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3,139 results for “fitting”
Data from: Are there indirect fitness benefits of female extra-pair reproduction? Lifetime reproductive success of within-pair and extra-pair offspring
The forces driving extra-pair reproduction by socially monogamous females, and the resulting genetic polyandry, remain unclear. A testable prediction of the hypothesis that extra-pair reproduction partly reflects indirect selection on females is that extra-pair young (EPY) will be fitter than their within-pair young (WPY) maternal half-siblings. This prediction has not been comprehensively tested in a wild population, requiring data on the lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of maternal half-sib EPY and WPY. We used 17 years of genetic parentage data from song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, to compare the LRS of hatched EPY and WPY maternal half-siblings measured as their lifetime number of hatched offspring, recruited offspring and hatched grandoffspring. EPY hatchlings were not significantly fitter than WPY hatchlings for any of three measures of LRS. Furthermore, opposite to prediction, EPY hatchlings tended to have lower LRS than their maternal half-sibling WPY hatchlings on average. EPY also tended to be less likely to survive to hatch than their maternal half-sibling WPY. Taken together, these results fail to support one key hypothesis explaining the evolution of genetic polyandry by socially monogamous females and suggest there may be weak indirect selection against female extra-pair reproduction in song sparrows.
Data from: Community structure of a Neotropical bat fauna as revealed by stable isotope analysis: Not all species fit neatly into predicted guilds
Neotropical bat communities are among the most diverse mammal communities in the world, and a better understanding of these assemblages may permit inferences about how so many species coexist. While broad trophic guilds (e.g., frugivore, insectivore) of bats are recognized, details of diet and similarities among species remain largely unknown. We used stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) to characterize the community structure of a diverse Neotropical bat fauna from Belize to test predictions of niche theory and the competitive exclusion principle. We predicted that (1) interspecific variation in isotopic overlap would be greater within guilds than between guilds, and (2) no two sympatric populations would have isotopic niches that overlap completely, unless there is variation along some other axis (e.g., temporal, spatial). We additionally tested body size as an explanatory metric of potential overlap, and predicted that larger-bodied animals would have greater niche breadths. Results suggest that while guild-level characterizations of communities is at least somewhat informative, there are multiple examples of intra- and inter-guild species pairs with significantly overlapping isotopic niches, suggesting that, counter to predictions, they may compete for resources. Understanding the trophic structure of animal communities is fundamental to conservation and management of endangered species and ecosystems and important for evolutionary studies, and stable isotope analyses can provide key insights as well as informing hypotheses of the diet of species that are not well known.
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: Heterozygosity-fitness correlations in a declining seabird population
Loss of genetic diversity is thought to lead to increased risk of extinction in endangered populations due to decreasing fitness of homozygous individuals. Here, we evaluated the presence of inbreeding depression in a long-lived seabird, the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), after a severe decline in population size by nearly 70%. During three reproductive seasons, 85 breeders were captured and genotyped at seven microsatellite loci. Nest sites were monitored during the breeding season to estimate reproductive success as the number of chicks surviving to full size-grown per nest. Captured birds were tagged with a ring with an individual code, and resighting data was collected during seven-year period. We found a strong effect of multilocus heterozygosity on female reproductive performance, and a significant, although weaker, effect on breeder survival. However, our matrix population model suggests that this relatively small effect of genetic diversity on breeder survival may have a profound effect on fitness. This highlights the importance of integrating life-history consequences in HFC studies. Importantly, heterozygosity was correlated across loci, suggesting that genome-wide effects, rather than single loci, are responsible for the observed HFCs. Overall, the HFCs are a worrying symptom of genetic erosion in this declining population. Many long-lived species are prone to extinction, and future studies should evaluate the magnitude of fitness impact of genetic deterioration on key population parameters, such as survival of breeders.
