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Data from: Influence of gene flow on divergence dating – implications for speciation history of Takydromus grass lizards
Dating the time of divergence and understanding speciation processes are central to the study of the evolutionary history of organisms but are notoriously difficult. The difficulty is largely rooted in variations in the ancestral population size or in the genealogy variation across loci. To depict the speciation processes and divergence histories of three monophyletic Takydromus species endemic to Taiwan, we sequenced 20 nuclear loci and combined with one mitochondrial locus published in GenBank. They were analyzed by a multispecies coalescent approach within a Bayesian framework. Divergence dating based on the gene tree approach showed high variation among loci, and the divergence was estimated at an earlier date than when derived by the species tree approach. To test whether variations in the ancestral population size accounted for the majority of this variation, we conducted computer inferences using isolation-with-migration (IM) and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) frameworks. The results revealed that gene flow during the early stage of speciation was strongly favored over the isolation model, and the initiation of the speciation process was far earlier than the dates estimated by gene- and species-based divergence dating. Due to their limited dispersal ability, it is suggested that geographic isolation may have played a major role in the divergence of these Takydromus species. Nevertheless, the current study reveals a more complex situation and demonstrates that gene flow during the speciation process cannot be overlooked and may have a great impact on divergence dating. By using multilocus data and incorporating Bayesian coalescence approaches, we provide a more biologically realistic framework for delineating the divergence history of Takydromus.
Data from: Fish and tetrapod communities across a marine to brackish salinity gradient in the Pennsylvanian (early Moscovian) Minto Formation of New Brunswick, Canada, and their palaeoecological and palaeogeographical implications
Euryhaline adaptations in Pennsylvanian vertebrates allowed them to inhabit the marine to freshwater spectrum. This is illustrated by new assemblages of fish and tetrapods from the early Moscovian Minto Formation of New Brunswick, Canada. Fish include chondrichthyans (xenacanthids and the enigmatic Ageleodus), acanthodians (gyracanthids and acanthodiforms), sarcopterygians (rhizodontids, megalichthyids and dipnoans), and actinopterygians (eurynotiforms). Tetrapods include small- to medium-sized, and largely aquatic, stem tetrapods (colosteids) and anthracosaurs (embolomeres). A key finding is that the parautochthonous fossil assemblages are preserved across a salinity gradient, with diversity (measured by the Simpson Index) declining from open marine environments, through brackish embayments, and reaching a nadir in tidal estuaries. Chondrichthyans dominate the entire salinity spectrum (65% of fossils), a distribution that demonstrates a euryhaline mode of life, and one large predatory chondrichthyan, Orthacanthus, may have practised filial cannibalism in coastal nurseries because its heteropolar coprolites contain juvenile xenacanthid teeth. In contrast, other fish communities were more common in open marine settings while tetrapods were more common in coastal brackish waters. While all these faunas were also likely to have been euryhaline, their osmoregulation was, perhaps, less versatile. The demonstration of widespread euryhalinity among fish and aquatic tetrapods explains why Pennsylvanian faunas generally show a cosmopolitan biogeography because taxa were able to disperse via seaways. It also resolves the paradox of enriched strontium isotopic signatures observed in these faunas because organisms would have been, at times, exposed to continental water bodies as well. Therefore, our new findings contribute to the long-running debate about the ecology of Pennsylvanian fishes and tetrapods.
Data from: The Victoria West: earliest prepared core technology in the Acheulean at Canteen Kopje and implications for the cognitive evolution of early hominids
Prepared core technology illustrates in-depth planning and the presence of a mental template during the core reduction process. This technology is, therefore, a significant indicator in studying the evolution of abstract thought and the cognitive abilities of hominids. Here, we report on Victoria West cores excavated from the Canteen Kopje site in central South Africa, with a preliminary age estimate of approximately 1 Ma (million years ago) for these cores. Technological analysis shows that the Victoria West cores bear similarities to the 'Volumetric Concept' as defined for the Levallois, a popular and widely distributed prepared core technology from at least 200 ka (thousand years ago). Although these similarities are present, several notable differences also occur that make the Victoria West a unique and distinctive prepared core technology; these are: elongated and convergent core shapes, consistent blow directions for flake removal, a predominance of large side-struck flakes, and the use of these flakes to make Acheulean large cutting tools. This innovative core reduction strategy at Canteen Kopje extends the roots of prepared core technology to the latter part of the Early Acheulean and clearly demonstrates an increase in the cognitive abilities and complexities of hominids in this time period.
