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558 results for “wild populations”
"Out of South Asia": distinctive genomic profile of wild boar and domestic pig populations in South Asia
<p> content:</p> <p>hic matrix for p1, p2, p3</p>
Assessing microbiome population dynamics using wild-type isogenic standardized hybrid (WISH)-tags
<p><span>Microbiomes feature recurrent compositional structures under given environmental conditions. </span><span>However, these patterns may conceal diverse underlying population dynamics that require intra-strain resolution. Here, we developed a genomic tagging system, termed wild-type isogenic standardized hybrid (WISH)-tags, that can be combined with quantitative PCR and next-generation sequencing for microbial strain enumeration. We experimentally validated the performance of 62 tags and showed they can be differentiated with high precision. WISH-tags were introduced into model and non-model bacterial members of the mouse and plant microbiota. Intra-strain priority effects were tested using one species of isogenic barcoded bacteria in the murine gut and the <em>Arabidopsis</em> phyllosphere, both with and without microbiota context. We observed colonization resistance against late arriving strains of <em>Salmonella</em> typhimurium in the mouse gut, whereas the phyllosphere accommodated <em>Sphingomonas</em> latecomers in a proportional manner to their presence at the late inoculation timepoint. This demonstrates that WISH-tags are a resource for deciphering population dynamics underlying microbiome assembly across biological systems. </span></p>
Figure 6 in Behavioral repertoire of a population of wild Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis in southern Brazil
Figure 6. Representations of agonistic social behaviours observed on Chilean Flamingos at Lagoa do Peixe National Park. a) Alert posture; b) Hooking or Threat posture 1; c) Neck swaying or Threat posture 2; d) Sparring or Fighting; e) Front pecking; f) Back pecking.
Figure 4 in Behavioral repertoire of a population of wild Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis in southern Brazil
Figure 4. Representations of locomotion behaviours observed on Chilean Flamingos at Lagoa do Peixe National Park. a) Walking; b) Strolling; c) Running; d) Flying.
Figure 3 in Behavioral repertoire of a population of wild Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis in southern Brazil
Figure 3. Representations of feeding behaviours observed on Chilean Flamingos at Lagoa do Peixe National Park. a) Pecking up; b) Head dipping; c) Feet trembling or Treading; d) Dredging or Moving Tread; e) False feet-trembling or false treading.
Figure 2 in Behavioral repertoire of a population of wild Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis in southern Brazil
Figure 2. Behavioural accumulation curve constructed under the protocol of Dias et al. (2009). The black line indicates the curve and the grey area is the confidence interval. Our observations surpass the 90% sampling sufficiency calculated by the Clench equation, indicating good sampling effort.
Figure 1 in Behavioral repertoire of a population of wild Chilean Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis in southern Brazil
Figure 1. Map showing the area and limits of Lagoa do Peixe National Park, at the middle coast of Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. The point indicates the 'Barra', region where the lagoon meets the sea and place where Chilean flamingos usually ocupate in the park.
Dataset: Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards
<p>This dataset contains the information on telomere length in yearling (1 yo) lizards (Zootoca vivipara) captured in 2015 from 10 populations along alitudinal gradient. These data has been analysed and published in Dupoué et al. (2017). Shorter telomeres precede population extinction in wild lizards, Scientific Reports, 7:16976</p>
R script used for: Telomeres in a spatial context: a tool for understanding ageing pattern variation in wild populations
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Ageing refers to the loss of organismal functionality with age, a process that is characterised by decreased reproduction and survival probability. In natural populations, it is expected that environmental conditions influence an individual's ageing trajectory. Understanding the role of environmental heterogeneity on ageing variation could provide criticleinsights into population resilience and species distribution but remains overlooked. Telomeres, the end cap of chromosomes, are a promising integrative physiological marker of an individual's health and a possible proxy to aid the understanding of variation in ageing trajectories. Here, we review the existing information on telomere length and its dynamics in wild populations distributed across spatial scales. Despite a relative scarcity of information, there is evidence for divergence in telomere length between populations facing contrasting environments. Nonetheless, a higher spatial resolution and temporal replication is needed to fully understand the role that environmental conditions play on telomere length variation. Since most of the existing studies are correlational, future field and laboratory experiments are required. For the first time, we demonstrate the use of population telomere data to predict species habitat suitability through Species Distribution Models (SDMs). This represents a promising new research area in the study of ageing pattern variation in wild populations. Furthermore, the inclusion of telomere data in future physiological-SDMs may improve our understanding of species distribution and population resilience. However, the use of telomeres within this context could be limited if no previous knowledge on the relevance of telomeres as markers of health and survival at the species level is available. Finally, we suggest some key practical and theoretical considerations that, ideally, future studies combining biogeographic and telomere data should pay attention. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
