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opennotspecifiedDec 2016View details →

FIGURES 69–71 in Host plant shifts and transitions into new adaptive zones in leafhoppers: the example of Macropsinae (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) of Russia and adjacent countries

FIGURES 69–71. Possible ways of distribution of some groups of Macropsinae in Palaearctic. 1—species-groups of Macropsis feeding on East Asian Quercus spp. and on Salicaceae; 2―species-groups of Macropsis feeding on Ulmus spp., Rosa spp., Berberis integerrima, Elaeagnus spp., Hippophae rhamnoides, and desert poplars from the subgenus Turanga; 3―Macropsidius.

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

A specialist bee and its host plants experience phenological shifts at different rates in response to climate change

Changes in climate can alter the phenology of organisms, potentially decoupling partners within mutualisms. Previous studies have shown that plant and pollinator phenologies are shifting over time, but these shifts have primarily been documented for generalists and within small geographic regions, and the specific climatic cues regulating these shifts are not well-understood. We examined phenological shifts in a specialist pollinator and its host plant species over a 117-year study period using a digitized dataset of over 4,000 unique collection records. We assess how climatic cues regulate these organisms' phenologies using PRISM weather data associated with each record. We tested the hypothesis that rates of phenological change would be greater at northern latitudes. We found that the phenology of the specialist bee pollinator Habropoda laboriosa is changing over time, but at different rates across its range. Specifically, phenology is advancing to a greater degree in more northern populations, with increasing phenological advances of 0.04 days/year with each degree of latitude, and with a delay in phenology in more southern populations. In contrast, only one species in the host plant genus Vaccinium is experiencing phenological change over time. For this plant, rates of change are also variable across latitudes, but in a pattern opposite that of the bee; while phenology is advancing across its range, rates of advance are highest in more southern populations, with decreasing phenological advances of 0.01 days/year with each degree of latitude. The phenologies of both the bee and three of four Vaccinium spp. were regulated primarily by spring temperature, with phenologies overall advancing with increasing temperature, and with the strongest responses shown by the bee in northern populations. Our study provides partial support for the hypothesis that phenologies advance most at northern latitudes, but demonstrates that pollinators and plants do not adhere similarly to this prediction. Additionally, we illustrate the potential for phenological mismatch between a specialist pollinator and its host plants by showing that plants and pollinators are advancing their phenologies at different rates across space and time and with differing responses to changing climatic cues.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Pollinator sharing, copollination, and speciation by host shifting among six closely related dioecious fig species

The obligate pollination mutualism between figs (Ficus, Moraceae) and pollinator wasps (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera) is a classic example of cospeciation. However, examples of phylogenetic incongruencies between figs and their pollinators suggest that pollinators may speciate by host shifting. To investigate the mechanism of speciation by host shifting, we examined the phylogenetic relationships and population genetic structures of six closely related fig species and their pollinators from southern China and Taiwan-Ryukyu islands using various molecular markers. The results revealed 1) an extraordinary case of pollinator sharing, in which five distinct fig species share a single pollinator species in southern China; 2) two types of copollination, namely, sympatric copollination by pollinator duplication or pollinator migration, and allopatric copollination by host migration and new pollinator acquisition; 3) fig species from southern China have colonized Taiwan repeatedly and one of these events has been followed by host shifting, host specificity reestablishment, and pollinator speciation, in order. Based on our results, we propose a model for pollinator speciation by host shifting in which reestablishment of host-specificity plays a central role in the speciation process. These findings provide important insights into understanding the mechanisms underlying pollinator speciation and host specificity in obligate pollination mutualism.

Fig. 6 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 6. The co-phylogenetic scenarios revealed by JANE analysis. Thin black lines are the Analges phylogenetic tree, wide grey lines are the bird tree. The legend shows the cost of each event (in parentheses) near every co-phylogenetic event and the number of reconstructed events. A, original analysis with the full set of taxa in multi-host Analges–bird associations.? – after speciation, the ancestral species still exists. B, dated best-cost scenarios of the multi-host associations reduced to a single host species and supplemented by spread events for remaining host species. Clades in multi-host species remained as in the original analysis, i.e. originated by failure to speciate. The circles near Analges species names designate the components of host nests: black circles, fine feathers and/or down in nest material; white circles, no feathers in nest material (after Gotzman & Jablonski, 1972 and Beuch, 2013).

Fig. 5 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 5. Character tracing of two key morphological characteristics of Analges: finger-like process on tarsi III in males (A) and chelate hypertrophied legs III in heteromorph males (B). Changes were traced onto the final tree (Fig. 4) using likelihood asymmetrical two-parameter Markov model with differently estimated forward/backward rates of character state changes.

