Evolution; International Journal Of Organic Evolution[JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Overwintering drives rapid adaptation in Drosophila with potential costs to insecticide resistance.
Prileson EG, Campagnari B, Clare CI … +3 more , Gabidulin AR, Shahmohamadloo RS, Rudman SM
Evolution · 2026 Jan · PMID 41070988 · Full text
Winter is a formidable challenge for ectotherms that inhabit temperate climates. The extent to which winter conditions drive rapid adaptation, and separately, how selection from novel stressors affects adaptation to wint...
Winter is a formidable challenge for ectotherms that inhabit temperate climates. The extent to which winter conditions drive rapid adaptation, and separately, how selection from novel stressors affects adaptation to winter, remain poorly understood. Here, we use replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster in a field experiment to test (i) whether winter conditions drive rapid adaptation and (ii) for trade-offs between insecticide resistance and overwintering survival. Following a longitudinal field experiment investigating the evolution of insecticide resistance, we tracked subsequent evolution during an overwintering period. In unexposed control populations, we detected parallel evolutionary shifts indicative of adaptation to winter conditions in multiple traits, including body size and fecundity. Additionally, populations that had evolved insecticide resistance during the growing season were more likely to go extinct than control populations. Further, both control and resistant populations showed patterns of lower resistance following the winter period, suggestive of a trade-off between overwintering success and insecticide resistance. Rapid evolutionary responses to winter conditions, and potential costs of resistance, provide important context for understanding overwintering performance in temperate insects with implications for pest management and ecosystem services.
How accurate is genomic prediction across wild populations?
Aase K, Burnett HA, Jensen H … +1 more , Muff S
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41065651 · Publisher ↗
Evolutionary ecology seeks to understand causes and consequences of evolutionary changes across time and space, and genomic data present novel opportunities to investigate these processes. Genomic prediction-predicting i...
Evolutionary ecology seeks to understand causes and consequences of evolutionary changes across time and space, and genomic data present novel opportunities to investigate these processes. Genomic prediction-predicting individual genetic values from high-density marker data-has revolutionized breeding programs and medical genetics. In wild populations, however, genomic prediction has been used in comparatively few studies, and largely within populations. Applications that instead operate across populations could answer questions related to spatially varying evolutionary processes, such as local adaptation. A severe challenge for across-population genomic prediction, however, is the decrease in accuracy when training models on data from one population and predicting genetic values in another. Here, we applied genomic prediction across wild house sparrow populations and compared the accuracy to within-population models. We also highlighted limitations of the current theory for genomic prediction accuracy, and sought to provide a mechanistic understanding of the across-population accuracy by relating it to several population-differentiation measures. Predictions across populations were generally less accurate and more variable than within populations, and across-population accuracy covaried with some population-differentiation metrics. Our results underline the necessity of understanding the mechanisms governing genomic prediction accuracy, and of developing methods that exploit genomic data in novel ways.
Pleistocene speciation and glacial refugia in the Gilt Darter (Percidae: Percina evides) species complex.
Wood JE, Taylor A, Kim D … +2 more , Stokes MF, Near TJ
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41065644 · Publisher ↗
Among temperate regions of the world, freshwater fish species richness is highest in the Central Highlands of eastern North America. Historical biogeographic and phylogeographic researchers have investigated mechanisms d...
Among temperate regions of the world, freshwater fish species richness is highest in the Central Highlands of eastern North America. Historical biogeographic and phylogeographic researchers have investigated mechanisms driving this exceptional diversity, yet the role of major climatic events, like Pleistocene glaciation, is incompletely characterized. In this study, we analyze genomic DNA sequence data sampled from populations of the widely distributed Gilt Darter, Percina evides, to reconstruct pre-glacial drainage patterns and assess the impact of Pleistocene glaciation on generating the high species diversity of eastern North American freshwater fishes. Phylogenomics, population genomic analyses, and evaluation of morphology delimit 5 species currently classified as P. evides. These species likely diverged via allopatric speciation among the disjunct regions of the Central Highlands driven by the onset of Pleistocene glaciation. Divergence times among newly delimited species of the Gilt Darter complex are congruent with the onset of glaciation, periods of river incision and aggradation, and river network rearrangement. The discovery of new species in the P. evides complex and reconstruction of the timing of their diversification provide insight into the role that Pleistocene glaciation and glacial refugia contributed to the remarkable temperate freshwater biodiversity hotspot of the Central Highlands.