DNA methylation as a tool to explore ageing in wild roe deer populations
<p>DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging (epigenetic clocks) promise to lead to new insights into evolutionary biology of ageing. Relatively little is known about how the natural environment affects epigenetic aging effects in wild species. In this study, we took advantage of a unique long-term (>40 years) longitudinal monitoring of individual roe deer (<i>Capreolus capreolus</i>) living in two wild populations (Chizé and Trois-Fontaines, France) facing different ecological contexts, to investigate the relationship between chronological age and levels of DNA methylation (DNAm). We generated novel DNA methylation data from n = 94 blood samples, from which we extracted leucocyte DNA, using a custom methylation array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We present three DNA methylation-based estimators of age (DNAm or epigenetic age), which were trained in males, females, and both sexes combined. We investigated how sex differences influenced the relationship between DNAm age and chronological age using sex-specific epigenetic clocks. Our results highlight that old females may display a lower degree of biological aging than males. Further, we identify the main sites of epigenetic alteration that have distinct aging patterns between the two sexes. These findings open the door to promising avenues of research at the crossroads of evolutionary biology and biogerontology.</p>
Distribution. Sub-Saharan Africa; virtually eradicated from W Africa, and greatly reduced in C and NE Africa. The largest populations exist in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, which account for approximately half of the estimated number of African Wild Dogs remaining in the wild. Other populations occur in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia. Potential small populations (less than 100 individuals) may exist in Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, and Somalia. in Canidae
Distribution. Sub-Saharan Africa; virtually eradicated from W Africa, and greatly reduced in C and NE Africa. The largest populations exist in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, which account for approximately half of the estimated number of African Wild Dogs remaining in the wild. Other populations occur in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia. Potential small populations (less than 100 individuals) may exist in Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, and Somalia.
In search of an honest butterfly: Sexually selected wing coloration and reproductive traits from wild populations of the Cabbage White Butterfly
Abstract <p></p><p>Sexual selection is central to many theories on mate selection and individual behavior. Relatively little is known, however, about the impacts that human-induced rapid environmental change are having on secondary sexually selected characteristics. Honest signals function as an indicator of mate quality when there are differences in nutrient acquisition and are thus potentially sensitive to anthropogenically altered nutrient inputs. We used the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), to investigate differences in color and testes size in a system that is often exposed to agricultural landscapes with nitrogen addition. We collected individuals from four sites in California and Nevada to investigate variation in key traits and the possibility that any relationship between wing color and a reproductive trait (testes size) could vary among locations in the focal butterfly. Coloration variables and testes size were positively albeit weakly associated across sites, consistent with the hypothesis that females could use nitrogen-based coloration in the cabbage white as an indicator for a male mating trait that has the potential to confer elevated mating success in progeny. However, variation in testes size and in the relationship between testes size and wing color suggest complexities that need exploration, including the possibility that the signal is not of equal value in all populations. Thus these results advance our understanding of complex relationships among environmental change and sexual selection in the wild.</p><p></p>
Data from: Genetic analysis of life-history constraint and evolution in a wild ungulate population
Trade-offs among life-history traits are central to evolutionary theory. In quantitative genetic terms, trade-offs may be manifested as negative genetic covariances relative to the direction of selection on phenotypic traits. Although the expression and selection of ecologically important phenotypic variation are fundamentally multivariate phenomena, the in situ quantification of genetic covariances is challenging. Even for life-history traits, where well-developed theory exists with which to relate phenotypic variation to fitness variation, little evidence exists from in situ studies that negative genetic covariances are an important aspect of the genetic architecture of life-history traits. In fact, the majority of reported estimates of genetic covariances among life-history traits are positive. Here we apply theory of the genetics and selection of life histories in organisms with complex life cycles to provide a framework for quantifying the contribution of multivariate genetically based relationships among traits to evolutionary constraint. We use a Bayesian framework to link pedigree-based inference of the genetic basis of variation in life-history traits to evolutionary demography theory regarding how life histories are selected. Our results suggest that genetic covariances may be acting to constrain the evolution of female life-history traits in a wild population of red deer Cervus elaphus: genetic covariances are estimated to reduce the rate of adaptation by about 40%, relative to predicted evolutionary change in the absence of genetic covariances. Furthermore, multivariate phenotypic (rather than genetic) relationships among female life-history traits do not reveal this constraint.
