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374 results for “Selection: natural”
The roles of climate, geography and natural selection as drivers of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in a widespread amphibian Hyla annectans (Anura: Hylidae)
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Shell colour diversification induced by ecological release: a shift in natural selection after a migration event
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Natural selection and language genes in humans
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The battle between harvest and natural selection creates small and shy fish
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Diet composition and selection of Père David's deer in Hubei Shishou Milu National Nature Reserve, China
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Natural selection favours drought escape and an acquisitive resource‐use strategy in semi‐arid Mediterranean shrubs
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Data from: Multivariate selection mediated by aridity predicts divergence of drought resistant traits along natural aridity gradients of an invasive weed
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Data from: Natural selection drives emergent genetic homogeneity in a century-scale experiment with barley
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Dataset and scripts from: Predicting temperature mortality and selection in natural Drosophila populations
<p>The study develops and validates a theoretical model to predict thermal mortality under natural conditions, based on measurements of mortality performed in the laboratory at multiple constant temperatures. The theoretical model first fits a thermal tolerance landscape, which describes how survival probability is affected by both temperature and exposure time, to the empirical measurements of mortality obtained in the laboratory under controlled conditions. Then, employing a numerical approximation to the analytical solution based on differential calculus, it combines this tolerance landscape with ambient temperature records in natural settings to predict the survival probability curve under these thermal conditions. These predictions were validated by contrasting predicted and observed mortality curves in 11 Drosophila species under three different warming rates, reported in the literature, which were virtually indistinguishable. Having validated the model, the study then examines how mortality should be affected by climate change in a natural population of Drosophila subobscura from Santiago, Chile, employing temperature records for this location during 1984 - 1991 and 2014 - 2018. The cumulative mortality predicted from temperature records closely resemble the periods of population collapse recorded for this population during the Austral summer and, according to the model, warming temperatures in the past 30 years may have advanced this period by almost a month. This methodology is highly general and can in principle be employed to predict temperature mortality in small ectotherms under any varying thermal regime. </p>
Simulated dataset from 'Quantifying the causal pathways contributing to natural selection'
<p>This dataset (Antechinus.csv) relates to the worked example in the appendix of the paper:</p> <p>Henshaw JM, Morrissey MB, Jones AG (2020). Quantifying the causal pathways contributing to natural selection. Evolution (doi:10.1111/evo.14091)</p> <p>The worked example concerns a hypothetical study of female antechinus. These are small carnivorous marsupials that use torpor to reduce energy consumption from late summer to early winter. They reproduce once per year in late winter or early spring, following which most individuals die. We suppose that researchers tracked female antechinus from mid summer to the end of the breeding season. They recorded the animals' body size, their date of last torpor, whether they survived to breed, their number of mates, and their fecundity. I simulated the dataset resulting from this hypothetical study in Wolfram Mathematica (see Methods below). In the above paper, we analyse the causal structure of natural selection in this dataset (the R code for the causal analysis is included here as 'AntechinusAnalysis.R').</p> <p>The variables in the dataset are: body size in unspecified units (BodySize); the date of last torpor (TorporDate), standardized as the number of days before/after an unspecificed reference date; whether the individual survived to breed, given as a binary variable (Survival); an individual's number of mates (Mates); and her fecundity (Fecundity).</p>
Raw data from: Consumer-resource interactions along urbanization gradients drive natural selection
<p>Urbanization is an important component of global change. Urbanization affects species interactions, but the evolutionary implications are rarely studied. We investigate the evolutionary consequences of a common pattern: the loss of high trophic-level species in urban areas. Using a gall-forming fly, Eurosta solidaginis, and its natural enemies that select for opposite gall sizes, we test for patterns of enemy loss, selection, and local adaptation along five urbanization gradients. Eurosta declined in urban areas, as did predation by birds, which preferentially consume gallmakers that induce large galls. These declines were linked to changes in habitat availability, namely reduced forest cover in urban areas. Conversely, a parasitoid which attacks gallmakers that induce small galls was unaffected by urbanization. Changes in patterns of attack by birds and parasitoids resulted in stronger directional selection, but loss of stabilizing selection in urban areas, a pattern which we suggest may be general. Despite divergent selective regimes, gall size did not very systematically with urbanization, suggesting but not conclusively demonstrating that environmental differences, gene flow, or drift, may have prevented the adaptive divergence of phenotypes. We argue that the evolutionary effects of urbanization will have predictable consequences for patterns of species interactions and natural selection.</p>
