Anjali Gupta, Erik I Svensson, Henrik Frietsch, Masahito Tsuboi
{"title":"Persistence of the ecological niche in pond damselflies underlies a stable adaptive zone despite varying selection.","authors":"Anjali Gupta, Erik I Svensson, Henrik Frietsch, Masahito Tsuboi","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf040","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf040","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Following the development of regression-based methods to estimate natural and sexual selection, evolutionary biologists have quantified the strength, mode, and direction of selection in natural populations. Although this approach has been successful, its limitations include the lack of replication across species, which compromises the generality of the inferences beyond microevolutionary time scales. Here, we carried out a comparative study of selection on wing shape and body size across multiple populations of two closely related pond damselflies: Enallagma cyathigerum and Ischnura elegans (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). We found weak stabilizing selection on wing shape in both sexes and no evidence that selection on this trait differed between the species. In contrast, selection on body size was curvilinear in males and directional in females, with differences in form (males) and intensity (females) between the species. By analyzing selection in each local pond, we found that selection on male body size was shaped by various population characteristics that reflect local mating systems. Furthermore, the relationship between mating system characteristics and directional selection was remarkably consistent across these species. Finally, we present a graphical model that links contemporary selection with macroevolution. Based on this model, we conclude that the persistence of ecological modes of life in pond damselflies explains why varying selection in nature may still result in a stable adaptive zone lasting millions of years.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"728-743"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143812809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alicia Tovar, Scott Monahan, Trevor Mugoya, Adrian Kristan, Walker Welch, Ryan Dettmers, Camila Arce, Theresa Buck, Michele Ruben, Alexander Rothenberg, Roxane Saisho, Ryan Cartmill, Timothy Skaggs, Robert Reyes, Marianne J Lee, John Obrycki, William Kristan, Arun Sethuraman
{"title":"Like mother, like daughter? Phenotypic plasticity, and heritability of size in a parthenogenetic wasp.","authors":"Alicia Tovar, Scott Monahan, Trevor Mugoya, Adrian Kristan, Walker Welch, Ryan Dettmers, Camila Arce, Theresa Buck, Michele Ruben, Alexander Rothenberg, Roxane Saisho, Ryan Cartmill, Timothy Skaggs, Robert Reyes, Marianne J Lee, John Obrycki, William Kristan, Arun Sethuraman","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf027","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parthenogenetic wasps provide an ideal natural experiment to study the heritability, plasticity, and microevolutionary dynamics of body size. Dinocampus coccinellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Euphorinae) is a solitary, generalist braconid parasitoid wasp that reproduces through thelytokous parthenogenesis and parasitizes over 50 diverse species of coccinellid ladybeetles worldwide as hosts. Here, we designed an experiment with parthenogenetic lines of D. coccinellae presented with three different host ladybeetle species of varying sizes, across multiple generations to investigate heritability and plasticity of body size measured via a combination of morphometric variables such as thorax width, abdominal width, and wing length in D. coccinellae. We expected positively correlated parent-offspring parasitoid regressions, indicative of heritable size variation, from unilineal (parent and offspring reared on same host species) lines, since these restrict environmental variation in phenotypes. In contrast, because multilineal (parent and offspring reared on different host species) lines would induce phenotypic plasticity of clones reared in varying environments, we expected negatively correlated parent-offspring parasitoid regressions. Our results indicate (1) little heritable variation in body size, (2) strong independence of offspring size on the host environment, and (3) small mothers produce larger offspring, and vice versa, independent of host. We then model the evolution of size and host-shifting under a constrained fecundity advantage model of Cope's Law using a Hidden Markov Model, showing that D. coccinellae likely has fitness advantages to maintain plasticity in body size despite parthenogenetic reproduction.