Search results for "reproductive modes"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
Karyotype variability and inter-population genomic differences in freshwater ostracods (Crustacea) showing geographical parthenogenesis
2018
Transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction are often associated with polyploidy and increased chromosomal plasticity in asexuals. We investigated chromosomes in the freshwater ostracod species Eucypris virens (Jurine, 1820), where sexual, asexual and mixed populations can be found. Our initial karyotyping of multiple populations from Europe and North Africa, both sexual and asexual, revealed a striking variability in chromosome numbers. This would suggest that chromosomal changes are likely to be accelerated in asexuals because the constraints of meiosis are removed. Hence, we employed comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) within and among sexual and asexual populations to get insigh…
Hypoxia and hypothermia as rival agents of selection driving the evolution of viviparity in lizards
2017
[Aim]: The evolution of key innovations promotes adaptive radiations by opening access to new ecological opportunity. The acquisition of viviparity (live-bearing reproduction) has emerged as one such innovation explaining reptile proliferations into extreme climates. By evolving viviparity, females provide embryos with internally stable environments to complete development. The classical hypothesis suggests that natural selection for viviparity arises from low temperatures in cold climates, which promote prolonged egg retention in the mother's body. An alternative hypothesis proposes that declines in atmospheric oxygen at high elevations create natural selection for embryo retention to prov…
Much more than a clasp : evolutionary patterns of amplexus diversity in anurans
2020
The evolution and diversification of animal reproductive modes have been pivotal questions in behavioural ecology. Amphibians present the highest diversity of reproductive modes among vertebrates, involving various behavioural, physiological and morphological traits. One such feature is the amplexus, which is the clasp or embrace of males on females during reproduction and is found almost universally in anurans. Hypotheses about the origin of amplexus are limited and have not been tested thoroughly, nor have they taken into account evolutionary relationships in most comparative studies. However, these considerations are crucial to an understanding of the evolution of reproductive modes. Her…