The strength and form of natural selection on transcript abundance in the wild
<p>Gene transcription variation is known to contribute to disease susceptibility and adaptation, but we currently know very little about how contemporary natural selection shapes transcript abundance. Here, we propose a novel analytical framework to quantify the strength and form of ongoing natural selection at the transcriptome level in a wild vertebrate. We estimated selection on transcript abundance in a cohort of a wild salmonid fish (<i>Salmo trutta</i>) affected by an extracellular myxozoan parasite (<i>Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae</i>) through mark-recapture field sampling and the integration of RNA-seq with classical regression-based selection analysis. We show, based on fin transcriptomes of the host, that infection by the parasite and subsequent host survival is linked to upregulation of mitotic cell cycle process. We also detect a <span class="Heading3Char">widespread signal of disruptive selection</span> on transcripts linked to host immune defence, host-pathogen interactions, cellular repair and maintenance. Our results provide insights about how selection can be measured at the transcriptome level to dissect the molecular mechanisms of contemporary natural selection driven by climate change and emerging anthropogenic threats. We anticipate that the approach described here will enable critical information on the molecular mechanisms and targets of natural selection to be obtained in real time.</p>
Data from: Signatures of natural selection between life cycle stages separated by metamorphosis in European eel
Background: Species showing complex life cycles provide excellent opportunities to study the genetic associations between life cycle stages, as selective pressures may differ before and after metamorphosis. The European eel presents a complex life cycle with two metamorphoses, a first metamorphosis from larvae into glass eels (juvenile stage) and a second metamorphosis into silver eels (adult stage). We tested the hypothesis that different genes and gene pathways will be under selection at different life stages when comparing the genetic associations between glass eels and silver eels. Results: We used two sets of markers to test for selection: first, we genotyped individuals using a panel of 80 coding-gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) developed in American eel; second, we investigated selection at the genome level using a total of 153,423 RAD-sequencing generated SNPs widely distributed across the genome. Using the RAD approach, outlier tests identified a total of 2413 (1.57 %) potentially selected SNPs. Functional annotation analysis identified signal transduction pathways as the most over-represented group of genes, including MAPK/Erk signalling, calcium signalling and GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) signalling. Many of the over-represented pathways were related to growth, while others could result from the different conditions that eels inhabit during their life cycle. Conclusions: The observation of different genes and gene pathways under selection when comparing glass eels vs. silver eels supports the adaptive decoupling hypothesis for the benefits of metamorphosis. Partitioning the life cycle into discrete morphological phases may be overall beneficial since it allows the different life stages to respond independently to their unique selection pressures. This might translate into a more effective use of food and niche resources and/or performance of phase-specific tasks (e.g. feeding in the case of glass eels, migrating and reproducing in the case of silver eels).
Data from: Natural selection contributes to geographic patterns of thermal plasticity in Plantago lanceolata.
A long-standing debate in evolutionary biology concerns the relative importance of different evolutionary forces in explaining phenotypic diversification at large geographic scales. For example, natural selection is typically assumed to underlie divergence along environmental gradients. However, neutral evolutionary processes can produce similar patterns. We collected molecular genetic data from 14 European populations of Plantago lanceolata to test the contributions of natural selection versus neutral evolution to population divergence in temperature-sensitive phenotypic plasticity of floral reflectance. In P. lanceolata reflectance plasticity is positively correlated with latitude/altitude. We used population pairwise comparisons between neutral genetic differentiation (FST and Jost's D) and phenotypic differentiation (PST) to assess the contributions of geographic distance and environmental parameters of the reproductive season in driving population divergence. Data are consistent with selection having shaped large-scale geographic patterns in thermal plasticity. The aggregate pattern of PST vs. FST was consistent with divergent selection. FST explained thermal plasticity differences only when geographic distance was not included in the model. Differences in the extent of cool reproductive-season temperatures, and not overall temperature variation, explained plasticity differences independent of distance. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that thermal plasticity is adaptive where growing seasons are shorter and cooler, i.e., at high latitude/altitude.
