Ecological, genetic and geographical divergence explain differences in colouration among sunbird species (Nectariniidae).

How extravagant ornamental traits evolve is a key question in evolutionary biology. Bird plumages are among the most elaborate ornaments, displaying almost all colours of the rainbow. Why and how birds evolved to be so colourful remains an open question with multiple and sometimes competing hypotheses.

Ecomorphological convergence in the walking leg dactyli of two clades of ascidian- and mollusc-associated shrimps (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae).

Symbiotic species, living within or on the surface of host organisms, may evolve a wide range of adaptations as a result of various selection pressures, host specificity of the symbiont and the nature of the symbiosis. In tropical marine coral reef ecosystems, palaemonid shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) live in association with at least five different invertebrate phyla. Host switches between (distantly) related host groups, and the thereby associated selection pressures were found to play a major role in the diversification of these shrimp lineages, giving rise to various host-specific adaptations.

Field sampling of fig pollinator wasps across host species and host developmental phase: Implications for host recognition and specificity.

Previous genetic studies of pollinator wasps associated with a community of strangler figs ( subgenus , section ) in Central Panama suggest that the wasp species exhibit a range in host specificity across their host figs. To better understand factors that might contribute to this observed range of specificity, we used sticky traps to capture fig-pollinating wasp individuals at 13 species, sampling at different phases of the reproductive cycle of the host figs (e.g.

Hybrid zone analysis confirms cryptic species of banded newt and does not support competitive displacement since secondary contact.

When two putatively cryptic species meet in nature, hybrid zone analysis can be used to estimate the extent of gene flow between them. Two recently recognized cryptic species of banded newt (genus ) are suspected to meet in parapatry in Anatolia, but a formal hybrid zone analysis has never been conducted. We sample populations throughout the range, with a focus on the supposed contact zone, and genotype them for 31 nuclear DNA SNP markers and mtDNA.

Are threatened species special? An assessment of Dutch bees in relation to land use and climate.

Red Lists are widely used as an indicator of the status and trends of biodiversity and are often used in directing conservation efforts. However, it is unclear whether species with a Least Concern status share a common relationship to environmental correlates compared to species that are on the Red List. To assess this, we focus here on the contribution and correlates of land use, climate, and soil to the occurrence of wild bees in the Netherlands.

Interspecific coral competition does not affect the symbiosis of gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) and their scleractinian hosts.

Coral reefs accommodate a myriad of species, many of which live in association with a host organism. Decapod crustaceans make up a large part of this associated fauna on coral reefs. Among these, cryptochirid crabs are obligately associated with scleractinian corals, in which they create dwellings where they permanently reside.

Phylomorphometrics reveal ecomorphological convergence in pea crab carapace shapes (Brachyura, Pinnotheridae).

Most members of the speciose pea crab family (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) are characterized by their symbioses with marine invertebrates in various host phyla. The ecology of pea crabs is, however, understudied, and the degree of host dependency of most species is still unclear. With the exception of one lineage of ectosymbiotic echinoid-associated crabs, species within the subfamily Pinnotherinae are endosymbionts, living within the body cavities of mollusks, ascidians, echinoderms, and brachiopods.

Global raster dataset on historical coastline positions and shelf sea extents since the Last Glacial Maximum.

Motivation: Historical changes in sea level caused shifting coastlines that affected the distribution and evolution of marine and terrestrial biota. At the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 26 ka, sea levels were >130 m lower than at present, resulting in seaward-shifted coastlines and shallow shelf seas, with emerging land bridges leading to the isolation of marine biota and the connection of land-bridge islands to the continents. At the end of the last ice age, sea levels started to rise at unprecedented rates, leading to coastal retreat, drowning of land bridges and contraction of island areas.

COI metabarcoding of large benthic Foraminifera: Method validation for application in ecological studies.

Monitoring community composition of Foraminifera (single-celled marine protists) provides valuable insights into environmental conditions in marine ecosystems. Despite the efficiency of environmental DNA (eDNA) and bulk-sample DNA (bulk-DNA) metabarcoding to assess the presence of multiple taxa, this has not been straightforward for Foraminifera partially due to the high genetic variability in widely used ribosomal markers. Here, we test the correctness in retrieving foraminiferal communities by metabarcoding of mock communities, bulk-DNA from coral reef sediment samples, and eDNA from their associated ethanol preservative using the recently sequenced cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker.

Phylogenomics of trophically diverse cichlids disentangles processes driving adaptive radiation and repeated trophic transitions.

Cichlid fishes of the tribe Tropheini are a striking case of adaptive radiation, exemplifying multiple trophic transitions between herbivory and carnivory occurring in sympatry with other established cichlid lineages. Tropheini evolved highly specialized eco-morphologies to exploit similar trophic niches in different ways repeatedly and rapidly. To better understand the evolutionary history and trophic adaptations of this lineage, we generated a dataset of 532 targeted loci from 21 out of the 22 described Tropheini species.

Genetic and morphological data demonstrate hybridization and backcrossing in a pair of salamanders at the far end of the speciation continuum.

Deeply diverged yet hybridizing species provide a system to investigate the final stages of the speciation process. We study a hybridizing pair of salamander species-the morphologically and genetically drastically different newts and . -with a panel of 32 nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers.

Decline of unique Pontocaspian biodiversity in the Black Sea Basin: A review.

The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations, and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper reviews PC biodiversity trends in the BSB (Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia) using endemic mollusks as a model group.

Temporal and palaeoclimatic context of the evolution of insular woodiness in the Canary Islands.

