: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In Focus: Li, X-Y., & H. Kokko. (2021). Sexual dimorphism driven by intersexual resource competition: Why is it rare, and where to look for it? Journal of Animal Ecology, 00, 1-13. Ecological sexual dimorphism, that is differences between the sexes in traits that are naturally selected as opposed to sexually selected, is gaining increasing attention after having often been dismissed as the 'less-parsimonious' explanation for differences between sexes. One potential driver of ecological sexual dimorphism is intersexual resource competition, in a process analogous to ecological character displacement between species; yet, clear empirical examples are scarce. Li and Kokko present mathematical models that introduce novel pieces to the puzzle: the role of the scale of mating competition and the spatial variation in resource availability. They show that ecological sexual dimorphism evolves when local mating groups are small (e.g. monogamous pairs) and when different resources are homogeneously available across habitats. Counterintuitively, larger mating groups (e.g. polygyny), and consequently higher intralocus sexual conflict, lead to sexual monomorphism. Habitat heterogeneity also leads to overlapping niches, although it can sometimes drive polymorphism within sexes. This study highlights why the conditions for intrasexual resource competition to drive evolution of sexual dimorphism are stringent, even in the absence of genetic constraints or competing species. Crucially, it highlights the importance of considering the mating system and the spatial scale of resource competition for understanding the occurrence of ecological sexual dimorphism, showing a large potential for future work considering different aspects of species' life histories and spatial dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Bocedi
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Li XY, Kokko H. Sexual dimorphism driven by intersexual resource competition: Why is it rare, and where to look for it? J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:1831-1843. [PMID: 33759459 PMCID: PMC8453853 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Sexes often differ more obviously in secondary sexual characteristics than in traits that appear naturally selected, despite conceivable benefits to intersexual niche partitioning. Genetic constraints may play a role in limiting sex‐specific niche evolution; however, it is not clear why this limit should apply to naturally selected traits more than those under sexual selection; the latter routinely produces dimorphism. We ask whether ecological factors and/or features of the mating system limit dimorphism in resource use, or conversely, what conditions are the most permissible ones for sexual niche differences. The scale of mating competition and spatial variation in resource availability can help predict sexually dimorphic niches or the lack thereof. We investigate why and when dimorphism might fail to evolve even if genetic covariation between the sexes posed no constraint. Our analytical model incorporates the first aspect of spatial interactions (scale of mating competition). It is followed by simulations that explore broader conditions, including multiple resources with habitat heterogeneity, genetic correlations and non‐Gaussian resource‐use efficiency functions. We recover earlier known conditions for favourable conditions for the evolution of niche partitioning between sexes, such as narrow individual niche and low degrees of genetic constraint. We also show spatial considerations to alter this picture. Sexual niche divergence occurs more readily when local mating groups are small and different resources occur reliably across habitats. Polygyny (medium‐sized or large mating groups) can diminish the prospects for dimorphism even if no genetic constraints are present. Habitat heterogeneity typically also disfavours niche dimorphism but can also lead to polymorphism within a sex, if it is beneficial to specialize to be very competitive in one habitat, even at a cost to performance in the other. Sexual conflict is usually used to explain dimorphic traits or behaviours. Our models highlight that introducing conflict (achieved by switching from monogamy to polygamy) can also be responsible for sexual monomorphism. Under monogamy, males benefit from specializing to consume other resources than what feeds the female best. Polygyny makes males disregard this female benefit, and both sexes compete for the most profitable resource, leading to overlapping niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang-Yi Li
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Herrmann NC, Stroud JT, Losos JB. The Evolution of 'Ecological Release' into the 21st Century. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:206-15. [PMID: 33223276 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Ecological release, originally conceived as niche expansion following a reduction in interspecific competition, may prompt invasion success, morphological evolution, speciation, and other ecological and evolutionary outcomes. However, the concept has not been recently reviewed. Here, we trace the study of 'ecological release' from its inception through the present day and find that current definitions are broad and highly varied. Viewing this development as a potential impediment to clear communication and hypothesis testing, we suggest a consensus definition for ecological release: niche expansions and shifts when a constraining interspecific interaction is reduced or removed. In rationalizing this definition, we highlight the various ways ecological release can unfold and address its potential evolutionary consequences.
