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1,316 results for “Trade”

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dryad28/100

Data from: Reduced drought tolerance during domestication and the evolution of weediness results from tolerance-growth trade-offs

The increased reproductive potential, size, shoot allocation, and growth rate of weedy plants may result from reduced resource allocation to other aspects of plant growth and defense. To investigate whether changes in resource allocation occurred during domestication or the evolution of weediness, we compared the mycorrhizal responsiveness, growth, and drought tolerance of nine native ruderal, nine agriculturally weedy (four US weedy and five Australian weedy), and fourteen domesticated populations (eight ancient landraces and six improved cultivars) of the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Domesticated sunflower cultivars were less drought tolerant, but had higher plant growth and fecundity and coarser roots than wild populations. There were no changes in level of drought tolerance between improved cultivars and ancient landraces plants, but there was an increase in allocation to flowers with recent selection. Weedy populations were intermediate between domesticated cultivars and native ruderal populations for plant growth rate, root architecture and drought tolerance. Weedy populations benefited most from mycorrhizal inoculation by having fewer wilted leaves and wetter soil. Overall, we found that trade-offs between drought tolerance and several aspects of plant growth, including growth rate, allocation to flowering and root architecture, govern evolution during sunflower domestication and the invasion of disturbed habitat.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Trade-offs drive resource specialization and the gradual establishment of ecotypes

Background: Speciation is driven by many different factors. Among those are trade-offs between different ways an organism utilizes resources, and these trade-offs can constrain the manner in which selection can optimize traits. Limited migration among allopatric populations and species interactions can also drive speciation, but here we ask if trade-offs alone are sufficient to drive speciation in the absence of other factors. Results: We present a model to study the effects of trade-offs on specialization and adaptive radiation in asexual organisms based solely on competition for limiting resources, where trade-offs are stronger the greater an organism's ability to utilize resources. In this model resources are perfectly substitutable, and fitness is derived from the consumption of these resources. The model contains no spatial parameters, and is therefore strictly sympatric. We quantify the degree of specialization by the number of ecotypes evolved and the niche breadth of the population, and observe that these are sensitive to resource influx and trade-offs. Resource influx has a strong effect on the degree of specialization, with a clear transition between minimal diversification at high influx and multiple species evolving at low resource influx. At low resource influx the degree of specialization further depends on the strength of the trade-offs, with more ecotypes evolving the stronger trade-offs are. The specialized organisms persist through negative frequency-dependent selection. In addition, by analyzing one of the evolutionary radiations in greater detail we demonstrate that a single mutation alone is not enough to establish a new ecotype, even though phylogenetic reconstruction identifies that mutation as the branching point. Instead, it takes a series of additional mutations to ensure the stable coexistence of the new ecotype in the background of the existing ones. Conclusions: Trade-offs are sufficient to drive the evolution of specialization in sympatric asexual populations. Without trade-offs to restrain traits, generalists evolve and diversity decreases. The observation that several mutations are required to complete speciation, even when a single mutation creates the new species, highlights the gradual nature of speciation and the importance of phyletic evolution.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Geographic variation and trade-offs in parasitoid virulence

Host–parasitoid systems are characterized by a continuous development of new defence strategies in hosts and counter-defence mechanisms in parasitoids. This co-evolutionary arms race makes host–parasitoid systems excellent for understanding trade-offs in host use caused by evolutionary changes in host immune responses and parasitoid virulence. However, knowledge obtained from natural host–parasitoid systems on such trade-offs is still limited. In this study, the aim was to examine trade-offs in parasitoid virulence in Asecodes parviclava (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) when attacking three closely related beetles: Galerucella pusilla, Galerucella calmariensis and Galerucella tenella (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). A second aim was to examine whether geographic variation in parasitoid infectivity or host immune response could explain differences in parasitism rate between northern and southern sites. More specifically, we wanted to examine whether the capacity to infect host larvae differed depending on the previous host species of the parasitoids and if such differences were connected to differences in the induction of host immune systems. This was achieved by combining controlled parasitism experiments with cytological studies of infected larvae. Our results reveal that parasitism success in A. parviclava differs both depending on previous and current host species, with a higher virulence when attacking larvae of the same species as the previous host. Virulence was in general high for parasitoids from G. pusilla and low for parasitoids from G. calmariensis. At the same time, G. pusilla larvae had the strongest immune response and G. calmariensis the weakest. These observations were linked to changes in the larval hemocyte composition, showing changes in cell types important for the encapsulation process in individuals infected by more or less virulent parasitoids. These findings suggest ongoing evolution in parasitoid virulence and host immune response, making the system a strong candidate for further studies on host race formation and speciation.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Trade-offs for butterfly alpha and beta diversity in human-modified landscapes and tropical rainforests

