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139 results for “Body size evolution”
Data from: Recurrent evolution of small body size and loss of the sword ornament in Northern swordtail fish
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The evolution of body size in termites
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The impact of paleoclimatic changes on body size evolution in marine fishes
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Data from: 200 million years of anuran body size evolution in relation to geography, ecology, and life history
Surprisingly little is known about body-size evolution within the most diverse amphibian order, anurans (frogs and toads), despite known effects of body size on the physiological, ecological, and life-history traits of animals more generally. Here we examined anuran body-size evolution among 2434 species with over 200 million years of shared evolutionary history. We found clade-specific evolutionary shifts to new body-size optima along with numerous independent transitions to gigantic and miniature body sizes, despite the upper limits of anuran body size remaining quite consistent throughout the fossil record. We found a weak, positive correlation between a species' body size and maximum latitude and elevation, including a dearth of small species at higher elevations and broader latitudinal and elevational ranges in larger anurans. Although we found modest differences in mean anuran body size among microhabitats, there was extensive overlap in the range of body sizes across microhabitats. Finally, we found that larger anurans are more likely to consume vertebrate prey than smaller anurans are, and that species with a free-swimming larval phase during development are larger on average than those in which development into a froglet occurs within the egg. Overall, anuran body size does not conform to geographic and ecological patterns observed in other tetrapods but is perhaps more notable for variation in body size within geographic regions, ecologies, and life-histories. Here we document this variation and propose target clades for detailed studies aimed at disentangling how and why variation in body size was generated and is maintained in anurans.
Trophic cascades alter eco-evolutionary dynamics and body size evolution
<p><span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis"><span>Trait evolution in predator-prey systems can feed back to the dynamics of interacting species as well as cascade to impact the dynamics of indirectly linked species (eco-evolutionary trophic cascades; EETC). A key mediator of trophic cascades is body mass, as it both strongly influences and evolves in response to predator-prey interactions. Here we use Gillespie Eco-Evolutionary Models to explore EETCs resulting from top predator loss and mediated by body mass evolution. Our four trophic level food chain model uses allometric scaling to link body mass to different functions (ecological pleiotropy) and is realistically parameterized from the FORAGE database to mimic the parameter space of a typical freshwater system. To track real-time changes in selective pressures, we also calculated fitness gradients for each trophic level. As predicted, top predator loss generated alternating shifts in abundance across trophic levels, and depending on the nature and strength in changes to fitness gradients, also altered trajectories of body mass evolution. Although more distantly linked, changes in the abundance of top predators still affected the eco-evolutionary dynamics of the basal producers, in part because of their relatively short generation times. Overall, our results suggest that impacts on top predators can set off transient eco-evolutionary trophic cascades with the potential for widespread indirect impacts on food webs.</span></span></p>
Evolution of body size and wing shape trade-offs in arsenurine silkmoths
<p>One of the key objectives in biological research is understanding how evolutionary processes have produced Earth's diversity. A critical step towards revealing these processes is an investigation of evolutionary tradeoffs – that is, the opposing pressures of multiple selective forces. For millennia, nocturnal moths have had to balance successful flight, as they search for mates or host plants, with evading bat predators. However, the potential for evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape and body size are poorly understood. In this study, we used phylogenomics and geometric morphometrics to examine the evolution of wing shape in the wild silkmoth subfamily Arsenurinae (Saturniidae) and evaluate potential evolutionary relationships between body size and wing shape. The phylogeny was inferred based on 782 loci from target capture data of 42 arsenurine species representing all 10 recognized genera. After detecting in our data one of the most vexing problems in phylogenetic inference – a region of a tree that possesses short branches and no "support" for relationships (i.e., a polytomy), we looked for hidden phylogenomic signal (i.e., inspecting differing phylogenetic inferences, alternative support values, quartets, and phylogenetic networks) to better illuminate the most probable generic relationships within the subfamily.</p> <p>We found there are putative evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape, body size, and the interaction of fore- and hindwing shape. Namely, body size tends to decrease with increasing hindwing length but increases as forewing shape becomes more complex. Additionally, the type of hindwing (i.e., tail or no tail) a lineage possesses has a significant effect on the complexity of forewing shape. We outline possible selective forces driving the complex hindwing shapes that make Arsenurinae, and silkmoths as a whole, so charismatic.</p>
Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits
<p>Interspecific variation in body size is one of the most popular topics in comparative studies. Despite recent advances, little is still known about the patterns and processes behind the evolution of body size in insects. Here, we used a robust data set comprising all geometrid moth species occurring in Northern Europe to examine the evolutionary associations involving body size and several life-history traits under an explicitly phylogenetic framework. We provided new insights into the interactive effects of life-history traits on body size and evidence of correlated evolution. We further established the sequence of trait evolution linking body size with the life-history traits correlated with it. We found that most (but not all) of the studied life-history traits, to some extent, interfered with interspecific variation in body size, but interactive effects were uncommon. Both bi- and multivariate phylogenetic analyses indicated that larger species tend to be nocturnal flyers, overwinter in the larval stage, feed on the foliage of trees rather than herbs, and have a generalist feeding behavior. We found evidence of correlated evolution involving body size with overwintering stage, host-plant growth form, and dietary specialization. The examination of evolutionary transitions within the correlated models signaled that overwintering as larvae preceded the evolution of large sizes, as did feeding on tree foliage and the generalist feeding behavior. By showing that both body size and all life-history traits correlated with it evolve at very slow rates, we caution against uncritical attempts to propose causal explanations for respective associations based on contemporary ecological settings.</p>
