BMC ecology and evolution最新文献

{"title":"Convergent carnivores or divergent dasyurids? Inferring predation and locomotor strategies of extant and extinct carnivorous marsupials from locomotor shape.","authors":"Joshua L Gaschk, Robert L Cieri, Bella R Chaseling, David G Hamilton, Christofer J Clemente","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02569-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02569-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predation pressure shapes ecosystems via selection on locomotor form and function. To explore this link, we grouped 48 species of predatory mammals into five hunting-strategy clusters: Anteaters, Opportunistic Grapplers, Large Grapplers, Opportunistic Pouncers, and Social Hunters, and asked whether their locomotor shape (limb posture through the stride) reliably distinguished these clusters. We digitised 115 side-view stride sequences across these species, performed Procrustes alignment and principal component analysis on per-stride shapes, and analysed symmetrical (walking) and asymmetrical (galloping/bounding) gaits. In symmetrical gaits, phylogeny accounted for the largest share of locomotor variation, but hunting strategy still explained a significant portion, whereas gait type made only a weak contribution and body mass was not significant. These slower, more economical gaits showed relatively broad overlap among hunting groups, although Social Hunters tended to use more upright limb postures and Grappling species more crouched and extended forelimb configurations. In asymmetrical gaits, differences among hunting strategies were stronger, while gait type and body mass again contributed little. Social Hunters showed larger limb and spinal excursions, whereas Opportunistic Pouncers occupied a more restricted region of locomotor space. The stronger separation among hunting groups during asymmetrical gaits suggests that ecological specialization is expressed most clearly in high-performance behaviours such as acceleration, manoeuvring, and prey capture, rather than in economical walking. We then placed the extinct marsupial predator, the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), within this framework using archival footage of walking. Its symmetrical-gait centroid was predominantly associated to Opportunistic Pouncer across classifiers. These results show that locomotor biomechanics are associated with hunting ecology, but that these ecological patterns are embedded within substantial phylogenetic structure; they also suggest that this relationship may help inform ecological inference in extinct species.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13455407/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148708971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ecological features and sozological assessment of Unio crassus in watercourses of the right-bank Ukraine in the context of EU environmental directives implementation.","authors":"Larysa M Shevchuk, Liliia V Bylyna, Andrii V Shevchuk, Tetiana A Vakaliuk, Serhiy O Semerikov","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02568-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02568-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The current status of Unio crassus populations in the watercourses of the right-bank Ukraine was studied. Of 191 localities surveyed, the species was found at 30, across four river basins: the Danube, Dniester and Southern Bug basins and the Prypiat sub-basin. Co-occurrence of U. crassus with other Unionidae was analysed using the Jaccard and Sørensen-Dice indices; the highest values were found with U. pictorum ([Formula: see text] = 0.59) and U. tumidus ([Formula: see text] = 0.52), indicating similar habitat requirements. Comparative assessment of the combined demographic and morphometric indicators distinguished three population groups. The populations of the Ubort (Sushchany) and Stalineshti (Mamalyha) rivers showed the most favourable demographic and morphometric indicators and are regarded as candidate donor populations for species recovery. Morphometric analysis revealed variability in shell size, with the largest shells in the Stalineshti River population (mean shell length [Formula: see text] mm). A comparison of the Prypiat sub-basin between 2007 and 2011 and 2020-2024 indicated an overall decline in occurrence (from 40.6% to 20.0% of sites; Fisher's exact test, [Formula: see text]), including loss of detections in the Noryn River and a reduction in the Ubort River; small, uneven samples and differences in survey effort mean these trends should be interpreted with caution. The results can inform the planning of protected areas, particularly Emerald Network sites, the development of species management plans, and the adaptation of European U. crassus conservation experience to Ukraine.