Polyandry and paternity skew in natural and experimental populations of Drosophila serrata

Many species engage in polyandry, resulting in the potential for sexual selection to continue post-copulation through sperm competition and/or cryptic female choice. The relative importance of pre- vs. post-copulatory processes remains unknown for most species despite this information being fundamental for understanding the evolutionary consequences of sexual selection. The Australian fruit fly Drosophila serrata has become a prominent model system for studying precopulatory sexual selection, such as mating preferences and their influence on the evolution of sexually selected traits. Here, we investigated polyandry and the potential for post-copulatory sexual selection in this species using indirect paternity analysis. We genotyped 21 wild-caught and 19 laboratory-reared mothers and their offspring (a total of 787 flies) at six microsatellite loci and found extensive polyandry, with all broods surveyed having at least two sires. Female remating rates were higher than in other Drosophila surveyed to date and no significant differences were found between laboratory and field populations. Additionally, we found evidence for biased sperm usage in several broods of D. serrata . Paternity skew occurred more frequently in broods from the field population than the laboratory one, suggesting differences between the two environments in the level of post-copulatory sexual selection. Our data suggest that D. serrata represents a promising system for studying the interaction between pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection in driving the evolution of sexually selected phenotypes.     

Polyandry facilitates postcopulatory inbreeding avoidance in house mice

The avoidance of genetic incompatibilities between parental genotypes has been proposed to account for the evolution of polyandry. An extension of this hypothesis suggests polyandry may provide an opportunity for females to avoid the cost of inbreeding by exploiting postcopulatory mechanisms that bias paternity toward unrelated male genotypes. Here we test the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis in house mice by experimentally manipulating genetic compatibility via matings between siblings and nonsiblings. We observed little difference in reproductive success between females mated to two siblings or females mated to two nonsiblings. Females mated to both a sibling and a nonsibling tended to have a lower litter survival, but only when the first male to mate was a sibling. Microsatellite data revealed that paternity was biased toward nonsiblings when a female mated with both a sibling and a nonsibling. Unlike previous studies of invertebrates, paternity bias toward the sibling male was independent of mating sequence. We provide one of the first empirical demonstrations that polyandry facilitates postcopulatory sexual selection in a vertebrate. We discuss this result in relation to the possibility of selective fertilization of ova based on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haploid expression of sperm.     

Resource choice in orchard populations of Drosophila

Three capture-recapture experiments were performed on natural populations of Drosophila from orchards in California. Two of the experiments investigated choice between known breeding substrates: oranges v. grapefruits and figs v. peaches. The third involved choice between citrus baits in a citrus orchard and both banana and citrus baits in an adjacent almond orchard. Drosophila pseudoobscura showed no fidelity to the bait or area of initial capture. However, a statistically significant but low level of resource fidelity was displayed by D. melanogaster/D. simulans. An index of differential choice is used to compare our results to those of previous studies. Possible biological bases of choice behaviour are discussed.     

黔西北石漠化地区两栖动物多样性及其生境选择

对两栖动物多样性及其生境选择的调查, 可为两栖动物的保护提供基础性资料。我们于2018年9-10月、2019年3-8月对贵州省毕节市撒拉溪石漠化综合治理示范区30个研究样方的两栖动物进行了调查, 共观察到两栖动物5,688只, 隶属2目6科9属10种。采用Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Margalef丰富度指数、Pielou均匀度指数等分析了不同等级石漠化区域中的两栖动物物种多样性, 采用Sorenson相似性系数、聚类分析等方法分析了群落的相似性与差异性。结果显示: (1)云南小狭口蛙(Glyphoglossus yunnanensis)为优势种, 贵州疣螈(Tylototriton kweichowensis)、红点齿蟾(Oreolalax rhodostigmatus)、中华蟾蜍(Bufo gargarizans)、华西雨蛙(Hyla annectans)和昭觉林蛙(Rana chaochiaoensis)为常见种, 粗皮姬蛙(Microhyla butleri)、沼水蛙(Hylarana guentheri)、筠连臭蛙(Odorrana junlianensis)和威宁蛙(Rana weiningensis)为稀有种。(2)无石漠化区域与潜在石漠化区域两栖动物物种数、个体数以及生境类型较之其他3个等级石漠化区域更为丰富, 多样性指数、丰富度指数以无石漠化区域为最大。(3)无石漠化区域和潜在石漠化区域之间、无石漠化区域和潜在石漠化区域分别与其他3个等级石漠化区域之间表现出较强的差异性。研究表明, 喀斯特地区石漠化导致的生境差异是两栖动物分布差异的重要原因, 加强石漠化的生态治理是喀斯特地区保护两栖动物的重要途径。     

