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opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Data from: Phylogenomic approaches reveal how climate shapes patterns of genetic diversity in an African rain forest tree species

The world's second largest expanse of tropical rain forest is in Central Africa and it harbours enormous species diversity. Population genetic studies have consistently revealed significant structure across central African rain forest plants, in particular a North-South genetic discontinuity around the equatorial line, in a continuous expanse of rain forest but where a climatic inversion is documented. Here, we took a phylogeographic approach by sequencing 351 nuclear markers in 112 individuals across the distribution of the African rain forest tree species Annickia affinis (Annonaceae). We showed for the first time that the North-South divide is the result of a single, major colonisation event across the climatic inversion from an ancestral population located in Gabon. We suggested that differences in ecological niche of populations located on either side of this inversion may have contributed to this phylogenetic discontinuity. We found evidence for inland dispersal, predominantly in northern areas, and variable demographic histories among genetic clusters, indicating that populations responded differently to past climate change. We show how newly-developed genomic tools can provide invaluable insights into our understanding of tropical rain forest evolutionary dynamics.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Data and analyses from: Herbivory and time since flowering shape floral rewards and pollinator-pathogen interactions

Herbivory can induce chemical changes throughout plant tissues including flowers, which could affect pollinator-pathogen interactions. Pollen is highly defended compared to nectar, but no study has examined whether herbivory affects pollen chemistry. We assessed the effects of leaf herbivory on nectar and pollen alkaloids in Nicotiana tabacum, and how herbivory-induced changes in nectar and pollen affect pollinator-pathogen interactions. We damaged leaves of Nicotiana tabacum using the specialist herbivore Manduca sexta and compared nicotine and anabasine concentrations in nectar and pollen. We then pooled nectar and pollen by collection periods (within and after one month of flowering), fed them in separate experiments to bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) infected with the gut pathogen Crithidia bombi, and assessed infections after seven days. We did not detect alkaloids in nectar, and leaf damage did not alter the effect of nectar on Crithidia counts. In pollen, herbivory induced higher concentrations of anabasine but not nicotine, and alkaloid concentrations rose and then fell as a function of days since flowering. Bees fed pollen from damaged plants had Crithidia counts 15 times higher than bees fed pollen from undamaged plants, but only when pollen was collected after one month of flowering, indicating that both damage and time since flowering affected interaction outcomes. Within undamaged treatments, bees fed late-collected pollen had Crithidia counts 10 times lower than bees fed early-collected pollen, also indicating the importance of floral phenology. Our results emphasize the role of herbivores in shaping pollen chemistry, with consequences for interactions between pollinators and their pathogens.

Data from: Mortality, perception, and scale: understanding how predation shapes space use in a wild prey population

Attempts to assess behavioral responses of prey to predation risk are often confounded by depredation of prey. Moreover, the scale at which the response of prey is assessed has important implications for discovering how predation risk alters prey behavior. Herein, we assessed space use of wild Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in response to spatial and temporal variation in recreational hunting. We radio-marked pheasants and monitored space use at two spatial scales: short-term seasonal home range, and nightly resting locations. Additionally, we considered temporal variation in predation risk by monitoring space use prior to and during the pheasant hunting season. Although we found no change in nightly resting location, pheasants subjected to predation risk expanded their home range and shifted home range location even when invulnerable to predation. Home range formation was plastic, with home ranges expanding and contracting as risk fluctuated before and during the hunting season. Depredation reduced the measured response within the population, obscuring the potential importance of perceived predation risk in shaping prey communities, particularly when not measured at the appropriate scale. By assessing space use of a wild prey population at multiple scales, considering spatial and temporal variation in predation risk, we show that not only does predation risk affect space use, but that the effects at the population level may be challenging to assess when not measured at the appropriate ecological scale because of the direct effects of differential mortality on the same behaviors.