Data from: Genetic evidence of hybridization between the critically endangered Cuban crocodile and the American crocodile: implications for population history and in situ/ex situ conservation
Inter-specific hybridization may be especially detrimental when one species is extremely rare and the other is abundant owing to the potential for genetic swamping. The Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is a critically endangered island endemic largely restricted to Zapata Swamp, where it is sympatric with the widespread American crocodile (C. acutus). An on-island, C. rhombifer captive breeding program is underway with the goals of maintaining taxonomic integrity and providing a source of individuals for reintroduction, but its conservation value is limited by lack of genetic information. Here we collected mtDNA haplotypic and nuclear genotypic data from wild and captive C. rhombifer and C. acutus in Cuba to: (1) investigate the degree of inter-specific hybridization in natural (in situ) and captive (ex situ) populations; (2) quantify the extent, distribution and in situ representation of genetic variation ex situ; and (3) reconstruct founder relatedness to inform management. We found high levels of hybridization in the wild (49.1%) and captivity (16.1%), and additional evidence for a cryptic lineage of C. acutus in the Antilles. We detected marginally higher observed heterozygosity and allelic diversity ex situ relative to the wild population, with captive C. rhombifer exhibiting over twice the frequency of private alleles. Although mean relatedness was high in captivity, we identified 37 genetically important individuals that possessed individual mean kinship (MK) values lower than the population MK. Overall, these results will guide long-term conservation management of Cuban crocodiles for maintaining the genetic integrity and viability of this species of high global conservation value.
Deer movement and resource selection during Hurricane Irma: implications for extreme climatic events and wildlife
<p>Extreme climatic events (ECEs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and this necessitates understanding their influence on organisms. Animal behavior may mitigate the effects of ECEs, but field studies are rare because ECEs are infrequent and unpredictable. Hurricane Irma made landfall in southwestern Florida where we were monitoring white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus seminolus</i>) with GPS collars. We report on an opportunistic case study of behavioral responses exhibited by a large mammal during an ECE, mitigation strategies for reducing the severity of the ECE effects, and the demographic effect of the ECE based on known-fate of individual animals. Deer altered resource selection by selecting higher elevation pine and hardwood forests and avoiding marshes. Most deer left their home ranges during Hurricane Irma, and the probability of leaving was inversely related to home range area. Movement rates increased the day of the storm, and no mortality was attributed to Hurricane Irma. We suggest deer mobility and refuge habitat allowed deer to behaviorally mitigate the negative effects of the storm, and ultimately, aid in survival. Our work contributes to the small but growing body of literature linking behavioral responses exhibited during ECEs to survival, which cumulatively will provide insight for predictions of a species resilience to ECEs and improve our understanding of how behavioral traits offset the negative impacts of global climate change.</p>
Data from: Implications of the circumpolar genetic structure of polar bears for their conservation in a rapidly warming Arctic
We provide an expansive analysis of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) circumpolar genetic variation during the last two decades of decline in their sea-ice habitat. We sought to evaluate whether their genetic diversity and structure have changed over this period of habitat decline, how their current genetic patterns compare with past patterns, and how genetic demography changed with ancient fluctuations in climate. Characterizing their circumpolar genetic structure using microsatellite data, we defined four clusters that largely correspond to current ecological and oceanographic factors: Eastern Polar Basin, Western Polar Basin, Canadian Archipelago and Southern Canada. We document evidence for recent (ca. last 1–3 generations) directional gene flow from Southern Canada and the Eastern Polar Basin towards the Canadian Archipelago, an area hypothesized to be a future refugium for polar bears as climate-induced habitat decline continues. Our data provide empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis. The direction of current gene flow differs from earlier patterns of gene flow in the Holocene. From analyses of mitochondrial DNA, the Canadian Archipelago cluster and the Barents Sea subpopulation within the Eastern Polar Basin cluster did not show signals of population expansion, suggesting these areas may have served also as past interglacial refugia. Mismatch analyses of mitochondrial DNA data from polar and the paraphyletic brown bear (U. arctos) uncovered offset signals in timing of population expansion between the two species, that are attributed to differential demographic responses to past climate cycling. Mitogenomic structure of polar bears was shallow and developed recently, in contrast to the multiple clades of brown bears. We found no genetic signatures of recent hybridization between the species in our large, circumpolar sample, suggesting that recently observed hybrids represent localized events. Documenting changes in subpopulation connectivity will allow polar nations to proactively adjust conservation actions to continuing decline in sea-ice habitat.