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"744-757"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interspecies reproductive interactions and the evolution of plant and animal mating systems. A commentary on Clo et al. (2025).","authors":"Asher D Cutter","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voaf048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The selective forces that influence mating-system evolution are most often considered using a within-species context. Reproductive interactions, however, also can involve related species and can influence the evolutionary trajectories of diverse mating-related traits and the genetic composition of interacting species. The ecological conditions associated with selection for reproductive assurance in plants and animals also are conditions that are likely to result in interspecies reproductive interactions. In this commentary, I explore a variety of factors that link mating-system evolution and interspecies reproductive interactions, including genetic introgression by hybridization, extinction-by-fusion (\"genetic swamping\"), evolutionary rescue, pre-zygotic reproductive interference between species, and persistent incomplete assortative mating between species and in hybrid zones. A particular focus aims to make the case that reproductive interference holds the potential to foster the evolution of selfing syndrome traits as a form of reproductive character displacement rather than purely as adaptations for reproductive assurance per se. Although interactions among individuals within-species remain central to understanding mating-system evolution, a variety of interspecific factors are also likely to contribute to realized patterns of mating in both plant and animal taxa, especially under conditions of conspecific mate limitation that impose selection for reproductive assurance.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":"38 6","pages":"696-701"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144683461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Variation in prey availability over time shaped the extinction dynamics of sabre-toothed cats.","authors":"João C S Nascimento, Mathias M Pires","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf043","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The role of ecological interactions and abiotic factors in shaping macroevolutionary patterns has been extensively debated. Yet, the effect of predator-prey interactions on diversification dynamics is unclear. Here, we test the influence of predator-prey interactions in the diversification of sabre-toothed cats, a subfamily of felids (Felidae: Machairodontinae) that developed a highly specialized morphology, the notoriously long upper canines. This morphology has been associated with a high degree of trophic dependence on large prey, which is assumed as one of the main reasons for the group's demise. To test the hypothesis that prey availability affected the diversification of sabretooths we examined whether shifts in speciation and extinction rates were linked with changes in the species richness of their potential prey clades. The only association we detected was between the increase in extinction rates of North American sabretooths and the decline in Equidae richness. However, when accounting for the prey richness per species, regardless of taxonomic affiliation of the prey, we found that the endpoint of most sabretooth taxa occurred when prey richness for that taxon was at its lowest. Our analyses then suggested that reduced prey richness was associated with increased extinction risk. These results support the hypothesis that the extinction of sabretooths was associated with the decline in megafauna, but extend it to more remote times, millions of years before their final demise, suggesting that prey availability contributed to drive the diversification dynamics of the group. More broadly, our findings highlight the importance of ecological interactions in shaping macroevolutionary patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"758-768"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144054578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mating-system evolution in predominantly haploid species: a commentary on Clo et al. (2025).","authors":"Bart Nieuwenhuis, Stuart F McDaniel","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf055","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf055","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"702-707"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144042203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evidence for the independent evolution of sex-related signals in manakins.","authors":"Natália S Porzio, Paulo G Mota","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf035","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In birds, colouration, dance, and song evolved into great elaboration. Males most frequently produce these signals to attract females, and their evolution is undoubtedly affected by natural and sexual selection. Song, dance, and colouration are attributes commonly involved in mate attraction and are generally considered targets of sexual selection. In many species, multiple signalling is present, often involving different signal modalities, but we still know very little about how they interact during the evolution of different species. Here, we analyzed manakin species, which present impressive displays, vibrant colouration, and simple songs, to determine if these multiple signals co-evolved or if they evolved independently, which in the latter case would mean that different signal types will convey different messages. Moreover, we attempted to determine which environmental and morphological factors were related to the evolution of each signal. We found that song, dance, and colour complexity evolved independently in manakins. The only exception was for dance complexity, which is negatively associated with plumage brilliance. We also found that dances were more complex in smaller species and habitats with less precipitation and appeared not to be related to the intensity of sexual selection. Differently, colour complexity evolution was only associated with sexual selection. Colour brightness was related to habitat cover and precipitation. Song complexity was unrelated to any of the predictors tested here. Our results indicate that colour, dance, and song evolved in an unrelated way, implying that they most likely have different signalling roles in the mating behaviour of these species, and they were revealed to be affected by different natural and sexual selection factors throughout their evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"716-727"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144030086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nadine Tardent, Tamara Schlegel, Jukka Jokela, Hanna Hartikainen