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Abstract
Character displacement is phenotypic divergence driven by competition (ecological character displacement) or reproductive interference (reproductive character displacement). Although previous studies have examined these phenomena separately, recent evidence suggests that reproductive interference can drive both reproductive and ecological character displacement, in that certain traits are related to both competition and reproduction. Thus, to evaluate the effect of competition, the effect of reproductive interference must be excluded. Here, we analysed ecological character displacement between non-congeneric frogs, which show little reproductive interference. Odorrana amamiensis inhabits the Amami and Tokunoshima Islands, Japan, whereas its non-congeneric competitor Babina subaspera inhabits the Amami Island. We tested three of the Schluter (2000) criteria for ecological character displacement: phenotypic changes in O. amamiensis between the two islands, phenotypic change related to prey preference, prey availability between the two islands. We demonstrated that the three criteria in Schluter (2000) were likely to be satisfied, indicating the occurrence of ecological character displacement in non-congeners without reproductive interference. Thus, we conclude that competition is potentially the main driver of this phenotypic divergence, and that non-congeners may be a suitable model for evaluating ecological character displacement in a variety of organisms, as the influence of reproductive interference can be excluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirotaka Komine
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan,
| | - Yuya Watari
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan
| | - Koichi Kaji
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
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Abstract
Reproductive character displacement is the adaptive evolution of traits that minimize deleterious reproductive interactions between species. When arising from selection to avoid hybridization, this process is referred to as reinforcement. Reproductive character displacement generates divergence not only between interacting species, but also between conspecific populations that are sympatric with heterospecifics versus those that are allopatric. Consequently, such conspecific populations can become reproductively isolated. We compared female mate preferences in, and evaluated gene flow between, neighbouring populations of spadefoot toads that did and did not occur with heterospecifics (mixed- and pure-species populations, respectively). We found that in mixed-species populations females significantly preferred conspecifics. Such females also tended to prefer a conspecific call character that was dissimilar from heterospecifics. By contrast, females from pure-species populations did not discriminate conspecific from heterospecific calls. They also preferred a more exaggerated conspecific call character that resembles heterospecific males. Moreover, gene flow was significantly reduced between mixed- and pure-species population types. Thus, character displacement (and, more specifically, reinforcement) may initiate reproductive isolation between conspecific populations that differ in interactions with heterospecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin S Pfennig
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA
| | - Amber M Rice
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA
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Tene Fossog B, Ayala D, Acevedo P, Kengne P, Ngomo Abeso Mebuy I, Makanga B, Magnus J, Awono-Ambene P, Njiokou F, Pombi M, Antonio-Nkondjio C, Paupy C, Besansky NJ, Costantini C. Habitat segregation and ecological character displacement in cryptic African malaria mosquitoes. Evol Appl 2015; 8:326-45. [PMID: 25926878 PMCID: PMC4408144 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [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: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how divergent selection generates adaptive phenotypic and population diversification provides a mechanistic explanation of speciation in recently separated species pairs. Towards this goal, we sought ecological gradients of divergence between the cryptic malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and An. gambiae and then looked for a physiological trait that may underlie such divergence. Using a large set of occurrence records and eco-geographic information, we built a distribution model to predict the predominance of the two species across their range of sympatry. Our model predicts two novel gradients along which the species segregate: distance from the coastline and altitude. Anopheles coluzzii showed a ‘bimodal’ distribution, predominating in xeric West African savannas and along the western coastal fringe of Africa. To test whether differences in salinity tolerance underlie this habitat segregation, we assessed the acute dose–mortality response to salinity of thirty-two larval populations from Central Africa. In agreement with its coastal predominance, Anopheles coluzzii was overall more tolerant than An. gambiae. Salinity tolerance of both species, however, converged in urban localities, presumably reflecting an adaptive response to osmotic stress from anthropogenic pollutants. When comparing degree of tolerance in conjunction with levels of syntopy, we found evidence of character displacement in this trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Billy Tene Fossog
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Paludisme, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon ; Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Diego Ayala
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Eck Institute for Global Health & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN, USA ; Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) Franceville, Gabon
| | - Pelayo Acevedo
- SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Pierre Kengne
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Paludisme, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Boris Makanga
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) Franceville, Gabon ; Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET) Libreville, Gabon
| | - Julie Magnus
- Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) Franceville, Gabon
| | - Parfait Awono-Ambene
- Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Paludisme, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Flobert Njiokou
- Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Marco Pombi
- Sezione di Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza' Rome, Italy
| | - Christophe Antonio-Nkondjio
- Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Paludisme, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Christophe Paupy
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) Franceville, Gabon
| | - Nora J Besansky
- Eck Institute for Global Health & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Carlo Costantini
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1, UM2, CNRS 5290, IRD 224) Montpellier, France ; Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Paludisme, Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies en Afrique Centrale (OCEAC) Yaoundé, Cameroon