The accelerating expansion of human populations and associated economic activity across the globe have made maintaining large, intact natural areas increasingly challenging. The difficulty of preserving large intact landscapes in the presence of growing human populations has led to a growing emphasis on landscape approaches to biodiversity conservation with a complementary strategy focused on improving conservation in human-modified landscapes. This, in turn, is leading to intense debate about the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes and approaches to better support biodiversity in those landscapes. Here, we compared butterfly abundance, alpha richness, and beta diversity in human-modified landscapes [urban, sugarcane] and natural, forested areas to assess the conservation value of human-modified landscapes within the Wet Tropics bioregion of Australia. We used fruit-baited traps to sample butterflies and analyzed abundance and species richness in respective land uses over a one-year period. We also evaluated turnover and spatial variance components of beta diversity to determine the extent of change in temporal and spatial variation in community composition. Forests supported the largest numbers of butterflies, but were lowest in each, alpha species richness, beta turnover, and the spatial beta diversity. Sugarcane supported higher species richness, demonstrating the potential for conservation at local scales in human-modified landscapes. In contrast, beta diversity was highest in urban areas, likely driven by spatial and temporal variation in plant composition within the urban landscapes. Thus, while improving conservation on human-modified landscapes may improve local alpha richness, conserving variation in natural vegetation is critical for maintaining high beta diversity.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Virulence-driven trade-offs in disease transmission: a meta-analysis

The virulence--transmission trade-off hypothesis proposed more than 30 years ago is the cornerstone in the study of host-parasite co-evolution. This hypothesis rests on the premise that virulence is an unavoidable and increasing cost because the parasite uses host resources to replicate. This cost associated with replication ultimately results in a deceleration in transmission rate because increasing within-host replication increases host mortality. Empirical tests of predictions of the hypothesis have found mixed support, which cast doubt about its overall generalizability. To quantitatively address this issue, we conducted a meta-analysis of 30 empirical studies, after reviewing over 4000 published papers, focusing on the four core relationships between (1) virulence and recovery rate, (2) within-host replication rate and virulence, (3) within-host replication and transmission rate, and (4) virulence and transmission rate. We found strong support for an increasing relationship between replication and virulence, and replication and transmission. While the overall mean effect suggests that these relationships decelerate with increasing parasite replication, which theoretically arises from limited host resources to exploit, the effect was uncertain due to high within-study variability. There was insufficient data to quantitatively test the other two core relationships predicted by the theory. Overall, the results suggest that the current empirical evidence provides partial support for the trade-off hypothesis, but more work remains to be done.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Escherichia coli populations adapt to complex, unpredictable fluctuations by minimizing trade-offs across environments

In nature, organisms are simultaneously exposed to multiple stresses (i.e. complex environments) that often fluctuate unpredictably. Although both these factors have been studied in isolation, the interaction of the two remains poorly explored. To address this issue, we selected laboratory populations of Escherichia coli under complex (i.e. stressful combinations of pH, H2O2 and NaCl) unpredictably fluctuating environments for ~900 generations. We compared the growth rates and the corresponding trade-off patterns of these populations to those that were selected under constant values of the component stresses (i.e. pH, H2O2 and NaCl) for the same duration. The fluctuation-selected populations had greater mean growth rate and lower variation for growth rate over all the selection environments experienced. However, whereas the populations selected under constant stresses experienced trade-offs in the environments other than those in which they were selected, the fluctuation-selected populations could bypass the across-environment trade-offs almost entirely. Interestingly, trade-offs were found between growth rates and carrying capacities. The results suggest that complexity and fluctuations can strongly affect the underlying trade-off structure in evolving populations.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Critical disease windows shaped by stress exposure alter allocation trade-offs between development and immunity