The shape of the predator biomass distribution affects biological pest control services in agricultural landscapes

1. Understanding how community composition of service-providing organisms affects ecosystem functioning is a key challenge in ecology. Although it has been proposed that taxonomic diversity and functional traits mediate this relationship, how several facets of community structure affect the delivery of key ecosystem services remains to be explored. 2. In this study, we investigated how abundance, taxonomic richness as well as the shape of biomass distribution in predator communities affect biological pest control services in vineyard landscapes. Our analyses were based on a dataset combining samples of arthropod predators, measures of predation rates of grape pests and characterization of environmental covariables for 42 fields located in South-Western France. 3. We found that beside the abundance or the taxonomic richness of predators, the shape of biomass distribution (mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis of the distribution) influences the level of biological control. Predator communities largely dominated by low biomass species provided the bulk of biological control services. Lower levels of predation resulted from increased proportions of large biomass species and more evenly distributed biomass values in the communities. 4. Our results indicate that the top-down control provided by low biomass species decreases as the relative proportion of large biomass species increases in the predator community. This suggests that biological control may be affected by negative interactions (e.g., intraguild predation, behavioural interactions) between predators arising from the recruitment of large individuals in the community. 5. Our study revealed that the shape of biomass distribution is a major aspect of functional diversity in predator communities providing insights into the mechanisms that link biodiversity and ecosystem services. While our study focuses on biomass, considering other traits involved in trophic interactions may increase our ability to predict the level of biological control in ecosystems.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2020View details →

zenodo32/100

Shaped Diffraction Patterns

The Shaped Diffraction Patterns (Shaped DP) dataset is a collection of diffraction patterns for 116,910 materials sampled from 116 space groups. These 116 space groups (out of a total of 230) were selected based on the criterion that each group should be represented by at least 100 materials in the Materials Project (MP) library. The selected space groups include 2 triclinic, 13 monoclinic, 34 orthorhombic, 25 tetragonal, 17 trigonal, 10 hexagonal, and 15 cubic crystal systems.   Please refer to our article as follows:  <ul> <li>Leslie Ching Ow Tiong, Jeongrae Kim, Sang Soo Han and Donghun Kim, "Identification of crystal symmetry from noisy diffraction patterns by a shape analysis and deep learning," npj Computational Materials, 6:196, 2020. (See <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41524-020-00466-5">link</a>).</li> </ul>

zenodo32/100

SHAPE-ID Literature Review dataset: subject co-occurrence matrix

Background and methodology: The subject co-occurrence matrix represents the pairs of <a href="https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15181/supporthub/scopus/">All Science Journal Classification</a> (ASJC) disciplines that <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4034540">co-occur in journals</a> represented in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4034507">SHAPE-ID Literature Review dataset</a>, prepared for the purposes of <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3760417">quantitative analysis</a>.  We take disciplinary affiliations of journals as a proxy of disciplinary characteristics of the journal articles in the Literature Review dataset, mindful of the fact that a particular article might deviate from the disciplinary affiliation of the journal in which it was published. However, since there was no data readily available on item level, and manual disciplinary encoding of all the items in the bibliography was beyond the scope of this study, the method used is the best approximation of the presence of discourse on interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, in and between disciplines.  In the matrix, each co-occurrence value is weighted by the number of journals that feature the given pair of disciplines, and by the number of articles represented in the dataset that feature in these journals. E.g. if Journals J1 and J2 each featured disciplines D1 and D2, and if 4 articles from J1 and 7 articles from J2 are represented in the SHAPE-ID Literature Review dataset, the co-occurrence value is 11. The pairings cross-referencing a single discipline (e.g. 1202 History in both first row and first column) correspond to the co-occurence value of mono-disciplinary journals.  Description of the file: This is a csv file containing a 308x308 cell matrix with ASJC disciplines in first rows and columns, and co-occurrence value in the remaining cells.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

Data from: Habitat fragmentation differentially shapes neutral and immune gene variation in a tropical bird species