Insular woodiness (IW), referring to the evolutionary transition from herbaceousness toward woodiness on islands, has arisen more than 30 times on the Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean). One of the IW hypotheses suggests that drought has been a major driver of wood formation, but we do not know in which palaeoclimatic conditions the insular woody lineages originated. Therefore, we provided an updated review on the presence of IW on the Canaries, reviewed the palaeoclimate, and estimated the timing of origin of woodiness of 24 insular woody lineages that represent a large majority of the insular woody species diversity on the Canaries.

Tracing species replacement in Iberian marbled newts.

Secondary contact between closely related species can lead to the formation of hybrid zones, allowing for interspecific gene flow. Hybrid zone movement can take place if one of the species possesses a competitive advantage over the other, ultimately resulting in species replacement. Such hybrid zone displacement is predicted to leave a genomic footprint across the landscape in the form of asymmetric gene flow (or introgression) of selectively neutral alleles from the displaced to the advancing species.

Convergent evolution of specialized generalists: Implications for phylogenetic and functional diversity of carabid feeding groups.

Closely related species are often assumed to be functionally similar. Phylogenetic information is thus widely used to infer functional diversity and assembly of communities. In contrast, evolutionary processes generating functional similarity of phylogenetically distinct taxa are rarely addressed in this context.

High dispersal capacity and biogeographic breaks shape the genetic diversity of a globally distributed reef-dwelling calcifier.

Understanding the role of dispersal and adaptation in the evolutionary history of marine species is essential for predicting their response to changing conditions. We analyzed patterns of genetic differentiation in the key tropical calcifying species of large benthic foraminifera to reveal the evolutionary processes responsible for its biogeographic distribution. We collected specimens from 16 sites encompassing the entire range of the species and analyzed hypervariable fragments of the 18S SSU rDNA marker.

A critical analysis of the potential for EU Common Agricultural Policy measures to support wild pollinators on farmland.

Agricultural intensification and associated loss of high-quality habitats are key drivers of insect pollinator declines. With the aim of decreasing the environmental impact of agriculture, the 2014 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) defined a set of habitat and landscape features (Ecological Focus Areas: EFAs) farmers could select from as a requirement to receive basic farm payments. To inform the post-2020 CAP, we performed a European-scale evaluation to determine how different EFA options vary in their potential to support insect pollinators under standard and pollinator-friendly management, as well as the extent of farmer uptake.

Organic matter reduces the amount of detectable environmental DNA in freshwater.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is used for monitoring the occurrence of freshwater organisms. Various studies show a relation between the amount of eDNA detected and target organism abundance, thus providing a potential proxy for reconstructing population densities. However, environmental factors such as water temperature and microbial activity are known to affect the amount of eDNA present as well.

Assessing species richness trends: Declines of bees and bumblebees in the Netherlands since 1945.

Estimating and predicting temporal trends in species richness is of general importance, but notably difficult because detection probabilities of species are imperfect and many datasets were collected in an opportunistic manner. We need to improve our capabilities to assess richness trends using datasets collected in unstandardized procedures with potential collection bias. Two methods are proposed and applied to estimate richness change, which both incorporate models for sampling effects and detection probability: (a) nonlinear species accumulation curves with an error variance model and (b) Pradel capture-recapture models.

Spring migration patterns, habitat use, and stopover site protection status for two declining waterfowl species wintering in China as revealed by satellite tracking.

East Asian migratory waterfowl have greatly declined since the 1950s, especially the populations that winter in China. Conservation is severely hampered by the lack of primary information about migration patterns and stopover sites. This study utilizes satellite tracking techniques and advanced spatial analyses to investigate spring migration of the greater white-fronted goose () and tundra bean goose () wintering along the Yangtze River Floodplain.

Thermal limits in native and alien freshwater peracarid Crustacea: The role of habitat use and oxygen limitation.

In order to predict which species can successfully cope with global warming and how other environmental stressors modulate their vulnerability to climate-related environmental factors, an understanding of the ecophysiology underpinning thermal limits is essential for both conservation biology and invasion biology.Heat tolerance and the extent to which heat tolerance differed with oxygen availability were examined for four native and four alien freshwater peracarid crustacean species, with differences in habitat use across species. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) Heat and lack of oxygen synergistically reduce survival of species; (2) patterns in heat tolerance and the modulation thereof by oxygen differ between alien and native species and between species with different habitat use; (3) small animals can better tolerate heat than large animals, and this difference is more pronounced under hypoxia.

Twelve fundamental life histories evolving through allocation-dependent fecundity and survival.

An organism's life history is closely interlinked with its allocation of energy between growth and reproduction at different life stages. Theoretical models have established that diminishing returns from reproductive investment promote strategies with simultaneous investment into growth and reproduction (indeterminate growth) over strategies with distinct phases of growth and reproduction (determinate growth). We extend this traditional, binary classification by showing that allocation-dependent fecundity and mortality rates allow for a large diversity of optimal allocation schedules.

High level of sperm competition may increase transfer of accessory gland products carried by the love dart of land snails.

Postcopulatory adaptations that increase reproductive success compared to rivals, like the transfer of accessory gland products that promote paternity, are common when sperm competition occurs among males. In land snails, the dart shooting behavior and its adaptive significance, in promoting individual fitness through enhanced paternity of the successful dart shooter, have been considered such an adaptation. The fitness result gained is mediated by the transfer of mucus components on the love dart capable of altering the physiology of the receiver's reproductive tract.

Incorporating phylogenetic information for the definition of floristic districts in hyperdiverse Amazon forests: Implications for conservation.

Using complementary metrics to evaluate phylogenetic diversity can facilitate the delimitation of floristic units and conservation priority areas. In this study, we describe the spatial patterns of phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and evolutionary distinctiveness of the hyperdiverse Ecuador Amazon forests and define priority areas for conservation. We established a network of 62 one-hectare plots in terra firme forests of Ecuadorian Amazon.