1. Ubiquitous environmental stressors are often thought to alter animal susceptibility to pathogens and contribute to disease emergence. However, duration of exposure to a stressor is likely critical, because while chronic stress is often immunosuppressive, acute stress can temporarily enhance immune function. Furthermore, host susceptibility to stress and disease often varies with ontogeny; increasing during critical developmental windows. How the duration and timing of exposure to stressors interact to shape critical windows and influence disease processes is not well tested. 2. We used ranaviruses and larval amphibians as a model system to investigate how physiological stress and pathogenic infection shape development and disease dynamics in vertebrates. Based on a resource allocation model, we designed experiments to test how exposure to stressors may induce resource trade-offs that shape critical windows and disease processes because the neuroendocrine stress axis coordinates developmental remodeling, immune function, and energy allocation in larval amphibians. 3. We used wood frog larvae (Lithobates sylvaticus) to investigate how chronic and acute exposure to corticosterone, the dominant amphibian glucocorticoid hormone, mediates development and immune function via splenocyte immunohistochemistry analysis in association with ranavirus infection. 4. Corticosterone treatments affected immune function, as both chronic and acute exposure suppressed splenocyte proliferation, although viral replication rate increased only in the chronic corticosterone treatment. 5. Time to metamorphosis and survival depended on both corticosterone treatment and infection status. In the control and chronic corticosterone treatments, ranavirus infection decreased survival and delayed metamorphosis, although chronic corticosterone exposure accelerated time to metamorphosis in uninfected larvae. Acute corticosterone exposure accelerated metamorphosis increased survival in infected larvae. 6. Interactions between stress exposure (via glucocorticoid actions) and infection impose resource trade-offs that shape optimal allocation between development and somatic function. As a result, critical disease windows are likely shaped by stress exposure because any conditions that induce changes in differentiation rates will alter the duration and susceptibility of organisms to stressors or disease.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Evolution of virulence in heterogeneous host communities under multiple trade-offs

Many pathogens and parasites are transmitted through hosts that differ in species, sex, genotype, or immune status. In addition, virulence (here defined as disease-induced mortality) and transmission can vary during the infectious period within hosts of different state. Most models of virulence evolution assume that transmission and virulence are constant over the infectious period and that the host population is homogenous. Here, we examine a multi-species SIR model where transmission occurs within and between species, and transmission and virulence varied during the infectious period. This allows us to understand virulence evolution in a broader range of situations that characterize many emerging diseases. Because emerging pathogens are by definition new to their host populations, they should be expected to rapidly adapt after emergence. We illustrate these evolutionary effects using the framework of adaptive dynamics to examine how virulence evolves after emergence in response to the relative strength of selection on pathogen fitness and mutational variance for virulence. We illustrate the role of evolution by simulating adaptive walks to an evolutionarily stable virulence. We found that the magnitude of between-species transmission and the relative timing of transmission and mortality across species were of primary importance for determining the evolutionarily stable virulence.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Selection experiments reveal trade-offs between swimming and twitching motilities in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria possess a range of mechanisms to move in different environments, and these mechanisms have important direct and correlated impacts on the virulence of opportunistic pathogens. Bacteria use two surface organelles to facilitate motility: a single polar flagellum, and type IV pili, enabling swimming in aqueous habitats and twitching along hard surfaces, respectively. Here, we address whether there are trade-offs between these motility mechanisms, and hence whether different environments could select for altered motility. We experimentally evolved initially isogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa under conditions which favoured the different types of motility, and found evidence for a trade-off mediated by antagonistic pleiotropy between swimming and twitching. Moreover, changes in motility resulted in correlated changes in other behaviours, including biofilm formation and growth within an insect host. This suggests environmental origins of a particular motile opportunistic pathogen could predictably influence motility and virulence.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Evolution of thorax architecture in ant castes highlights trade-off between flight and ground behaviors

The concerted evolution of morphological and behavioral specializations has compelling examples in ant castes. Unique to ants is a marked divergence between winged queens and wingless workers, but morphological specializations for behaviors on the ground have been overlooked. We analyzed thorax morphology of queens and workers in species from 21 of the 25 ant subfamilies. We uncovered unique skeletomuscular modifications in workers that presumably increase power and flexibility of head–thorax articulation, emphasizing that workers are not simply wingless versions of queens. We also identified two distinct types of queens and showed repeated evolutionary associations with strategies of colony foundation. Solitary founding queens that hunt have a more worker-like thorax. Our results reveal that ants invest in the relative size of thorax segments according to their tasks. Versatility of head movements allows for better manipulation of food and objects, which arguably contributed to the ants' ecological and evolutionary success.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: A quantitative survey of local adaptation and fitness trade-offs