Habitat fragmentation is a major cause of biodiversity loss, responsible for an alteration of intraspecific patterns of neutral genetic diversity and structure. Although neutral genetic variation can be informative for demographic inferences, it may be a poor predictor of adaptive genetic diversity and thus of the consequences of habitat fragmentation on selective evolutionary processes. In this context, we contrasted patterns of genetic diversity and structure of neutral loci (microsatellites) and immune genes (i.e., toll-like receptors) in an understorey bird species, the wedge-billed woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus. The objectives were (1) to investigate forest fragmentation effects on population genetic diversity, (2) to disentangle the relative role of demography (genetic drift and migration) and selection, and (3) to assess whether immunogenetic patterns could be associated with variation of ectoparasite (i.e., ticks) pressures. Our results revealed an erosion of neutral genetic diversity and a substantial genetic differentiation among fragmented populations, resulting from a decrease in landscape connectivity and leading to the divergence of distinct genetic pools at a small spatial scale. Patterns of genetic diversity observed for TLR4 and TLR5 were concordant with neutral genetic patterns, whereas those observed for TLR3 and TLR21 were discordant. This result underlines that the dominant evolutionary force shaping immunogenetic diversity (genetic drift vs. selection) may be different depending on loci considered. Finally, tick prevalence was higher in fragmented environments. We discussed the hypothesis that pathogen selective pressures may contribute to maintain adaptive genetic diversity despite the negative demographic effect of habitat fragmentation on neutral genetic diversity.

Environmental complexity during early life shapes average behavior in adulthood

Personality has been identified in a range of animal taxa during the last few decades, with important ecological and evolutionary implications. Investigating the effects of environmental factors during early life can provide important insights into the ontogeny of animal personality. We reared newborn mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, in tanks of different structural complexities, and measured their behavioral traits (i.e., shyness, exploration, and sociability) when they reached sexual maturity. Univariate linear mixed-effects models were fitted to test the effects of environmental complexity and sex on population-average behavior, whereas multivariate models were fitted to quantify behavioral repeatability (i.e. personality) and among-individual correlations (i.e., behavioral syndromes). On average, females were shyer and more social than males, and the fish reared in complex environments were shyer, less explorative, and more social than those reared in open environments. Among-individual differences were consistently large across trials for all behaviors, indicating that personality variation was present in mosquitofish of both sexes reared in different environments. Repeatability did not differ among behaviors, and there were no differences in repeatability in any behavior between sexes or among environments. A negative correlation between shyness and exploration was found in mosquitofish from all treatments at both phenotypic and among-individual levels, with the latter indicating a strong shyness-exploration behavioral syndrome. Our study provides robust evidence that average levels of personality might vary when mosquitofish are raised in different levels of structural complexity during early life.

opencc-zeroOct 2020View details →

Congruent geographic variation in saccular otolith shape across multiple species of African cichlids

The otoliths of teleost fishes exhibit a great deal of inter- and intra-species shape variation. The ecomorphology of the saccular otolith is often studied by comparing its shape across species and populations inhabiting a range of environments. However, formal tests are often lacking to examine how closely variation in otolith shape follows the genetic drift of a neutral trait. Here, we examine patterns of saccular otolith shape variation in four species of African cichlid fishes, each sampled from three field sites. All four species showed the greatest level of otolith shape variation along two principal component axes, one pertaining to otolith height and another to the prominence of an anterior notch. Fish collected from the same site possessed similarities in saccular otolith shape relative to fish from other sites, and these 'site-difference' signatures were consistent across species and observable in both sexes. Sex-differences in saccular otolith shape differed in magnitude from site to site. Population differences in saccular otolith shape did not covary with neutral genetic differentiation between those populations. Otolith height, in particular, displayed large site similarities across species, weak correlation with neutral genetic variation, and strong sex differences, collectively suggesting that otolith shape represents a selectively non-neutral trait.

opencc-zeroOct 2020View details →

Hidden in the DNA: insights on how multiple historical processes and natural history traits shaped patterns of cryptic diversity in an Amazon leaf-litter lizard Loxopholis osvaldoi (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae).