Data from: Interactions between soil habitat and geographic range location affect plant fitness
Populations are often found on different habitats at different geographic locations. This habitat shift may be due to biased dispersal, physiological tolerances or biotic interactions. To explore how fitness of the native plant Chamaecrista fasciculata depends on habitat within, at and beyond its range edge, we planted seeds from five populations in two soil substrates at these geographic locations. We found that with reduced competition, lifetime fitness was always greater or equivalent in one habitat type, loam soils, though early-season survival was greater on sand soils. At the range edge, natural populations are typically found on sand soil habitats, which are also less competitive environments. Early-season survival and fitness differed among source populations, and when transplanted beyond the range edge, range edge populations had greater fitness than interior populations. Our results indicate that even when the optimal soil substrate for a species does not change with geographic range location, the realized niche of a species may be restricted to sub-optimal habitats at the range edge because of the combined effects of differences in abiotic and biotic effects (e.g. competitors) between substrates.
Data from: Are pollination "syndromes" predictive? Asian dalechampia fit neotropical models
Using pollination-syndrome parameters and pollinator correlations with floral phenotype from the neotropics, we predicted that Dalechampia bidentata Blume (Euphorbiaceae) in southern China would be pollinated by female resin-collecting bees between 12 and 20 mm in length. Observations in southwestern Yunnan Province, China, revealed pollination by resin-collecting, female Megachile (Callomegachile) nr. faceta Bingham (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). These bees, at 14 mm in length, were in the predicted size range, confirming the utility of syndromes and models developed in distant regions. Phenotypic-selection analyses and estimation of adaptive surfaces and adaptive accuracies together suggest that the blossoms of D. bidentata are well adapted to pollination by their most common floral visitors.
Data from: The relationship between parasite fitness and host condition in an insect - virus system
Research in host-parasite evolutionary ecology has demonstrated that environmental variation plays a large role in mediating the outcome of parasite infection. For example, crowding or low food availability can reduce host condition and make them more vulnerable to parasite infection. This observation that poor-condition hosts often suffer more from parasite infection compared to healthy hosts has led to the assumption that parasite productivity is higher in poor-condition hosts. However, the ubiquity of this negative relationship between host condition and parasite fitness is unknown. Moreover, examining the effect of environmental variation on parasite fitness has been largely overlooked in the host-parasite literature. Here we investigate the relationship between parasite fitness and host condition by using a laboratory experiment with the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni and its viral pathogen, AcMNPV, and by surveying published host-parasite literature. Our experiments demonstrated that virus productivity was positively correlated with host food availability and the literature survey revealed both positive and negative relationships between host condition and parasite fitness. Together these data demonstrate that contrary to previous assumptions, parasite fitness can be positively or negatively correlated with host fitness. We discuss the significance of these findings for host-parasite population biology.
Data from: Measuring microbial fitness in a field reciprocal transplant experiment
Microbial fitness is easy to measure in the laboratory, but difficult to measure in the field. Laboratory fitness assays make use of controlled conditions and genetically modified organisms, neither of which are available in the field. Among other applications, fitness assays can help researchers detect adaptation to different habitats or locations. We designed a competitive fitness assay to detect adaptation of Saccharomyces paradoxus isolates to the habitat they were isolated from (oak or larch leaf litter). The assay accurately measures relative fitness by tracking genotype frequency changes in the field using digital droplet PCR (DDPCR). We expected locally adapted S. paradoxus strains to increase in frequency over time when growing on the leaf litter type from which they were isolated. The DDPCR assay successfully detected fitness differences among S. paradoxus strains, but did not find a tendency for strains to be adapted to the habitat they were isolated from. Instead, we found that the natural alleles of the hexose transport gene we used to distinguish S. paradoxus strains had significant effects on fitness. The origin of a strain also affected its fitness: strains isolated from oak litter were generally fitter than strains from larch litter. Our results suggest that dispersal limitation and genetic drift shape S. paradoxus populations in the forest more than local selection does, although further research is needed to confirm this. Tracking genotype frequency changes using DDPCR is a practical and accurate microbial fitness assay for natural environments.