Reconsidering cytonuclear discordance in the genomic age.
Larson DA, Itgen MW, Denton RD … +1 more , Hahn MW
Evolution · 2026 Jan · PMID 41055410 · Publisher ↗
Historically, phylogenetic datasets had relatively few loci but were over-represented for cytoplasmic sequences (mitochondria and chloroplast) because of their ease of amplification and large numbers of informative sites...
Historically, phylogenetic datasets had relatively few loci but were over-represented for cytoplasmic sequences (mitochondria and chloroplast) because of their ease of amplification and large numbers of informative sites. Under those circumstances, it made sense to contrast individual gene tree topologies obtained from cytoplasmic loci and nuclear loci, with the goal of detecting differences between them-so-called cytonuclear discordance. In the current age of phylogenomics and ubiquitous gene tree discordance among thousands of loci, it is important to distinguish between simply observing discordance between cytoplasmic trees and a species tree inferred from many nuclear loci and identifying the cause of discordance. Here, we examine what inferences one can make from trees representing different genomic compartments. While topological discordance can be caused by multiple factors, the end goal of many studies is to determine whether the compartments have different evolutionary histories: what we refer to as "cytonuclear dissonance." Answering this question is more complex than simply asking whether there is discordance, requiring additional analyses to determine whether genetic exchange has affected only (or mostly) one compartment. Furthermore, even when these histories differ, expectations about why they differ are not always clear. We conclude by pointing to current research and future opportunities that may help to shed light on topological variation across the multiple genomes contained within a single eukaryotic cell.
Digest: Theoretical advances in studying selection via microbiome-mediated traits.
Colston TJ
Evolution · 2025 Nov · PMID 41055404 · Publisher ↗
How do microbes associated with multicellular hosts contribute to host evolution, and how do factors such as mode of transmission mediate these contributions? Week et al. (2025) provide a theoretical framework to address...
How do microbes associated with multicellular hosts contribute to host evolution, and how do factors such as mode of transmission mediate these contributions? Week et al. (2025) provide a theoretical framework to address these questions and through simulation show that microbial transmission mode can have varying effects that interact with host life history. This expands our potential to understand host-microbiome dynamics and illustrates that a quantitative genetic framework provides a more accurate view of organismal evolution than correlative analyses of siloed datasets.
Extensive local introgression despite rare contemporary hybridization between two backyard songbirds.
Grabenstein KC, Theodosopoulos AN, Semenov GA … +3 more , Kenyon HL, Pravosudov VV, Taylor SA
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41032325 · Publisher ↗
Rates of hybridization are increasing globally, but we lack an understanding of both the history and evolutionary outcomes of hybridization for most species. This makes it difficult to understand whether, and to what ext...
Rates of hybridization are increasing globally, but we lack an understanding of both the history and evolutionary outcomes of hybridization for most species. This makes it difficult to understand whether, and to what extent, humans are influencing hybridization. Integrating field studies with whole genome data is a critical next step for understanding hybridization and the extent of human influences on evolution. Here, we combine 3 years of population monitoring with 569 whole genomes to characterize the reproductive ecology of, and hybridization between, two common songbirds, black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and mountain (P. gambeli) chickadees, for which hybridization is correlated with human habitat disturbance across North America. Working within a geographic region that we previously identified as a hotspot of contemporary chickadee hybridization we find that, despite geographic and temporal breeding overlap, few early generation hybrids are produced indicating that reproductive barriers typically prevent contemporary hybridization. Yet, every chickadee we sampled in sympatry possessed heterospecific ancestry, indicating that both contemporary and historical hybridization have occurred during the evolutionary history of chickadees in Colorado. Why contemporary hybridization continues to occur despite evidence for character displacement of chickadee song remains less clear, but urban forests may play a role.
Habitat complexity alters the strength of sexual selection on female brain size in a livebearing fish.