Aim: To investigate cryptic diversity and diversification timing in the putatively low-dispersal Amazonian leaf-litter lizard Loxopholis osvaldoi, and to ask how geography (rivers, isolation by distance, IBD), ecological drivers (isolation by environment, IBE) and historical factors (climatic refugia) explain intraspecific genetic variation. Location: Central Amazonia, Brazil. Taxon: Squamata; Gymnophthalmidae; Loxopholis osvaldoi. Methods: We sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers in 157 individuals. Phylogeographic structure and the occurrence of independent evolving lineages where explored through phylogenetic and coalescent analyses. A species tree and divergence dates of lineages were inferred with BEAST, employing multiple DNA substitution rates. The potential genetic impacts of geographic distance among localities, the environment, and the position of localities in relation to main rivers were tested by Redundancy Analysis (RDA). Results: We detected 11 independently evolving and largely divergent intraspecific lineages. Lineage distribution patterns are complex and do not match any conspicuous barrier to gene flow, except for the Amazon River. Most lineages appear to have originated in the lower Miocene and Pliocene, in disagreement with the Pleistocene refuge hypothesis. IBD, IBE, and rivers appear to have acted in concert establishing and maintaining genetic structure. However, when controlling for other explanatory variables, IBD explains significantly more variation than rivers, IBE, or historical factors. Main conclusions: Our results strongly suggest that L. osvaldoi is a species complex. Future taxonomic work should use an integrative approach to explore whether morphological variation is present and congruent with the genetic data. While the use of a sensitive dating analysis allowed us to better describe the diversification history of L. osvaldoi, the lack of a spatial model of Neogene river dynamics prevents the test of specific, more informative river barrier hypotheses. The data suggest that non-linear correlation analyses (e.g. RDA) should be preferred to detect factors that affect phylogeographic patterns in the Amazon, instead of linear multiple regressions (e.g. Mantel tests). Given the high level of cryptic diversity detected within this and other Amazonian species, we caution against hypothesis tests based solely on the distribution of nominal taxa, which can provide a rather incomplete view of the processes behind Amazonian diversity.

zenodo32/100

Simulations of POPC membranes of various shapes

Simulations of POPC membranes in 1) budded shape with Gaussian curvature and 2) wave shape with mean curvature but no Gaussian curvature and with two wavelengths ("long" and "short"), and 3) a freely fluctuating membrane. Simulations were performed using GROMACS simulation engine (DOI: 10.1016/j.softx.2015.06.001 ) and the Martini 2 force field ( DOI:10.1021/jp071097f ). The budded and wavy geometries generated using BUMPy ( DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.8b00765 ) are maintained using restrained dummy particles that repel lipid acyl chains All input and output files are provided for each simulation, and the cpt files allow to extend the simulations. Additionally, topologies (in the TOP.tar archive) and simulation parameters (md.mdp) are provided. Some of the simulations have been used in DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.23.310086 and DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2021-6wksn

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2020View details →

opencc-zeroOct 2020View details →

Ubanization Re-Shapes a Food Web

<ol> <li>Cities represent humanity's most intense impact on our Planet, with more than half of all humans now residing in urban areas. Indeed, urbanization has well understood impacts on both individual species and general patterns of biodiversity. However, species do not exist in isolation, but are instead members of complex interaction networks that shape patterns of diversity and influence ecosystem services.</li> <li>Despite the importance of species interaction for creating patterns of diversity, we do not understand how urbanization alters these interactions. Here, we investigate how an interaction network (food web) is reshaped by urbanization.</li> <li>We show that, consistent with theory, cities tend to support less diverse ecological communities, and rare species that interact with few species are particularly sensitive to urbanization. As a result, remnant urban food webs tend to have more interactions per species and greater connectance, creating more integrated interaction networks.</li> <li>We discuss the implications of this food web reshaping for ecological stability, eco-evolutionary dynamics, and the joining of interaction networks and conservation planning. The role of cities in reshaping interaction networks provides an interesting study of food web (dis)assembly, while also shedding light on new approaches to applied conservation issues.</li> </ol>

Baculum shape and paternity success in house mice: evidence for genital coevolution

Sexual selection is believed to be responsible for the rapid divergence of male genitalia, which is a widely observed phenomenon across different taxa. Among mammals, the stimulatory role of male genitalia and female 'sensory perception' has been suggested to explain these evolutionary patterns. Recent research on house mice has shown that baculum (penis bone) shape can respond to experimentally imposed sexual selection. Here, we explore the adaptive value of baculum shape by performing two experiments that examine the effects of male and female genitalia on male reproductive success. Thus, we selected house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) from families characterised by extremes in baculum shape (relative width) and examined paternity success in both non-competitive (monogamous) and competitive (polyandrous) contexts. Our analyses revealed that the relative baculum shape of competing males influenced competitive paternity success, but that this effect was dependent on the breeding value for baculum shape of the family from which females were derived. Our data provide novel insight into the potential role of sexual selected on the coevolution of the house mouse baculum and lend support to the stimulatory hypothesis for mammalian genital evolution.