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13439838/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148681506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DNA metabarcoding reveals dietary niche partitioning among threatened Himalayan Ungulates based on chloroplast rbcL and nuclear ITS2 markers.","authors":"Mohsin Javid, Khursheed Ahmad, Orus Ilyas, Affifullah Khan","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02554-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02554-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diet is the most important axis of niche differentiation in ungulates and mediates coexistence, habitat requirements. Himalaya amplify dietary dynamics because seasonal snow cover and plant phenology decreases resource availability. In this study fecal DNA metabarcoding was used to quantify diet and the dietary niche separation among five sympatric wild ungulates Hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), Kashmir markhor (Capra falconeri cashmiriensis), Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus), Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral), and Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica). Fresh fecal samples were collected throughout the Kashmir Valley, western Himalaya across the elevational and habitat gradients. We amplified two plant barcodes (chloroplast rbcL and nuclear ITS2) and sequenced the amplicons using Oxford Nanopore. Diets were analyzed by relative read abundance, functional traits, dietary diversity, niche breadth, and interspecific overlap. Across the seasonal diet profiles, we detected 208 plant species from 174,871 assigned reads. Hangul summer diet exhibits the broadest diet among species (richness = 115 taxa, H' = 4.48, Levins' B = 64.7) with a diffuse core of many co-dominant taxa, indicating generalist mixed feeding during peak plant productivity. Musk deer during autumn showed the narrowest diet (richness = 50, B = 14.3), indicating strong seasonal concentration on a smaller set of plants. Pairwise dietary overlap (Pianka's O) ranged from 0.136 to 0.985, showing both convergence and partitioning among the ungulate species. The results are consistent with a landscape-level coexistence model in which sympatric Kashmir ungulates share a broad forage base but segregate through differences in functional feeding (grazing vs. browsing tendencies), dominance structure, and seasonal shift. The study used composite species-season templates, the results are interpreted as landscape level diet profiles rather than individual or population level variance estimates.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13419308/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148623109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolutionary convergence and niche-specific regulation of core HIF1A pathway genes synergistically drive divergent hypoxia adaptation in mammals.","authors":"Tingming Liang, Haochuan Guo, Jiaxi Zhang, Guijie Jiang, Chengxuan Gong, Jie Shen, Jiahui Zhao, Guang Yang, Li Guo","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02562-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02562-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mammals native to hypoxic niches thrive in hypoxic environments, unlike humans and non-adapted species which suffer metabolic dysfunction and disease. Despite progress in understanding hypoxic signaling, the evolutionary strategies enabling niche-specific hypoxia adaptation remain unclear. To address this, we analyzed 21 species representing three hypoxic niches (aquatic deep-diving, terrestrial high-altitude, terrestrial burrowing) and non-hypoxic controls based on identified 25 HIF1A pathway-related core genes. In the coding region, selection pressure analysis initially identified key genes: aquatic deep-diving: CREBBP; terrestrial high-altitude: EGLN1, EGLN2, ELOC and TP53; terrestrial burrowing: EGLN3. Convergent amino acid substitution analysis at the protein level validated these findings and further refined the selection to the most representative key genes for each niche (aquatic deep-diving: CREBBP; terrestrial high-altitude: EGLN1; terrestrial burrowing: EGLN3). Subsequently, non-coding region analysis revealed the specific regulatory patterns of the key genes across the three hypoxic niches: aquatic deep-diving corresponds to acute transient hypoxia adaptation, terrestrial high-altitude exhibits chronic fluctuating hypoxia adaptation, and terrestrial burrowing demonstrates long-term stable hypoxia adaptation. In addition, hypoxia adaptation analysis of the solid tumor in several cancers showed that domain mutations in the core gene CREBBP in the HIF1A signaling pathway contribute to the malignant behavior of cancers. This indicates that distinct hypoxic niches and their key genes have evolved unique regulatory mechanisms for adaptation. The study suggests mammals exploit diverse strategies by modulating key HIF1A pathway gene expression, providing novel insights into hypoxic signaling in evolutionary adaptation to oxygen deprivation.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13670450/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socioeconomic determinants of livestock depredation by carnivores in the Omo Valley, Southern Ethiopia.","authors":"Abadi Wereta Maru, Tsyon Asfaw, Gidey Yirga, Dawit Kidane, Hans Bauer","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02560-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02560-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Human-carnivore conflict (HWC) is an increasing conservation and livelihood challenge worldwide, particularly in rural areas where communities depend heavily on livestock and natural resources. Livestock depredation by large carnivores causes significant economic losses and often leads to negative attitudes toward wildlife conservation. In Africa, population growth, agricultural