Data from: Integration of conflict into integrative taxonomy: fitting hybridization in species delimitation of Mesocarabus (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
In species differentiation, characters do not usually diverge synchronously and there are also processes that effectively shuffle character states present in lineages descendant from a common ancestor. Species are thus expected to show some degree of incongruence among characters, and we argue that taxonomic delimitation actually benefits from integrative approaches and objective strategies dealing with character conflict. We illustrate the potential of exploiting conflict for species delimitation in a study-case of ground beetles of the subgenus Carabus (Mesocarabus), where traditional taxonomy fails to accurately delimit species. The molecular phylogenies of four mitochondrial and three nuclear genes, cladistic analysis of the aedeagus, ecological niche divergence, and morphometry of pronotal shape in altogether more than 500 specimens of Mesocarabus, show that none of these character sets are fully congruent with each other. For these data, a three-steps operational strategy is proposed for species delimitation by (1) delineating candidate species based on the integration of incongruence among conclusive lines of evidence, (2) corroborating candidate species with inconclusive lines of evidence, and (3) refining a final species proposal based on an integrated characterization of candidate species based on the evolutionary analysis of incongruence. This procedure provided a general understanding of the reticulate process of hybridization and introgression acting on Mesocarabus and generated the hypothesis of seven Mesocarabus species, including two putative hybrid lineages. Our work emphasizes the importance of incorporating critical analyses of character and phylogenetic conflict to infer both the evolutionary history and species boundaries through an integrative taxonomic approach.
Data from: Naturally occurring hybrids of coral reef butterflyfishes have similar fitness compared to parental species
Hybridisation can produce evolutionary novelty by increasing fitness and adaptive capacity. Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, has been documented in many plant and animal taxa, and is a notable consequence of hybridisation that has been exploited for decades in agriculture and aquaculture. On the contrary, loss of fitness in naturally occurring hybrid taxa has been observed in many cases. This can have negative consequences for the parental species involved (wasted reproductive effort), and has raised concerns for species conservation. This study evaluates the relative fitness of previously documented butterflyfish hybrids of the genus Chaetodon from the Indo-Pacific suture zone at Christmas Island. Histological examination confirmed the reproductive viability of Chaetodon hybrids. Examination of liver lipid content showed that hybrid body condition was not significantly different from parent species body condition. Lastly, size at age data revealed no difference in growth rates and asymptotic length between hybrids and parent species. Based on the traits measured in this study, naturally occurring hybrids of Chaetodon butterflyfishes have similar fitness to their parental species, and are unlikely to supplant parental species under current environmental conditions at the suture zone. However, given sufficient fitness and on going genetic exchange between the respective parental species, hybrids are likely to persist within the suture zone.
Data from: Estimating the relative fitness of escaped farmed salmon offspring in the wild and modeling the consequences of invasion for wild populations
Throughout their native range, wild Atlantic salmon populations are threatened by hybridization and introgression with escapees from net-pen salmon aquaculture. Although domestic-wild hybrid offspring have shown reduced fitness in lab and field experiments, consequential impacts on population abundance and genetic integrity remain difficult to predict in the field, in part because the strength of selection against domestic offspring is often unknown and context-dependent. Here we follow a single large escape event of farmed Atlantic salmon in southern Newfoundland and monitor changes in the in-river proportions of hybrids and feral individuals over time using genetically-based hybrid identification. Over a three-year period following the escape, the overall proportion of wild parr increased consistently (total wild proportion of 71.6%, 75.1%, 87.5% each year, respectively), with subsequent declines in feral (genetically pure farmed individuals originating from escaped, farmed adults) and hybrid parr. We quantify the strength of selection against parr of aquaculture ancestry and explore the genetic and demographic consequences for populations in the region. Within-cohort changes in the relative proportions of feral and F1 parr suggest reduced relative survival compared to wild individuals over the first (0.15 and 0.81 for feral and F1, respectively), and second years of life (0.26, 0.83). These relative survivorship estimates were used to inform an individual-based salmon eco-genetic model to project changes in adult abundance and overall allele frequency across three invasion scenarios ranging from short-term to long-term invasion and three relative survival scenarios. Modeling results indicate that total population abundance and time to recovery were greatly affected by relative survivorship and predict significant declines in wild population abundance under continued large escape events and calculated survivorship. Overall this work demonstrates the importance of estimating the strength of selection against domestic offspring in the wild to predict the long-term impact of farmed salmon escape events on wild populations.