Habitat segregation by breeding origin in the declining populations of European Robins wintering in southern Iberia

Mediterranean woodlands and associated shrub formations of southern Iberia are key habitats for conservation of migratory birds. In some bird species, migratory and sedentary conspecifics meet in these areas during winter, but our understanding of how each population group is distributed over available habitats and the factors that determine their spatial organization are still unclear. This seriously limits our ability to assess their vulnerability to ongoing environmental changes affecting wintering habitats in this region. We used hydrogen isotopic signatures of feathers (δD_f) to shed light on the habitat distribution of seasonally sympatric European Robin Erithacus rubecula populations wintering in Campo de Gibraltar that are currently facing a drastic decline. In contrast to previous studies that used morphological methods to distinguish the migratory behaviour of wintering Robins in this area, our isotopic approach revealed that sedentary Robins were not outcompeted upon the arrival of migrants and remained in the woodlands where they reproduce, which agrees with results obtained in other regions. Interestingly, we also found that migratory Robins with a closer breeding origin (higher δD_f values) had a higher probability of occupying woodlands than did migrants coming from further away. Overall, our results suggest that the role of breeding origin in shaping the distribution of Robins during winter in Campo de Gibraltar is more relevant than the effects of sex, age or body size, which might facilitate the evolution of local adaptations for the exploitation of each habitat type.     

Variability for host preference in insect populations: Mechanistic and evolutionary models

Two models that explain variation in behaviour associated with locating and accepting different habitats (host plants) are described and analyzed. One model describes the dynamics of search-mode ontogeny in Battus philenor butterflies. This model predicts that the proportion of females using either of two search modes at any given time reflects an equilibrium between the rate at which females switch from using a narrow-leaf search mode to using a broad-leaf search mode and the rate at which the opposite switch is made. Preliminary data suggest that the model predicts reasonably well the observed seasonal change in predominant search mode in the field. The second model, really a set of related models, describes the dynamics of genes that influence searching behaviour. Several predictions of these models are: (1) gentic variation for proportional allocation of offspring to different habitats should be more common under soft-selection regimes than under hard-selection regimes. (2) Polyphagy should be more common under soft selection than under hard selection. (3) Whether changes in the relative abundances or relative quality of different habitats lead to evolutionary change in apportionment of offspring to habitats depends in a complex way on mode of population regulation, method of search, type of limitation of fecundity and genetic properties of loci affecting preference. Although the two types of models superficially appear to address different types of behavioural variation, they may be used in a complementary fashion to understand the evolution of habitat selection behaviour.     

The genetic consequences of selection in natural populations

The selection coefficient, s, quantifies the strength of selection acting on a genetic variant. Despite this parameter's central importance to population genetic models, until recently we have known relatively little about the value of s in natural populations. With the development of molecular genetic techniques in the late 20th century and the sequencing technologies that followed, biologists are now able to identify genetic variants and directly relate them to organismal fitness. We reviewed the literature for published estimates of natural selection acting at the genetic level and found over 3000 estimates of selection coefficients from 79 studies. Selection coefficients were roughly exponentially distributed, suggesting that the impact of selection at the genetic level is generally weak but can occasionally be quite strong. We used both nonparametric statistics and formal random‐effects meta‐analysis to determine how selection varies across biological and methodological categories. Selection was stronger when measured over shorter timescales, with the mean magnitude of s greatest for studies that measured selection within a single generation. Our analyses found conflicting trends when considering how selection varies with the genetic scale (e.g., SNPs or haplotypes) at which it is measured, suggesting a need for further research. Besides these quantitative conclusions, we highlight key issues in the calculation, interpretation, and reporting of selection coefficients and provide recommendations for future research.     

