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1,047 results for “Salamanders”
Data from: Miniaturization, genome size, and biological size in a diverse clade of salamanders
Genome size (C-value) can affect organismal traits across levels of biological organization, from tissue complexity to metabolism. Neotropical salamanders show wide variation in genome and body sizes, including several clades with miniature species. Because miniaturization imposes strong constraints on morphology and development, and genome size is strongly correlated with cell size, we hypothesize that body size has played an important role in the evolution of genome size in bolitoglossine salamanders. If this hypothesis is correct, then genome size and body size should be correlated in this group. Using Feulgen Image Analysis Densitometry (FIAD), we estimated genome sizes for 60 species of neotropical salamanders. We also estimated the "biological size" of species by comparing genome size and physical body sizes in a phylogenetic context. We found a significant correlation between C-value and physical body size using optimal regression with an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model, and report the smallest salamander genome found to date. Our index of biological size showed that some salamanders with large physical body size have smaller biological body size than some miniature species, and that several clades showed patterns of increased or decreased biological size compared to their physical size. Our results suggest a causal relationship between physical body size and genome size and show the importance of considering the impact of both on the biological size of organisms. Indeed, biological size may be a more appropriate measure than physical size when considering phenotypic consequences of genome size evolution in many groups.
Estimating survival for elusive juvenile pond‐breeding salamanders
<p>Juvenile vital rates have important effects on population dynamics for many species, but this demographic is often difficult to locate and track. As such, we frequently lack reliable estimates of juvenile survival, which are necessary for accurately assessing population stability and potential management approaches to conserve biodiversity. We empirically estimated survival rates for elusive juveniles of 3 complex lifecycle species of salamanders (ringed salamander [<i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>]<i>, </i>spotted slamander<i> </i>[<i>A. maculatum</i>]<i>, </i>and small-mouthed slamander [<i>A. texanum</i>]) using 2 approaches. First, we conducted an 11-month mark-recapture study within semi-natural enclosures and used Bayesian Cormack-Jolly-Seber models to estimate survival and recapture probabilities. Second, we inferred the expected annual juvenile survival rate given published vital rates for pre-metamorphic and adult ambystomatids assuming stable population growth. For all 3 species, juvenile survival probabilities were constant across recapture occasions, while recapture probability estimates were time-dependent. Further, survival and recapture probabilities among study species did not significantly differ. Post-study sampling revealed that the initial study period median estimate of annual survival probability (0.39) underestimated the number of salamanders known alive at 11 months. We therefore appended approximately 1 year of opportunistic data, which produced a median annual survival probability of 0.50, encompassing salamanders that we knew to have been alive. Calculation from literature values suggested a mean annual terrestrial juvenile ambystomatid survival probability of 0.45. Similar results among our approaches indicated that juvenile survival estimates for the study species were robust and likely comparable to rates in nature. These estimates can now be confidently applied to research, monitoring, and management efforts for the study species and ecologically similar taxa. Our data indicated that similarly robust vital rate estimates for subsets of ecologically and phylogenetically similar species can provide reasonable surrogate demographic information to advance conservation efforts for data-deficient species.</p>
Data from: Genomic data reject the hypothesis of sympatric ecological speciation in a clade of Desmognathus salamanders
Closely related taxa with dissimilar morphologies are often considered to have diverged via natural selection favoring different phenotypes. However, some studies have found these scenarios to be paired with limited or no genetic differentiation. Desmognathus quadramaculatus and D. marmoratus are sympatric salamander species thought to represent a case of ecological speciation based on distinct morphologies, but the results of previous studies have not resolved corresponding patterns of lineage divergence. Here, we use genome-wide data to test this hypothesis of ecological speciation. Population structure analyses partitioned individuals geographically, but not morphologically, into two adjacent regions of western North Carolina: Pisgah and Nantahala. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the nominal species are non-monophyletic and resolved deep divergence between the two geographic clusters. Model-testing overwhelmingly supported the hypothesis that lineage divergence followed geography. Finally, ecological niche modeling showed that Pisgah and Nantahala individuals occupy different climatic niches, and geographic boundaries for the two lineages correspond to a difference in precipitation regimes across southern Appalachia. Overall, we reject the previous hypothesis of ecological speciation based on microhabitat partitioning. Instead, our results suggest that there are two cryptic lineages, each containing the same pair of morphotypes.