Data from: Fitness costs of phoretic nematodes in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides
1. Nicrophorus vespilloides is a social beetle that rears its offspring on decomposing carrion. Wild beetles are frequently associated with two types of macrobial symbionts, mites and nematodes. 2. Although these organisms are believed to be phoretic commensals that harmlessly use beetles as a means of transfer between carcasses, the role of these symbionts on N. vespilloides fitness is poorly understood. Here we show that nematodes have significant negative effects on beetle fitness across a range of worm densities and also quantify the density-dependent transmission of worms between mating individuals and from parents to offspring. 3. Using field-caught beetles, we provide the first report of a new nematode symbiont in N. vespilloides, most closely related to Rhabditoides regina, and show that worm densities are highly variable across individuals isolated from nature but do not differ between males and females. Next, by inoculating mating females with increasing densities of nematodes, we show that worm infections significantly reduce brood size, larval survival and larval mass, and also eliminate the trade-off between brood size and larval mass. Finally, we show that nematodes are efficiently transmitted between mating individuals and from mothers to larvae, directly and indirectly via the carcass, and that worms persist through pupation. 4. These results show that the phoretic nematode R. regina can be highly parasitic to burying beetles but can nevertheless persist because of efficient mechanisms of intersexual and intergenerational transmission. 5. Phoretic species are exceptionally common and may cause significant harm to their hosts, even though they rely on these larger species for transmission to new resources. However, this harm may be inevitable and unavoidable if transmission of phoretic symbionts requires nematode proliferation. It will be important to determine the generality of our results for other phoretic associates of animals.
Fitness consequences of a non-recombining sex-ratio drive chromosome can explain its prevalence in the wild
<p>Understanding the pleiotropic consequences of gene drive systems on host fitness is essential to predict their spread through a host population. Here we study Sex-ratio (SR) X-chromosome drive in the fly Drosophila recens, where SR causes the death of Y-bearing sperm in male carriers. SR males only sire daughters, which all carry SR, thus giving the chromosome a transmission advantage. The prevalence of the SR chromosome appears stable, suggesting pleiotropic costs. It was previously shown that females homozygous for SR are sterile, and here we test for additional fitness costs of SR. We find that females heterozygous for SR have reduced fecundity and that male SR carriers have reduced fertility in conditions of sperm competition. We then use our fitness estimates to parameterize theoretical models of SR drive and show that the decrease in fecundity and sperm competition performance can account for the observed prevalence of SR in natural populations. In addition, we find that the expected equilibrium frequency of the SR chromosome is particularly sensitive to the degree of multiple mating and performance in sperm competition. Together our data suggest that the mating system of the organism should be carefully considered during the development of gene drive systems.</p>
Data from: Developmental instability is genetically correlated with phenotypic plasticity, constraining heritability, and fitness
Although adaptive plasticity would seem always to be favored by selection, it occurs less often than expected. This lack of ubiquity suggests that there must be trade-offs, costs, or limitations associated with plasticity. Yet, few costs have been found. We explore one type of limitation, a correlation between plasticity and developmental instability, and use quantitative genetic theory to show why one should expect a genetic correlation. We test that hypothesis using the Landsberg erecta × Cape Verde Islands recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana. RILs were grown at four different nitrogen (N) supply levels that span the range of N availabilities previously documented in North American field populations. We found a significant multivariate relationship between the cross-environment trait plasticity and the within-environment, within-RIL developmental instability across 13 traits. This genetic covariation between plasticity and developmental instability has two costs. First, theory predicts diminished fitness for highly plastic lines under stabilizing selection, because their developmental instability and variance around the optimum phenotype will be greater compared to nonplastic genotypes. Second, empirically the most plastic traits exhibited heritabilities reduced by 57% on average compared to nonplastic traits. This demonstration of potential costs in inclusive fitness and heritability provoke a rethinking of the evolutionary role of plasticity.
Data from: Haploid selection within a single ejaculate increases offspring fitness
An inescapable consequence of sex in eukaryotes is the evolution of a biphasic life cycle with alternating diploid and haploid phases. The occurrence of selection during the haploid phase can have far-reaching consequences for fundamental evolutionary processes including the rate of adaptation, the extent of inbreeding depression, and the load of deleterious mutations, as well as for applied research into fertilization technology. Although haploid selection is well established in plants, current dogma assumes that in animals, intact fertile sperm within a single ejaculate are equivalent at siring viable offspring. Using the zebrafish Danio rerio, we show that selection on phenotypic variation among intact fertile sperm within an ejaculate affects offspring fitness. Longer-lived sperm sired embryos with increased survival and a reduced number of apoptotic cells, and adult male offspring exhibited higher fitness. The effect on embryo viability was carried over into the second generation without further selection and was equally strong in both sexes. Sperm pools selected by motile phenotypes differed genetically at numerous sites throughout the genome. Our findings clearly link within-ejaculate variation in sperm phenotype to offspring fitness and sperm genotype in a vertebrate and have major implications for adaptive evolution.
