Alexandra Delgadillo Méndez, Adolfo Amézquita, Mayra Alejandra Avellaneda Moreno, Catalina González-Arango, I. Gomez‐Mestre
{"title":"Developmental plasticity to desiccation risk in tadpoles of a tropical inselberg specialist","authors":"Alexandra Delgadillo Méndez, Adolfo Amézquita, Mayra Alejandra Avellaneda Moreno, Catalina González-Arango, I. Gomez‐Mestre","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1370932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1370932","url":null,"abstract":"Developmental plasticity evolves in heterogeneous environmental conditions as long as individuals can accurately perceive them. A paradigmatic example of developmental plasticity is the ability of amphibian larvae to alter growth and development in response to the risk of pond drying. Such responses are often found in amphibian species breeding in highly dynamic water bodies with high desiccation risk. The inselbergs of the Guianan Shield are rocky outcrops with extremely high and fluctuating temperatures and a marked seasonality in precipitation. During the rainy season, eroded depressions form precipitation-dependent pools with a high and variable risk of desiccation within the timeframe of a few days. The frog Leptodactylus lithonaetes specializes in breeding in this extreme environment, and its tadpoles are thus forced to cope with desiccation risk by adjusting their developmental trajectories and physiological performance. We experimentally assessed the effect of different levels of desiccation risk, under controlled temperature conditions, on developmental rate, growth, and temperature-dependent locomotor performance in tadpoles of Leptodactylus lithonaetes. We did not find an effect of desiccation risk on developmental rate, but under simulated drying conditions, tadpoles showed larger body size, greater body mass, and enhanced locomotor performance compared to constant (high or low) water levels. These results suggest that drying pools offer cues that trigger developmental and behavioral changes in these tadpoles, enabling them to enhance growth over a short time span without accelerating development. We discuss the potential compensatory mechanisms behind these responses and highlight the need for further investigations in species with semiterrestrial life histories in extreme environments.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141370642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Emergence of dynamic membranes – role of terpenoids in the evolution of membrane organization and regulation","authors":"B. Nettersheim, Yosuke Hoshino, Paula V. Welander","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1420158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1420158","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141268737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sándor Keszthelyi, Szilvia Orsi-Gibicsár, Ferenc Pál-Fám, Katalin Somfalvi-Tóth, Adalbert Balog
{"title":"Colour polymorphism of cotton bollworm larvae as a function of the type of host plant providing its development","authors":"Sándor Keszthelyi, Szilvia Orsi-Gibicsár, Ferenc Pál-Fám, Katalin Somfalvi-Tóth, Adalbert Balog","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1376435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1376435","url":null,"abstract":"A well-known insect phenomenon is colour polymorphism, from which the species hopes to gain some ecological advantage. Herbivores adapt to the colours of their environment to reduce their chances of becoming prey, while predators use camouflage colours to succeed in hiding from prey. The larvae of the cosmopolitan, highly invasive cotton bollworm (<jats:italic>Helicoverpa armigera</jats:italic> Hbn., Lep.: Noctuidae) also benefit from this morphological polymorphism. Their fully-developed larvae can take on various colours when feeding on foliage. Our study aimed to determine the host plant-related colour adaptation of <jats:italic>H. armigera</jats:italic> larvae collected from different plant organs using different spectral analysis methods. Our studies, based on colour analysis of photographic images, showed that the colour of fully-developed larvae of the species is highly correlated with the colour of the damaged nutrient plant. The dominant colours of the larvae show a high similarity with the colours of the consumed host plant parts. The RGB-based analysis confirmed that larval colours are clustered according to the host plant’s organs and are mainly located in the yellow and green regions of the visible light spectrum. All these results confirm the extraordinary adaptive capabilities of this invasive species, which, among other things, verify its worldwide distribution.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141192497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A brief global agenda for advancing the study of molluscs","authors":"Ronaldo Sousa","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1176380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1176380","url":null,"abstract":"Mollusca is the second largest phylum on Earth comprising more than 90,000 species. Molluscs are responsible for key functions and services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite their diversity and ecological and economic importance, several knowledge gaps exist concerning their basic biology. In this mini-review, I succinctly propose a new agenda for the study of molluscs for the next decade dividing it in four major topics that need urgent attention: knowledge shortfalls, monitoring at relevant spatial and temporal scales, conservation, and education and outreach. In this time of climate and biodiversity emergency, the study of molluscs and their conservation should be a priority and we cannot ignore their intrinsic and economic importance.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141192485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seasonal variation in preference for green roof vegetation","authors":"Petra Thorpert, Åsa Ode Sang, Ishi Buffam","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1346397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1346397","url":null,"abstract":"Green roofs are vegetation systems that are particularly well-suited to dense urban environments, and can contribute multiple ecosystem services that support biodiversity, human health, and well-being. Several health benefits are dependent on the way that people perceive the characteristics of the vegetation on the green roof, that is, their environmental appraisal. In this study we set out to explore the effects of different types of green roof vegetation, along with seasonal and successional variations, on visual aesthetical experiences, as well as perceived biodiversity. An online photo elicitation survey was conducted using standardised photographs of a selection of green roofs in Malmö, Sweden, during three different seasons. In the survey, members of the public were asked to evaluate different aesthetic qualities, and to estimate biodiversity and the stress reducing capacity for each photograph. Results showed statistical differences among roof types and by season and successional stage in terms of perceived colour, perceived biodiversity, aesthetic quality, and restorative effects, where the observed differences in perceived values were largely driven by the colour frame of the green roof. Lower scores were associated with a high percentage of red or brown-red shades (p&lt;0.001), while higher scores were associated with a high percentages of green or white (p&lt;0.001). The results of the study therefore have the potential to inform green roof management strategies.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141192323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalia Mannise, Mariana Cosse, Gonzalo Greif, Nadia Bou, Carlos Robello, Susana González, Andres Iriarte
