Ecology and Evolution最新文献

{"title":"Linking Plant Community Characteristics and Soil Properties Under Grazing Disturbance in a Desert Steppe Ecosystem.","authors":"Xiao Guan, Rui Dong, Wentao Wang, Yanling Wu","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74444","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74444","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Grazing is a key driver of structural and functional changes in desert steppe ecosystems. Soil nutrients are essential for plant growth, and grazing can alter soil nutrient availability through herbivory and trampling, which, in turn, may affect plant communities. However, the responses of plant communities and their functional groups to soil properties under different grazing intensities remain elusive. This study examined variations in plant community characteristics, including biomass, quantitative traits, and species diversity, under a gradient of grazing intensities. Species were classified into functional groups, and their corresponding soil physicochemical properties were analyzed. The results showed that aboveground biomass was highest under no grazing and light grazing, and lowest under extreme grazing. Height and coverage of annual and biennial forbs and perennial grasses declined sharply with increasing grazing intensity. Species richness and diversity indices reached their minimum values under heavy grazing, while Simpson's dominance index peaked. Soil analysis revealed that available nitrogen and available phosphorus declined with increasing grazing intensity. Pearson correlation analysis revealed positive relationships between available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and plant α-diversity, biomass, and basic traits. Structural equation modeling further showed that grazing not only directly affected plant communities but also influenced them indirectly through reductions in soil available nitrogen and available phosphorus. In conclusion, regulating grazing intensity to maintain soil nutrient availability may be important for sustaining the stability and functioning of desert steppe ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74444"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675115/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fungal Needle Communities and <i>Dothistroma septosporum</i> Occurrence in <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> Stands in Slovakia.","authors":"Renata Artimová, Katarína Adamčíková, Juraj Medo, Marek Kobza, Emília Ondrušková, Zuzana Jánošíková","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74481","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74481","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dothistroma needle blight (DNB), caused by <i>Dothistroma septosporum</i>, is a globally important disease of pines, yet its ecological role within native host systems remains incompletely understood. We combined species-specific quantitative PCR (qPCR) with ITS2 metabarcoding to investigate the occurrence of <i>D. septosporum</i> and associated needle mycobiomes of <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> in natural stands in Slovakia with a pooled non-natural positive-reference group included for comparison. <i>D. septosporum</i> was detected in the Vernár natural stand (11 of 16 samples), where visible DNB symptoms were also observed, and in all samples of the non-natural positive-reference group (15 of 15 samples). The pathogen was not detected in the other three sampled natural stands. Fungal community analyzes revealed significant differences in community composition among sample groups, while alpha diversity patterns showed comparatively minor variation. The most abundant genus across all sites was <i>Lophodermium</i>, whereas <i>Dothistroma</i> was highly abundant only in the non-natural positive-reference group. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that fungal communities were dominated by positive associations; however, patterns involving <i>Dothistroma</i> primarily reflected the positive-reference group, where the pathogen was highly abundant. Our results suggest that <i>D. septosporum</i> is not a consistently detectable component of needle mycobiomes in native <i>P. sylvestris</i> stands in Slovakia and that its high abundance in the non-natural positive-reference group was associated with a distinct fungal community composition.