The conflict between natural and artificial selection in finite populations

Summary A single locus model of the interaction between natural selection and artificial selection for a quantitative character in a finite population, assuming heterozygote superiority in natural fitness but additive action on the character, has been studied using transition probability matrices.If natural selection is strong enough to create a selection plateau in which genetic variance declines relatively slowly, then the total response to artificial selection prior to the plateau will be much less than that expected in the absence of natural selection, and the half-life of response will be shorter. Such a plateau is likely to have a large proportion, if not all, of the original genetic variance still present. In selection programmes using laboratory animals, it seems likely that the homozygote favoured by artificial selection must be very unfit before such a plateau will occur. A significant decrease in population fitness as a result of artificial selection does not necessarily imply that the metric character is an important adaptive character.These implications of this model of natural selection are very similar to those derived by James (1962) for the optimum model of natural selection. In fact, there seems to be no aspect of the observable response to artificial selection that would enable anyone to distinguish between these two models of natural selection.     

Fish use of restored mangroves matches that in natural mangroves regardless of forest age

The loss and degradation of mangrove forests have triggered global restoration efforts to support biodiversity and ecosystem services, including fish stock enhancement. As mangrove restoration accelerates, it is important to evaluate outcomes for species that play functional roles in ecosystems and support services, yet this remains a clear knowledge gap. There is remarkably little information, for example, about how fish use of mangroves varies as restored vegetation matures, hampering efforts to include fisheries benefits in natural capital assessments of restoration. We used unbaited underwater cameras within two distinct zones of mangrove forests—fringe and interior—at five pairs of restored-natural mangrove sites of increasing age from restoration in southeast Queensland, Australia. We used deep learning to automatically extract data for the four most common species: yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis), sea mullet (Mugil cephalus), common toadfish (Tetractenos hamiltoni), and common silverbiddy (Gerres subfasciatus). The abundance of these species varied among sites and zones, but was equal or greater in restored sites compared to paired natural sites. Despite younger restored sites having dramatically lower structural vegetation complexity, abundances did not increase with restoration site maturity. Furthermore, while yellowfin bream and sea mullet were more abundant in the fringe zone, we observed similarities in how fish used fringe and interior zones across all sites. Our paired, space-for-time design provides a powerful test of restoration outcomes for fish, highlighting that even newly restored sites with immature vegetation are readily utilized by key fish species.     

Variation in Drosophila melanogaster central metabolic genes appears driven by natural selection both within and between populations

In this report, we examine the hypothesis that the drivers of latitudinal selection observed in the eastern US Drosophila melanogaster populations are reiterated within seasons in a temperate orchard population in Pennsylvania, USA. Specifically, we ask whether alleles that are apparently favoured in northern populations are also favoured early in the spring, and decrease in frequency from the spring to autumn with the population expansion. We use SNP data collected for 46 metabolic genes and 128 SNPs representing the central metabolic pathway and examine for the aggregate SNP allele frequencies whether the association of allele change with latitude and that with increasing days of spring–autumn season are reversed. Testing by random permutation, we observe a highly significant negative correlation between these associations that is consistent with this expectation. This correlation is stronger when we confine our analysis to only those alleles that show significant latitudinal changes. This pattern is not caused by association with chromosomal inversions. When data are resampled using SNPs for amino acid change the relationship is not significant but is supported when SNPs associated with cis-expression are only considered. Our results suggest that climate factors driving latitudinal molecular variation in a metabolic pathway are related to those operating on a seasonal level within populations.     

