Differences in plumage coloration predict female but not male territorial responses in three antbird sister species pairs

AbstractThe Nearctic species of Lonchoptera Meigen are reviewed, including three new species: L. barberi Klymko sp. nov. from Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, L. megaloba Klymko sp. nov. from British Columbia and California, and L. longiphallus Klymko sp. nov. from British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Lonchoptera borealis Curran is proposed as a new junior synonym of L. impicta Zetterstedt, and L. occidentalis Curran is proposed as a new junior synonym of L. uniseta Curran. Lonchoptera nigrociliata Duda, formerly known only from the Palaearctic Region, is recorded from the Yukon and Alaska. Descriptions, a key, and Nearctic distribution maps are presented. Phylogenetic relationships are briefly discussed and two sister species pairs are documented.

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Prevalence of disruptive selection predicts extent of species differentiation in Lake Victoria cichlids

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2017.2630 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 285 (1871) ◽

pp. 20172630 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jacco C. van Rijssel ◽

Florian N. Moser ◽

David Frei ◽

Ole Seehausen

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Natural Selection ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Lake Victoria ◽

Sister Species ◽

Disruptive Selection ◽

Nuptial Coloration ◽

Ecological Selection ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Species Pairs

Theory suggests that speciation with gene flow is most likely when both sexual and ecological selection are divergent or disruptive. Divergent sexual and natural selection on the visual system have been demonstrated before in sympatric, morphologically similar sister species of Lake Victoria cichlids, but this does not explain the subtle morphological differences between them. To investigate the significance of natural selection on morphology during speciation, we here ask whether the prevalence of disruptive ecological selection differs between sympatric sister species that are at different stages of speciation. Some of our species pairs do ( Pundamilia ) and others do not ( Neochromis ) differ distinctively in sexually selected male nuptial coloration. We find that (i) evidence for disruptive selection, and for evolutionary response to it, is prevalent in traits that are differentiated between sister species; (ii) prevalence of both predicts the extent of genetic differentiation; and (iii) genetic differentiation is weaker in species pairs with conserved male nuptial coloration. Our results speak to the existence of two different mechanisms of speciation with gene flow: speciation mainly by sexual selection tightly followed by ecological character displacement in some cases and speciation mainly by divergent ecological selection in others.

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The Pleistocene species pump past its prime: evidence from European butterfly sister species

10.1101/2020.09.04.282962 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sam Ebdon ◽

Dominik R. Laetsch ◽

Leonardo Dapporto ◽

Alexander Hayward ◽

Michael G. Ritchie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Contact Zone ◽

Sister Species ◽

Transcriptome Data ◽

Last Interglacial ◽

Species Divergence ◽

Glacial Cycles ◽

Contact Zones ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Species Pairs

AbstractThe Pleistocene glacial cycles had a profound impact on the ranges and genetic make-up of organisms. Whilst it is clear that the contact zones that have been described for many sister taxa are secondary and have formed during the last interglacial, it is unclear when the taxa involved began to diverge. Previous estimates based on small numbers of loci are unreliable given the stochasticity of genetic drift and the contrasting effects of incomplete lineage sorting and gene flow on gene divergence. Here we use genome-wide transcriptome data to estimate divergence for 18 sister species pairs of European butterflies showing either sympatric or contact zone distributions. We find that in most cases species divergence predates the mid-Pleistocene transition or even the entire Pleistocene period. We also show that although post divergence gene flow is restricted to contact zone pairs, they are not systematically younger than sympatric pairs. This suggests that contact zones are not limited to the embryonic stages of the speciation process, but can involve notably old taxa. Finally, we show that mitochondrial and nuclear divergence are only weakly correlated and mitochondrial divergence is higher for contact-zone pairs. This suggests a possible role of selective sweeps affecting mitochondrial variation in maintaining contact zones.Impact SummaryThe influence of the Pleistocene glacial cycles on structuring species and genetic diversity in temperate taxa has permeated biogeographic and phylogeographic thinking for decades. Although phylogeographic studies have repeatedly claimed that the Pleistocene acted as a species pump, systematic tests of this idea based on robust estimates of species divergence are lacking. Here we estimate divergence times for all sister species pairs of European butterfly using genome-wide transcriptome data. We find that most species pairs are substantially older than the onset of Pleistocene glacial cycling. We also show that post divergence gene flow is restricted to pairs that form contact-zones. However, in contrast to expectations under a null model of allopatric speciation contract zone pairs are not necessarily younger than sympatric pairs.