Developmental life history is associated with variation in rates of climatic niche evolution in a salamander adaptive radiation
Rates of climatic niche evolution vary widely across the tree of life and are strongly associated with rates of diversification and the accumulation of species diversity among clades. However, why the climatic niche evolves more rapidly in some lineages than others remains unclear. Variation in life history traits often plays a key role in determining the environmental conditions under which species can survive, and therefore, could impact the rate at which lineages can expand in available climatic niche space. Here, we explore the relationships among life-history variation, climatic niche breadth, and rates of climatic niche evolution. We reconstruct a new phylogeny for the genus Desmognathus, an adaptive radiation of salamanders distributed across eastern North America, based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Using this phylogeny, we estimate rates of climatic niche evolution for species with long, short, and no aquatic larval stage. Rates of climatic niche evolution are unrelated to the mean climatic niche breadth of species with different life histories. Instead, we find that the evolution of a short larval period promotes greater exploration of climatic space, leading to increased rates of climatic niche evolution across species having this trait. We propose that morphological and physiological differences associated with variation in larval stage length underlie the heterogeneous ability of lineages to explore climatic niche space. Rapid rates of climatic niche evolution among lineages with short larval periods were an important dimension of the clade's adaptive radiation and likely contributed to the rapid rate of lineage accumulation following the evolution of an aquatic life history in this clade. Our results show how variation in a key life-history trait can constrain or promote divergence of the climatic niche, leading to variation in rates of climatic niche evolution among lineages.
Data from: Evidence for complex life cycle constraints on salamander body form diversification
Metazoans display a tremendous diversity of developmental patterns, including complex life cycles composed of morphologically disparate stages. In this regard, the evolution of life cycle complexity promotes phenotypic diversity. However, correlations between life cycle stages can constrain the evolution of some structures and functions. Despite the potential macroevolutionary consequences, few studies have tested the impacts of life cycle evolution on broad-scale patterns of trait diversification. Here we show that larval and adult salamanders with a simple, aquatic-only (paedomorphic) life cycle had an increased rate of vertebral column and body form diversification compared to lineages with a complex, aquatic-terrestrial (biphasic) life cycle. These differences in life cycle complexity explain the variations in vertebral number and adult body form better than larval ecology. In addition, we found that lineages with a simple terrestrial-only (direct developing) life cycle also had a higher rate of adult body form evolution than biphasic lineages, but still 10-fold lower than aquatic-only lineages. Our analyses demonstrate that prominent shifts in phenotypic evolution can follow long-term transitions in life cycle complexity, which may reflect underlying stage-dependent constraints.
Scaling between macro- to microscale climatic data reveals strong phylogenetic inertia in niche evolution in plethodontid salamanders
<p>Macroclimatic niches are indirect and potentially inadequate predictors of the realized environmental conditions that many species experience. Consequently, analyses of niche evolution based on macroclimatic data alone may incompletely represent the evolutionary dynamics of species niches. Yet, understanding how an organisms' climatic (Grinnellian) niche responds to changing macroclimatic conditions is of vital importance for predicting their potential response to global change. In this study, we integrate microclimatic and macroclimatic data across 26 species of plethodontid salamanders to portray the relationship between microclimatic niche evolution in response to changing macroclimate. We demonstrate stronger phylogenetic signal in microclimatic niche variables than at the macroclimatic scale. Even so, we find that the microclimatic niche tracks climatic changes at the macroscale, but with a phylogenetic lag at million-year timescales. We hypothesize that behavioral tracking of the microclimatic niche over space and phenology generates the lag: salamanders preferentially select microclimates similar to their ancestral conditions rather than adapting with changes in physiology. We demonstrate that macroclimatic variables are weak predictors of niche evolution and that incorporating spatial scale into analyses of niche evolution is critical for predicting responses to climate change.</p>
Data from: The Bogert effect revisited: salamander regulatory behaviors are differently constrained by time and space
The use of behavior to buffer extreme environmental variation is expected to enable species to a) extend the breadth of environments they inhabit beyond that predicted from climatic data, and b) diminish the negative effects of broad-scale and chronic disturbances such as climate change. The term Bogert effect refers to behavioral compensation entailing microhabitat selection to maintain performance across a gradient of environmental conditions resulting in evolutionary inertia of physiological traits. Here we compare microhabitats used by plethodontid salamanders distributed along an elevational gradient to determine whether there is behavioral compensation that buffers them from deleterious temperatures and moisture levels. Overall, salamanders preferred cooler and more mesic environments and occupied microhabitats that maintained constant moisture conditions at both high and low elevation sites. Our results suggest that salamanders use microhabitats to regulate temperature and moisture levels, which is consistent with the Bogert effect. Maintenance of more moist conditions may help buffer these species from rising temperatures, but only in suitable high-elevation environments that are likely to disappear over the next century. We conclude that behavioral regulation of temperature and moisture is a potential mechanism for the Bogert effect in plethodontid salamanders.