Data from: Repeated evolution of amphibious behavior in fish and its implications for the colonization of novel environments
We know little about on how frequently transitions into new habitats occur, especially the colonization of novel environments that are the most likely to instigate adaptive evolution. One of the most extreme ecological transitions has been the shift in habitat associated with the move from water to land by amphibious fish. We provide the first phylogenetic investigation of these transitions for living fish. Thirty-three families have species reported to be amphibious and these are likely independent evolutionary origins of fish emerging onto land. Phylogenetic reconstructions of closely related taxa within one of these families, the Blenniidae, inferred as many as seven convergences on a highly amphibious lifestyle. Taken together, there appear to be few constraints on fish emerging onto land given amphibious behavior has evolved repeatedly many times across ecologically diverse families. The colonization of novel habitats by other taxa resulting in less dramatic changes in environment should be equally, if not, more frequent in nature, providing an important prerequisite for subsequent adaptive differentiation.
Data from: Fire-sensitive species dominate seed rain in a long unburned Cerrado: implications for plant community diversity and woody encroachment in savannas
Woody encroachment is becoming common in tropical savannas. Seed rain data and seed addition experiments in a long unburned Brazilian savanna indicate that abundant seed rain of fire-sensitive species can surpass limitations to recruitment and lead to woody encroachment. Thus, active fire management may be required to maintain savanna diversity.
Early life learning ability predicts adult social structure, with potential implications for fitness outcomes in the wild
1. Social environments influence important ecological processes and can determine how selection acts on traits. Cognitive abilities can shape these social environments and in turn, affect individuals' fitness. 2. To understand how cognitive abilities evolve, we need to understand the complex interplay between an individual's cognitive abilities, the social environment that they inhabit and the fitness consequences of these relationships. 3. We measured the associative learning ability of pheasant chicks, Phasianus colchicus, then released them into the wild where we quantified their social position by observing their associations at feeding stations and monitored the number of days survived. 4. We observed disassortative mixing by learning performance at the population level, and poor learners had more associates than good learners. Learning was beneficial for survival when focal individuals had fewer than four associates, but survival probability across learning abilities equalized for individuals with more than four associates. 5. While the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain to be determined, the patterns of association exhibited by pheasants at feeders can be predicted by individual variation in cognitive performances and we suspect these patterns are related to differences in information use. Critically, these resulting patterns of association have fitness consequences for individuals that cannot be explained directly by their cognitive ability, but which could mediate selection on cognition.