Warning coloration, body size and the evolution of gregarious behavior in butterfly larvae
<p>Many species gain anti-predator benefits by combining gregarious behavior with warning coloration, yet there is debate over which trait evolves first, and which is the secondary adaptive enhancement. Body size can also influence how predators receive aposematic signals, and potentially constrain the evolution of gregarious behavior. To our knowledge, the causative links between the evolution of gregariousness, aposematism and larger body sizes have not been fully resolved. Here, using the most recently resolved butterfly phylogeny and an extensive new dataset of larval traits, we reveal the evolutionary interactions between important traits linked to larval gregariousness. We show that larval gregariousness has arisen many times across the butterflies, and aposematism is a likely prerequisite for gregariousness to evolve. We also find that body size may be an important factor for determining the coloration of solitary, but not gregarious larvae. Additionally, by exposing artificial 'larvae' to wild avian predation, we show that undefended, cryptic 'larvae' are heavily predated when aggregated but benefit from solitariness, whereas the reverse is true for aposematic prey. Our data reinforce the importance of aposematism for gregarious larval survival, whilst identifying new questions about the roles of body size and toxicity in the evolution of grouping behavior.</p>
Data from: 200 million years of anuran body size evolution in relation to geography, ecology, and life history
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Bill size, bill shape, and body size constrain bird song evolution on a macroevolutionary scale
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Evolution of body size and wing shape trade-offs in arsenurine silkmoths
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Warning coloration, body size and the evolution of gregarious behavior in butterfly larvae
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Trophic cascades alter eco-evolutionary dynamics and body size evolution
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Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits
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Data from: Biogeography and evolution of body size and life history of African frogs: phylogeny of squeakers (Arthroleptis) and long-fingered frogs (Cardioglossa) estimated from mitochondrial data
The evolutionary history of living African amphibians remains poorly understood. This study estimates the phylogeny within the frog genera Arthroleptis and Cardioglossa using approximately 2400 bases of mtDNA sequence data (12S, tRNA-Valine, and 16S genes) from half of the described species. Analyses are conducted using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. The effect of alignment on phylogeny estimation is explored by separately analyzing alignments generated with different gap costs and a consensus alignment. The consensus alignment results in species paraphyly, low nodal support, and incongruence with the results based on other alignments, which produced largely similar results. Most nodes in the phylogeny are highly supported, yet several topologies are inconsistent with previous hypotheses. The monophyly of Cardioglossa and of miniature species previously assigned to Schoutedenella was further examined using Templeton and Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests. Cardioglossa monophyly is rejected and C. aureoli is transferred to Arthroleptis. These tests do not reject Schoutedenella monophyly, but this hypothesis receives no support from non-parametric bootstrapping or Bayesian posterior probabilities. This phylogeny provides a framework for reconstructing historical biogeography and analyzing the evolution of body size and life history. Direct development and miniaturization appear at the base of Arthroleptis phylogeny concomitant with a range expansion from Central Africa to throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Data from: Empirical tests of harvest-induced body-size evolution along a geographic gradient in Australian macropods
1. Life-history theory predicts the progressive dwarfing of animal populations that are subjected to chronic mortality stress but the evolutionary impact of harvesting terrestrial herbivores has seldom been tested. In Australia, marsupials of the genus Macropus (kangaroos and wallabies) are subjected to size-selective commercial harvesting. Mathematical modelling suggests that harvest quotas (ca. 10–20 % of population estimates annually) could be driving body-size evolution in these species. 2. We tested this hypothesis for three harvested macropod species with continental-scale distributions. To do so, we measured more than 2 000 macropod skulls sourced from wildlife collections spanning the last 130 years. We analysed these data using spatial Bayesian models that controlled for the age and sex of specimens as well as environmental drivers and island effects. 3. We found no evidence for the hypothesized decline in body size for any species; rather, models that fit trend terms supported minor body size increases over time. This apparently counterintuitive result is consistent with reduced mortality due to a depauperate predator guild and increased primary productivity of grassland vegetation following European settlement in Australia. 4. Spatial patterns in macropod body size supported the heat dissipation limit and productivity hypotheses proposed to explain geographic body-size variation (i.e., skull size increased with decreasing summer maximum temperature and increasing rainfall, respectively). 5. There is no empirical evidence that size-selective harvesting has driven the evolution of smaller body size in Australian macropods. Bayesian models are appropriate for investigating the long-term impact of human harvesting because they can impute missing data, fit non-linear growth models and account for non-random spatial sampling inherent in wildlife collections.