Data from: Genome-specific histories of divergence and introgression between an allopolyploid unisexual salamander lineage and two ancestral sexual species
Quantifying introgression between sexual species and polyploid lineages traditionally thought to be asexual is an important step in understanding what drives the longevity of putatively asexual groups. Here, we capitalize on three recent innovations—ultraconserved element (UCE) sequencing, bioinformatic techniques for identifying genome-specific variation in polyploids, and model-based methods for evaluating historical gene flow—to measure the extent and tempo of introgression over the evolutionary history of an allopolyploid lineage of all-female salamanders and two ancestral sexual species. Our analyses support a scenario in which the genomes sampled in unisexual salamanders last shared a common ancestor with genomes in their parental species ~3.4 million years ago, followed by a period of divergence between homologous genomes. Recently, secondary introgression has occurred at different times with each sexual species during the last 500,000 years. Sustained introgression of sexual genomes into the unisexual lineage is the defining characteristic of their reproductive mode, but this study provides the first evidence that unisexual genomes have undergone long periods of divergence without introgression. Unlike other sperm-dependent taxa in which introgression is rare, the alternating periods of divergence and introgression between unisexual salamanders and their sexual relatives could explain why these salamanders are among the oldest described unisexual animals.
Clay models and eDNA are useful tools for identifying predators of Salamanders
<p class="MsoNormal">Clay models are a popular technique for studying predation in nature due to their ease of deployment and minimal disruption of natural processes, but a drawback is the ambiguity of identifying predators based on bite marks. However, it is possible to amplify and sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) from these bite marks and to identify the predators responsible for attacking models. In this study, we sought to test the viability of eDNA from clay models as a means of identifying predators. We deployed molded clay models that resemble <em><span>Plethodon ventralis</span></em> Highton (Southern Zigzag Salamanders) into the field. We then extracted eDNA from visible bite marks, amplified and sequenced the 12S rRNA mitochondrial locus on an Illumina MiSeq, and used BLAST to determine the identity of representative sequences. We identified likely predators as <em><span>Procyon lotor</span></em> L. (American Raccoons), <em><span>Didelphis virginiana</span></em> Kerr (Virginia Opossums), <em><span>Turdus migratorius</span></em> L. (American Robins), and <em><span>Tamias striatus</span></em> L. (Eastern Chipmunks). We believe that this technique is helpful for adding a layer of specificity to clay model studies, albeit with a few potential pitfalls that we discuss.</p>
Fig. 1 in Assessing The Abundance Of Caucasian Salamander, Mertensiella Caucasica (Caudata, Salamandridae), With N-Mixture Model In Northeastern Anatolia
Fig. 1. General view of study area.