expansion, and habitat fragmentation have intensified interactions between humans and carnivores, increasing the risk of livestock predation. Factors such as seasonal movements, livestock management practices, and proximity to protected areas are known to influence the occurrence of conflict. However, evidence on how livelihood strategies and seasonal dynamics affect human-carnivore conflict in the Omo Valley of Southern Ethiopia remains limited, underscoring the need for context-specific studies to support effective coexistence strategies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Omo Valley, Southern Ethiopia, from October to December 2023. A total of 147 households were selected from villages adjacent to Omo National Park and the Tama Community Conservation Area using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with livestock depredation, and variables with p < 0.05 in the multivariable model were considered statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Overall, 36.1% of households reported livestock loss due to carnivores. Spotted hyena was the most frequently reported predator, followed by leopard and lion, while African wild dog was least reported. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that occupation, household wealth status, and proximity to the protected area were significant predictors of livestock depredation. Pastoralist households were significantly more likely to experience livestock loss due to carnivores compared with agro-pastoralist households (AOR = 13.4, 95% CI: 2.41-15.64), Household wealth status was also significantly associated with livestock depredation, with Poor households had 2.1 times higher odds of experiencing livestock loss due to carnivores compared with rich households (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.94-5.08).</p><p><strong>Conclusion and recommendation: </strong>Livestock depredation by carnivores is common in the study area and is strongly influenced by occupation, asset-based classification and distance to the national park. Targeted conflict mitigation strategies focusing on high-risk households and locations are essential for promoting human-carnivore coexistence.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial number: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13393758/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148474635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High kinship and runs of homozygosity characterize walleye Sander vitreus metapopulation diversity in Lake Champlain, USA.","authors":"Peter T Euclide, Bernard Pientka, Matt J Thorstensen, Ken M Jeffries, Wesley A Larson, J Ellen Marsden","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02558-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02558-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding the roles of philopatry and geography in determining genetic population structure is an important part of managing species characterized by metapopulations. In this study, we examined population structure, kinship, and runs of homozygosity in walleye (Sander vitreus) from Lake Champlain, a large, fragmented lake with four main spawning tributaries that form a metapopulation. Using microsatellite genotyping at 12 loci, we investigated population genetic structure among the four tributaries to examine how spawning site fidelity influenced pairwise genetic distances. Using a high-density Rapture dataset containing thousands of reference-aligned SNP genotypes, we estimated evidence of inbreeding based on runs of homozygosity (ROH) in Lake Champlain and compared findings to four other large walleye populations in North America. The Lamoille and Poultney Rivers were genetically distinct from the Missisquoi and Winooski Rivers, despite evidence of 10% straying among rivers. Within-site kinship and the number of runs of homozygosity (ROH) in the Lamoille and Poultney Rivers were elevated compared to Missisquoi and Winooski Rivers, suggesting ongoing or recent inbreeding at these locations. Comparisons with other large-lake walleye populations revealed that the elevated number of ROHs in Lake Champlain was specific to the Lamoille and Poultney Rivers. We suggest that this inbreeding may be driven by demographic bottlenecks and small effective population sizes (<50 based on microsatellite data) that were potentially facilitated by hatchery practices. Our findings indicate that when combined with other factors, philopatry can have powerful impacts on fine-scale population structure and genomic diversity. We emphasize that metapopulations composed of philopatric sub-populations may be more vulnerable to localized inbreeding than systems with more random dispersal. Our results demonstrate how genetic data can inform conservation strategies, particularly in the face of habitat fragmentation and declining population sizes.