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74481"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675608/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Wild Bee Conservation: Habitat Heterogeneity and Ecological Improvement in Agricultural Land With Open Grassland.","authors":"Julia Lanner, Pauline Bühler, Loïc Hellers, Timotheus Kopf, Alexander Weigand, Birgit C Schlick-Steiner, Florian M Steiner","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74514","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74514","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wild bee populations are declining due to habitat loss and degradation. Flower-rich heterogenous grasslands have the potential to compensate for the loss and provide valuable habitat for wild bees. To investigate the effects of different levels of habitat heterogeneity and of ecological habitat improvement to increase foraging resources on wild bee communities, we comparatively studied two Central European grassland types in Austria (AT) and Luxembourg (LU) using pan traps. We collected and identified > 5000 individuals representing considerable fractions of wild bee fauna of these countries and characterised habitat heterogeneity (number of habitat elements, ecotone lengths) using GIS data and flower-colour abundance (white, yellow, blue) using drone imaging. Our findings suggest that macro-scale heterogeneity alone may not drive wild bee assemblages in LU, pointing to the potential overriding importance of unmeasured microhabitat variables, such as nesting substrates and taxonomic floral composition. In AT, however, wild bee abundance increased with habitat heterogeneity as measured by the length of ecotones with trees and bushes. Ecological improvement of habitat was important in LU, in that formerly intensively farmed land with sown wildflower fallows hosted higher richness and abundance than extensively used grassland. In AT, in contrast, higher species richness and abundance occurred in extensively used grassland than in formerly intensively farmed land with wildflower strips; here, overall increased floral resource abundance on ecologically improved sites seemed to have less influence, and flower species diversity, the quality of floral resources or any combination of flower properties, may have been more important than just its quantity as assessed by flower-colour abundance. In conclusion, we emphasise the relevance of regional habitat heterogeneity to wild bees and the opportunities by ecological improvement of intensively farmed land. Conservation strategies should be tailored to regional landscape contexts, prioritising extensive grassland protection in Austria and targeted wildflower fallow establishment in Luxembourg.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74514"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675122/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing Marine eDNA Protocols for Rare Megafauna: A Case Study on Dugongs in the Western Indian Ocean.","authors":"Lea Bernagou, Auriane Serval, François Beudard, Jerome Mathey, Yann Mercky, Charles Le Bozec, Evan Trotzuk, Keila Paunde, Marielle Garcia, Eva Bellemain, Emmanuel Corse","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74500","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74500","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Assessing habitat use, spatial distribution, and site fidelity is critical for the conservation of threatened marine species, yet monitoring rare and elusive species in these types of complex environments remains difficult. This limitation is particularly critical for dugong (<i>Dugong dugon</i>) populations in the Western Indian Ocean, which are extremely small, fragmented, and difficult to monitor, posing a major conservation challenge. This pilot study aimed to develop a cost-effective and field-optimized eDNA workflow based on species-specific qPCR for large-scale monitoring of this threatened sirenian in shallow tropical coastal ecosystems. Field sampling was conducted in Mozambique, which hosts the only remaining large dugong population in the region. Using a species-specific qPCR assay independently developed and validated for this study, we evaluated how sampling design and sample processing influence dugong eDNA detection under natural conditions. Sampling was conducted along survey tracks using different sampling and DNA extraction strategies to evaluate three key variables of the detection protocol-(i) vertical sampling position (surface, near-bottom, and sediment), (ii) filtration volume (1.5, 30, and 60 L), and (iii) field versus laboratory DNA extraction-resulting in a total of 11 sampling-extraction strategies. At every visually confirmed location, at least one of the 11 sampling-extraction strategies resulted in a positive detection, including up to 2 h after the last visual sighting. All strategies detected dugong DNA except those based on sediment sampling. qPCR detection was influenced by an interaction between filtration volume and vertical sampling position: at low filtration volume (1.5 L), detection was higher near the bottom than at the surface, whereas this difference disappeared at 60 L. Conversely, increasing filtration volume improved detection at the surface but had little effect near the bottom. Laboratory extractions markedly outperformed field extractions. The sampling strategy yielding the highest detection rate-large-volume near-bottom filtration followed by laboratory-based sample processing-detected dugong DNA in all cases where a visual sighting had occurred. Overall, these results show that filtration volume can partly compensate for differences in detection associated with vertical sampling position and provide a robust and field-applicable framework for eDNA-based dugong monitoring, supporting scalable and long-term