Daupagne L, Devigili A, McNeil R … +3 more , Wheatcroft D, Kolm N, Fitzpatrick JL
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41032323 · Publisher ↗
Animals often reproduce in complex environments, which should generate selection for both enhanced detectability in signaling traits and improved cognitive processing abilities. However, the extent to which signaling and...
Animals often reproduce in complex environments, which should generate selection for both enhanced detectability in signaling traits and improved cognitive processing abilities. However, the extent to which signaling and cognitive traits have evolved to overcome the challenges of interacting in complex habitats remains understudied. We examined whether habitat complexity influences sexual selection in the pygmy halfbeak, Dermogenys collettei, a small livebearing freshwater fish. Using free-swimming arenas, we created low- and high-complexity environments and observed mating behaviors in mixed-sex groups. While the opportunity for sexual selection did not differ significantly between environments for either sex, we observed positive selection gradients for female brain size in open arenas, but not in complex habitats. Selection on morphological traits associated with visual signaling was also primarily detected in open environments, particularly in females. These results suggest that habitat complexity may reduce selection pressures on both cognitive traits, such as brain size, and signaling traits relevant to mate choice. Together, our findings highlight the importance of integrating cognitive traits into sexual selection theory and considering sex-specific selection across ecologically relevant contexts.
Variation in sperm motility and seminal plasma protein expression is shaped by pre- and post-mating sexual selection in the mouthbrooding cichlid (Ophthalmotilapia ventralis).
Morita M, Satoh S, Ito T … +2 more , Kohda M, Awata S
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41026088 · Publisher ↗
Sexual selection is a key driver of reproductive strategy evolution; however, its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the mouthbrooding Tanganyikan cichlid (Ophthalmotilapia ventralis), fertilization occurs...
Sexual selection is a key driver of reproductive strategy evolution; however, its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the mouthbrooding Tanganyikan cichlid (Ophthalmotilapia ventralis), fertilization occurs in the female mouth cavity, where sperm competition and post-mating female choice arise because females collect sperm from multiple territorial males. Seminal plasma glycoprotein 120 (SPP120) is involved in sperm immobilization and aggregation, which may contribute to prolonged storage and use of sperm in the female buccal cavity. In this study, we examined how factors related to pre- and post-mating sexual selection affect sperm traits and SPP120 expression in O. ventralis. Field observations and physiological and molecular analyses showed positive correlations between sperm longevity of territorial males and encounter rate with floating males (ERFM) as a measure of sperm competition or bower (spawning site) density related to sperm competition and between SPP120 expression of territorial males and ERFM or courtship success as a measure of pre- and post-mating female mate choice. Furthermore, males with higher SPP120 expression levels achieved greater mating success. These findings highlight the complex interplay between sexual selection and molecular adaptation, providing new insights into the evolution of animal reproductive strategies.
Spatial storage effect facilitates evolutionary rescue in rapidly changing environments.
Rowland EN, Gulisija D
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41026086 · Publisher ↗
The storage effect is a plausible natural mechanism that generates balanced genetic polymorphism in temporally varying environments. Balanced polymorphism may facilitate evolutionary rescue, promoting the persistence of...
The storage effect is a plausible natural mechanism that generates balanced genetic polymorphism in temporally varying environments. Balanced polymorphism may facilitate evolutionary rescue, promoting the persistence of populations otherwise destined for extinction. However, it is unknown whether the storage effect can be established in small populations whose size is allowed to vary, and if so, whether it will lead to evolutionary rescue. In this study, we investigate whether the spatial storage effect emerges and facilitates evolutionary rescue across small populations of variable sizes that inhabit heterogeneous, temporally varying environments and exchange migrants. We use an eco-evolutionary model to examine the phenomenon under a wide set of conditions, including the magnitudes and periods of temporal variation, habitat harshness, migration rates, the degrees of spatial heterogeneity, and increasing fitness oscillations over time, all within the framework of the logistic population growth model. We find that the storage effect emerges and that it increases the persistence of populations in harsh, temporally varying habitats beyond levels expected in the absence of the mechanism. This mechanism demonstrates how rapid evolution broadens the known conditions for population persistence in the face of rapid and continuous environmental changes.
Is phenotypic plasticity use-it-or-lose-it? Exploring genetic assimilation of salinity-plastic traits across threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations.