{"title":"Positive and negative frequency-dependent parasitism in naturally co-occurring diploid sexual and polyploid asexual Lumbriculus variegatus.","authors":"Nadine Tardent, Tamara Schlegel, Jukka Jokela, Hanna Hartikainen","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf046","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polyploidization is an important evolutionary force. It drives sympatric speciation through reproductive isolation of different cytotypes, and often leads to loss of sexual reproduction in polyploid lineages. Polyploidization and asexuality can change how other species engage in ecological interactions with the polyploid lineage and may change coevolutionary dynamics. Here, we quantified the phenotypic divergence in the freshwater oligochaete worm Lumbriculus variegatus, the California blackworm, among its co-occurring sexual diploid (Lineage II) and asexual polyploid (Lineage I) lineages. We further investigated variation in parasite communities and infection prevalence among sympatric and allopatric diploid/polyploid populations. 10 out of 18 populations showed co-existence of both lineages, with 7 populations harbouring only the polyploid lineage. Both worm lineages hosted endoparasitic nematodes, an ectoparasitic rotifer, and one potentially symbiotic gut ciliate. The parasite community similarity and overlapping size range of diploid and polyploid worms points to the ecological similarity of the worm lineages, despite the substantial ploidy and reproductive strategy differentiation. Although parasite prevalence varied independently of worm lineage, the prevalence was associated with the frequency of local cytotypes. Specifically, the rotifer prevalence was highest on the rare local cytotype, and nematode prevalence was highest on the common local cytotype. These results suggest the presence of both positive and negative frequency-dependent parasitism, which may contribute to the co-existence in the L. variegatus species complex.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"769-777"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144039897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is the study of mating system evolution comparable between plants and animals? A commentary on Clo et al., 2025.","authors":"Kimberly J Gilbert, Leo Zeitler","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf034","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf034","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"693-695"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144286991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are studies of mating systems too inbred? A commentary on Clo et al. (2025).","authors":"David M Shuker, Ellie B W Smith","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voaf060","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":"38 6","pages":"712-715"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144683460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Josselin Clo, Diala Abu Awad, Trine Bilde, Greta Bocedi, Christoph R Haag, John Pannell, Matthew Hartfield
{"title":"Perspectives on mating-system evolution: comparing concepts in plants and animals.","authors":"Josselin Clo, Diala Abu Awad, Trine Bilde, Greta Bocedi, Christoph R Haag, John Pannell, Matthew Hartfield","doi":"10.1093/jeb/voaf009","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jeb/voaf009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study of mating systems, defined as the distribution of who mates with whom and how often in a sexually reproducing population, forms a core pillar of evolution research due to their effects on many evolutionary phenomena. Historically, the \"mating system\" has either been used to refer to the rate of self-fertilization or to the formation of mating pairs between individuals of distinct sexes. Consequently, these two types of mating systems have tended to be studied separately rather than jointly. This separation often means that mating systems are not necessarily researched in a coherent manner that might apply to different types of organisms (e.g., plants versus animals, or hermaphrodites versus dioecious species), even if similar mechanisms may drive the evolution of self-fertilization and mating pair formation. Here, we review the evolution of both plant and animal mating systems, highlighting where similar concepts underlie both these fields and also where differing mechanisms are at play. We particularly focus on the effects of inbreeding, but also discuss the influence of spatial dynamics on mating-system evolution. We end with a synthesis of these different ideas and propose ideas for which concepts can be considered together to move towards a more cohesive approach to studying mating-system evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":50198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":"673-692"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143558671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}