Data from: Individuals' expected genetic contributions to future generations, reproductive value, and short-term metrics of fitness in free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)
Appropriately defining and enumerating 'fitness' is fundamental to explaining and predicting evolutionary dynamics. Yet, general theoretical concepts of fitness are often hard to translate into quantities that can be measured in wild populations experiencing complex environmental, demographic, genetic and selective variation. While the 'fittest' entities might be widely understood to be those that ultimately leave most descendants at some future time, such long-term legacies can rarely be measured, impeding evaluation of the degree to which tractable short-term metrics of individual fitness could potentially serve as useful direct proxies. One opportunity for conceptual and empirical convergence stems from the principle of individual reproductive value (Vi), defined as the number of copies of each of an individual's alleles that is expected to be present in future generations given the individual's realised pedigree of descendants. Since Vi tightly predicts an individual's longer-term genetic contribution, quantifying Vi provides a tractable route to quantifying what, to date, has been an abstract theoretical fitness concept. We used complete pedigree data from free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to demonstrate that individuals' expected genetic contributions stabilise within an observed 20-year (i.e. ~8 generation) time period, allowing estimation of individual Vi. Considerable among-individual variation in Vi was evident in both sexes. Standard metrics of individual lifetime fitness, comprising lifespan, lifetime reproductive success and projected growth rate, typically explained less than half the variation. We thereby elucidate the degree to which fitness metrics observed on individuals concur with measures of longer-term genetic contributions, and consider the degree to which analyses of pedigree structure could provide useful complementary insights into evolutionary outcomes.
Data from: Contrasting habitat and landscape effects on the fitness of a long-lived grassland plant under forest encroachment: do they provide evidence for extinction debt?
1. Habitat loss, fragmentation and transformation threaten the persistence of many species worldwide. Population and individual fitness are often compromised in small, degraded and isolated habitats, but extinction can be a slow process and extinction debts are common. 2. Long-lived species are prone to persist as remnant populations in low quality habitats for a long time, but the population and individual-level mechanisms of extinction debt remain poorly explored so far. 3. We here investigate the mechanisms involved in the long-term persistence of the common grassland specialist, long-lived, clonal plant Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. (Asparagaceae). after forest encroachment into semi-natural Mediterranean calcareous grasslands in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). For this purpose we assess vegetative (aboveground and belowground) and reproductive plant performance indicators and their habitat and landscape (current and historical) drivers. 4. We confirm the existence of an extinction debt for this species, since current plant frequency is related to historical but not current connectivity, and we also find a positive effect of historical connectivity on seed set. In addition, current tree cover negatively affects individual size and aboveground/belowground biomass ratio, and biotic soil acidification leads to a reduction in the flowering probability of individuals and stems. 5. However, we also find that current connectivity negatively affects flowering and that tree cover enhances seed set. The forestation process, thus, also exerts a positive effect on some fitness traits, probably by providing a moister environment. 6. Synthesis. Habitat loss and deterioration result in a decreased vegetative performance of Aphyllanthes monspeliensis, a grassland specialist, but show contrasting effects on its reproductive performance. However, further forest encroachment would increase light competition and soil acidification, threatening its persistence and promoting the payment of the extinction debt if no conservation measures are taken.