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13660081/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148458016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Between Ocean and Sea: population genetics and evolutionary history of Pinna rudis.","authors":"Ilenia Azzena, Marco Casu, Chiara Locci, Ilaria Deplano, Noemi Pascale, Riccardo Senigaglia, Alessia Lunetta, Gemma Donato, Salvatore Giacobbe, Fabio Scarpa, Daria Sanna","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02549-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-026-02549-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The recent expansion of Pinna rudis Linnaeus, 1758 in the Mediterranean Sea, following the collapse of its congener P. nobilis Linnaeus, 1758, raises questions about the full understanding of its evolutionary history, population connectivity and the role of hybridisation in a rapidly changing marine system. Here, we combine mitochondrial phylogenetics, molecular dating and population genetic analyses across the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins to reconstruct the demographic and evolutionary history of P. rudis. By integrating mitochondrial phylogeography and temporal inference across the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins, we show that the evolutionary trajectory of P. rudis reflects both deep-time oceanographic reorganisation and mid-Pleistocene climatic instability. While the ancestral early lineages of the species emerged during major inter-oceanic restructuring in the late Pliocene, present-day mitochondrial diversity largely originated during mid-Pleistocene oscillations, resulting in independently evolving Atlantic and Mediterranean populations characterised by restricted connectivity. Basin-specific ecological contexts further contributed to different evolutionary dynamics, with Mediterranean populations shaped by bottlenecks during glacial periods and long-term coexistence with P. nobilis and Atlantic populations primarily influenced by climatic and habitat change. The detection of natural hybridisation in the Mediterranean adds an additional layer of evolutionary complexity in a system undergoing rapid demographic expansion. Together, these findings illustrate how historical processes, evolutionary forces, and contemporary perturbations interact to shape genetic diversity in marine populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148458025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced petroleum hydrocarbon degradation by biosurfactant-producing bacteria from Iko River estuarine sediments, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.","authors":"Senyene Umana, Maria Bassey, Mfoniso Iwatt, Nsikak Abiaobo, Samuel Eduok","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02561-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02561-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hydrocarbon contamination of estuaries poses a major environmental concern because of persistence and ecological toxicity, while nutrient availability often limit natural attenuation by indigenous microorganisms. This study evaluated the effects of glucose and sucrose biostimulation on petroleum hydrocarbon degradation by biosurfactant-producing bacteria from Iko River estuarine sediments, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, using standard physicochemical and microbiological techniques. Heavy metal concentrations of iron (1.43 mg/kg), vanadium (1.74 mg/kg), zinc (3.28 mg/kg), lead (3.01 mg/kg), cobalt (0.09 mg/kg), and nickel (0.43 mg/kg) were below sediment quality guideline thresholds. The mean heterotrophic bacterial abundance was 5.57 ± 0.9 log₁₀ CFU/g, which was 2.34 times higher than the 2.38 log₁₀ CFU/g recorded for hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria. Molecular characterization identified the isolates as Bacillus subtilis (MH145363.1), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MZ299002.1), Bacillus cereus (AJ277908.1), Micrococcus luteus (OP848034.1), and Bacillus luti (CP040336.1), showing 99.72-100% similarity to GenBank reference strains. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited 64% emulsification activity and reduced surface tension to 31.2 mN/m, indicating strong biodegradation potential. Glucose supplementation increased bacterial growth, with optical density ranging from 0.15 to 1.17 at 20% glucose by days 30-40, compared to 0.10-0.20 in the control, suggesting strong stimulation of microbial proliferation. Sucrose also enhanced growth, with optical density ranging from 0.38 ± 0.01 to 1.01 ± 0.02 at 20% sucrose by day 50, compared with 0.15 ± 0.02 to 0.20 ± 0.02 in the control. Glucose stimulation at 15% improved the abundance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with values ranging from 5.30 ± 0.92 to 5.74 ± 0.62 log₁₀ CFU/mL by day 50, while the unstimulated control declined to 3.94 ± 0.45 log₁₀ CFU/mL at the same time point, indicating nutrient limitation. Sugar amendment enhanced hydrocarbon degradation, with the highest efficiency observed at 10% glucose, recording 59.56%, followed by 5% and 15% glucose at 57.13% and 55.03% respectively, compared to 31.11% in the control. Sucrose treatments also improved degradation, with values ranging from approximately 50% to 67%, although no clear concentration-dependent trend was observed. Simple sugar biostimulation enhanced microbial growth and hydrocarbon degradation, highlighting a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategy for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-impacted estuarine environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13647742/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148427372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Whole-genome analyses reveal the phylogenetic history of Japanese and Ryukyu wild boars.","authors":"Rikako Itoi, David