surveillance efforts in tropical coastal ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675653/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Balancing Food, Heat and Predation Risk: Seasonal and Diel Movement Strategies of African Herbivores.","authors":"Zarah Schwan, W Maartin Strauss, Johannes Signer, Robyn S Hetem, Marco Heurich, Gaseitsiwe Masunga, Alan M Wilson, Hattie L A Bartlam-Brooks, Tatjana Y Hubel, Emily Bennitt","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74498","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74498","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding how large herbivores adjust their movement patterns in response to seasonal environmental variation is important for wildlife management. We investigated how sympatric African herbivores with contrasting body size, digestive systems and forage specialisation adjust their movement across seasons and the diel cycle. Using high-resolution GPS data from 16 plains zebra (<i>Equus quagga</i>; hindgut fermenter) and 8 tsessebe (<i>Damaliscus lunatus</i>; ruminant) between 2014 and 2016 in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, we quantified 24 h range size, 24 h displacement distance, as well as displacement distance and tortuosity across 4 h time blocks, and evaluated these movements in response to season, maximum daily air temperature and vegetation greenness. Zebra occupied 24 h ranges double that of tsessebe during the rainy and early flood seasons, but 24 h range size converged during the late flood season. Zebra travelled twice the distance of tsessebe over 24 h during the early flood season, whereas travelling distances were similar during the rainy and late flood seasons. At finer temporal scales, both species showed pronounced but seasonally variable diel movement patterns. Movement paths were generally less tortuous in zebra than tsessebe, although interspecific differences diminished during the late flood season and midday. Movement patterns also changed with environmental conditions: increasing maximum daily air temperature was associated with a stronger reduction in movement in zebra than in tsessebe, whereas increasing vegetation productivity was associated with larger 24 h ranges and increased tortuosity, with the latter response stronger in zebra. Overall, our findings demonstrate that movement differences between zebra and tsessebe are strongly context-dependent rather than constant across seasons. Movement convergence during the late flood season suggests that seasonal conditions can reduce otherwise pronounced interspecific differences in movement patterns. These findings improve our understanding of large herbivores' responses to seasonal environmental variation and may help predict species-specific responses to future climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74498"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675114/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrative Taxonomy Does Not Support a Cosmopolitan <i>Desmophyllum pertusum</i>: Resurrecting <i>D. californicum</i> and Validating the Genus <i>Desmophyllum</i>.","authors":"Claudia F Vaga, Alexis M Weinnig, Stephen D Cairns, Michelle L Taylor, Meredith Everett, Santiago Herrera, Erik E Cordes, Andrea M Quattrini, Cheryl L Morrison","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74485","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74485","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reef-building corals are key contributors in marine ecosystems, from warm, shallow reefs to cold, deep-water habitats worldwide. <i>Desmophyllym pertusum</i> (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most important habitat-forming cold-water corals and has long been considered a cosmopolitan species. Yet phylogenetic relationships within the genus, as well as its relatedness to the synonymized genus <i>Lophelia</i> (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849), remain poorly understood and debated. Here, we use nuclear ultraconserved elements and exons, complete mitochondrial genomes, and single nucleotide polymorphism data to show that populations of <i>D. pertusum</i> in the eastern and central North Pacific Ocean are genetically differentiated from those in the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean. Our results support the previously proposed synonymy of genera <i>Lophelia</i> and <i>Desmophyllum</i> (Ehrenberg, 1834). Morphological features of specimens from the Pacific Ocean, particularly budding pattern and corallite size, match those of the previously synonymized <i>D. californicum</i> comb. nov., which we therefore reinstate. We also incorporated solitary <i>Desmophyllum</i> spp. lineages into phylogenomic analyses, including a multispecies coalescence model. Taken together, these integrative taxonomic results indicate the presence of multiple <i>Desmophyllum</i> species beyond those currently recognized as valid. Future studies could incorporate phylogenomic approaches to better delimit species boundaries and avoid grouping distinct coral species.