Spence-Jones HC, Webster M, Wund MA … +3 more , Baker JA, Foster SA, Lala KN
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41014228 · Publisher ↗
Understanding the response of phenotypically plastic traits to novel environments is critical to predicting evolutionary dynamics. "Simpson-Baldwin dynamics" refer to the expected evolutionary response of a plastic trait...
Understanding the response of phenotypically plastic traits to novel environments is critical to predicting evolutionary dynamics. "Simpson-Baldwin dynamics" refer to the expected evolutionary response of a plastic trait to a constant novel environment: an initial increase in plasticity followed by a long-term decline. While theoretically well-supported, demonstrating Simpson-Baldwin dynamics has proven elusive in natural populations-and the mechanisms underlying a predicted long-term loss of plasticity remain obscure, with no clear evidence of a universal cost to plasticity. By lab-rearing diverse, wild-caught threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations under a range of salinities and recording the plasticity of morphological, physiological, and fitness-related traits, we provide evidence of Simpson-Baldwin dynamics and insights into the underlying mechanisms. Following freshwater colonization, populations showed a short-term increase or maintenance of salinity tolerance breadth-while a subsequent loss of salinity tolerance occurred in most, but not all, populations over the longer term. Despite variability amongst physiological and morphological responses to increased salinity across populations, we find that resolution of generalist-specialist trade-offs may drive plasticity loss: less-plastic populations grew faster in freshwater. Our findings establish that Simpson-Baldwin dynamics can apply to plastic traits in natural populations, although the underlying mechanisms may be variable, even within species.
Don't ask "when is it coevolution?"-ask "how?".
Yoder JB
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41014223 · Publisher ↗
Coevolution has come to be widely understood as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense definition arose from a desire for conceptual clarity, but it has never ref...
Coevolution has come to be widely understood as specific, simultaneous, reciprocal adaptation by pairs of interacting species. This strict-sense definition arose from a desire for conceptual clarity, but it has never reflected the much wider diversity of ways in which interacting species may shape each other's evolution. As a result, much of the literature on the evolutionary consequences of species interactions pays homage to the strict-sense definition while addressing some other form of coevolution. This tension suggests we should reframe the key question in coevolution research, from "when is it coevolution?" to, rather, "how is it coevolution?". The result is not so much a definition of coevolution as a mission statement: We can describe how species coevolve by documenting the ways that each species shaped the other's genetic diversity over a shared history of interaction. Making this change shifts our focus from identifying case studies for a single, narrowly defined process to describing the many ways-specific and diffuse, simultaneous and stepwise, and adaptive and nonadaptive-in which species evolve together.
Quantifying feedback among traits in coevolutionary models.
Long X, Lehtonen J, Henshaw JM
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 41004252 · Publisher ↗
Phenotypic traits rarely evolve in isolation. Instead, multiple traits typically interact to influence fitness, resulting in complex coevolutionary dynamics. Such dynamics can be predicted using mathematical frameworks,...
Phenotypic traits rarely evolve in isolation. Instead, multiple traits typically interact to influence fitness, resulting in complex coevolutionary dynamics. Such dynamics can be predicted using mathematical frameworks, such as adaptive dynamics and quantitative genetics. Selection gradients play a crucial role in these frameworks, describing the direction and strength of selection and thus predicting evolutionary trajectories and potential endpoints. Current theory focuses mainly on analysing how traits change in response to selection, which changes over time as traits evolve. However, the extent to which changes in each trait contribute to changes in the selection environment remains unquantified, leaving much of our understanding of trait coevolution reliant on verbal reasoning. To advance a more comprehensive and quantitative understanding of coevolutionary dynamics, we develop a general framework that examines how trait changes feedback to influence the selection environment. This framework enables a fine-grained and systematic investigation of coevolutionary feedback between traits and selection gradients by quantifying the pathways through which they influence one another. Our framework can be applied both to adaptive-dynamic models and to quantitative-genetic models under the weak selection limit. We illustrate our approach with three examples that showcase its potential to deepen our understanding of established models.
Incomplete genetic compensation and countergradient variation of blood-oxygen transport in deer mice.