{"title":"Developing a DNA metabarcoding method to identify diet taxa in Neotropical foxes","authors":"Natalia Mannise, Mariana Cosse, Gonzalo Greif, Nadia Bou, Carlos Robello, Susana González, Andres Iriarte","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1360714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1360714","url":null,"abstract":"Pampas and crab-eating foxes are medium-sized canids living in sympatry in the middle east of South America. Studies on the diet composition of these species provide a deep understanding of their ecological roles in the ecosystem structure and regulation. Using the metabarcoding technique, we analyzed the diet of both fox species in order to identify the vertebrate taxa included as food items. A fragment of the 12S ribosomal gene of the mtDNA was amplified using DNA extracted from 27 scat samples collected in south-central Uruguay during cold (June 2015) and warm (January – April 2016) seasons. A fox DNA blocking primer was designed to minimize the host amplicon products, and pooled samples were sequenced through paired-end reads (100 bp library) on a MiSeq Illumina Platform. The generated sequences were compared to a reference database built with sequences available in GenBank. In concordance with previous studies using traditional methods, we found that the most common food taxon were rodents. Qualitative differences in diet composition between both fox species were identified. Armadillo species were only found in pampas fox diet, while a greater variety of amphibians and birds were detected in crab-eating fox feces. Additionally, an innovative approach to differentiate between real and artifact sequences was employed. This method was based on comparing mutations at conserved and non-conserved positions within the secondary structure of the 12S rRNA, combined with network sequence reconstruction. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the methodology in detecting the food species present in both fox diets, enabling the evaluation of intraspecific diversity among these species and facilitating the discarding of sequencing errors. This makes the methodology applicable to a wide range of studies.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141192322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Beulah Garner, Louise Allan, Robyn Crowther, Lizzy Devenish, Phaedra Kokkini, Laurence Livermore, Nicola Lowndes, Krisztina Lohonya, Ben Price, Peter Wing, Alfried P. Vogler
{"title":"Frontiers | The taxonomic and chronological composition of a museum collection of Coleoptera revealed through large-scale digitisation","authors":"Beulah Garner, Louise Allan, Robyn Crowther, Lizzy Devenish, Phaedra Kokkini, Laurence Livermore, Nicola Lowndes, Krisztina Lohonya, Ben Price, Peter Wing, Alfried P. Vogler","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1305931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1305931","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionHistoric museum collections hold a wealth of biodiversity data that are essential to our understanding of the rapidly changing natural world. Novel curatorial practices are needed to extract and digitise these data, especially for the innumerable pinned insects whose collecting information is held on small labels.MethodsWe piloted semi-automated specimen imaging and digitisation of specimen labels for a collection of ~29,000 pinned insects of ground beetles (Carabidae: Lebiinae) held at the Natural History Museum, London. Raw transcription data were curated against literature sources and non-digital collection records. The primary data were subjected to statistical analyses to infer trends in collection activities and descriptive taxonomy over the past two centuries.ResultsThis work produced research-ready digitised records for 2,546 species (40% of known species of Lebiinae). Label information was available on geography in 91% of identified specimens, and the time of collection in 39.8% of specimens and could be approximated for nearly all specimens. Label data revealed the great age of this collection (average age 91.4 years) and the peak period of specimen acquisition between 1880 and 1930, with little differences among continents. Specimen acquisition declined greatly after about 1950. Early detected species generally were present in numerous specimens but were missing records from recent decades, while more recently acquired species (after 1950) were represented mostly by singleton specimens only. The slowing collection growth was mirrored by the decreasing rate of species description, which was affected by huge time lags of several decades to formal description after the initial specimen acquisition.DiscussionHistoric label information provides a unique resource for assessing the state of biodiversity backwards to pre-industrial times. Many species held in historical collections especially from tropical super-diverse areas may not be discovered ever again, and if they do, their recognition requires access to digital resources and more complete levels of species description. A final challenge is to link the historical specimens to contemporary collections that are mostly conducted with mechanical trapping of specimens and DNA-based species recognition.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141720220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Perillo, Tanya Alessandro, Alfonso Toscano, Rossella Annunziata