Distribution. Sub-Saharan Africa; virtually eradicated from W Africa, and greatly reduced in C and NE Africa. The largest populations exist in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, which account for approximately half of the estimated number of African Wild Dogs remaining in the wild. Other populations occur in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia. Potential small populations (less than 100 individuals) may exist in Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, and Somalia. in Canidae
Distribution. Sub-Saharan Africa; virtually eradicated from W Africa, and greatly reduced in C and NE Africa. The largest populations exist in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, which account for approximately half of the estimated number of African Wild Dogs remaining in the wild. Other populations occur in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia. Potential small populations (less than 100 individuals) may exist in Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, and Somalia.
Variations in immune parameters with age in a wild rodent population and links with survival
<p>Recent findings suggest that immune functions do not unidirectionally deteriorate with age but that a potentially adaptive remodelling, where functions of the immune system get down regulated while others get upregulated with age could also occur. Scarce in wild populations, longitudinal studies are yet necessary to properly understand the patterns and consequences of age variations of the immune system in the wild. Meanwhile, it is challenging to understand if the observed variations in immune parameters with age are due to changes at the within-individual level or to selective (dis)appearance of individuals with peculiar immune phenotypes. Thanks to a long-term and longitudinal monitoring of a wild Alpine marmot population, we aimed to understand within- and between-individual variation in the immune phenotype with age, in order to improve our knowledge about the occurrence and the evolutionary consequences of such age-variations in the wild. To do so, we recorded the age-specific leukocyte concentration and leukocyte profile in repeatedly sampled dominant individuals. We then tested whether the potential changes with age were attributable to within-individual variations and/or selective (dis)appearance. Finally, we investigated if the leukocyte concentration and profiles were correlated to the probability of death at a given age. The leukocyte concentration was stable with age, but the relative number of lymphocytes decreased, while the relative number of neutrophils increased, over the course of an individual's life. Moreover, between individuals of the same age, individuals with fewer lymphocytes but more neutrophils were more likely to die. Therefore, selective disappearance seems to play a role in the age variations of the immune parameters in this population. Further investigations linking age variations in immune phenotype to individual fitness are needed to understand whether remodelling of the immune system with age could or could not be adaptive.</p>
Mandrillus face database: Portrait pictures of the population of wild mandrills from Bakoumba (Gabon)
<p>Behavioral discrimination of kin is a key process structuring social relationships in animals. In this study, we provide evidence for discrimination towards non-kin by third parties through a mechanism of phenotype matching. In mandrills, we recently demonstrated increased facial resemblance among paternally-related juvenile and adult females indicating adaptive opportunities for paternal kin recognition. Here, we hypothesize that mandrill mothers use offspring's facial resemblance with other infants to guide offspring's social opportunities towards similar-looking ones. Using deep learning for face recognition in 80 wild mandrill infants, we first show that infants sired by the same father resemble each other the most, independently of their age, sex, or maternal origin, extending previous results to the youngest age class. Using long-term behavioral observations on association patterns, and controlling for matrilineal origin, maternal relatedness, and infant age and sex, we then show, as hypothesized, that mothers are spatially closer to infants that resemble their own offspring more, and that this maternal behavior leads to similar-looking infants being spatially associated. We then discuss the different scenarios explaining this result, arguing that adaptive maternal behavior is a likely explanation. In support of this mechanism and using theoretical modeling, we finally describe a plausible evolutionary process whereby mothers gain fitness benefits by promoting nepotism among paternally related infants. This mechanism, which we call "second-order kin selection", may extend beyond mother-infant interactions and has the potential to explain cooperative behaviors among non-kin in other social species, including humans.</p>
Data for: Population structure and inbreeding in wild house mice (Mus musculus) at different geographic scales
<p>House mice (<em>Mus musculus</em>) have spread globally as a result of their commensal relationship with humans. In the form of laboratory strains, both inbred and outbred, they are also among the most widely-used model organisms in biomedical research. Although the general outlines of house mouse dispersal and population structure are well known, details have been obscured by either limited sample size or small numbers of markers. Here we examine ancestry, population structure, and inbreeding using SNP microarray genotypes in a cohort of 814 wild mice spanning five continents and all major subspecies of <em>Mus</em>, with a focus on <em>M. m. domesticus</em>. We find that the major axis of genetic variation in <em>M. m. domesticus</em> is a south-to-north gradient within Europe and the Mediterranean. The dominant ancestry component in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and various small offshore islands is of northern European origin. Next, we show that inbreeding is surprisingly pervasive and highly variable, even between nearby populations. By inspecting the length distribution of homozygous segments in individual genomes, we find that inbreeding in commensal populations is mostly due to consanguinity. Our results offer new insight into the natural history of an important model organism for medicine and evolutionary biology.</p>