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Geography of speciation affects rate of trait divergence in haemulid fishes

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2018.2852 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 286 (1896) ◽

pp. 20182852 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

José J. Tavera ◽

Peter C. Wainwright

Keyword(s):

Divergence Time ◽

Marine Species ◽

Sister Species ◽

Colour Pattern ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Trait Divergence ◽

Species Pairs ◽

Species Comparisons ◽

Elevated Rate ◽

Patterns And Processes

Speciation and the interactions between recently diverged species are thought to be major causes of ecological and morphological divergence in evolutionary radiations. Here, we explore the extent to which geographical overlap and time since speciation may promote divergence in marine species, which represent a small fraction of currently published studies about the patterns and processes of speciation. A time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of New World haemulid fishes, a major radiation of reef and shore fishes in the tropical West Atlantic and East Pacific, reveals 21 sister species pairs, of which eight are fully sympatric and 13 are allopatric. Sister species comparisons show a non-significant relation between most of the phenotypic traits and time since divergence in allopatric taxa. Additionally, we find no difference between sympatric and allopatric pairs in the rate of divergence in colour pattern, overall body shape, or functional morphological traits associated with locomotion or feeding. However, sympatric pairs show a significant decrease in the rate of divergence in all of these traits with increasing time since their divergence, suggesting an elevated rate of divergence at the time of speciation, the effect of which attenuates as divergence time increases. Our results are consistent with an important role for geographical overlap driving phenotypic divergence early in the speciation process, but the lack of difference in rates between sympatric and allopatric pairs indicates that the interactions between closely related species are not dominant drivers of this divergence.

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Introgression between ecologically distinct species following increased salinity in the Colorado Delta- Worldwide implications for impacted estuary diversity

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4056 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e4056 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Clive L.F. Lau ◽

David K. Jacobs

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Habitat Destruction ◽

Sister Species ◽

Past Century ◽

Salinity Regime ◽

Salinity Gradients ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Species Pairs

We investigate hybridization and introgression between ecologically distinct sister species of silverside fish in the Gulf of California through combined analysis of morphological, sequence, and genotypic data. Water diversions in the past century turned the Colorado River Delta from a normal estuary to a hypersaline inverse estuary, raising concerns for the local fauna, much of which is endangered. Salinity differences are known to generate ecological species pairs and we anticipated that loss of the fresher-water historic salinity regime could alter the adaptive factors maintaining distinction between the broadly distributed Gulf-endemicColpichthys regisand the narrowly restricted Delta-endemicColpichthys hubbsi, the species that experienced dramatic environmental change. In this altered environmental context, these long-isolated species (as revealed by Cytochromebsequences) show genotypic (RAG1, microsatellites) evidence of active hybridization where the species ranges abut, as well as directional introgression fromC. regisinto the range center ofC. hubbsi. Bayesian group assignment (STRUCTURE) on six microsatellite loci and multivariate analyses (DAPC) on both microsatellites and phenotypic data further support substantial recent admixture between the sister species. Although we find no evidence for recent population decline inC. hubbsibased on mitochondrial sequence, introgression may be placing an ancient ecological species at risk of extinction. Such introgressive extinction risk should also pertain to other ecological species historically sustained by the now changing Delta environment. More broadly, salinity gradient associated ecological speciation is evident in silverside species pairs in many estuarine systems around the world. Ecological species pairs among other taxa in such systems are likely poorly understood or cryptic. As water extraction accelerates in river systems worldwide, salinity gradients will necessarily be altered, impacting many more estuary and delta systems. Such alteration of habitats will place biodiversity at risk not only from direct effects of habitat destruction, but also from the potential for the breakdown of ecological species. Thus, evolutionary response to the anthropogenic alteration of salinity gradients in estuaries merits investigation as the number of impacted systems increases around the globe, permitting parallel study of multiple systems, while also permitting a conservation management response to help preserve this little championed component of biodiversity.