Velotta JP, Stager M, Cheviron ZA … +1 more , Senner NR
Evolution · 2025 Nov · PMID 40990947 · Full text
Novel environments can induce fitness-reducing responses (i.e., maladaptive plasticity) that should be eliminated by selection via genetic compensation. Across an environmental gradient, genetic compensation may result i...
Novel environments can induce fitness-reducing responses (i.e., maladaptive plasticity) that should be eliminated by selection via genetic compensation. Across an environmental gradient, genetic compensation may result in a cryptic form of trait variation known as countergradient variation, in which genetic changes oppose environmental effects on trait expression. We combined lab and field data to quantify maladaptive hematological responses to hypoxia and cold in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) across their ∼4,000 m elevational range. In laboratory-raised mice native to low elevations, individuals increased their hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit in response to simulated high-elevation, a response that is maladaptive if unmitigated. In contrast, deer mice from high elevation increased hematocrit and hemoglobin to a lesser degree, consistent with genetic compensation. Unlike the predictions under complete genetic compensation, we observed a positive slope between hematological traits and elevation in the field, although this slope was lower than that observed in lowlanders in the lab. Our results suggest that deer mice have attenuated maladaptive hematological responses to high-elevation via genetic compensation that is incomplete, which has led to weak countergradient variation. We suggest this phenomenon is the result of a balance between positive selection for increased oxygen carrying capacity and antagonistic selection against elevated blood viscosity.
Sexual selection's role in the persistence of polymorphism in an aposematic signal.
González-Santoro M, Sudekum HJ, Murphy SN … +3 more , Richards RP, Yang Y, Richards-Zawacki CL
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 40990935 · Publisher ↗
The persistence of polymorphisms in aposematic species remains one of the most interesting paradoxes in evolutionary biology because aposematism theory suggests that polymorphisms should be unstable over time. We offer a...
The persistence of polymorphisms in aposematic species remains one of the most interesting paradoxes in evolutionary biology because aposematism theory suggests that polymorphisms should be unstable over time. We offer an explanation for the persistence of aposematic polymorphisms that considers not only the role of natural selection but also the role of sexual selection. While predation and mate choice generally act to erode signal variation, intraspecific competition may facilitate polymorphisms by reducing mate competition for males bearing the rarer warning signal. We tested this hypothesis in a population of the strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio), where red (common) and yellow (rare) morphs coexist using (1) a 10-year capture-mark-recapture experiment to study natural selection, (2) a territorial intrusion experiment, and (3) previously published mate choice experiments to study sexual selection. We found that rare yellow males suffer less aggression from male conspecifics, suggesting negative frequency dependent selection. Moreover, the more common and choosier red females have lower apparent survival than their less choosy yellow counterparts, suggesting that survival may be better explained by costs of exercising mate choice rather than by predation. Our work highlights the importance of considering multiple sources of selection in explaining the paradoxical persistence of aposematic polymorphisms.
Caecilians maintain a functional long-wavelength-sensitive cone opsin gene despite signatures of relaxed selection and more than 200 million years of fossoriality.
Navarrete Méndez MJ, Amini SS, Santos JC … +4 more , Saal J, Wake MH, Ron SR, Tarvin RD
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 40990923 · Full text
Vision is tuned to animals' ecologies, evolving in response to specific light environments and visual needs. Transitions to fossorial lifestyles impose strong selective pressures favoring adaptations for underground life...
Vision is tuned to animals' ecologies, evolving in response to specific light environments and visual needs. Transitions to fossorial lifestyles impose strong selective pressures favoring adaptations for underground life, such as increased skull ossification and reduced eye protrusion. Fossoriality may simultaneously relax constraints on vision leading to diminished visual capabilities. Caecilians (Gymnophiona)-specialized, fossorial amphibians-possess reduced eyes covered by skin or bone. For years, these traits, along with the presence of a single photoreceptor expressing one functional opsin gene, have been interpreted as evidence of limited vision, including an inability to focus or perceive color. Our results challenge these assumptions: we identified the long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsin gene in 13 species of caecilians spanning 8 of 10 recognized families. Molecular evidence indicates that LWS is intact and transcribed in the eye of at least one species (Caecilia orientalis). However, the specific photoreceptor type expressing LWS remains uncertain, as our survey of cone phototransduction genes revealed a mosaic of losses, and anatomical observations from five families did not conclusively identify cone-like cells, though they revealed highly organized retinae even in families with vestigial eyes. Altogether, our results suggest that vision in caecilians may be underestimated and the role of color perception in their ecology is possible.