The danger of applying the breeder's equation in observational studies of natural populations

The breeder's equation, which predicts evolutionary change when a phenotypic covariance exists between a heritable trait and fitness, has provided a key conceptual framework for studies of adaptive microevolution in nature. However, its application requires strong assumptions to be made about the causation of fitness variation. In its univariate form, the breeder's equation assumes that the trait of interest is not correlated with other traits having causal effects on fitness. In its multivariate form, the validity of predicted change rests on the assumption that all such correlated traits have been measured and incorporated into the analysis. Here, we (i) highlight why these assumptions are likely to be seriously violated in studies of natural, rather than artificial, selection and (ii) advocate wider use of the Robertson–Price identity as a more robust, and less assumption‐laden, alternative to the breeder's equation for applications in evolutionary ecology.     

A genome scan to detect candidate regions influenced by local natural selection in human populations

As human populations dispersed throughout the world, they were subjected to new selective forces, which must have led to local adaptation via natural selection and hence altered patterns of genetic variation. Yet, there are very few examples known in which such local selection has clearly influenced human genetic variation. A potential approach for detecting local selection is to screen random loci across the genome; those loci that exhibit unusually large genetic distances between human populations are then potential markers of genomic regions under local selection. We investigated this approach by genotyping 332 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in Africans and Europeans and calculating the genetic differentiation for each locus. Patterns of genetic diversity at these loci were consistent with greater variation in Africa and with local selection operating on populations as they moved out of Africa. For 11 loci exhibiting the largest genetic differences, we genotyped an additional STR locus located nearby; the genetic distances for these nearby loci were significantly larger than average. These genomic regions therefore reproducibly exhibit larger genetic distances between populations than the "average" genomic region, consistent with local selection. Our results demonstrate that genome scans are a promising means of identifying candidate regions that have been subjected to local selection.     

Habitat matching: Alternatives and implications to populations and communities

Summary I evaluate habitat matching rules based on ideal distribution models of density-dependent habitat use. Recent approaches and the ideal free continuous input matching rule on which they depend, are restricted to only those habitats that are jointly occupied across the full range of population sizes. These assumptions may often be inappropriate to field applications of habitat matching. I develop alternatives that can be applied to a wide array of ideal forms of habitat selection, including the ideal free, continuous input example. Input matching can be distinguished from assumptions of consumer-resource models and preemptive habitat use by regressions of density between paired habitats (isodars). Isodars for continuous input models should be linear on a logarithmic scale, while those for consumer-resource models should be linear on an arithmetic scale. Pre-emptive isodars can be distinguished from the others by dramatic non-linearities at both low and high densities. Field data on white-footed mice support the consumer-resource theory. Implications of the rules for population regulation and community organization are highlighted by new models that specify how the fitness of pre-emptive habitat selectors should decline with increasing density. Strong non-linearities produced by comparisons between variable and homogeneous habitats produce reversing source-sink population regulation and a new form of cyclical community dynamics. Variable habitats act as a source of emigrants at low density and a sink for immigrants at high density. Subordinate species may occupy only the variable habitat at both low and high density.     

Antagonism between sexual and natural selection in experimental populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Trade-offs between life-history components are a central concept of evolution and ecology. Sexual and natural selection seem particularly apt to impose antagonistic selective pressures. When sex is not integrated into reproduction, as in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, natural selection can impair or even eliminate it. In this study, a genetic trade-off between the sexual and asexual phases of the yeast life cycle was suggested by sharp declines in the mating and sporulation abilities of unrelated genotypes that were propagated asexually in minimal growth medium and in mice. When sexual selection was applied to populations that had previously evolved asexually, sexual fitness increased but asexual fitness declined. No such negative correlation was observed when sexual selection was applied to an ancestral strain: sexual and asexual fitness both increased. Thus, evolutionary history affected the evolution of genetic correlations, as fitness increases in a population already well adapted to the environment were more likely to come at the expense of sexual functions.