Data from: Population structure and species delimitation in the Wehrle's salamander complex
<p>Species are the fundamental unit of biodiversity studies. However, many species complexes are difficult to delimit, especially those characterized by complicated patterns of population structure. Salamanders in the family Plethodontidae often form species by slowly fragmenting across a landscape over space and time. They thus provide many examples of species complexes in which gradual Darwinian evolution has resulted in multiple units of varying degrees of differentiation, including incompletely separated lineages. Here we report on a molecular systematic investigation of woodland salamanders in the <em>Plethodon wehrlei</em> group, which has recently been split from two species into five. To quantify patterns of genetic variation, we collected genetic samples from 24 individuals from 20 populations, including all species and representing a carefully selected subset of previous work. From these samples, we obtained genomic data using anchored hybrid enrichment, which resulted in 319 loci averaging 1300 base pairs in length. Biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were randomly selected from 316 of these loci for some analyses. We examined patterns of genetic structure using PCA, DAPC, FEEMS, and STRUCTURE, and found that all of the recognized species formed genetic clusters; however, <em>P. wehrlei</em> and <em>P. punctatus</em> were relatively weakly differentiated, and STRUCTURE identified three separate clusters within <em>P. jacksoni.</em> Species trees inferred using wASTRAL, BPP, and TreeMix all recovered the same topology, with <em>P. dixi </em>sister to the other taxa, which included a northern clade (<em>P. wehrlei, P. punctatus, P. pauleyi</em>) and a southern clade (<em>P. jacksoni, </em>with three separate groups). TreeMix only inferred one gene flow event. We evaluated the candidate species using BPP and the genealogical divergence index (<em>gdi</em>). While BPP delimited all candidate species with strong support (all posterior probabilities = 1.0), the <em>gdi</em> only strongly supported <em>P. dixi </em>and <em>P. pauleyi</em>, both of which have only been recently described. We discuss the difficult problem of species delimitation in groups that form species via range fragmentation. We also provide a vision for future research with the aim of better testing and diagnosing the species diversity within the <em>P. wehrlei</em> group.</p>
Post-Pleistocene Dispersal Explains the Rapoport Effect in North American Salamanders
<p>Aims: In many taxa, the latitudinal span of species' geographic ranges is positively correlated with median latitude (i.e., a Rapoport effect). This is frequently explained as adaptation to contemporary climate, however, variability in postglacial range expansion among species could also explain this pattern. Here, we analyze geographic data for North American salamanders to test the causes of Rapoport effects.</p> <p>Location: Temperate North America</p> <p>Taxon: Salamanders (order Caudata)</p> <p>Methods: Using range maps, we tested for a Rapoport effect. We then manipulated species' latitudinal ranges and species pools to test for an impact of postglacial range expansion in forming a Rapoport effect. In addition, we built ecological niche models for species found south of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum and transferred these models to postglacial areas. If dispersal is important in forming a Rapoport effect, then some species may be able to tolerate northern climates but have not expanded northward as a result of variation in geographic access to postglacial habitats.</p> <p>Results: We found evidence of a Rapoport effect that was robust to the null models we tested. Analyses that manipulated ranges and species pools supported a role for variation in postglacial range expansion among species, especially for eastern North America. Results from transferring ecological niche models indicated that species have suitable habitat north of their range limit.</p> <p>Main conclusions: Our analyses suggest that variation in postglacial range expansion is likely important in shaping geographic range size variation among species in areas where climates have changed rapidly. Postglacial colonization and range expansion likely plays an important role in forming latitudinal biodiversity gradients in many taxa. Historically, ecophysiology and biotic interactions have been emphasized as important contributors to diversity gradients, yet our study indicates that postglacial colonization also plays a key role in forming latitudinal biodiversity gradients.</p>
The contributions of individual traits to survival among terrestrial juvenile pond-breeding salamanders
<p>Individual survival is influenced by interactions between local environmental conditions and an organism's morphological, behavioral, and physiological traits. Studies examining the effects of individual phenotypes on survival under variable conditions are relatively rare among early transitional life stages, though the vital rates of these life stages can importantly influence population dynamics. We experimentally examined the effects of initial body mass, movement, standard metabolic rate (SMR), and respiratory surface area water loss (RSAWL) on survival in the transitional juvenile life stage of two biphasic amphibian species (Ambystoma maculatum and A. opacum) in a seven-month mark-recapture study under semi-natural conditions. Juveniles with a larger initial body mass, lower initial SMR, and/or a lower tendency to change locations had a higher likelihood of known survival. In contrast, we found no significant effect of RSAWL on juvenile survival. The relationships between individual phenotypes and survival did not differ between species, but equivalent species-specific survival rates may have been attributed to larger initial body sizes in A. maculatum and lower SMR in A. opacum. Our results illuminate the complex ways in which individual traits influence survival during the early transitional life stage of two ambystomatid species under varying abiotic conditions. More generally, our findings illustrate potential advantages of simultaneously examining multiple traits to evaluate survival.</p>