A pangenomic approach reveals the sources of genetic variation fueling the rapid radiation of Capuchino Seedeaters.
Recuerda M, Kraemer S, Rosoni JRR … +6 more , Repenning M, Browne M, Cataudela JF, Di Giacomo AS, Kopuchian C, Campagna L
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 40985593 · Publisher ↗
The search for the genetic basis of phenotypes has primarily focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms, often overlooking structural variants (SVs). SVs can significantly affect gene function, but detecting and characte...
The search for the genetic basis of phenotypes has primarily focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms, often overlooking structural variants (SVs). SVs can significantly affect gene function, but detecting and characterizing them is challenging, even with long-read sequencing. Moreover, traditional single-reference methods can fail to capture many genetic variants. Using long reads, we generated a Capuchino Seedeater (Sporophila) pangenome, including 16 individuals from 7 species, to investigate how SVs contribute to species and coloration differences. Leveraging this pangenome, we mapped short-read data from 127 individuals, genotyped variants identified in the pangenome graph, and subsequently performed FST scans and genome-wide association studies. Species divergence primarily arises from SNPs and indels (< 50 bp) in non-coding regions of melanin-related genes, as larger SVs rarely overlap with divergence peaks. One exception was a 55 bp deletion near the OCA2 and HERC2 genes, associated with feather pheomelanin content. These findings support the hypothesis that the reshuffling of small regulatory alleles, rather than larger species-specific mutations, accelerated plumage evolution leading to prezygotic isolation in Capuchinos.
The capacity for adaptation to climate warming in a naturalized annual plant (Brassica rapa).
So CP, Rotman S, Grieshop K … +1 more , Weis AE
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 40982227 · Publisher ↗
The persistence of a declining population under environmental change may depend on how fast natural selection restores fitness, a process called "evolutionary rescue". In turn, evolutionary rescue depends on a population...
The persistence of a declining population under environmental change may depend on how fast natural selection restores fitness, a process called "evolutionary rescue". In turn, evolutionary rescue depends on a population's adaptive capacity, which can be defined as the ratio between additive genetic variance for fitness [VA(W)] and mean fitness ($\bar W$), or represented by ${\Delta _{\textit{evol}}}\bar W$. However, little is known about how both VA(W) and $\bar W$ change in wild populations during environmental change, including changes in dominance variance for fitness [VD(W)]. We assessed the change in ${\Delta _{\textit{evol}}}\bar W$ and VD(W) for a Québec population of wild mustard (Brassica rapa) under climate warming. We also assessed adaptive constraints that could arise from negative genetic correlations for fitness across environments. We grew a pedigreed population of 7,000 plants under ambient and heated (+4 °C) temperatures and estimated the change in mean survival and fecundity ($\bar W$), VA(W), and VD(W), plus cross-environment genetic correlations (rA). VA for fecundity non-significantly increased under heated conditions, mean fecundity ($\bar W$) increased significantly, and ${\Delta _{\textit{evol}}}\bar W$ was unchanged. We also detected no significant rA for survival and fecundity, suggesting little antagonistic constraint to adaptation. Overall, while this B. rapa population may feature some adaptive plasticity via fecundity, its adaptive capacity to warming seems limited.
Comprehensive phylogenetic trait estimations support ancestral omnivory in the ecologically diverse bat family Phyllostomidae.
Yi X, Kontopoulos DG, Hiller M
Evolution · 2025 Nov · PMID 40982218 · Publisher ↗
Adaptive radiations often occur with an early burst, which requires both various niches and a generalist ancestor. However, ancestral generalism remains hard to test. The New World leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae)...
