Search results for "Behavior and Systematics"

Molecular phylogeography ofThymus herba-barona(Lamiaceae): Insight into the evolutionary history of the flora of the western Mediterranean islands

2011

Thymus herba-barona is endemic to Majorca, Corsica, and Sardinia. In order to gain insight into its evolutionary history, we examined the genetic diversity and phylogeography of the species using sequences of the trnT-trnL intergenic spacer from 106 individuals belonging to 15 populations. We detected high within-species genetic diversity and strong among- population differentiation, but no evidence for phylogeographic structure. A haplotype network supported the occurrence of three main clades, the ancestral one being geographically restricted to the Gennargentu massif in Sardinia, while the two derived ones were relatively widespread. Coalescent-based analyses indicated deep divergence ti…

Maintenance costs of male dominance and sexually antagonistic selection in the wild

2018

Variation in dominance status determines male mating and reproductive success, but natural selection for male dominance can be detrimental or antagonistic for female performance, and ultimately their fitness. Attaining and maintaining a high dominance status in a population of competing individuals is physiologically costly for males. But how male dominance status is mediated by maintenance energetics is currently not well understood, nor are the corresponding effects of male energetics on his sisters recognized. We conducted laboratory and field experiments on rodent populations to test whether selective breeding for male dominance status (dominant vs. subordinate breeding lines) antagonis…

FOUNDER-FLUSH SPECIATION IN DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURA: A LARGE-SCALE EXPERIMENT.

1993

A founder-flush-crash model of speciation has been proposed that may particularly apply to island and other colonizations. Previous laboratory experiments testing the model have given inconsistent results. We have conducted a large experiment with Drosophila pseudoobscura designed to meet the essential postulates of the model and to separately test some of the postulates. Forty-five experimental and 12 control populations have been studied during seven successive founder-flush-crash cycles, or about 50 generations. Sexual isolation tests yield significantly positive assortative mating in a few tests between pairs of experimental populations. Populations with fewer founders (N = 1 or 3) yiel…

2019

Hosts are typically infected with multiple strains or genotypes of one or several parasite species. These infections can take place simultaneously, but also at different times, i.e. sequentially, when one of the parasites establishes first. Sequential parasite dynamics are common in nature, but also in intensive farming units such as aquaculture. However, knowledge of effects of previous exposures on virulence of current infections in intensive farming is very limited. This is critical as consecutive epidemics and infection history of a host could underlie failures in management practices and medical intervention of diseases. Here, we explored effects of timing of multiple infections on vir…

Selection for multicomponent mimicry: equal feature salience and variation in preferred traits

2016

When should multiple traits on Batesian mimics be selected to resemble corresponding traits on model species? Here, we explore two possibilities. First, features of equal salience to predators may be used to categorize prey, selecting for multicomponent mimicry. Second, if different predators use single yet different traits to categorize prey, multicomponent mimicry may still be selected. We studied how blue tits categorized rewarding and unrewarding artificial prey items that are differentiated by a combination of two color dimensions. Many birds used both color dimensions to make decisions, and overall, the population selected for multicomponent mimicry. However, a subset of birds used on…

Eco‐evolutionary dynamics driven by fishing : from single species models to dynamic evolution within complex food webs

2020

Evidence of contemporary evolution across ecological time scales stimulated research on the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of natural populations. Aquatic systems provide a good setting to study eco‐evolutionary dynamics owing to a wealth of long‐term monitoring data and the detected trends in fish life‐history traits across intensively harvested marine and freshwater systems. In the present study, we focus on modelling approaches to simulate eco‐evolutionary dynamics of fishes and their ecosystems. Firstly, we review the development of modelling from single‐species to multispecies approaches. Secondly, we advance the current state‐of‐the‐art methodology by implementing evolution of life‐history…

Evolutionary Trends in the Mitochondrial Genome of Archaeplastida: How Does the GC Bias Affect the Transition from Water to Land?

2020

[EN] Among the most intriguing mysteries in the evolutionary biology of photosynthetic organisms are the genesis and consequences of the dramatic increase in the mitochondrial and nuclear genome sizes, together with the concomitant evolution of the three genetic compartments, particularly during the transition from water to land. To clarify the evolutionary trends in the mitochondrial genome of Archaeplastida, we analyzed the sequences from 37 complete genomes. Therefore, we utilized mitochondrial, plastidial and nuclear ribosomal DNA molecular markers on 100 species of Streptophyta for each subunit. Hierarchical models of sequence evolution were fitted to test the heterogeneity in the base…

A new hybrid in the genus <em>Anthyllis</em> (Loteae-Leguminosae) from the eastern Iberian Peninsula

2016

We describe a new nothotaxon for the genus Anthyllis (Loteae- Leguminosae), A. . currasii P.P. Ferrer, Roselló & Guara, as result of natural interbreeding between A. cytisoides (Lag.) Pau and A. lagascana Benedí. It has been located at Monte de La Cañada, in Paterna (Valencia, Spain). This new hybrid is compared morphologically with its parents and the rest of nothotaxa described hitherto for the genus in the Iberian Peninsula, analysing the main diagnostic characters. The existence of the nothotaxa A. . fortuita Guara & P.P. Ferrer and A. . currasii implies the creation of the new nothosubgenus Ternijovis P.P. Ferrer, Roselló & Guara. A map of the known and documented distribut…

Identity and relationships of Sempervivum tectorum (Crassulaceae) in the Rhine Gorge area

2018

Sempervivum tectorum (Crassulaceae), an orophyte widespread in the European high mountains, also grows in rocky habitats of the Rhine Gorge area (Upper Middle Rhine, Mosel and Ahr river valleys). On the background of its long history of cultivation, it is unclear whether S. tectorum is native or naturalized in the Rhine Gorge area. Using 52 accessions of S. tectorum from across its geographical range (except SE Europe) as well as 15 samples of S. calcareum and S. marmoreum in our final sample, we conducted a genotyping-by-sequencing analysis. The genetic data were used for the identification of genetic groups and for the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships. We found that the materi…

Characterization of 150 Wheat Cultivars by LC-MS-Based Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics Unravels Possibilities to Design Wheat Better for Baking Qu…

2021

Wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. aestivum) contributes to 20% of the human protein supply, delivers essential amino acids and is of fundamental importance for bread and pasta quality. Wheat proteins are also involved in adverse human reactions like celiac disease (CD), wheat allergy (WA) and non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS). Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based label-free quantitative (LFQ) proteomics of aqueous flour extracts, we determined 756 proteins across 150 wheat cultivars grown in three environments. However, only 303 proteins were stably expressed across all environments in at least one cultivar and only 89 proteins thereof across all 150 cultivars. This und…