Publications by authors named "Braulio A Assis"

Understanding the process of genetic adaptation in response to human-mediated ecological change will help elucidate the eco-evolutionary impacts of human activity. In the 1930s red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) were accidently introduced to the Southeastern USA, where today they are both venomous predators and toxic prey to native eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus). Here, we investigate potential lizard adaptation to invasive fire ants by generating whole-genome sequences from 420 lizards across three populations: one with long exposure to fire ants, and two unexposed populations.

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The gut microbiome can influence host fitness and, consequently, the ecology and evolution of natural populations. Microbiome composition can be driven by environmental exposure but also by the host's genetic background and phenotype. To contrast environmental and genetic effects on the microbiome we leverage preserved specimens of eastern fence lizards from allopatric lineages east and west of the Mississippi River but reared in standardized conditions.

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Colorful traits (i.e., ornaments) that signal quality have well-established relationships with individual condition and physiology.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how sex differences in coloration in eastern fence lizards are influenced by hormonal and physiological factors, revealing that males have more vibrant color badges due to testosterone while females exhibit a less costly version of this trait.
  • It finds that color saturation in males is linked to better body condition and immune function, whereas female coloration does not show the same relationship, suggesting different resource allocation strategies between the sexes.
  • The research suggests that the regulation of these color traits by nonsex hormones might contribute to ongoing sexual conflict over resource investment in ornamentation, as females experience reproductive costs associated with their color features.
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Article Synopsis
  • Conspicuous coloration in animals, like the eastern fence lizard's color changes with temperature, affects social communication and can complicate the quantification of visual signals in social selection.
  • Research aimed to find consistent metrics for quantifying color that either ignore temperature influences or maintain rank orders among individuals across varying temperatures.
  • The study showed that individual color saturation increases differently with temperature changes, and relative color ranks in populations fluctuate depending on the chosen measurement metric, highlighting the complexity of assessing animal coloration.
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