Speciation hypotheses from phylogeographic delimitation yield an integrative taxonomy for Seal Salamanders (Desmognathus monticola)
<p>Significant advances have been made in species delimitation and numerous methods can test precisely defined models of speciation, though the synthesis of phylogeography and taxonomy is still sometimes incomplete. Emerging consensus treats distinct genealogical clusters in genome-scale data as strong initial evidence of speciation in most cases; a hypothesis that must therefore be falsified under an explicit evolutionary model. We can now test speciation hypotheses linking trait differentiation to specific mechanisms of divergence with increasingly large datasets. Integrative taxonomy can therefore reflect an understanding of how each axis of variation relates to underlying speciation processes, with nomenclature for distinct evolutionary lineages. We illustrate this approach here with Seal Salamanders (<em>Desmognathus monticola</em>) and introduce a new unsupervised machine-learning approach for species delimitation. Plethodontid salamanders are renowned for their morphological conservatism despite extensive phylogeographic divergence. We discover two geographic genetic clusters, for which demographic and spatial models of ecology and gene flow provide robust support for ecogeographic speciation despite limited phenotypic divergence. These data are integrated under evolutionary mechanisms (e.g., spatially localized gene flow with reduced migration) and reflected in emergent properties expected under models of reinforcement (e.g., ethological isolation and selection against hybrids). Their genetic divergence is <em>prima facie</em> evidence for species-level distinctiveness, supported by speciation models and divergence along axes such as behavior, geography, and climate that suggest an ecological basis with subsequent reinforcement through prezygotic isolation. As datasets grow more comprehensive, species delimitation models can be tested, rejected, or corroborated as explicit speciation hypotheses, providing for reciprocal illumination of evolutionary processes and integrative taxonomies.</p>
Gigantic genomes of salamanders indicate body temperature, not genome size, is the driver of global methylation and 5-methylcytosine deamination in vertebrates
<p>Transposable elements (TEs) are sequences that replicate and move throughout genomes, and they can be silenced through methylation of cytosines at CpG dinucelotides. TE abundance contributes to genome size, but TE silencing variation across genomes of different sizes remains underexplored. Salamanders include most of the largest C-values -- 9 to 120 Gb. We measured CpG methylation levels in salamanders with genomes ranging from 2N = ~58 Gb to 4N = ~116 Gb. We compared these levels to results from endo- and ectothermic vertebrates with more typical genomes. Salamander methylation levels are ~90%, higher than all endotherms. However, salamander methylation does not differ from other ectotherms, despite a ~100-fold difference in nuclear DNA content. Because methylation affects the nucleotide compositional landscape through 5-methylcytosine deamination to thymine, we quantified salamander CpG dinucleotide levels and compared them to other vertebrates. Salamanders and other ectotherms have comparable CpG levels, and ectotherm levels are higher than endotherms. These data show no shift in global methylation at the base of salamanders, despite a dramatic increase in TE load and genome size. This result is reconcilable with previous studies by considering endothermy and ectothermy, which may be more important drivers of methylation in vertebrates than genome size.</p>
Candidate-species delimitation in Desmognathus salamanders reveals gene flow across lineage boundaries, confounding phylogenetic estimation and clarifying hybrid zones
Dusky Salamanders (genus Desmognathus) currently comprise only 22 described, extant species. However, recent mitochondrial and nuclear estimates indicate the presence of up to 49 candidate species based on ecogeographic sampling. Previous studies also suggest a complex history of hybridization between these lineages. Studies in other groups suggest that disregarding admixture may affect both phylogenetic inference and clustering-based species-delimitation. With a dataset comprising 233 Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) loci sequenced for 896 Desmognathus specimens from all 49 candidate species, we test three hypotheses regarding i) species-level diversity, ii) hybridization and admixture, and iii) misleading phylogenetic inference. Using phylogenetic and population-clustering analyses considering gene flow, we find support for at least 47 candidate species in the phylogenomic dataset, some of which are newly characterized here while others represent combinations of previously named lineages that are collapsed in the current dataset. Within these, we observe significant phylogeographic structure, with up to 64 total geographic genetic lineages, many of which hybridize either narrowly at contact zones or extensively across ecological gradients. We find strong support for both recent admixture between terminal lineages and ancient hybridization across internal branches. This signal appears to distort concatenated phylogenetic inference, wherein more heavily admixed terminal specimens occupy apparently artifactual early diverging topological positions, occasionally to the extent of forming false clades of intermediate hybrids. Additional geographic and genetic sampling and more robust computational approaches will be needed to clarify taxonomy, and to reconstruct a network topology to display evolutionary relationships in a manner that is consistent with their complex history of reticulation. --