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74485"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13674452/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Refugial Squeeze: A Globally Relevant Mechanism of Species Decline Revealed by a Threatened Amphibian.","authors":"Kate Tunstill, Matt W Hayward, Hannah Power, Darren Southwell, John Gould, Will Farebrother, Michael Mahony, Alex Callen","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74417","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74417","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A key outcome of the Global Biodiversity Crisis is the contraction and range shift of species distribution into refugial habitats that afford protection against threatening processes. Range contractions driven by spatially overlapping threats may fragment populations to the point where functional habitat is lost. This study identifies a range contraction of the Vulnerable green and golden bell frog (<i>Ranoidea aurea</i>) in south-east Australia using a multi-method approach. We fitted alpha hulls, species distribution models (MaxEnt, Random Forest, Boosted Regression Trees and an AUC-weighted ensemble model) and conducted a hypervolume analysis to quantify change in the species' range and niche between full (historical) and contemporary periods. Our findings suggest <i>R. aurea</i> has undergone niche contraction <i>and</i> displacement with a directional shift into coastal saline-influenced refugia. Our results demonstrated a 76% reduction in extent of occurrence, a suitable habitat reduction of ~96%, and an environmental niche contraction of 57%. The remaining habitat was strongly associated with coastal proximity with shifts towards more saline environments. The concentration of <i>R. aurea</i> in coastal regions suggests intensified dependence on coastal refugia, persisting in salt-exposed habitat that may suppress chytrid fungus. Yet, the threat abatement afforded by low-lying, saline coastal environments is wedging <i>R. aurea</i> into chytrid refugia that is at risk from sea level rise. Refugial squeeze is a globally relevant phenomenon likely affecting a suite of coastal species that highlights the value of integrating geometric and probabilistic niche approaches with species distribution models to resolve temporal contraction in species distributions. Protection of refugial squeeze zones from sea level rise will ultimately determine the future range and population viability of coastal species.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74417"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13671101/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biology and Comparative Mitogenomics of <i>Psyttalia carinata</i>, Newly Recorded From China as a Parasitoid of <i>Rhagoletis batava</i>.","authors":"Kailiang Li, Zhiqiang Ge, Zhenyu Zhang, Wenchao Guo, Hongying Hu","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74415","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74415","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reliable species identification, host confirmation, and biological information are essential for evaluating parasitoids in natural-enemy systems. We integrated regional surveys, taxonomic evidence, direct host verification, life-history observations, and comparative mitogenomics to characterize <i>Psyttalia carinata</i>, newly recorded from China as a parasitoid of the sea buckthorn fruit fly, <i>Rhagoletis batava</i>. Surveys covered 30 sites across Xinjiang. Species identity was established by morphological diagnosis and expert verification, while host association was confirmed by parasitoid emergence and dissection of puparia formed by larvae from sea buckthorn fruits; all emerged tephritids were <i>R. batava</i>. Of 8260 puparia from Altay and Akqi, 595 yielded adults or contained immature <i>P. carinata</i>, giving an overall apparent parasitism of 7.2%. <i>Psyttalia carinata</i> developed as a solitary larval-pupal koinobiont endoparasitoid and overwintered as a pupa within the host puparium. Malaise trap monitoring across two field seasons detected one concentrated annual period of adult activity in the Altay population, consistent with a univoltine life cycle. A factorial experiment with 720 adults showed that longevity decreased with increasing temperature, was markedly extended by honey feeding, and was generally greater in females than males. Illumina sequencing yielded a complete 15,633-bp mitochondrial genome containing 37 genes and 82.7% A + T. Across five available <i>Psyttalia</i> mitogenome assemblies, variation was concentrated in tRNA gene order. <i>P. carinata</i> and <i>P. incisi</i> shared the same complete mitochondrial gene order, including nad4L-trnT-trnP-nad6, whereas <i>P. concolor</i>, <i>P. humilis</i>, and <i>P. lounsburyi</i> shared nad4L-trnP-trnT-nad6. However, phylogenetic analyses placed <i>P. carinata</i> as sister to the latter three-species clade rather than to <i>P. incisi</i>, indicating that identical gene order did not correspond to the closest sequence-based relationship. These findings provide an integrated biological and mitogenomic reference for <i>P. carinata</i> and a basis for evaluating its ecological role in the <i>R. batava</i> system.