The long history of reciprocal transplant studies testing the hypothesis of local adaptation has shown that populations are often adapted to their local environments. Yet many studies have not demonstrated local adaptation, suggesting that sometimes native populations are no better adapted than are genotypes from foreign environments. Local adaptation may also lead to trade-offs, in which adaptation to one environment comes at a cost of adaptation to another environment. I conducted a survey of published studies of local adaptation to quantify its frequency and magnitude and the costs associated with local adaptation. I also quantified the relationship between local adaptation and environmental differences and the relationship between local adaptation and phenotypic divergence. The overall frequency of local adaptation was 0.71, and the magnitude of the native population advantage in relative fitness was 45%. Divergence between home site environments was positively associated with the magnitude of local adaptation, but phenotypic divergence was not. I found a small negative correlation between a population's relative fitness in its native environment and its fitness in a foreign environment, indicating weak trade-offs associated with local adaptation. These results suggest that populations are often locally adapted but stochastic processes such as genetic drift may limit the efficacy of divergent selection.

opencc-zeroDec 2008View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Pleiotropic effects of juvenile hormone in ant queens and the escape from the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off

The ubiquitous trade-off between survival and costly reproduction is one of the most fundamental constraints governing life-history evolution. In numerous animals, gonadotropic hormones antagonistically suppressing immunocompetence cause this trade-off. The queens of many social insects defy the reproduction-survival trade-off, achieving both an extraordinarily long life and high reproductive output, but how they achieve this is unknown. Here we show experimentally, by integrating quantification of gene expression, physiology and behaviour, that the long-lived queens of the ant Lasius niger have escaped the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off by decoupling the effects of a key endocrine regulator of fertility and immunocompetence in solitary insects, juvenile hormone (JH). This modification of the regulatory architecture enables queens to sustain a high reproductive output without elevated JH titres and suppressed immunocompetence, providing an escape from the reproduction-immunocompetence trade-off that may contribute to the extraordinary lifespan of many social insect queens.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
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Data from: Temperature effects on life-history trade-offs, germline maintenance and mutation rate under simulated climate warming

Mutation has a fundamental influence over evolutionary processes, but how evolutionary processes shape mutation rate remain less clear. In asexual unicellular organism, increased mutation rates have been observed in stressful environments and the reigning paradigm ascribes this increase to selection for evolvability. However, this explanation does not apply in sexually reproducing species, where little is known about how the environment affects mutation rate. Here we challenged experimental lines of seed beetle, evolved at ancestral temperature or under simulated climate warming, to repair induced mutations at ancestral and stressful temperature. Results show that temperature stress causes individuals to pass on a greater mutation load to their grand-offspring. This suggests that stress-induced mutation rates, in unicellular and multicellular organisms alike, can result from compromised germline DNA repair in low condition individuals. Moreover, lines adapted to simulated climate warming had evolved increased longevity at the cost of reproduction, and this allocation decision improved germline repair. These results suggest that mutation rates can be modulated by resource allocation trade-offs encompassing life-history traits and the germline and have important implications for rates of adaptation and extinction as well as our understanding of genetic diversity in multicellular organisms.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Water restriction causes an intergenerational trade-off and delayed mother-offspring conflict in a viviparous lizard

1. Parenting is costly and because the relationship between the mother and embryos is not mutualistic, mother-offspring conflicts may exist whenever resource are scarce. However, intergenerational trade-offs and conflicts resulting from limited access to water, a vital and depreciable resource, remain largely overlooked. 2. In this study, we examined the physiological, reproductive and life history responses to water restriction in the European Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara). We hypothesised that, under water-limited conditions, pregnant females experience both short-term and long-term physiological impacts (dehydration and stress) underlying an allocation trade-off for water between mothers and offspring. 3. Water restriction led to a decrease in body mass, and an increase in plasma osmolality (dehydration) and corticosterone concentration in both males and females. The extent of the dehydration was positively correlated with fecundity in females. This suggests a trade-off between maternal water balance and allocation of water to developing embryos during reproduction. 4. Water restriction had no immediate effect on reproductive output or offspring morphology at birth. Yet, water restriction in pregnant females enhanced their reproductive effort the following year but reduced the early life growth and annual survival of their second-year offspring. 5. These delayed fitness responses to water restriction in offspring and mothers suggest that water can trigger intergenerational conflicts as demonstrated for energy. Although the mediation of this conflict remains to be clarified, we hypothesized that it represents a selective force that influences reproductive strategies.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →
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Data from: Developmental plasticity evolved according to specialist–generalist trade-offs in experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster

We studied the evolution of developmental plasticity in populations of Drosophila melanogaster that evolved at either constant or fluctuating temperatures. Consistent with theory, genotypes that evolved at a constant 16°C or 25°C performed best when raised and tested at that temperature. Genotypes that evolved at fluctuating temperatures performed well at either temperature, but only when raised and tested at the same temperature. Our results confirm evolutionary patterns predicted by theory, including a loss of plasticity and a benefit of specialization in constant environments.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Trade-offs in juvenile growth potential vs. shade tolerance among subtropical rainforest trees on soils of contrasting fertility

Plant adaptation to gradients of light availability involves a well-studied functional trade-off, as does adaptation to gradients of nutrient availability. However, little is known about how these two major trade-offs interact, and thus, it remains unclear whether and how the nature of the growth–shade tolerance trade-off differs on soils of contrasting fertility. We asked whether juvenile growth–shade tolerance trade-offs differed in slope and elevation between tree assemblages on nutrient-rich basalt and nutrient-poor rhyolite soils in an Australian subtropical rain forest. We measured the growth of, and the range of light environments occupied by, juveniles (40–120 cm tall) of eight basalt specialists, six rhyolite specialists, and one generalist that was common on both substrates. In situ minimum light requirements were estimated from the 5th percentile of the distribution of naturally regenerated juveniles in relation to daily light transmittance. Stem growth was measured for 12–16 months across a wide range of light environments to estimate the light compensation point of growth of each species. Light compensation points of growth showed nearly a 1 : 1 correspondence with in situ minimum light requirements of species, indicating that whole-plant carbon balance is a key driver of ecological success in low light. Minimum light requirements were negatively correlated with relative growth rate in low light, but correlated positively with growth in high light. Soil type had no effect on either the slope or the elevation of this trade-off, all species aligning around a common growth–shade tolerance trade-off, but our results do show a wider range of growth rates and shade tolerance on the nutrient-rich basalt soil than on the nutrient-poor rhyolite. Our results suggest that adaptation to light availability involves fundamentally similar trade-offs on these two substrates of differing fertility. However, a wider range of growth rates and shade tolerance on the nutrient-rich basalt soil than on the nutrient-poor rhyolite may help to explain the higher species richness and greater structural complexity of forest stands on the former substrate.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: An experimental test of the transmission−virulence trade-off hypothesis in a plant virus

The transmission–virulence trade-off hypothesis is one of the few adaptive explanations of virulence evolution, and assumes that there is an overall positive correlation between parasite transmission and virulence. The shape of the transmission–virulence relationship predicts whether virulence should evolve toward either a maximum or to an intermediate optimum. A positive correlation between each of these traits and within-host growth is often suggested to underlie the relationship between virulence and transmission. There are few experimental tests of this hypothesis; this study reports on the first empirical test on a plant pathogen. We infected Brassica rapa plants with nine natural isolates of Cauliflower mosaic virus and then estimated three traits: transmission, virulence, and within-host viral accumulation. As predicted by the trade-off hypothesis, we observed a positive correlation between transmission and virulence, suggestive of the existence of an intermediate optimum. We discovered the unexpected existence of two groups of within-host accumulation, differing by at least an order of magnitude. When accumulation groups were not accounted for, within-host accumulation was correlated neither to virulence nor transmission, although our results suggest that within each group these correlations exist.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Selection and constraints on offspring size-number trade-offs in sand lizards (Lacerta agilis)