The U-shaped pattern of size-dependent mortality and its driving factors in a subtropical monsoon evergreen forest

1. Tree mortality is an important ecological process influencing multiple functions of forest ecosystems. Previous studies have shown two basic size-mortality patterns, including a competition-driven declining and a disturbance-driven increasing mortality rate with tree size. Subtropical forests, which have a high species diversity and subject to frequent monsoon disturbances, are widely distributed in eastern Asia. However, the tree size-mortality pattern in the mature subtropical forests remains unclear. 2. Here we analyzed patterns of size-dependent mortality from tree species to forest community using a 5-year inventory data from 117 species and 163,612 individuals in a 20-ha forest dynamic plot in a mature subtropical monsoon evergreen forest in eastern China. To explain the spatial variability in mortality patterns, two major biotic drivers (competition and tree size) and multiple local-scale environmental factors were further analyzed. 3. Our results showed that tree size was the best predictor of tree mortality at the scales of both species and community. A species-level analysis identified four size-mortality patterns that are shaped by species-specific attributes such as maximum size and life form. For 27 out of 92 species that comprised 59% of tree individuals, the relationship between size and mortality exhibited a U-shaped pattern of a first decline followed by an increase. An overall community-scale size-dependent mortality also showed a U-shaped pattern. 4. Tree mortality was also influenced by the competition and environmental conditions, but the relative importance varied widely across tree sizes and species. The competition showed significant correlations with the mortality of small trees, while the effect of environmental conditions on mortality was strongest for large trees. A principal component analysis showed that a combination of biotic and abiotic factors explained 42.3% of the spatial variation in mortality at large sizes. Synthesis. Our results reveal four identifiable size-dependent mortality patterns that differ across diverse species, jointly leading to a U-shaped mortality size pattern at the community level. This finding calls for the need to establish the details of every potential size-mortality pattern with consideration of the different effects of biotic and abiotic factors on tree mortality of specific size.

Data from: Mapping molar shapes on signaling pathways

A major challenge in evolutionary developmental biology is to understand how genetic mutations underlie phenotypic changes. In principle, selective pressures on the phenotype screen the gene pool of the population. Teeth are an excellent model for understanding evolutionary changes in the genotype-phenotype relationship since they exist throughout vertebrates. Genetically modified mice (mutants) with abnormalities in teeth have been used to explore tooth development. The relationship between signaling pathways and molar shape, however, remains elusive due to the high intrinsic complexity of tooth crowns. This hampers our understanding of the extent to which developmental factors explored in mutants explain developmental and phenotypic variation in natural species that represent the consequence of natural selection. Here we combine a novel morphometric method with two kinds of data mining techniques to extract data sets from the three-dimensional surface models of lower first molars: i) machine learning to maximize classification accuracy of 22 mutants, and ii) phylogenetic signal for 31 Murinae species. Major shape variation among mutants is explained by the number of cusps and cusp distribution on a tooth crown. The distribution of mutant mice in morphospace suggests a nonlinear relationship between the signaling pathways and molar shape variation. Comparative analysis of mutants and wild murines reveals that mutant variation overlaps naturally occurring diversity, including more ancestral and derived morphologies. However, taxa with transverse lophs are not fully covered by mutant variation, suggesting experimentally unexplored developmental factors in the evolutionary radiation of Murines.