{"title":"Larval development of Holothuria tubulosa, a new tractable system for evo-devo","authors":"M. Perillo, Tanya Alessandro, Alfonso Toscano, Rossella Annunziata","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1409174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1409174","url":null,"abstract":"To explore animal diversity, new experimentally tractable organisms must be established. Echinoderms include five groups of marine animals that have been used as developmental models for over a century thanks to their low costs, high fecundity, optically clear larvae and genetic tractability. An additional advantage of echinoderms is that their larval forms display diverse morphologies. This rich diversity enables comparative studies to investigate the evolutionary relationships among cell types, tissues, and organs. However, reproducible protocols to obtain gametes, detailed information on embryogenesis, and genomic tools have been optimized only for selected species of sea urchins and sea stars. To address this gap, we established the abundant Mediterranean sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa as a new experimental system. Here we describe a method to reliably obtain gametes and make embryonic cultures multiple times from the same animal and characterize unique larval tissues combining immunohistochemistry and high-resolution microscopy. This work represents a step forward in our understanding of holothurian development and establishes H. tubulosa as an emerging experimental system for evo-devo and other biological disciplines.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141102048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Milkweed and floral resource availability for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in the United States","authors":"Laura Lukens, Jennifer Thieme, W. Thogmartin","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1330583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1330583","url":null,"abstract":"The global decline of pollinators, particularly insects, underscores the importance of enhanced monitoring of their populations and habitats. However, monitoring some pollinator habitat is challenging due to widespread species distributions and shifts in habitat requirements through seasons and life stages. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a migratory insect pollinator that breeds widely throughout North America, presents a unique case study for testing a sampling framework to overcome these challenges. Monarchs exhibit discrete resource needs across life stages (e.g., larval requirement for milkweed, adult requirement for floral nectar), utilizing many land use types across their extensive geographic range during breeding and migration seasons. The Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) uses a standardized protocol with a generalized random tessellation stratified (GRTS) sampling design to gather spatially balanced and ecologically representative information on monarch habitats within the United States. The IMMP is applicable to various land use types and habitats used by breeding monarchs and may be extended to sites outside of the GRTS design to collect data on non-random sites of interest, such as legacy or conservation sites. Additionally, the IMMP’s modular design and publicly available training allows for broad participation, including involvement from community scientists. Here, we summarize habitat metrics (milkweed and floral resources) across 1,233 sites covering much of the monarch’s breeding range. We examine variation in milkweed density and floral resource availability on probabilistic (random) and non-probabilistic (convenience) samples and among land use types (site types). Additionally, we assess resource availability within core geographies for monarch breeding and migration, specifically within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Monarch Conservation Units (western, northern, and southern United States). Milkweed density, floral frequency, and floral richness were higher on non-random sites and in the North region. Among site types, milkweed density was highest on Rights-of-Way and Unclassified Grassland, while floral frequency was lowest on Rights-of-Way. The IMMP represents the first field-based habitat monitoring program of this scale for monarchs, yielding a robust dataset on monarchs and their habitats across their breeding range and offering a framework for surveying the habitat of insect species with diverse habitat requirements or widespread distributions.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141100494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Response of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in leaves of different life forms to altitude and soil factors in Tianshan wild fruit forest","authors":"Xiande Jia, Limei Wu, Jiamin Ren, Xinyang Peng, Haiying Lv","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2024.1368185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1368185","url":null,"abstract":"The ecological stoichiometric ratio of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus is an important index to understand the utilization and distribution of plant nutrients.To explore how leaf carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents, along with the stoichiometric ratio of different life forms of plants, respond to variations in altitude and soil physical and chemical properties, leaves and soil samples were collected from different life forms of plants at different altitudes (1,100~1,700 m) within the Guozigou region of the forest. Subsequently, the contents and ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the leaves, as well as the physicochemical properties of the soil, were determined.The results showed the following: (1) The three life forms of plants in the study area showed that the coefficient of variation of leaf carbon content was the smallest and the distribution was the most stable, while the coefficient of variation of carbon–nitrogen ratio was the largest. (2) Altitude had a significant effect on the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents of different life form of plants, among which the leaf nitrogen content of trees, shrubs, and herbs increased significantly with altitude (p < 0.01), the leaf phosphorus content of trees increased significantly with altitude (p < 0.01), and the leaf C:N of the three life form of plants decreased significantly with altitude (p < 0.01). The C:P of the arbor decreased significantly with altitude (p < 0.05), and the N:P of shrub and herb leaves increased significantly with altitude (p < 0.01). (3) Soil organic carbon and soil moisture content were the main environmental factors affecting the changes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in leaves of arbors, and nitrate nitrogen was the main environmental factor affecting the changes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in leaves of shrubs. Available phosphorus affected the changes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the leaves of herbaceous plants.The results provide new insights into community-level biogeographical patterns and potential factors of leaf stoichiometry among plant life forms.","PeriodicalId":12367,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141100697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}