Fig. 4 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 4. Diversification of Analges through time. A, dated maximum clade credibility tree revealed by BEAST analysis from concatenated COI, 16S and 28S sequences for Analges species and their outgroups. Intensity of node colouration designates PP of Bayesian analysis. The chronostratigraphic scale is given with absolute geological ages (MYA, million years ago). The node bars indicate credibility intervals (± 95% highest posterior densities HPD). Two columns of coloured squares on the right designate two taxonomic hypotheses of intrageneric groupings. The category 'ungrouped' describe male Analges without both chelate legs III and finger-like processes on tarsi III. B, lineages through time (LTT) plot for Analges. The upturn around 23 Mya reflects an acceleration in the rate of speciation which coincides with the origin of the crown in the Analges clade.

Fig. 3 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 3. Phylogenetic conflict in the BI post-burnin trees reconstructed from concatenated sequences of COI, 16S and 28S as shown by consensus network analyses for threshold values 0.3 (A) and 0.012 (B). The hypothesized Analges corvinus–A. sturninus clade is depicted in red, the hypothesized Analges sp.n. 6–A. sturninus clade is depicted in blue. The numbers near splits are confidence values for alternate hypotheses.

Fig. 1 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 1. Morphological characteristics applied in two different intrageneric groupings in the Analges genus. A, general view of male, Analges corvinus, ventral side; B, hypertrophied leg III in males of the passerinus species group, A. passerinus, dorsal side; C, hypertrophied leg III in males of the chelopus species group, A. spiniger, ventral side; D, male tarsus III with ventral finger-like process bearing seta w in Analgopsis subgenus, A. poppei, dorsal side; E, male tarsus III lacking the ventral process in Analges subgenus, A. corvinus, ventral side.

Fig. 2 in The explosive radiation, intense host-shifts and long-term failure to speciate in the evolutionary history of the feather mite genus Analges (Acariformes: Analgidae) from European passerines

Fig. 2. Neighbour-joining tree with sequence groups of putative Analges species recovered by automatic barcode gap discovery from COI barcode sequences.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2024View details →

Ontogenetic Shifts in Behavior and Host-Plant Preference of a Tropical Clown Grasshopper

This repository contains all the data and scripts necessary to perform the analyses of the study

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →

Data from: Ultrafast evolution and loss of CRISPRs following a host shift in a novel wildlife pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Measureable rates of genome evolution are well documented in human pathogens but are less well understood in bacterial pathogens in the wild, particularly during and after host switches. Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a pathogenic bacterium that has evolved predominantly in poultry and recently jumped to wild house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), a common North American songbird. For the first time we characterize the genome and measure rates of genome evolution in House Finch isolates of MG, as well as in poultry outgroups. Using whole genome sequences of 12 House Finch isolates across a 13-year serial sample and an additional four newly sequenced poultry strains, we estimate a nucleotide diversity in House Finch isolates of only ~2% of ancestral poultry strains and a nucleotide substitution rate of 0.8 – 1.2 X 10-5 per site per year both in poultry and in House Finches, an exceptionally fast rate rivaling some of the highest estimates reported thus far for bacteria. We also found high diversity and complete turnover of CRISPR arrays in poultry MG strains prior to the switch to the House Finch host, but after the invasion of House Finches, there is progressive loss of CRISPR repeat diversity, and recruitment of novel CRISPR repeats ceases. Recent (2007) House Finch MG strains retain only ~50% of the CRISPR repertoire founding (1994-95) strains and have lost the CRISPR-associated genes required for CRISPR function. Our results suggest that genome evolution in bacterial pathogens of wild birds can be extremely rapid and in this case is accompanied by apparent functional loss of CRISPRs.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

Data from: Ancient host shifts followed by host conservatism in a group of ant parasitoids

While ant colonies serve as host to a diverse array of myrmecophiles, few parasitoids are able to exploit this vast resource. A notable exception is the wasp family Eucharitidae, which is the only family of insects known to exclusively parasitize ants. Worldwide, approximately 700 Eucharitidae species attack five subfamilies across the ant phylogeny. Our goal is to uncover the pattern of eucharitid diversification, including timing of key evolutionary events, biogeographic patterns and potential cophylogeny with ant hosts. We present the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Eucharitidae to date, including 44 of the 53 genera and fossil-calibrated estimates of divergence dates. Eucharitidae arose approximately 50 Ma after their hosts, during the time when the major ant lineages were already established and diversifying. We incorporate host association data to test for congruence between eucharitid and ant phylogenies and find that their evolutionary histories are more similar than expected at random. After a series of initial host shifts, clades within Eucharitidae maintained their host affinity. Even after multiple dispersal events to the New World and extensive speciation within biogeographic regions, eucharitids remain parasitic on the same ant subfamilies as their Old World relatives, suggesting host conservatism despite access to a diverse novel ant fauna.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Experimental assemblage of novel plant-herbivore interactions: ecological host shifts after 40 million years of isolation