Seasonal time constraints shape life history, physiology and behaviour independently, and decouple a behavioural syndrome in a damselfly

The integration of traits into 'syndromes' has been suggested as a useful framework to advance insights in trait responses to environmental stressors. Yet, how stressors shape the consistency ('repeatability') of traits and their covariation at the individual level remains debated. We studied how seasonal time constraints shape trait repeatability and integration of life-history, behavioural, and physiological traits along a fast-slow continuum, using the 'pace-of-life syndrome' as a framework. We manipulated the photoperiod during the larval development of the damselfly Ischnura elegans, generating a time-relaxed early, a control, and a time-constrained late group. The photoperiod treatment did not seem to affect the voltinism of the larvae. As predicted, late-period larvae accelerated development and growth, yet this acceleration was no longer detectable for growth and metabolic rate during the final instar, possibly due to costs of the initial life-history acceleration. This warrants caution when inferring a species' pace-of-life based on a specific developmental stage. The late-period larvae were as predicted more active (only during the later stages of the final instar) and bolder than the control larvae, but not different from the early-period larvae. Most studies on time constraints only compared late and control animals, thereby potentially wrongly concluding adaptive responses to time constraints. Activity, boldness, and body mass were repeatable, while growth and metabolic rates were not. Notably, repeatabilities did not change under time constraints. There was no support for an overall trait integration in a pace-of-life syndrome, yet activity and boldness covaried positively as expected. Importantly, this 'behavioural syndrome' was decoupled in the late-period larvae, which might be adaptive to enhance energy acquisition to fuel the accelerated development rate. Our results suggest that besides the predicted plastic acceleration of life-history, plastic changes in behavioural trait integration may also be an important but overlooked adaptive aspect of responding to time constraints.

Data from: Global fern and lycophyte richness explained: how regional and local factors shape plot richness

Aim To disentangle the influence of environmental factors at different spatial grains (regional and local) on fern and lycophyte species richness and ask how regional and plot-level richness are related to each other. Location Global. Time Period Present. Major Taxa studied Ferns and lycophytes. Methods We explored fern and lycophyte species richness at two spatial grains, regional (hexagonal grid cells of 7666 km2) and plot-level (300–500 m2), in relation to environmental data at regional and local grains (the 7666-km2 hexagonal grid cells and 4-km2 square grid cells, respectively). For the regional grain, we obtained species richness data for 1243 spatial units and used them together with climatic, and topographical predictors to model global fern richness. For the plot-level grain, we collated a global dataset of nearly 83,000 vegetation plots with surface area in the range 300–500 m2 in which all fern and lycophyte species had been counted. We used structural equation modelling to identify which regional and local factors have the biggest effect on plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness worldwide. We investigate how plot-level richness is related to modelled regional richness at the plot's location. Results Plot-level fern and lycophyte species richness was best explained by models allowing a link between regional environment and plot-level richness. A link between regional richness and plot-level richness was essential, as models without it were rejected, while models without the regional environment - plot-level richness link were still valid but had a worse goodness-of-fit value. Plot-level richness showed a hump-shaped relationship with regional richness. Main Conclusions Both regional environment and regional fern and lycophyte species richness each are important determinants of plot-level richness, and the inclusion of one does not substitute the inclusion of the other. Plot-level richness increases with regional richness until a saturation point is reached, after which plot-level richness decreases despite increasing regional richness, possibly reflecting species interactions.

Overlap in the wing shape of migratory, nomadic and sedentary grass parrots

Bird wing shape is highly correlated with mobility, and vagile species have more pointed wing tips than sedentary ones. Most studies of bird wing shape are biased to the northern hemisphere, and consider only two migratory syndromes (north-south migrants or sedentary species). There are major gaps in knowledge about the wing shapes of different taxa with other movement strategies (e.g. nomads) in the southern hemisphere. Parrots are a prominent southern hemisphere bird order with complex movement patterns, but their wing shapes are mostly unstudied. We test whether three metrics of wing shape of grass parrots (Neophema and Neopsephotus spp.) correspond to their purported migration syndromes (and other factors). We show that two strongly migratory grass parrots and an arid-adapted nomad had pointed wings, with flight feather longer distally and shorter proximally. However, purportedly sedentary species overlapped extensively with migrants and nomads in all aspects of wing shape, and taxonomic relationships, purported migratory syndromes and ecological barriers did not explain the variation we recorded. The most distantly related species (Neopsephotus) had most dissimilar wing shape to the others, but broadly conformed to the expectations of long pointed wings of a nomad. Why purportedly sedentary grass parrots had unexpectedly pointed wings is unclear. We propose the hypothesis that this wing shape may persist in sedentary populations if individuals experience strong but intermittent selection to disperse when environmental conditions are poor. If pointed wings are not costly during good times when individuals are sedentary, this wing shape may persist in populations as a 'back up' in bad times. Our study highlights the interesting migration patterns in the southern hemisphere that remain largely unstudied. Wing shape offers an interesting way to identify potentially undiscovered capacity for movement in data deficient species, which may also have implications for conservation.