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Introgression between ecologically distinct species following increased salinity in the Colorado Delta- Worldwide implications for impacted estuary diversity

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3281 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Clive L.F. Lau ◽

David K. Jacobs

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Habitat Destruction ◽

Sister Species ◽

Past Century ◽

Salinity Regime ◽

Salinity Gradients ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Species Pairs

We investigate hybridization and introgression between ecologically distinct sister species of silverside fish in the Gulf of California through combined analysis of morphological, sequence, and genotypic data. Water diversions in the past century turned the Colorado River Delta from a normal estuary to a hypersaline inverse estuary, raising concerns for the local fauna, much of which is endangered. Salinity differences are known to generate ecological species pairs and we anticipated that loss of the fresher-water historic salinity regime could alter the adaptive factors maintaining distinction between the broadly distributed Gulf-endemic Colpichthys regis and the narrowly restricted Delta-endemic Colpichthis hubbsi, the species that experienced dramatic environmental change. In this altered environmental context, these long-isolated species (as revealed by Cytochrome b sequences) show genotypic (RAG1, microsatellites) evidence of active hybridization where the species ranges abut, as well as directional introgression from C. regis into the range center of C. hubbsi. Bayesian group assignment (STRUCTURE) on six microsatellite loci and multivariate analyses (DAPC) on both microsatellites and phenotypic data further support substantial recent admixture between the sister species. Although we find no evidence for recent population decline in C. hubbsi based on mitochondrial sequence, introgression may be placing an ancient ecological species at risk of extinction. Such introgressive extinction risk should also pertain to a number of other ecological species historically sustained by the now changing Delta environment. More broadly, salinity gradient associated ecological speciation is evident in silverside species pairs in many estuarine systems around the world. Ecological species pairs among other taxa in such systems are likely poorly understood or cryptic. As water extraction accelerates in river systems worldwide, salinity gradients will necessarily be altered, impacting many more estuary and delta systems. Such alteration of habitats will place biodiversity at risk not only from direct effects of habitat destruction, but also from the potential for the breakdown of ecological species. Thus, evolutionary response to the anthropogenic alteration of salinity gradients in estuaries merits investigation as the number of impacted systems increases around the globe, permitting parallel study of multiple systems, while also permitting a conservation management response to help preserve this little championed component of biodiversity.

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The geography and ecology of plant speciation: range overlap and niche divergence in sister species

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2013.2980 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 281 (1778) ◽

pp. 20132980 ◽

Cited By ~ 129

Author(s):

Brian L. Anacker ◽

Sharon Y. Strauss

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Character Displacement ◽

Sister Species ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Species Pairs ◽

Shared Ancestry ◽

Ecological Shifts ◽

Range Overlap ◽

Close Relatives ◽

Age Range

A goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the roles of geography and ecology in speciation. The recent shared ancestry of sister species can leave a major imprint on their geographical and ecological attributes, possibly revealing processes involved in speciation. We examined how ecological similarity, range overlap and range asymmetry are related to time since divergence of 71 sister species pairs in the California Floristic Province (CFP). We found that plants exhibit strikingly different age-range correlation patterns from those found for animals; the latter broadly support allopatric speciation as the primary mode of speciation. By contrast, plant sisters in the CFP were sympatric in 80% of cases and range sizes of sisters differed by a mean of 10-fold. Range overlap and range asymmetry were greatest in younger sisters. These results suggest that speciation mechanisms broadly grouped under ‘budding’ speciation, in which a larger ranged progenitor gives rise to a smaller ranged derivative species, are probably common. The ecological and reproductive similarity of sisters was significantly greater than that of sister–non-sister congeners for every trait assessed. However, shifts in at least one trait were present in 93% of the sister pairs; habitat and soil shifts were especially common. Ecological divergence did not increase with range overlap contrary to expectations under character displacement in sympatry. Our results suggest that vicariant speciation is more ubiquitous in animals than plants, perhaps owing to the sensitivity of plants to fine-scale environmental heterogeneity. Despite high levels of range overlap, ecological shifts in the process of budding speciation may result in low rates of fine-scale spatial co-occurrence. These results have implications for ecological studies of trait evolution and community assembly; despite high levels of sympatry, sister taxa and potentially other close relatives, may be missing from local communities.