Data from: Genetic diversity of the imperiled bath sponge Spongia officinalis Linnaeus, 1759 across the Mediterranean Sea: patterns of population differentiation and implications for taxonomy and conservation
The Mediterranean bath sponge Spongia officinalis is an iconic species with high socio-economic value and imperiled present and future status due to unregulated harvesting, mortality incidents and lack of established knowledge regarding its ecology. This study aims to assess genetic diversity and population structure of the species at different geographic sectors and levels of geographic distance along its distribution. For this purpose, 11 locations in the eastern Mediterranean (Aegean Sea), western Mediterranean (Provence coast), and the Strait of Gibraltar were sampled; specimens were analysed using partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, along with a set of 8 microsatellite loci. According to our results (i) no genetic differentiation exists among the acknowledged Mediterranean morphotypes and presumably S. officinalis can be viewed as a single, morphologically variable species; (ii) a notable divergence was recorded in the Gibraltar region, indicating the possible existence of a cryptic species; (iii) restriction to gene flow was evidenced between the Aegean Sea and Provence giving two well-defined regional clusters, thus suggesting the existence of a phylogeographic break between the two systems; (iv) low levels of genetic structure, not correlated to geographic distance, were observed inside geographic sectors, implying mechanisms (natural or anthropogenic) that enhance dispersal and gene flow, promoting population connectivity; (v) the genetic diversity of S. officinalis is maintained high in most studied locations despite pressure from harvesting and the influence of devastating epidemics. These findings provide a basis towards the effective conservation and management of the species.
Data from: Evolutionary implications of a new transitional blastozoan echinoderm from the mid Cambrian of Czech Republic
The primitive blastozoan Felbabkacystis luckae n. gen. n. sp. is described from the Drumian Jince Formation, Barrandian area (Czech Republic) based on eleven fairly well-preserved specimens. Its unique body plan organization is composed of a relatively long stalk-like imbricate structure directly connected to the aboral imbricate cup of the test and of an adoral vaulted tessellate test supporting the ambulacral and brachiolar systems. Its bipartite test, called prototheca, highlights the evolution of the body wall among blastozoans. Felbabkacystis n. gen. shows the combination of plesiomorphic (imbricate stalk-like appendage) and derived features (highly domed peristome, elongate epispires). The new genus is interpreted as a transitional form between calyx-bearing and theca-bearing blastozoans, and is attributed to the new Family Felbabkacystidae. The lithology, the associated fauna and the possession of a long stalk suggest that Felbabkacystis was probably a low-level suspension feeder in relatively deep settings.
Data from: The ecological implications of rubber-based agroforest: insect conservation and invasion control
<p>1. Protected areas are increasingly threatened by biological invasions, especially in Tropical Asia where extensive areas of natural habitats have been converted to monoculture plantations. Such disturbance provides a gateway for exotic species invasions, highlighting an urgent need for cross-boundary solutions to mitigate invasion impacts. 2. Agroforests, with multi-storied trees and crops resembling the complex structure of natural forest, are well-known to promote native species compared to monoculture plantations. Yet our knowledge on their roles in controlling exotic species is limited to plant invaders, with effects on animal invaders still unknown. Given that protected areas are increasingly threatened by invaders from surrounding plantations, with a majority of them represented by insects, it is important to evaluate the effect of agroforestry practice, and mechanisms of associated management to control invasions. 3. By using both taxonomic and functional trait-based approaches, we studied leaf litter ant communities in 12 rubber monoculture (mono-rubber), 9 rubber plantation with understory crops (agro-rubber), 16 secondary, and 12 old-growth secondary forest plots in and around protected areas in Hainan, China. Sampled ants were further classified into groups based on their invasive potential (tramp vs non-tramp) to determine the ecological values of agro-rubber. 4. We found that despite mono-rubber and agro-rubber presenting similar species richness, the latter 1) supports species composition and functional diversity more similar to secondary forests, and 2) reduces tramp ant species occurrence, a novel management incentive. Nonetheless, agro-rubber is not comparable to secondary forest in terms of non-tramp ant species composition. 5. Synthesis and applications. If it is not feasible to preserve natural forests in human-dominated landscapes against the growing threat of biological invasion, proactive mitigation through increasing the area of agro-rubber at the periphery of protected areas can reduce invasive species' establishment and spread. Plantation-based agroforestry has emerged as a potential management avenue and incentive for transforming monoculture plantations into a less "harmful" alternative.</p>
Data from: Female, but not male, tropical sparrows respond more strongly to the local song dialect: implications for population divergence.