Data from: Molecular identification of an avian predator of mimetic salamanders
<p>Natural field observations of salamander predation are uncommon, in some cases limiting the ability of scientists to study the evolution of toxicity, aposematism, and mimicry in these amphibians. Here, we document field observations of a recently depredated <em>Pseudotriton ruber </em>(Red Salamander) and two <em>Gyrinophilus porphyriticus </em>(Spring Salamanders), members of a putative Müllerian mimetic complex involving <em>Notophthalmus viridescens</em> (Eastern Newts). We use molecular methods to identify the likely avian predator of the Spring Salamanders and underscore the opportunities for future research enabled by the pairing of traditional natural history with modern molecular techniques.</p>
Specimen list and landmark coordinates for the palate of early salamanders
<p>Ecological preferences and life history strategies have enormous impacts on the evolution and phenotypic diversity of salamanders, but the yet established reliable ecological indicators hinder investigations on the paleobiology of early salamanders. Here we statistically demonstrate using geometric morphometric analysis that both the shape of the palate and many non-shape variables particularly associated with vomerine teeth are ecologically informative in early stem- and basal crown-group salamanders. The morphology of the palate is heavily impacted by convergence constrained by feeding mechanisms and also exhibits clear stepwise evolutionary patterns with alternative phenotypic designs to cope with similar functional demand. Paleoecological disparities in early salamanders had took place before the Middle Jurassic and have achieved all ecological preferences in the Early Cretaceous. Metamorphosis is significant in the expansion of ecomorphospace of the palate in early salamanders. The common ancestor of salamanders is metamorphosed and terrestrial, and share unified lifestyles with other modern amphibians.</p>
A new, narrowly endemic species of swamp-dwelling dusky salamander (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of Mississippi and Alabama
<p>We describe a new, narrowly endemic species of swamp-dwelling dusky salamander (Plethodontidae: Desmognathus pascagoula sp. nov.) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of southeastern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama based on linear morphometrics, mitochondrial DNA, and single nucleotide polymorphisms from 881 loci produced using genotype-by-sequencing. Some populations of the new species were historically referred to as D. auriculatus, a polyphyletic assemblage of at least three species in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain from Texas to North Carolina. Populations of D. auriculatus from the Gulf Coastal Plain in Louisiana and Mississippi were recently described as D. valentinei. The new species includes populations that were tentatively referred to D. valentinei, but we find it is morphologically, genetically, and geographically distinct. It is smaller, has a more defined dorsal color pattern, more irregular whitish "portholes" in up to three rows on the lateral surfaces of the body and tail, and a brighter orange or yellowish orange postocular stripe. At present, the new species is known from only six extant populations in the lower Pascagoula, Escatawpa, and Mobile drainages. The latter represents a distinct phylogeographic lineage. We also refer a historical collection from the northeastern side of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta to this species, suggesting a much broader range in the past. We suspect that more populations remain to be discovered in the area, and their potential species-level distinctiveness should be tested further. This discovery increases knowledge of the biodiversity in the southeastern United States Coastal Plain, a candidate region meeting the global criteria for a "biodiversity hotspot," and underscores the amount of cryptic diversity likely remaining to be discovered and described in Nearctic salamanders.</p>
Environmentally associated variation in dispersal distance affects inbreeding risk in a stream salamander
<p>Avoiding inbreeding is considered a key driver of dispersal evolution, and dispersal distances should be especially important in mediating inbreeding risk because the likelihood of mating with relatives decreases with dispersal distance. However, a lack of direct data on dispersal distances has limited empirical tests of this prediction, particularly in the context of the multiple selective forces that can influence dispersal. Using a headwater salamander system, we tested whether spatial variation in environmental conditions leads to differences in dispersal distances, resulting in spatial variation in the effect of dispersal on inbreeding risk. Using capture-recapture and population genomic data from 5 streams, we found that dispersal distances were greater in downstream reaches than upstream reaches. Inbreeding risk was lower for dispersers than non-dispersers in downstream reaches, but not in upstream reaches. Furthermore, stream reaches did not differ in spatial patterns of individual relatedness, indicating that variation in inbreeding risk was in fact due to differences in dispersal distances. These results demonstrate that environmentally associated variation in dispersal distances can cause the inbreeding consequences of dispersal to vary at fine spatial scales. They also show that selective pressures other than inbreeding avoidance maintain phenotypic variation in dispersal, underscoring the importance of addressing alternative hypotheses in dispersal research.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
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