Data from: Flower fields and pesticide use interactively shape pollen beetle infestation and parasitism in oilseed rape fields.

MANUSCRIPT STILL UNDER REVISION <ol> <li>Pollen beetles (Brassicogethes spp.) are the main pest of oilseed rape (OSR, Brassica napus) in Europe and responsible for massive yield losses. Upcoming pesticide resistances highlight the need for other means of crop protection, such as natural pest control. Sown flower fields aim to counteract the decrease of insect biodiversity in agricultural landscapes by providing breeding and foraging sites to ecosystem service providers such as parasitoids. However, the optimal age and size of flower fields to increase natural pest control is still unclear.</li> <li>We conducted experiments on 31 OSR fields located along a gradient of landscape-scale semi-natural habitat (SNH). OSR fields were located adjacent to flower fields which differed in age, continuity and size, or adjacent to crop fields or calcareous grasslands. In the OSR fields, pesticide free areas were established to examine interactive effects of pesticide use and flower field characteristics. The abundance of pollen beetle adults and larvae, parasitism and superparasitism rates in OSR were recorded at increasing distances to the adjacent fields.</li> <li>OSR next to flower fields maintained continuously for at least 6 years had the lowest numbers of pollen beetle larvae. Flower fields and calcareous grasslands increased pollen beetle parasitism in adjacent OSR fields compared to OSR fields neighbouring crop fields. However, the threshold for effective natural pest control of approximately 35% could only be reached in the pesticide free areas of OSR fields adjacent to calcareous grassland and continuous flower fields.</li> <li>In pesticide-sprayed areas, pollen beetle parasitism and superparasitism declined with increasing distance to the adjacent field, but they remained on the same level in areas without pesticides. Large flower fields (>1.5ha) increased parasitism and superparasitism more than small ones.</li> <li>Synthesis and applications: In general, older continuous flower fields decrease infestation with pollen beetle larvae and enhance parasitism rates in OSR. Furthermore, only flower fields larger than 1.5ha were able to push pollen beetle parasitism above the threshold level of 35%. Therefore, to promote natural pest control, it would be beneficial to maintain large flower fields for several years unmanaged, to create stable habitats for natural enemies. However, pesticide use has negative effects on OSR pollen beetle parasitism and can abrogate positive effects of flower fields on natural pest control. This study highlights that sown flower fields have the potential to increase natural pest control in OSR, but this potential is depending on its age and size and can be hindered by pesticide use.</li> </ol>

Climate and host genotype jointly shape tree phenology, disease levels and insect attacks

One of the best known ecological consequences of climate change is the advancement of spring phenology. Yet, we lack insights into how changes in climate interact with intraspecific genetic variation in shaping spring and autumn phenology, and how such changes in phenology will translate into seasonal dynamics of tree-associated organisms. To elucidate the impact of warming and tree genotype on spring and autumn phenology, as well as the consequences for the population dynamics of a fungal pathogen (Erysiphe alphitoides) and plant-feeding insect (Tuberculatus annulatus), we conducted an active field heating experiment using grafts of five oak genotypes (Quercus robur). We found that experimental warming generally advanced oak bud burst in spring and delayed leaf senescence in autumn, while additional variation was explained by tree genotype and warming-by-genotype interactions. Warming or tree genotype did not affect disease levels at the beginning of the season, but shaped both disease levels and aphid density during the latter part of the season. Overall, our findings demonstrate that elevated temperature and genetic variation affect spring and autumn phenology, as well as the seasonal dynamics of higher trophic levels. Such effects may be either direct (i.e. temperature affecting tree phenology and attack independently) or indirect (as due to climate-induced changes in plant traits or the synchrony between trees and their attackers). To achieve a predictive understanding of the ecological responses and potential evolutionary changes of natural food webs in response to climate warming, we should merge the frameworks of global warming and community genetics.