In addition to the observed high diversity of species in the tropics, divergence among populations of the same species exists over short geographic distances in both phenotypic traits and neutral genetic markers. Divergence among populations suggests great potential for the evolution of reproductive isolation and eventual speciation. In birds, song can evolve quickly through cultural transmission resulting in regional dialects, which can be a critical component of reproductive isolation through variation in female preference. We examined female and male behavioral responses to local and non-local dialects in two allopatric populations of rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) in the Andes of Ecuador. Here we show that female sparrows prefer their natal song dialect to the dialect from an allopatric population just 25 km away and separated by unsuitable higher elevation habitat (pass 4200 m), thus providing evidence of prezygotic reproductive isolation among populations. Males showed similar territorial responses to all conspecific dialects, with no consistent difference with respect to distance, making male territoriality uninformative for estimating reproductive isolation. This study provides novel evidence for culturally-based prezygotic isolation over very short distances in a tropical bird.
Data from: Human-mediated extirpation of the unique Chatham Islands sea lion and implications for the conservation management of remaining New Zealand sea lion populations
While terrestrial megafaunal extinctions have been well characterized worldwide, our understanding of declines in marine megafauna remains limited. Here, we use ancient DNA analyses of prehistoric (<1450–1650 AD) sea lion specimens from New Zealand's isolated Chatham Islands to assess the demographic impacts of human settlement. These data suggest there was a large population of sea lions, unique to the Chatham Islands, at the time of Polynesian settlement. This distinct mitochondrial lineage became rapidly extinct within 200 years due to overhunting, paralleling the extirpation of a similarly large endemic mainland population. Whole mitogenomic analyses confirm substantial intraspecific diversity among prehistoric lineages. Demographic models suggest that even low harvest rates would likely have driven rapid extinction of these lineages. This study indicates that surviving Phocarctos populations are remnants of a once diverse and widespread sea lion assemblage, highlighting dramatic human impacts on endemic marine biodiversity. Our findings also suggest that Phocarctos bycatch in commercial fisheries may contribute to the ongoing population decline.
Data from: Early and Middle Triassic trends in diversity, evenness, and size of foraminifers on a carbonate platform in south China: Implications for tempo and mode of biotic recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction
Delayed biotic recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction has long been interpreted to result from environmental inhibition. Recently, evidence of more rapid recovery has begun to emerge, suggesting the role of environmental inhibition was previously overestimated. However, there have been few high-resolution taxonomic and ecological studies spanning the full Early and Middle Triassic recovery interval, leaving the precise pattern of recovery and underlying mechanisms poorly constrained. In this study, we document Early and Middle Triassic trends in taxonomic diversity, assemblage evenness, and size distribution of benthic foraminifers on an exceptionally-exposed carbonate platform in south China. We observe gradual increases in all metrics through Early Triassic and earliest Middle Triassic time, with stable values reached early in the Anisian. There is little support in our dataset for a substantial Early Triassic lag interval during the recovery of foraminifers or for a step-wise recovery pattern. The recovery pattern of foraminifers on the GBG corresponds well with available global data for this taxon and appears to parallel that of many benthic invertebrate clades. Early Triassic diversity increase in foraminifers was more gradual than in ammonoinds and conodonts. However, foraminifers continued to increase in diversity, size, and evenness into Middle Triassic time, whereas diversity of ammonoids and conodonts declined. These contrasts suggest decoupling of recovery between benthic and pelagic environments; it is unclear whether these discrepancies reflect inherent contrasts in their evolutionary dynamics or the differential impact of Early Triassic ocean anoxia or associated environmental parameters on benthic ecosystems.