Data from: Strong natural selection on juveniles maintains a narrow adult hybrid zone in a broadcast spawner
Natural selection can maintain and help form species across different habitats, even when dispersal is high. Selection against inferior migrants (immigrant inviability) acts when locally adapted populations suffer high mortality on dispersal to unsuitable habitats. Habitat-specific populations undergoing divergent selection via immigrant inviability should thus show (1) a change in the ratio of adapted to nonadapted individuals among age/size classes and (2) a cline (defined by the environmental gradient) as selection counterbalances migration. Here we examine the frequencies of two depth-segregated lineages in juveniles and adults of a Caribbean octocoral, Eunicea flexuosa. Distributions of the two lineages in both shallow and deep environments were more distinct when inferred from adults than juveniles. Despite broad larval dispersal, we also found an extremely narrow hybrid zone (<100 m), with coincident clines for molecular and morphological characters of the host coral and its algal symbiont. Effective dispersal estimates derived from the hybrid zone are remarkably small (<20 m) for a broadcast spawner. The large selection coefficient against mismatched genotypes derived from cohort data is consistent with that from field transplant experiments. Narrow hybrid zones and limited effective dispersal may be a common outcome of long periods of postsettlement, prereproductive selection across steep ecological gradients. Strong diversifying selection provides a mechanism to explain the prevalence of depth-segregated sibling species in the sea.
Data from: Hybridization, natural selection and evolution of reproductive isolation: a 25-years survey of an artificial sympatric area between two mosquito sibling species of the Aedes mariae complex
Natural selection can act against maladaptive hybridization between co-occurring divergent populations leading to evolution of reproductive isolation among them. A critical unanswered question about this process that provides a basis for the theory of speciation by reinforcement, is whether natural selection can cause hybridization rates to evolve to zero. Here we investigated this issue in two sibling mosquitoes species, Aedes mariae and Ae. zammitii, that show post-mating reproductive isolation (F1 males sterile) and partial pre-mating isolation (different height of mating swarms) that could be reinforced by natural selection against hybridization. In 1986, we created an artificial sympatric area between the two species and sampled about 20,000 individuals over the following 25 years. Between 1986 to 2011, the composition of mating swarms and the hybridization rate between the two species were investigated across time in the sympatric area. Our results showed that Ae. mariae and Ae. zammitii have not completed reproductive isolation since their first contact in the artificial sympatric area. We have discussed the relative role of factors such as time of contact, gene flow, strength of natural selection, and biological mechanisms causing prezygotic isolation to explain the observed results.
Data from: Natural selection favors a larger eye in response to increased competition in natural populations of a vertebrate
1.Eye size varies notably across taxa. Much work suggests that this variation is driven by contrasting ecological selective pressures. However, evaluations of the relationship between ecological factors and shifts in eye size have largely occurred at the macroevolutionary scale. Experimental tests in nature are conspicuously absent. 2.Trinidadian killifish, Rivulus hartii, are found across fish communities that differ in predation intensity. We recently showed that increased predation is associated with the evolution of a smaller eye. Here, we test how divergent predatory regimes alter the trajectory of eye size evolution using comparative mark‐recapture experiments in multiple streams. 3.We found that increases in eye size are associated with enhanced survival, irrespective of predation intensity. More importantly, eye size is associated with enhanced growth in communities that lack predators, while this trend is absent when predators are present. 4.Such results argue that increased competition for food in sites that lack predators is the key driver of eye size evolution.