Geographic isolation is the first step in insect herbivore diet specialization. Such specialization is postulated to increase insect fitness, but may simultaneously reduce insect ability to colonize novel hosts. During the Paleocene-Eocene, plants from the order Zingiberales became isolated either in the Paleotropics or in the Neotropics. During the Cretaceous, rolled-leaf beetles diversified in the Neotropics concurrently with neotropical Zingiberales. Using a community of Costa Rican rolled-leaf beetles and their Zingiberales host plants as study system, we explored if previous geographic isolation precludes insects to expand their diets to exotic hosts. We recorded interactions between rolled-leaf beetles and native Zingiberales by combining DNA barcodes and field records for 7450 beetles feeding on 3202 host plants. To determine phylogenetic patterns of diet expansions, we set 20 field plots including five exotic Zingiberales, recording beetles feeding on these exotic hosts. In the laboratory, using both native and exotic host plants, we reared a subset of insect species that had expanded their diets to the exotic plants. The original plant-herbivore community comprised 24 beetle species feeding on 35 native hosts, representing 103 plant-herbivore interactions. After exotic host plant introduction, 20% of the beetle species expanded their diets to exotic Zingiberales. Insects only established on exotic hosts that belong to the same plant family as their native hosts. Laboratory experiments show that beetles are able to complete development on these novel hosts. In conclusion, rolled-leaf beetles are pre-adapted to expand their diets to novel host plants even after millions of years of geographic isolation.

opencc-zeroFeb 2023View details →

Data from: Shifting effects of host physiological condition following pathogen establishment

Understanding host persistence with emerging pathogens is essential for conserving populations. Hosts may initially survive pathogen invasions through pre-adaptive mechanisms. However, whether pre-adaptive traits are directionally selected to increase in frequency depends on the heritability and environmental dependence of the trait and the costs of trait maintenance. Body condition is likely an important pre-adaptive mechanism aiding in host survival, although it can be seasonally variable in wildlife hosts. We used data collected over seven years on bat body mass, infection, and survival to determine the role of host body condition during the invasion and establishment of the emerging disease, white-nose syndrome. We found that when the pathogen first invaded, bats with higher body mass were more likely to survive, but this effect dissipated following the initial epizootic. We also found that heavier bats lost more weight over winter, but fat loss depended on infection severity. Lastly, we found mixed support that bat mass increased in the population after pathogen arrival; high annual plasticity in individual bat masses may have reduced the potential for directional selection. Overall, our results suggest that some factors that contribute to host survival during pathogen invasion may diminish over time, and are potentially replaced by other host adaptations.

opencc-zeroFeb 2023View details →

Data from: Use of an exotic host plant shifts immunity, chemical defense, and viral burden in wild populations of a specialist insect herbivore

Defense against natural enemies constitutes an important driver of herbivore host range evolution in the wild. Populations of the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas phaeton (Nymphalidae), have recently incorporated an exotic plant, Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae), into their dietary range. To understand the tritrophic consequences of utilizing this exotic host plant, we examined immune performance, chemical defense, and interactions with a natural entomopathogen (Junonia coenia densovirus, Parvoviridae) across wild populations of this specialist herbivore. We measured three immune parameters, sequestration of defensive iridoid glycosides (IGs), and viral infection load in field-collected caterpillars using either P. lanceolata or a native plant, Chelone glabra (Plantaginaceae). We found that larvae using the exotic plant exhibited reduced immunocompetence, compositional differences in IG sequestration, and higher in situ viral burdens compared to those using the native plant. On both host plants, high IG sequestration was associated with reduced hemocyte concentration in the larval hemolymph, providing the first evidence of incompatibility between sequestered chemical defenses and the immune response (i.e., the "vulnerable host" hypothesis) from a field-based study. However, despite this negative relationship between IG sequestration and cellular immunity, caterpillars with greater sequestration harbored lower viral loads. While survival of virus-infected individuals decreased with increasing viral burden, it ultimately did not differ between the exotic and native plants. These results provide evidence that (1) phytochemical sequestration may contribute to defense against pathogens even when immunity is compromised, and (2) herbivore persistence on exotic plant species may be facilitated by sequestration and its role in defense against natural enemies.