The trade-off between offspring size and number is a central component of life-history theory, postulating that larger investment into offspring size inevitably decreases offspring number. This trade-off is generally discussed in terms of genetic, physiological or morphological constraints; however, as among-individual differences can mask individual trade-offs, the underlying mechanisms may be difficult to reveal. In this study, we use multivariate analyses to investigate whether there is a trade-off between offspring size and number in a population of sand lizards by separating among- and within-individual patterns using a 15-year data set collected in the wild. We also explore the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of this trade-off by investigating how a female's resource (condition)- vs. age-related size (snout-vent length) influences her investment into offspring size vs. number (OSN), whether these traits are heritable and under selection and whether the OSN trade-off has a genetic component. We found a negative correlation between offspring size and number within individual females and physical constraints (size of body cavity) appear to limit the number of eggs that a female can produce. This suggests that the OSN trade-off occurs due to resource constraints as a female continues to grow throughout life and, thus, produces larger clutches. In contrast to the assumptions of classic OSN theory, we did not detect selection on offspring size; however, there was directional selection for larger clutch sizes. The repeatabilities of both offspring size and number were low and we did not detect any additive genetic variance in either trait. This could be due to strong selection (past or current) on these life-history traits, or to insufficient statistical power to detect significant additive genetic effects. Overall, the findings of this study are an important illustration of how analyses of within-individual patterns can reveal trade-offs and their underlying causes, with potential evolutionary and ecological consequences that are otherwise hidden by among-individual variation.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: The genetics of primary and secondary sexual character trade-offs in a horned beetle

When structures compete for shared resources, this may lead to acquisition and allocation trade-offs so that the enlargement of one structure occurs at the expense of another. Among the studies of morphological trade-offs, their importance has been demonstrated primarily through experimental manipulations and comparative analyses. Relatively, a few studies have investigated the underlying genetic basis of phenotypic patterns. Here, we use a half-sibling breeding design to determine the genetic underpinnings of the phenotypic trade-off between head horns and the male copulatory organ or aedeagus that has been found in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus. Instead of the predicted negative genetic covariance among characters that trade-off, we find positive genetic covariance between absolute horn and aedeagus length and zero genetic covariance between relative horn and aedeagus length. Therefore, although the genetic covariance between absolute horn and aedeagus length would constrain the independent evolution of primary and secondary sexual characters in this population, there was no evidence of a trade-off. We discuss alternative hypotheses for the observed patterns of genetic correlation between traits that compete for resources and the implications that these have for selection and the evolution of such traits.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →
dryad28/100

Data from: Trade-offs and tritrophic consequences of host shifts in specialized root herbivores

Trade-offs in an herbivore's ability to feed, avoid predation and succeed on alternative hosts are thought to be major driving factors in host specialization. In this study, we compared how two closely related milkweed beetles (Tetraopes spp.) that have specialized on separate Asclepias species respond to host switching to alternative milkweed plants. By additionally examining effects on the beetles' entomopathogenic natural enemies, we test whether host plant specialization is driven by plant–herbivore interactions alone or whether there is a role for the tritrophic interactions. Tetraopes beetles feed on milkweed roots as larvae and on milkweed shoots as adults, and they sequester toxic cardenolides from their host plants. We predicted that growth and sequestration would be compromised on alternative hosts as a consequence of specialization. Larvae of each Tetraopes species were reared on their native host plant, the host plant of the other species and two closely related Asclepias species that do not typically host Tetraopes. Regardless of beetle specialization, survival of both beetles was highest on A. syriaca, which has the second-to-lowest levels of root cardenolides and is the native host for T. tetraophthalmus. Larval growth was not affected by host plant for T. texanus, but T. tetraophthalmus grew best on A. exaltata, a close relative of A. syriaca that does not typically experience beetle feeding. We found that larval sequestration of cardenolides largely mirrored host plant values in the roots, with the exception of T. texanus on A. asperula, which sequestered a low proportion of the cardenolides from this host. Although all larvae were susceptible to entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), the number of EPNs emerging from cadavers depended on the beetle–plant combination, with more EPNs produced when beetles were feeding on native compared to non-native hosts. The observed consequences for tritrophic interactions did not fit expectations for specialized herbivores (i.e. EPN predation was highest when beetles were on their native hosts), suggesting that specialization may be driven primarily by a plant–herbivore interaction in this system, not by a tritrophic effect.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

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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.

allen-brain-atlas
neuroscienceopenDocumentation, web resources, and API references are available online.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

abode-home-cage
behavioral-neuroscienceopenThe DataShare record exposes download links for annotations, documentation, license text, and the zipped per-snippet data directory.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

dandi-nwb
electrophysiologyopenPublished Dandiset metadata and archive endpoints are available through the production DANDI API.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

ibl
behavioral-neuroscienceopenPublic sessions can be searched and loaded from the IBL public data server through ONE.
Last verified 2026-04-29Open record

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.

openneuro
neuroscienceopenPublished datasets are available on demand over the internet.
Last verified 2026-04-29Open record