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opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Ecology directs host-parasite coevolutionary trajectories across Daphnia-microparasite populations

Host-parasite interactions often fuel coevolutionary change. However, parasitism is one of a myriad of possible ecological interactions in nature. Biotic (e.g., predation) and abiotic (e.g., temperature) variation can amplify or dilute parasitism as a selective force on hosts and parasites, driving population variation in (co)evolutionary trajectories. We dissected the relationships between wider ecology and coevolutionary trajectory using 16 ecologically complex Daphnia magna-Pasteuria ramosa ponds seeded with an identical starting host (Daphnia) and parasite (Pasteuria) population. We show, using a time-shift experiment and outdoor population data, how multivariate biotic and abiotic ecological differences between ponds caused coevolutionary divergence. Wider ecology drove variation in host evolution of resistance, but not parasite infectivity; parasites subsequently coevolved in response to the changing complement of host genotypes, such that parasites adapted to historically resistant host genotypes. Parasitism was a stronger interaction for the parasite than for its host, likely because the host is the principal environment and selective force, whereas for hosts, parasite-mediated selection is one of many sources of selection. Our findings reveal the mechanisms through which wider ecology creates coevolutionary hotspots and coldspots in biologically realistic arenas of host-parasite interaction, and sheds light on how the ecological theatre can affect the (co)evolutionary play.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Population variation, environmental gradients, and the evolutionary ecology of plant defense against herbivory

A central tenet of plant defense theory is that adaptation to the abiotic environment sets the template for defense strategies, imposing a tradeoff between plant growth and defense. Yet, this tradeoff, commonly found among species occupying divergent resource environments, may not occur across populations of single species. We hypothesized that more favorable climates and higher levels of herbivory would lead to increases in growth and defense across plant populations. We evaluated whether plant growth and defense traits co-varied across 18 populations of showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) inhabiting an east-west climate gradient, spanning 25° of longitude. A suite of traits impacting defense (e.g., latex, cardenolides), growth (e.g., size), or both (e.g., SLA, trichomes) were measured in natural populations and in a common garden, allowing us to evaluate plastic and genetically based variation in these traits. In natural populations, herbivore pressure increased towards warmer sites with longer growing seasons. Growth and defense traits showed strong clinal patterns and were positively correlated. In a common garden, clines with climatic origin were only recapitulated for defense traits. Correlations between growth and defense traits were also weaker and more negative in the common garden compared to the natural populations. Thus, our data suggest that climatically favorable sites likely facilitate the evolution of greater defense at minimal costs to growth, likely because of increased resource acquisition.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Ecological patterns of root nodule diversity in cultivated and wild rooibos populations: a community prediction approach

There is interest in understanding the factors behind the biogeography of root-associated bacteria due to the joint effects that plant host, climate, and soil conditions can have on bacterial diversity. For legume crops with remaining wild populations, this is of even more importance, because the effects of cropping on undisturbed root-associated bacterial communities can be addressed. Here, we used a community prediction approach to describe the diversity of the root nodule bacterial communities of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), an endemic legume crop from South Africa. The goal was to reveal whether patterns of root nodule community composition in paired cultivated and wild rooibos populations could be related to geographical distance, plant traits, and plant population type (i.e. cultivated or uncultivated). We identified a core of dominant and widespread Mesorhizobium ZOTUs that each defined one of 4 different root nodule community classes. Rooibos cultivation impacted root nodule bacterial diversity at regional and local scales, while the geographical origin of the root nodule communities was the strongest predictor of root nodule community structure. Beyond impacts of cultivation on root nodule bacterial diversity, this study suggests a mixture of dispersal limitation and ecological drift regionally, and selection by different plant populations locally, define the biogeography of rooibos root nodule bacterial communities.

opencc-zeroJul 2019View details →

Data from: Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

The mating system is a central parameter of plant biology because it shapes their ecological and evolutionary properties. Therefore, determining ecological variables that influence the mating system is important for a deeper understanding of the functioning of plant populations. Here, using old concepts and recent statistical developments, we propose a new statistical tool to make inferences about ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations. The method requires co-dominant genotypes of seeds collected from maternal plants within different locations. Using extensive computer simulations, we demonstrated that the method is robust to the issues expected for real-world data, including the Wahlund effect, inbreeding and genotyping errors such as allele dropout and allele misclassification. Furthermore, we showed that the estimates of ecological effects and outcrossing rates can be severely biased if genotyping errors and genetic differentiation are not treated explicitly. Application of the new method to the case study of a dioecious tree (Taxus baccata) allowed revealing that female trees that grow in lower local densities have a greater tendency towards mating with relatives. Moreover, we also demonstrated that biparental inbreeding is higher in populations that are characterised by a longer mean distance between trees and a smaller mean trunk perimeter. We found these results to agree with both the theoretical predictions and the history of English yew.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Data from: Will like replace like? linking thermal performance to ecological function across predator and herbivore populations