Data from: Basal dinosauriform and theropod dinosaurs from the middle-late Norian (Late Triassic) of Poland: implications for Triassic dinosaur evolution and distribution
The rise of dinosaurs during the Triassic is a widely studied evolutionary radiation, but there are still many unanswered questions about early dinosaur evolution and biogeography that are hampered by an unevenly sampled Late Triassic fossil record. Although very common in western North America and parts of South America, dinosaur (and more basal dinosauriform) remains are relatively rare in the Upper Triassic deposits of Europe, making any new discoveries critically important. One of the most diverse dinosauriform assemblages from Europe comes from the Poręba site in Poland, a recently described locality with exposures of the Zbąszynek Beds, which have a palynomorph assemblage characteristic for the mid–late Norian in the biostratigraphic schemes of the Germanic Basin. Using a synapomorphy-based approach, we evaluate several isolated dinosauriform specimens from Poręba. This assemblage includes a silesaurid, a herrerasaurid and remains of another type of theropod (potentially a neotheropod). The Poręba herrerasaurid is the first record of this rare group of primitive dinosaurs from Europe and one of the youngest records worldwide, whereas the silesaurid is the youngest record of a silesaurid from Europe. These findings indicate that silesaurids persisted alongside true dinosaurs into the mid–late Norian of Europe and that silesaurid–herrerasaurid–neotheropod assemblages (which are also known from the Norian of North America, at low latitudes) were more widespread geographically and latitudinally than previously thought. Silesaurid–herrerasaurid–neotheropod assemblages may have been a common ecological structuring of dinosaurs during their early evolution, and their widespread distribution may indicate weak palaeolatitudinal controls on early dinosaur biogeography during the latest Triassic.
Data from: Context-specific learning and its implications for social learning
Social learning is widespread but the causes for variation in the use of social versus private information are not always clear. Alongside adaptive explanations, suggesting that animals learn socially only when it is indeed adaptive to do so, it is also possible that the use of social learning is limited by mechanistic constraints. A common, but frequently overlooked challenge for social learning mechanisms is the need to allow learners to solve a problem through watching it being solved by others. This requires animals to be able to shift between contexts: from the context of the observed solution, to the context of the unsolved problem. For instance, for the social learning of cues associated with hidden food, an individual that merely sees a conspecific exploiting the food must, in the later absence of demonstrators or visible rewards, also learn to explore the cue for itself. Here we show that this shift in context can indeed be difficult. In two experiments involving sand colors, house sparrows trained with hidden seeds learned to search for hidden seeds (based on food-color association) better than sparrows trained with exposed seeds. However, the latter showed color preference when tested with seeds exposed on both sand colors. These results demonstrate that context-specific learning makes it difficult to generalize reward-cue association from "exposed" to "hidden" conditions, which may explain why social learning is often more effective when it is based on socially facilitated active search (for hidden food), similar to that used in the context of independent foraging.
Data from: Sex-dependent differences in central artery hemodynamics in normal and fibulin-5 deficient mice: implications for ageing
Mouse models provide unique opportunities to study vascular disease, but they demand increased experimental and computational resolution. We describe a workflow for combining in vivo and in vitro biomechanical data to build mouse-specific computational models of the central vasculature including regional variations in biaxial wall stiffness, thickness and perivascular support. These fluid–solid interaction models are informed by micro-computed tomography imaging and in vivo ultrasound and pressure measurements, and include mouse-specific inflow and outflow boundary conditions. Hence, the model can capture three-dimensional unsteady flows and pulse wave characteristics. The utility of this experimental–computational approach is illustrated by comparing central artery biomechanics in adult wild-type and fibulin-5 deficient mice, a model of early vascular ageing. Findings are also examined as a function of sex. Computational results compare well with measurements and data available in the literature and suggest that pulse wave velocity, a spatially integrated measure of arterial stiffness, does not reflect well the presence of regional differences in stiffening, particularly those manifested in male versus female mice. Modelling results are also useful for comparing quantities that are difficult to measure or infer experimentally, including local pulse pressures at the renal arteries and characteristics of the peripheral vascular bed that may differ with disease.