Gamarra, Yohey Terai, Jun Gojobori, Masaaki Taniguchi","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02556-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02556-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The ancestral population of wild boar (Sus scrofa) split into Eastern and Western Eurasian lineages, with the Eastern lineage extending its range into the Japanese archipelago. Within this archipelago, there are two subspecies: the Japanese wild boar (JWB, Sus scrofa leucomystax) and the Ryukyu wild boar (RWB, Sus scrofa riukiuanus), which exhibit differences in morphology and habitat. Until now, the whole genomes of JWB and RWB individuals with known origins had not been sequenced, leaving their genetic relationships with other populations unclear. In this study, we resequenced the whole genomes of Japanese wild boar (JWB) individuals from Honshu (Tochigi, Aichi, and Kyoto), Shikoku (Tokushima) and Kyushu (Saga) islands, with one individual sampled from each location. Additionally, we resequenced two RWB individuals from Okinawa and Ishigaki Islands.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We analyzed the genomes to clarify the genetic relationships between JWB, RWB, and other lineages of the genus Sus. Phylogenetic analyses based on whole genome sequence showed that JWB and RWB each formed distinct clades within a monophyletic JWB/RWB lineage, which was sister to Eastern Russian and Northern Chinese wild boars. Principal component analysis further supported their genetic differentiation. Together, these results indicate that JWB and RWB represent independent boar lineages that are likely to have diverged following isolation within the Japanese archipelago. In addition, gene flow between JWB and Eastern Russian/Northern Chinese boars was detected by the f4 statistics.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Overall, our results show that JWB and RWB diverged from East Asian boars through dispersal and isolation within the Japanese archipelago.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13647638/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148427321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Divergent dogfish: morphological correlates of vertebral column bending mechanics in two species of distantly related sharks.","authors":"Marianne E Porter, Candido Diaz, Harald Kryvi, John H Long","doi":"10.1186/s12862-026-02553-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12862-026-02553-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dogfish sharks from two different Orders - Squalus acanthias and Mustelus canis - offer the opportunity to compare whether known differences in vertebral morphology correlate with differences in the dynamic mechanical properties of the vertebral column. Histology of a caudal intervertebral joint in both species, combined with morphometrics of the entire column, provide the morphological information. Dynamic bending tests of ten-vertebrae sections of the vertebral column from the head to the base of the caudal fin are conducted by varying the amplitude of lateral curvature and bending frequency in a factorial design. Using multivariate modeling, this question is addressed: How do species, anatomical region, and vertebral column morphology correlate with the dynamic mechanical properties of the vertebral column in bending?</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Vertebral column morphology differs in the ratio of precaudal to caudal vertebrae, the form of the intracentral canal, and the lateral position of the intervertebral ligaments. Six quantitative features of the vertebral column - dimensions and ratios of the centra and the intervertebral joints - vary between species. The dynamic mechanical properties, in turn, differ between species at three structural levels, the intact vertebral column, the cross-sectional level, and as apparent material properties. The two species have similar mechanical behavior: a strong response to changes in curvature and almost no response to changes in bending frequency; in both species, the loss modulus increases dramatically at the highest bending frequency. In spite of those similarities, most of the morphological and mechanical features are different. In terms of morphological correlates, the diameter and length of the centrum significantly and robustly predict the apparent material properties of storage and loss moduli, with coefficients of determination above 0.50 in all multivariate models for those properties.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The increase in the loss modulus at higher bending frequencies is consistent with the hypothesis that the vertebral column of dogfish sharks functions as a spring-brake mechanism during swimming. The mechanical properties are predicted, to a large degree, by variation in the morphology of the centrum within and between species, suggesting a possible link between vertebral morphology and bending mechanics, with morphological differences between species indicative of possible evolutionary trajectories for the alteration of the mechanical behavior of the vertebral column.</p>","PeriodicalId":93910,"journal":{"name":"BMC ecology and evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13647671/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148427304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}