The inability of species to adapt to changing climate may cause ecological communities to disassemble and lose ecological functioning. However, theory suggests that communities may be resilient whenever populations within species exhibit variation in thermal plasticity or adaptation whereby thermally tolerant populations replace thermally sensitive ones. But will they maintain the functional roles of the populations being replaced? This study evaluated whether "like replaces like" functionally by measuring how four populations of a grasshopper herbivore and its co-occurring spider predator cope with environmental warming. The study occurred across a latitudinal gradient bounded by southerly, warmer Connecticut and northerly, cooler New Hampshire, USA. The study compared the survival rates, thermal performance, habitat usage, and food chain interactions of each grasshopper and spider population between its home field site (field of origin) and a Connecticut transplant site, and the native Connecticut population. Three grasshopper populations exhibited physiological plasticity by adjusting metabolic rates. The fourth population selected cooler habitat locations. Spider populations did not alter their metabolism, and instead selected cooler habitat locations thereby altering spatial overlap with their prey and food chain interactions. Grasshopper populations that coped physiologically consumed plants in different ratios than the fourth population and the Connecticut population. Hence "like may not replace like" whenever populations adapt physiologically to warming.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient

<ol> <li>The effect of environmental gradients on the remarkable diversity of mountain-associated plants and on the species' abilities to cope with climate change transcends species-specific strategies. For instance, our understanding of the impact of thermal gradients on ecological divergences in populations of widely distributed species is limited, although it could provide important insights regarding species' response to climate change.</li> <li>Here, we investigated whether populations of an endemic species broadly distributed across an elevation gradient employ unique or multiple divergent ecological strategies according to specific environmental conditions. We hypothesized that populations employ distinct strategies, producing a tolerance-avoidance trade-off related to the thermal conditions they experience across elevations.</li> <li>We conducted our research with 125 individuals of Pitcairnia flammea (Bromeliaceae) sampled from various elevations spanning from sea level to ~2,200 meters and cultivated under the same conditions. To assess specific ecological strategies of P. flammea populations across elevations, we examined leaf temperature, heat and cold tolerances, as well as other structural/morphological, optical, physiological, and biochemical leaf traits.</li> <li>We majorly observed that water-saving traits diminish as elevation increases while membrane fluidity, majorly associated with unsaturated and very-long-chain lipids, enhances. Low-elevation individuals of P. flammea invest in water storage tissues, which likely prevent excessive water loss through the intense transpiration rates under warming periods. Conversely, high-elevation plants exhibit increased membrane fluidity, a possible response to the stiffening induced by low temperature.</li> <li>Our results revealed a tolerance-avoidance trade-off related to thermal strategies of populations distributed across an elevation gradient. Low-elevation plants avoid excessive leaf temperature by investing in water-saving traits to maintain transpiration rates. High-elevation individuals, in turn, tend to invest in membrane properties to tolerate thermal variations, particularly cold events.</li> <li>Our findings challenge the conventional notion that plants' vulnerability to warming depends on species-specific thermal tolerance by showing diverse thermal strategies on populations across an elevation gradient.</li> </ol>

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Data for: Coherent long-term body-size responses across all Northwest Atlantic herring populations to warming and environmental change despite contrasting harvest and ecological factors

Body size is a key component of individual fitness and an important factor in the structure and functioning of populations and ecosystems. Disentangling the effects of environmental change, harvest, and intra- and inter-specific trophic effects on body size remains challenging for populations in the wild. Herring in the Northwest Atlantic provide a strong basis for evaluating hypotheses related to these drivers given that they have experienced significant warming and harvest over the past century, while also having been exposed to a wide range of other selective constraints across their range. Using data on mean length-at-age 4 for the sixteen principal populations over a period of 53 cohorts (1962-2014), we fitted a series of empirical models for temporal and between-population variation in the response to changes in sea surface temperature. We find evidence for a unified cross-population response in the form of a parabolic function according to which populations in naturally warmer environments have responded more negatively to increasing temperature compared with those in colder locations. Temporal variation in residuals from this function was highly coherent among populations, further suggesting a common response to a large-scale environmental driver. The synchrony observed in this study system, despite strong differences in harvest and ecological histories among populations and over time, clearly indicates a dominant role of environmental change on size-at-age in wild populations, in contrast to commonly reported effects of fishing. This finding has important implications for the management of fisheries as it indicates that a key trait associated with population productivity may be under considerably less short-term management control than currently assumed. Our study, overall, illustrates the need for a comparative approach within species for inferences concerning the many possible effects on body size of natural and anthropogenic drivers in the wild.

Figure 27 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 27. Regression of pH on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in third row.

Figure 25 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 25. Regression of Humidity on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in second row.

Figure 19 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 19. Regression of pH on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in first row.

Figure 18 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 18. Monthly fluctuations of total population and N(%) in Rows I, II and III.

Figure 30 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 30. Regression of N (%) on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in third row.

Figure 3 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 3. Showing the layout of the Sampling sites) Each sample unit (NWSE) represents 1m2).

Figure 24 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 24. Regression of temperature on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in second row.

Figure 1 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 1. Showing forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu.

Figure 17 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 17. Showing the monthly fluctuations of total population and pH in Rows I, II and III.

Figure 2 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 2. Showing location of the study area (forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu).

Figure 23 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 23. Regression of pH on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in second row.

Figure 26 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 26. Regression of N (%) on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in second row.

Figure 29 in Population ecology of Ctenolepisma (C.) udumalpetense (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) in a deciduous forest floor of the Trimurti Dam, Tamil Nadu, India

Figure 29. Regression of humidity on C. (C.) udumalpetense population in third row.