Data from: Genetic erosion in wild populations makes resistance to a pathogen more costly
Populations that have suffered from genetic erosion are expected to exhibit reduced average trait values or decreased variation in adaptive traits when experiencing periodic or emergent stressors such as infectious disease. Genetic erosion may consequentially modify the ability of a potential host population to cope with infectious disease emergence. We experimentally investigate this relationship between genetic variability and host response to exposure to an infectious agent both in terms of susceptibility to infection and indirect parasite-mediated responses that also impact fitness. We hypothesized that the deleterious consequences of exposure to the pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) would be more severe for tadpoles descended from European tree frog (Hyla arborea) populations lacking genetic variability. Although all exposed tadpoles lacked detectable infection, we detected this relationship for some indirect host responses, predominantly in genetically depleted animals, as well as an interaction between genetic variability and pathogen dose on lifespan during the post-metamorphic period. Lack of infection and a decreased mass and post-metamorphic lifespan in low genetic diversity tadpoles lead us to conclude that genetic erosion, while not affecting the ability to mount effective resistance strategies, also erodes the capacity to invest in resistance, increased tadpole growth rate and metamorphosis relatively simultaneously.
Data from: Genetic sex assignment in wild populations using GBS data: a statistical threshold approach
Establishing the sex of individuals in wild systems can be challenging and often requires genetic testing. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and other reduced representation DNA sequencing (RRS) protocols (e.g., RADseq, ddRAD) have enabled the analysis of genetic data on an unprecedented scale. Here, we present a novel approach for the discovery and statistical validation of sex-specific loci in GBS datasets. We used GBS to genotype 166 New Zealand fur seals (NZFS, Arctocephalus forsteri) of known sex. We retained monomorphic loci as potential sex-specific markers in the locus discovery phase. We then used (i) a sex-specific locus threshold (SSLT) to identify significantly male-specific loci within our dataset and (ii) a significant sex-assignment threshold (SSAT) to confidently assign sex in silico the presence or absence of significantly male-specific loci to individuals in our dataset treated as unknowns (98.9% accuracy for females; 95.8% for males, estimated via cross-validation). Furthermore, we assigned sex to 86 individuals of true unknown sex using our SSAT, and assessed the effect of SSLT adjustments on these assignments. From 90 verified sex-specific loci, we developed a panel of three sex-specific PCR primers that we used to ascertain sex independently of our GBS data, which we show amplify reliably in at least three other pinniped species. Using monomorphic loci normally discarded from large SNP datasets is an effective way to identify robust sex-linked markers for non-model species. Our novel pipeline can be used to identify and statistically validate monomorphic and polymorphic sex-specific markers across a range of species and RRS datasets.
Data from: Selection and microevolution of coat pattern are cryptic in a wild population of sheep
Understanding the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations is a core aim of evolutionary genetics. Insight can be gained by quantifying selection at the level of the genotype, as opposed to the phenotype. Here, we show that in a natural population of Soay sheep which is polymorphic for coat pattern, recessive genetic variants at the causal gene, agouti signalling protein (ASIP), are associated with reduced lifetime fitness. This was due primarily to a reduction in juvenile survival of uniformly coloured (self-type) sheep, which are homozygous recessive, and occurs despite significantly higher reproductive success in surviving self-type adults. Consistent with their relatively low fitness, we show that the frequency of self-type individuals has declined from 1985 to 2008. Remarkably though, the frequency of the underlying self-allele has increased, because the frequency of heterozygous individuals (who harbour the majority of all self alleles) has increased. Indeed, the ratio of observed:expected heterozygous individuals has increased during the study, such that there is now a significant excess of heterozygotyes. By employing gene-dropping simulations, we show that microevolutionary trends in the frequency and excess of ASIP heterozygotes are too pronounced to be caused by genetic drift. Studying this polymorphism at the level of phenotype rather than underlying genotype would have failed to detect cryptic fitness differences. We would also have been unable to rule out genetic drift as an evolutionary force driving genetic change. This highlights the importance of resolving the underlying genetic basis of phenotypic variation in explaining evolutionary dynamics.
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
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.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.