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Grossenbacher DL, Stanton ML. Pollinator-mediated competition influences selection for flower-color displacement in sympatric monkeyflowers. Am J Bot 2014; 101:1915-24. [PMID: 25366857 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1400204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF STUDY When coflowering plant species share pollinators, pollinator-mediated competition may favor divergent floral characters associated with pollinator attraction. One potential outcome of this process is that sympatric populations will display increased divergence in floral traits compared with allopatric populations. We developed a new system to study the pattern and process of character displacement. In the central Sierra Nevada of California, USA, Mimulus bicolor is a spring wildflower with two flower-color morphs, one of which resembles coflowering M. guttatus. METHODS We documented a fine-scale geographic pattern of character displacement in sympatric and allopatric patches and, using experimental arrays, measured seed set in M. bicolor color morphs in the presence versus absence of M. guttatus. KEY RESULTS In sympatric arrays yellow, guttatus-like M. bicolor morphs had lower relative fitness (0.35 ± 0.05) and reduced conspecific pollen deposition compared with the distinct alternative morph, whereas in allopatric arrays yellow, guttatus-like morphs were occasionally strongly favored. CONCLUSIONS Pollinator-mediated competition with M. guttatus is consistent with ecological character displacement in M. bicolor and likely contributes to a geographic pattern of character displacement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dena L Grossenbacher
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Maureen L Stanton
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616 USA
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12
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Husemann M, Tobler M, McCauley C, Ding B, Danley PD. Evolution of body shape in differently coloured sympatric congeners and allopatric populations of Lake Malawi's rock-dwelling cichlids. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:826-39. [PMID: 24617299 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 07/11/2013] [Revised: 02/05/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi represent one of the most diverse adaptive radiations of vertebrates known. Among the rock-dwelling cichlids (mbuna), closely related sympatric congeners possess similar trophic morphologies (i.e. cranial and jaw structures), defend overlapping or adjacent territories, but can be easily distinguished based on male nuptial coloration. The apparent morphological similarity of congeners, however, leads to an ecological conundrum: theory predicts that ecological competition should lead to competitive exclusion. Hence, we hypothesized that slight, yet significant, ecological differences accompanied the divergence in sexual signals and that the divergence of ecological and sexual traits is correlated. To evaluate this hypothesis, we quantified body shape, a trait of known ecological importance, in populations of Maylandia zebra, a barred, widespread mbuna, and several sympatric nonbarred congeners. We found that the barred populations differ in body shape from their nonbarred sympatric congeners and that the direction of shape differences was consistent across all barred vs. nonbarred comparisons. Barred populations are generally deeper bodied which may be an adaptation to the structurally complex habitat they prefer, whereas the nonbarred species have a more fusiform body shape, which may be adaptive in their more open microhabitat. Furthermore, M. zebra populations sympatric with nonbarred congeners differ from populations where the nonbarred phenotype is absent and occupy less morphospace, indicating potential ecological character displacement. Mitochondrial DNA as well as published AFLP data indicated that the nonbarred populations are not monophyletic and therefore may have evolved multiple times independently. Overall our data suggest that the evolution of coloration and body shape may be coupled as a result of correlational selection. We hypothesize that correlated evolution of sexually selected and ecological traits may have contributed to rapid speciation as well as the maintenance of diversity in one of the most diverse adaptive radiations known.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Husemann
- Biology Department, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
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13
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Burgess SC, Waples RS, Baskett ML. Local adaptation when competition depends on phenotypic similarity. Evolution 2013; 67:3012-22. [PMID: 24094350 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [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: 09/26/2012] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Recent work incorporating demographic-genetic interactions indicates the importance of population size, gene flow, and selection in influencing local adaptation. This work typically assumes that density-dependent survival affects individuals equally, but individuals in natural population rarely compete equally. Among-individual differences in resource use generate stronger competition between more similar phenotypes (frequency-dependent competition) but it remains unclear how this additional form of selection changes the interactions between population size, gene flow, and local stabilizing selection. Here, we integrate migration-selection dynamics with frequency-dependent competition. We developed a coupled demographic-quantitative genetic model consisting of two patches connected by dispersal and subject to local stabilizing selection and competition. Our model shows that frequency-dependent competition slightly increases local adaptation, greatly increases genetic variance within patches, and reduces the amount that migration depresses population size, despite the increased genetic variance load. The effects of frequency-dependence depend on the strength of divergent selection, trait heritability, and when mortality occurs in the life cycle in relation to migration and reproduction. Essentially, frequency-dependent competition reduces the density-dependent interactions between migrants and residents, the extent to which depends on how different and common immigrants are compared to residents. Our results add new dynamics that illustrate how competition can alter the effects of gene flow and divergent selection on local adaptation and population carrying capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott C Burgess
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis. One Shields Avenue, Davis, California.
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McEwen JR, Vamosi JC. Floral colour versus phylogeny in structuring subalpine flowering communities. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:2957-65. [PMID: 20484236 PMCID: PMC2982023 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [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: 03/09/2010] [Accepted: 04/28/2010] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The relative number of seeds produced by competing species can influence the community structure; yet, traits that influence seed production, such as pollinator attraction and floral colour, have received little attention in community ecology. Here, we analyse floral colour using reflectance spectra that include near-UV and examined the phylogenetic signal of floral colour. We found that coflowering species within communities tended to be more divergent in floral colour than expected by chance. However, coflowering species were not phylogenetically dispersed, in part due to our finding that floral colour is a labile trait with a weak phylogenetic signal. Furthermore, while we found that locally rare and common species exhibited equivalent floral colour distances from their coflowering neighbours, frequent species (those found in more communities) exhibited higher colour distances from their coflowering neighbours. Our findings support recent studies, which have found that (i) plant lineages exhibit frequent floral colour transitions; and (ii) traits that influence local population dynamics contribute to community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jana C. Vamosi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada
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