Data from: Body size evolution in an old insect order: no evidence for Cope's Rule in spite of fitness benefits of large size
We integrate field data and phylogenetic comparative analyses to investigate causes of body size evolution and stasis in an old insect order: odonates ("dragonflies and damselflies"). Fossil evidence for "Cope's Rule" in odonates is weak or non-existent since the last major extinction event 65 million years ago, yet selection studies show consistent positive selection for increased body size among adults. In particular, we find that large males in natural populations of the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) over several generations have consistent fitness benefits both in terms of survival and mating success. Additionally, there was no evidence for stabilizing or conflicting selection between fitness components within the adult life-stage. This lack of stabilizing selection during the adult life-stage was independently supported by a literature survey on different male and female fitness components from several odonate species. We did detect several significant body size shifts among extant taxa using comparative methods and a large new molecular phylogeny for odonates . We suggest that the lack of Cope's rule in odonates results from conflicting selection between fitness advantages of large adult size and costs of long larval development. We also discuss competing explanations for body size stasis in this insect group.
Data from: Crocodylomorph cranial shape evolution and its relationship with body size and ecology
Crocodylomorpha, which includes living crocodylians and their extinct relatives, has a rich fossil record, extending back for more than 200 million years. Unlike modern semi-aquatic crocodylians, extinct crocodylomorphs exhibited more varied lifestyles, ranging from marine to fully terrestrial forms. This ecological diversity was mirrored by a remarkable morphological disparity, particularly in terms of cranial morphology, which seems to be closely associated with ecological roles in the group. Here, I use geometric morphometrics to comprehensively investigate cranial shape variation and disparity in Crocodylomorpha. I quantitatively assess the relationship between cranial shape and ecology (i.e. terrestrial, aquatic, and semi-aquatic lifestyles), as well as possible allometric shape changes. I also characterise patterns of cranial shape evolution and identify regime shifts. I found a strong link between shape and size, and a significant influence of ecology on the observed shape variation. Terrestrial taxa, particularly notosuchians, have significantly higher disparity, and shifts to more longirostrine regimes are associated with large-bodied aquatic or semi-aquatic species. This demonstrates an intricate relationship between cranial shape, body size and lifestyle in crocodylomorph evolutionary history. Additionally, disparity-through-time analyses were highly sensitive to different phylogenetic hypotheses, suggesting the description of overall patterns among distinct trees. For crocodylomorphs, most results agree in an early peak during the Early Jurassic and another in the middle of the Cretaceous, followed by nearly continuous decline until today. Since only crown-group members survived through the Cenozoic, this decrease in disparity was likely the result of habitat loss, which narrowed down the range of crocodylomorph lifestyles.
Data from: Body size evolution in Titanosauriformes (Sauropoda, Macronaria)
Titanosauriformes is a conspicuous and diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs that inhabited almost all land masses during Cretaceous times. Besides the diversity of forms, the clade comprises one of the largest land animals found so far, Argentinosaurus, as well as some of the smallest sauropods known to date, Europasaurus and Magyarosaurus. They are therefore good candidates for studies on body size trends such as the Cope's rule, the tendency towards an increase in body size in an evolutionary lineage. We used statistical methods to assess body size changes under both phylogenetic and nonphylogenetic approaches to identify body size trends in Titanosauriformes. Femoral lengths were collected (or estimated from humeral length) from 46 titanosauriform species and used as a proxy for body size. Our findings show that there is no increase or decrease in titanosauriform body size with age along the Cretaceous and that negative changes in body size are more common than positive ones (although not statistically significant) for most of the titanosauriform subclades (e.g. Saltasaridae, Lithostrotia, Titanosauria and Somphospondyli). Therefore, Cope's rule is not supported in titanosauriform evolution. Finally, we also found a trend towards a decrease of titanosauriform mean body size coupled with an increase in body size standard deviation, both supporting an increase in body size variation towards the end of Cretaceous.
Data from: Body size and evolution of motion dazzle coloration in lizards
'Motion dazzle' patterns are a form of defensive coloration suggested to prevent successful capture during motion by causing predators to misjudge the direction or speed of prey movement. Several studies have found results supporting this idea, but little is known about the factors that favour the evolution of these antipredator colorations. A recent experimental study has suggested that the longitudinal striped patterns on body of lizards can redirect attacks to the tail via the motion dazzle effect. Using a virtual predation experiment with humans and a phylogenetic comparative analysis, we show that evolution of longitudinal striped coloration is associated with prey size. Experiments showed that longitudinal stripes located at the anterior reduced lethal attacks (i.e. attacks directed to the anterior and centre), but this benefit was greater for shorter prey. Our comparative analysis revealed a negative association between stripe occurrence and body length, but no association between stripes and body width. Overall, our results suggest that the dazzle effect produced by stripes is more advantageous in shorter lizards than in longer ones, and that the error induced by stripes might be distributed along the axis parallel to the prey trajectory. We discuss reasons why dazzle coloration could be associated with evolution of smaller body size in animals.
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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.
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.