Data from: A 45-second self-test for cardiorespiratory fitness: heart rate-based estimation in healthy individuals
Cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF) is a widespread essential indicator in Sports Science as well as in Sports Medicine. This study aimed to develop and validate a prediction model for CRF based on a 45 second self-test, which can be conducted anywhere. Criterion validity, test re-test study was set up to accomplish our objectives. Data from 81 healthy volunteers (age: 29 ± 8 years, BMI: 24.0 ± 2.9), 18 of whom females, were used to validate this test against gold standard. Nineteen volunteers repeated this test twice in order to evaluate its repeatability. CRF estimation models were developed using heart rate (HR) features extracted from the resting, exercise, and the recovery phase. The most predictive HR feature was the intercept of the linear equation fitting the HR values during the recovery phase normalized for the height2 (r2 = 0.30). The Ruffier-Dickson Index (RDI), which was originally developed for this squat test, showed a negative significant correlation with CRF (r = -0.40), but explained only 15% of the variability in CRF. A multivariate model based on RDI and sex, age and height increased the explained variability up to 53% with a cross validation (CV) error of 0.532 L ∙ min-1 and substantial repeatability (ICC = 0.91). The best predictive multivariate model made use of the linear intercept of HR at the beginning of the recovery normalized for height2 and age2; this had an adjusted r2 = 0. 59, a CV error of 0.495 L·min-1 and substantial repeatability (ICC = 0.93). It also had a higher agreement in classifying CRF levels (κ = 0.42) than RDI-based model (κ = 0.29). In conclusion, this simple 45 s self-test can be used to estimate and classify CRF in healthy individuals with moderate accuracy and large repeatability when HR recovery features are included.
Data from: An artificial delay in emergence influences the number but not the fitness of adult emerald ash borer emerging from infested ash wood
Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Buprestidae) is the most significant invasive forest pest in North America. Laboratory research on this species requires a source of adult and larval insects that are of the same fitness as those present in the wild. Production of adult emerald ash borer relies on flushing adults from logs which are subject to cold storage for some period prior to use. The effect of this storage on the number of insects emerging or the fitness of those that emerge has not been investigated. We subjected logs of EAB-infested white ash, Fraxinus americana L. to 7–14 month of cold storage and quantified the number of insects that emerged, time to emergence, and the body condition of adults as a measure of fitness. Body condition was evaluated using Soxhlet fat extraction and water weight. No published methods for Soxhlet fat extraction were available for this species so we developed extraction protocols. The number of insects emerging decreased with time, but fitness (i.e., fat content, water content) did not decrease. Time to emergence did increase but only in the longest-storage treatment while a comparison of male versus female emergence provides evidence for protandry in emerald ash borer. Rearing programs for emerald ash borer using wood from cold storage should adjust the amount used to produce a given number of insects but the quality of those individuals emerging will not be affected. We suggest that those insects that perished during storage were of lower quality when entering diapause and thus would serve as poor-quality host in rearing programs for natural enemies of emerald ash borer. These data also provide evidence for one pathway of introduction for emerald ash borer, suggesting that refrigeration in transit was required for EAB to remain viable and establish its beachhead in North America.
Data from: The association between mitochondrial genetic variation and reduced colony fitness in an invasive wasp
Despite the mitochondrion's long recognised role in energy production, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation commonly found in natural populations was assumed to be effectively neutral. However, variation in mtDNA has now been increasingly linked to phenotypic variation in life-history traits and fitness. We examined whether the relative fitness in native and invasive common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) populations in Belgium and New Zealand (NZ), respectively, can be linked to mtDNA variation. Social wasp colonies in NZ were smaller with comparatively fewer queen cells, indicating a reduced relative fitness in the invaded range. Interestingly, queen cells in this population were significantly larger leading to larger queen offspring. By sequencing 1872 bp of the mitochondrial genome we determined mitochondrial haplotypes and detected reduced genetic diversity in NZ. Three common haplotypes in NZ frequently produced many queens, whereas the four rare haplotypes produced significantly fewer or no queens. The entire mitochondrial genome for each of these haplotypes was sequenced to identify polymorphisms associated with fitness reduction. We found 16 variable sites, however, no non-synonymous mutation that was clearly causing impaired mitochondrial function was detected. We discuss how detected variants may alter secondary structures, gene expression or mito-nuclear interactions, or could be associated with nuclear-encoded variation. Whatever the ultimate mechanism, we show reduced fitness and mtDNA variation in an invasive wasp population as well as specific mtDNA variants associated with fitness variation within this population. Ours is one of only a few studies that confirm fitness impacts of mtDNA variation in wild non-model populations.
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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.