Data from: A molecular phylogeny and revised higher-level classification for the leaf-mining moth family Gracillariidae and its implications for larval host-use evolution
Gracillariidae are one of the most diverse families of internally feeding insects, and many species are economically important. Study of this family has been hampered by lack of a robust and comprehensive phylogeny. In the present paper, we sequenced up to 22 genes in 96 gracillariid species, representing all previously recognized subfamilies and genus groups, plus 20 outgroups representing other families and superfamilies. Following objective identification and removal of two rogue taxa, two datasets were constructed: dataset 1, which included 12 loci totalling 9927 bp for 94 taxa, and dataset 2, which supplemented dataset 1 with 10 additional loci for 10 taxa, for a total of 22 loci and 16 167 bp. Maximum likelihood analyses strongly supported the monophyly of Gracillariidae and most previously recognized subfamilies and genus groups. On this basis, we propose a new classification consisting of eight subfamilies, four of which are newly recognized or resurrected: Acrocercopinae Kawahara & Ohshima subfam. n.; Gracillariinae Stainton; Lithocolletinae Stainton; Marmarinae Kawahara & Ohshima subfam. n.; Oecophyllembiinae Réal & Balachowsky; Parornichinae Kawahara & Ohshima subfam. n.; Ornixolinae Kuznetzov & Baryshnikova stat. rev.; and Phyllocnistinae Zeller. The subfamily Gracillariinae is restricted to the monophyletic group comprising Gracillaria Haworth and closely related genera. We also formally transfer Acrocercops scriptulata Meyrick to Ornixolinae and use the name Diphtheroptila Vári, creating Diphtheroptila scriptulata comb. n. An exploratory mapping of larval host-use traits on the phylogeny shows strong conservation of modes of leaf mining but much higher lability of associations with host plant orders and families, suggesting that host shifts could play a significant role in gracillariid diversification.
Data from: Microhabitat and body size effects on heat tolerance: implications for responses to climate change (army ants: Formicidae, Ecitoninae)
1. Models that predict organismal and population responses to climate change may be improved by considering ecological factors that affect species thermal tolerance. Species differences in microhabitat use can expose animals to diverse thermal selective environments at a given site and may cause sympatric species to evolve different thermal tolerances. 2. We tested the hypothesis that species differences in body size and microhabitat use (above- vs. below-ground activity) would correspond to differences in thermal tolerance (maximum critical temperatures: CTmax). Thermal buffering effects of soil can reduce exposure to extreme high temperatures for below-ground active species. We predicted larger-bodied individuals and species would have higher CTmax and that species mean CTmax would covary positively with degree of above-ground activity. We used Neotropical army ants (Formicidae: Ecitoninae) as models. Army ants vary in microhabitat use from largely subterranean to largely above-ground active species and are highly size polymorphic. 3. We collected data on above- and below-ground temperatures in habitats used by army ants to test for microhabitat temperature differences, and we conducted CTmax assays for army ant species with varying degrees of surface activity and with different body sizes within and between species. We then tested whether microhabitat use was associated with species differences in CTmax and whether microhabitat was a better predictor of CTmax than body size for species that overlapped in size. 4. Microhabitat use was a highly significant predictor of species' upper thermal tolerance limits, both for raw data and after accounting for the effects of phylogeny. Below-ground species were more thermally sensitive, with lower maximum critical temperatures (CTmax). The smallest workers within each species were the least heat tolerant, but the magnitude of CTmax change with body size was greater in below-ground species. Species-typical microhabitat was a stronger predictor of CTmax than body size for species that overlapped in size. Compared to the soil surface, 10-cm subsoil was a significantly moderated thermal environment for below-ground army ants, while maximum surface raid temperatures sometimes exceeded CTmax for the most thermally sensitive army ant castes. 5. We conclude sympatric species differences in thermal physiology correspond to microhabitat use. These patterns should be accounted for in models of species and community responses to thermal variation and climate change.
ScienceDex guides
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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.