Adaptive radiations often occur with an early burst, which requires both various niches and a generalist ancestor. However, ancestral generalism remains hard to test. The New World leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae) represent an adaptive radiation with highly diverse diets, including arthropods, nectar, and fruits. Ancestral omnivory may have facilitated the phyllostomid radiation, but previous estimations supported ancestral insectivory. These estimations were limited by single-trait models, constrained transitions, and unaccounted phylogenetic uncertainty. To address these limitations, we estimated ancestral diets through multi-response phylogenetic threshold models using discrete ordered diets (141 phyllostomid species) and multivariate Brownian motion models using continuous compositional diets (109 phyllostomid species) from published datasets, while explicitly accounting for phylogenetic uncertainty using published mammalian phylogenies. We infer complementary fruit feeding in the phyllostomid common ancestor and at the early burst of their radiation, supporting the ancestral omnivory hypothesis. Extending this analysis to all bat families (621 species) reveals independently evolved ancestral fruit feeding in four families, but only Phyllostomidae and Pteropodidae evolved predominant/strict fruit feeding and high species diversity. Therefore, our results reveal that ancestral generalism (i.e., omnivory) may be a precondition but does not necessarily lead to adaptive radiations, which also require subsequent niche partitioning.
Effects of parental age at conception on offspring life history trajectories in a long-lived bird.
Moullec H, Berger V, Meier C … +2 more , Reichert S, Bize P
Evolution · 2025 Dec · PMID 40973805 · Publisher ↗
Parental age at conception can have both short- and long-term consequences on the health, survival, and reproduction of their offspring. To date, most of our knowledge comes from laboratory studies, and considers the eff...
Parental age at conception can have both short- and long-term consequences on the health, survival, and reproduction of their offspring. To date, most of our knowledge comes from laboratory studies, and considers the effects of maternal age and a "snapshot" of the life history trajectory of the offspring. Here, we use a multigenerational demographic dataset in a free-living, long-lived (median lifespan is 7 years old) bird, the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba), to investigate the effects of maternal and paternal age on offspring traits, from nestling to adulthood, and considering all major life history traits, from growth and age at first reproduction to reproductive success and lifespan. Parental age affected offspring phenotype before fledging and lifespan, but differently so for sons and daughters. Offspring from old-age mothers (≥11 years old) and fathers (≥9 years old) were bigger and less infested by ectoparasites before fledging, except sons from old-age fathers that show no reduction in ectoparasite load. We also report evidence of negative effects of paternal age on the lifespan of their offspring (i.e., Lansing effect), with sons (but not daughters) from old-age fathers having shorter lifespans. Our findings highlight the importance of the transgenerational effects of parental age at conception on the reproductive performance, survival, and phenotype of their offspring.
Evolution of dominance in a Mendelian trait is linked to the evolution of environmental plasticity.
Fukutomi Y, Phillips-Garcia A, Liu J … +4 more , Chuang A, Watada M, Ramniwas S, Kopp A
Evolution · 2026 Jan · PMID 40971777 · Full text
Allelic dominance and phenotypic plasticity both influence how genetic variation is expressed in phenotypes, shaping evolutionary responses to selection. In both cases, changes in genotype or environment can cause sharp,...
Allelic dominance and phenotypic plasticity both influence how genetic variation is expressed in phenotypes, shaping evolutionary responses to selection. In both cases, changes in genotype or environment can cause sharp, nonlinear phenotypic shifts, hinting at shared underlying features of development that may link dominance and plasticity. Here, we investigate these links using a Mendelian, female-limited color dimorphism found in many species of the Drosophila montium lineage. In most species, the Dark allele is dominant, but two species-D. jambulina and D. cf. bocqueti-have been reported to have dominant Light alleles. We show that in both Dark-dominant and Light-dominant species, the color dimorphism is linked to the same locus: the POU domain motif 3 (pdm3) transcription factor. We then demonstrate that the interspecific differences in dominance relationships between pdm3 alleles are due to changes in phenotypic plasticity. In the Dark-dominant species D. rufa and D. burlai, the Dark allele is dominant across all developmental temperatures. In contrast, in both Light-dominant species, dominance is temperature-dependent, with the Light allele becoming increasingly dominant at higher temperatures. These results suggest a mechanistic connection between dominance and phenotypic plasticity. We propose that this connection may emerge from threshold-like properties of developmental systems.
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