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Introgression between ecologically distinct species following increased salinity in the Colorado Delta- Worldwide implications for impacted estuary diversity

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3281v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Clive L.F. Lau ◽

David K. Jacobs

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Habitat Destruction ◽

Sister Species ◽

Past Century ◽

Salinity Regime ◽

Salinity Gradients ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Species Pairs

We investigate hybridization and introgression between ecologically distinct sister species of silverside fish in the Gulf of California through combined analysis of morphological, sequence, and genotypic data. Water diversions in the past century turned the Colorado River Delta from a normal estuary to a hypersaline inverse estuary, raising concerns for the local fauna, much of which is endangered. Salinity differences are known to generate ecological species pairs and we anticipated that loss of the fresher-water historic salinity regime could alter the adaptive factors maintaining distinction between the broadly distributed Gulf-endemic Colpichthys regis and the narrowly restricted Delta-endemic Colpichthis hubbsi, the species that experienced dramatic environmental change. In this altered environmental context, these long-isolated species (as revealed by Cytochrome b sequences) show genotypic (RAG1, microsatellites) evidence of active hybridization where the species ranges abut, as well as directional introgression from C. regis into the range center of C. hubbsi. Bayesian group assignment (STRUCTURE) on six microsatellite loci and multivariate analyses (DAPC) on both microsatellites and phenotypic data further support substantial recent admixture between the sister species. Although we find no evidence for recent population decline in C. hubbsi based on mitochondrial sequence, introgression may be placing an ancient ecological species at risk of extinction. Such introgressive extinction risk should also pertain to a number of other ecological species historically sustained by the now changing Delta environment. More broadly, salinity gradient associated ecological speciation is evident in silverside species pairs in many estuarine systems around the world. Ecological species pairs among other taxa in such systems are likely poorly understood or cryptic. As water extraction accelerates in river systems worldwide, salinity gradients will necessarily be altered, impacting many more estuary and delta systems. Such alteration of habitats will place biodiversity at risk not only from direct effects of habitat destruction, but also from the potential for the breakdown of ecological species. Thus, evolutionary response to the anthropogenic alteration of salinity gradients in estuaries merits investigation as the number of impacted systems increases around the globe, permitting parallel study of multiple systems, while also permitting a conservation management response to help preserve this little championed component of biodiversity.

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Multiple routes to interspecific territoriality in sister species of North American perching birds

10.1101/843516 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Madeline C. Cowen ◽

Jonathan P. Drury ◽

Gregory F. Grether

Keyword(s):

North American ◽

Resource Competition ◽

Sister Species ◽

Unstable State ◽

Multiple Origins ◽

Interspecific Territoriality ◽

Wide Range ◽

Species Pairs ◽

Multiple Routes ◽

Range Overlap

ABSTRACTBehavioral interference between species can influence a wide range of ecological and evolutionary processes. Here we test foundational hypotheses regarding the origins and maintenance of interspecific territoriality, and evaluate the role of interspecific territoriality and hybridization in shaping species distributions and transitions from parapatry to sympatry in sister species of North American perching birds (Passeriformes). We found that interspecific territoriality is pervasive among sympatric sister species pairs, and that interspecifically territorial species pairs have diverged more recently than sympatric non-interspecifically territorial pairs. None of the foundational hypotheses alone explain the observed patterns of interspecific territoriality, but our results support the idea that some cases of interspecific territoriality arise from misdirected intraspecific aggression while others are evolved responses to resource competition. The combination of interspecific territoriality and hybridization appears to be an unstable state associated with parapatry, while species that are interspecifically territorial and do not hybridize are able to achieve extensive fine- and coarse-scale breeding range overlap. In sum, these results suggest that interspecific territoriality has multiple origins and that interspecific territoriality and hybridization together can have striking impacts on species ranges.

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Linking Niches with Evolutionary Processes

Ecological Niches and Geographic Distributions (MPB-49) ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691136868.003.0015 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

A. Townsend Peterson ◽

Jorge Soberón ◽

Richard G. Pearson ◽

Robert P. Anderson ◽

Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecological Niche ◽

Ecological Niche Modeling ◽

Niche Modeling ◽

Sister Species ◽

Niche Conservatism ◽

Niche Evolution ◽

Future Directions ◽

Species Invasions ◽

As Species ◽

Species Pairs

This chapter examines how the process of ecological niche evolution and diversification helps us better understand ecology, biogeography, and biodiversity. It first considers how species respond to changes in the environmental substrate on which the niches are manifested before discussing the concept of niche conservatism as well as tests of conservatism in areas such as species invasions and comparison of the ecological niche requirements of sister–species pairs. It then explores how temporal change in niche dimensions occurs, how it can be studied, and what can be learned. It also describes some of the challenges associated with applications of ecological niche modeling in the realm of evolution and concludes by outlining future directions for research.

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