Search results for " evolution."

Kin and multilevel selection in social evolution: a never-ending controversy?

2016

Kin selection and multilevel selection are two major frameworks in evolutionary biology that aim at explaining the evolution of social behaviors. However, the relationship between these two theories has been plagued by controversy for almost half a century and debates about their relevance and usefulness in explaining social evolution seem to rekindle at regular intervals. Here, we first provide a concise introduction into the kin selection and multilevel selection theories and shed light onto the roots of the controversy surrounding them. We then review two major aspects of the current debate: the presumed formal equivalency of the two theories and the question whether group selection can …

Is homoploid hybrid speciation that rare? An empiricist’s view

2017

Is homoploid hybrid speciation that rare? An empiricist’s view

When phenotypes fail to illuminate underlying genetic processes in fish and fisheries science

2019

Abstract Advances in genetic and genomic technologies have become widely available and have potential to provide novel insights into fish biology and fisheries science. In the present overview, we explore cases for which genomic analyses have proven instrumental in the rejection of hypotheses that have been well-motivated based on phenotypic and ecological properties of individuals and populations. We focus on study systems for which information derived using genomic tools contradicts conclusions drawn from traditional fisheries science methodologies and assumptions. We further illustrate the non-intuitive interplay of genomics and ecology in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) owing to the re…

Induction of radiata pine somatic embryogenesis at high temperatures provokes a long-term decrease in dna methylation/hydroxymethylation and differen…

2020

Based on the hypothesis that embryo development is a crucial stage for the formation of stable epigenetic marks that could modulate the behaviour of the resulting plants, in this study, radiata pine somatic embryogenesis was induced at high temperatures (23 &deg

Parameterising a public good: how experiments on predation can be used to predict cheat frequencies

2016

Chemical defence is superficially easy to understand as a means for individuals to protect themselves from enemies. The evolution of chemical defence is however potentially complex because such defences may cause the generation of a public good, protecting members of the population as a whole as well as individuals that deploy toxins defensively. If a public good of protection exists, it may be exploited and degraded by “cheats” that do not invest in defence. This can in turn lead to complex frequency (and density) dependent effects in toxin evolution. To investigate this we used ecologically relevant predators (Great tits, Parus major) and examined how individual and public benefits vary d…

Female sexual signaling in a capital breeder, the European glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca

2021

AbstractTheory predicts that because costs constrain female sexual signaling, females are expected to have a low signaling effort that is increased with passing time until mating is secured. This pattern of signaling is expected to result from females balancing the costs associated with a higher than optimal signaling effort and those costs associated with a low signaling effort that increase the likelihood of delayed mating. We tested whether this prediction applies in the common glow-worm Lampyris noctiluca (Coleoptera, Lampyridae), a capital breeding species in which females glow at night to attract males. Contrary to predictions, we found that the duration of female sexual signaling sig…

Learned parasite avoidance is driven by host personality and resistance to infection in a fish-trematode interaction

2016

Cognitive abilities related to the assessment of risk improve survival. While earlier studies have examined the ability of animals to learn to avoid predators, learned parasite avoidance has received little interest. In a series of behavioural trials with the trematode parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum , we asked whether sea trout ( Salmo trutta trutta ) hosts show associative learning in the context of parasitism and if so, whether learning capacity is related to the likelihood of infection mediated through host personality and resistance. We show that animals are capable of learning to avoid visual cues associated with the presence of parasites. However, avoidance behaviour ceased af…

Taxonomic status and epidemiology of the mesoparasitic copepod Pennella balaenoptera in cetaceans from the western Mediterranean.

2018

Pennella balaenoptera is a mesoparasitic copepod that has been reported in at least 17 cetacean species. Subtle morphological differences in the first antennae of adult females have been used to discriminate this species from P. filosa, a species infecting fishes. Other morphological traits are unreliable because of their high plasticity, and no molecular data are available to confirm the taxonomic status of P. balaenoptera as an independent species. We found no consistent morphological differences of the first antennae between P. balaenoptera and P. filosa collected from cetaceans and fish in the western Mediterranean. Molecular data on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I failed…

Phylogeny, biogeography, and chromosome evolution of the amphitropical genus Grindelia (Asteraceae) inferred from nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast s…

2012

Pesticide-induced changes in personality depend on the urbanization level

2017

Globally increasing urbanization causes major anthropogenic changes in ecosystems, drastically altering phenotypes of organisms. Increased contamination is a well-known result of urbanization, and its effect on behaviour has been extensively studied. Yet, animal personality, consistent behavioural variation between individuals, has rarely been investigated in the context of anthropogenic contaminants. Changes in personalities may affect the viability of populations, and even alter community dynamics. We investigated the effects of exposure to a sublethal dose of the commonly used pesticide esfenvalerate on two personality traits, activity and boldness, and compared these effects between rep…