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74415"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13671880/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-Scale Temporal Patterns of Small Cetacean Behaviour in the Bay of Biscay","authors":"Samuele Tecchio,&nbsp;Laura Couraud,&nbsp;Ludivine Martinez,&nbsp;Achraf Drira,&nbsp;Alessio Maglio","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.74509","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Marine mammals are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic pressures, yet knowledge of their behavioural ecology remains limited, hindering effective conservation planning. Two years of continuous passive acoustic data were collected with porpoise detectors (C-POD and F-POD) in the northern Bay of Biscay (northeastern Atlantic Ocean), as part of the baseline assessment for an offshore wind farm development in the South Brittany area. Distinct temporal patterns in small cetacean presence and behaviour were observed. Dolphins exhibited dominant year-round presence with pronounced peaks in August–September and feeding concentrated during daylight hours. Harbour porpoises (<i>Phocoena phocoena</i>) showed consistently low activity with autumn-spring presence and variable diel feeding patterns. Porpoise feeding intensity peaked in November–December, with a diel pattern emerging exclusively at nearshore stations, where buzzes were more frequent during daytime than at night. Environmental modelling identified salinity and current speed as key drivers of dolphin activity, though explained variance remained low, highlighting the complexity of acoustic detection patterns that integrate both occurrence and behaviour. For porpoises, zooplankton biomass was the primary negative driver of activity, while bottom temperature and current speed had positive effects; however, explained variance was even lower than for dolphins, suggesting that factors not captured by the available environmental variables largely govern their distribution. Correlation between C-POD and F-POD diel profiles was high for dolphins across all seasons, while it was lower for porpoises. These findings provide a behavioural baseline for this region and directly inform Environmental Impact Assessment procedures by identifying periods of heightened cetacean activity and feeding intensity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ece3.74509","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149205559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selection on PER2 Phosphorylation Regulation Underlies Atypical Mammalian Circadian Rhythms.","authors":"Yujie Chong, Qingqing Liu, Haojia Jiang, Linxue Tan, Huan Chen, Wenhua Ren, Shixia Xu, Guang Yang, Daiqing Yin","doi":"10.1002/ece3.74524","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ece3.74524","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circadian rhythms are fundamental biological processes that enhance survival and reproductive fitness by coordinating physiology and behavior with predictable environmental cycles. However, in some species, circadian rhythms are weakened, irregular, or even undetectable, likely reflecting evolutionary responses to extreme environments or specialized ecological niches. Nevertheless, the genetic basis of these atypical phenotypes remains incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the molecular evolution of 20 PER2-associated genes across 71 representative mammalian species. We identified four genes under positive selection in mammalian lineages exhibiting atypical circadian phenotypes, three of which (<i>CDK5</i>, <i>CSNK1E</i>, and <i>GSK3B</i>) are involved in the post-translational regulation of PER2 phosphorylation, suggesting that PER2 phosphorylation regulators may contribute to lineage-specific circadian variation. Notably, CSNK1E, a key kinase regulating PER2 phosphorylation, showed signatures of positive selection and accelerated evolution in cetaceans, which exhibit unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS). In vitro assays showed that dolphin CSNK1E increased phosphorylation at the stabilizing FASP site S662 of PER2 and extended the half-life of the PER2 protein, a molecular feature closely linked to circadian oscillator amplitude and sleep regulation. Increased PER2 phosphorylation may contribute to altered sleep and locomotor activity associated with sustained wakefulness during USWS, as supported by our cellular and whole-animal assays. Consistently, zebrafish overexpressing dolphin CSNK1E exhibited elevated locomotor activity and reduced sleep duration. Overall, our findings provide evidence that evolutionary changes in PER2 phosphorylation regulation are associated with atypical circadian phenotypes and offer novel insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying circadian plasticity in mammals.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 10","pages":"e74524"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13671881/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}