Data from: Contemporary evolution during invasion: evidence for differentiation, natural selection, and local adaptation
Biological invasions are 'natural' experiments that can improve our understanding of contemporary evolution. We evaluate evidence for population differentiation, natural selection and adaptive evolution of invading plants and animals at two nested spatial scales: (i) among introduced populations (ii) between native and introduced genotypes. Evolution during invasion is frequently inferred, but rarely confirmed as adaptive. In common garden studies, quantitative trait differentiation is only marginally lower (~3.5%) among introduced relative to native populations, despite genetic bottlenecks and shorter timescales (i.e. millennia vs. decades). However, differentiation between genotypes from the native vs. introduced range is less clear and confounded by nonrandom geographic sampling; simulations suggest this causes a high false-positive discovery rate (>50%) in geographically structured populations. Selection differentials (¦s¦) are stronger in introduced than in native species, although selection gradients (¦β¦) are not, consistent with introduced species experiencing weaker genetic constraints. This could facilitate rapid adaptation, but evidence is limited. For example, rapid phenotypic evolution often manifests as geographical clines, but simulations demonstrate that nonadaptive trait clines can evolve frequently during colonization (~two-thirds of simulations). Additionally, QST-FST studies may often misrepresent the strength and form of natural selection acting during invasion. Instead, classic approaches in evolutionary ecology (e.g. selection analysis, reciprocal transplant, artificial selection) are necessary to determine the frequency of adaptive evolution during invasion and its influence on establishment, spread and impact of invasive species. These studies are rare but crucial for managing biological invasions in the context of global change.
Data from: Individual inversions or their combinations: which is the main selective target in a natural population of Drosophila subobscura?
It is generally accepted that chromosomal inversions have been key elements in adaptation and speciation processes. In this context, D. subobscura has been, and still is, an excellent model species due to its rich chromosomal polymorphism. In this species, many analyses from natural populations have demonstrated the adaptive potential of individual inversions (and their overlapped combinations, the so called arrangements). However, little information is available on the evolutionary role of combinations generated by inversions located in homologous and non-homologous chromosomes. The aim of this research is to ascertain whether these combinations are also a target for natural selection. For this objective, we have studied the inversion composition of homologous and non-homologous chromosomes from a D. subobscura sample collected in a well-studied population, Mount Avala (Serbia). No significant deviation from H-W expectations was detected, and when comparing particular karyotypic combinations, likelihood ratios close to 1 were obtained. Thus, it seems that for each pair of homologous chromosomes inversions no deviation from randomness was detected. Finally, no linkage disequilibrium was observed between inversions located in different chromosomes of the karyotype. For all these reasons it can be assumed that, at the cytological level, the individual inversions rather than their combinations in different chromosomes are the main target of selection.
Data from: Spatially heterogeneous selection in nature favors phenotypic plasticity in anuran larvae
Theory holds that adaptive phenotypic plasticity evolves under spatial or temporal variation in natural selection. I tested this prediction in a classic system of predator-induced plasticity: frog tadpoles (Rana temporaria) reacting to predaceous aquatic insects. An outdoor mesocosm experiment manipulating exposure to Aeshna dragonfly larvae revealed plasticity in most characters: growth, development, behavior, and external morphology. I measured selection by placing 1927 tadpoles into enclosures within natural ponds; photographs permitted identification of the survivors 6–9 days later. Fitness was defined as a linear combination of growth, development, and survival that correlates with survival to age 2 in another anuran species. In enclosures with many predators, selection favored character values similar to those induced by exposure to Aeshna in mesocosms. The shift in selection along the predation gradient was strongest for characters that exhibited high predator-induced plasticity. A field survey of 50 ponds revealed that predator density changes over a spatial scale relevant for movement of individual adults and larvae: 17% of variation in predation risk was among ponds separated by tens to thousands of meters and 81% was among sites ≤10m apart within ponds. These results on heterogeneity in the selection regime confirm a key tenant of the standard model for the evolution of plasticity.
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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)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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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.