scholarly journals Explaining the distribution of breeding and dispersal syndromes in conifers

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1770) ◽  
pp. 20131812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Leslie ◽  
Jeremy M. Beaulieu ◽  
Peter R. Crane ◽  
Michael J. Donoghue
Keyword(s):  
Life History Traits ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Woody Growth ◽  
Animal Dispersed Seeds

The evolution of plants exhibiting different sexes, or dioecy, is correlated with a number of ecological and life-history traits such as woody growth form and animal-dispersed seeds, but the underlying causes of these associations are unclear. Previous work in seed plants has suggested that the evolution of fleshy cones or seeds may favour dioecy. In this study, we use a well-sampled molecular phylogeny of conifers to show that although dioecy and fleshiness strongly co-occur at the species level, this relationship has not resulted from numerous separate origins of this trait combination or from differential rates of diversification. Instead, we suggest that two character combinations—the ancestral dry-monoecious condition and the derived fleshy-dioecious condition—have persisted in conifers longer than other combinations over evolutionary time. The persistence of these trait combinations appears to reflect differences in the rate of successful transition into and out of these character states over time, as well as the geographical restriction of species with rare combinations and their consequent vulnerability to extinction. In general, we argue that such persistence explanations should be considered alongside ‘key innovation’ hypotheses in explaining the phylogenetic distribution of traits.

scholarly journals Dispersal syndromes are poorly associated with climatic niche differences in the Azorean seed plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Leo ◽  
Manuel J. Steinbauer ◽  
Paulo A.V. Borges ◽  
Eduardo B. Azevedo ◽  
Rosalina Gabriel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Plants ◽  
Climatic Niche ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Niche Differences

scholarly journals Long-term changes in the susceptibility of corals to thermal stress around Phuket, Thailand

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lalita Putchim ◽  
Niphon Phongsuwan ◽  
Chaimongkol Yaemarunpattana ◽  
Nalinee Thongtham ◽  
Claudio Richter
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Pocillopora Damicornis ◽  
Rapid Adaptation ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Belt Transect ◽  
Line Intercept

The bleaching susceptibility of 28 coral taxa around southern Phuket was examined in four natural major bleaching events, in 1991, 1995, 2010, and 2016. Surveys were conducted by line intercept and belt transect methods. All coral colonies were identified to genus or species-level and their pigmentation status was assessed as: (1) fully pigmented (i.e. no bleaching), (2) pale (loss of colour), (3) fully bleached, and (4) recently dead as a result of bleaching-induced mortality. Bleaching and mortality indices were calculated to compare bleaching susceptibility among coral taxa. In 2016 some of the formerly bleaching susceptible coral taxa (e.g. Acropora, Montipora, Echinopora, and Pocillopora damicornis) showed far greater tolerance to elevated sea water temperature than in previous years. In P. damicornis the higher bleaching resistance encompassed all sizes from juveniles (<5cm) to adults (>30cm). In contrast, some of the formerly bleaching-resistant corals (e.g. the massive Porites, Goniastrea, Dipsastraea, and Favites) became more susceptible to bleaching over repeated thermal stress events. Our results support the hypothesis that some of the fast-growing branching corals (Acropora, Montipora, and Pocillopora) may have life-history traits that lead to more rapid adaptation to a changed environment than certain growing massive species.

Life-history traits and ploidy levels in the genus Capsella (Brassicaceae)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1354-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Neuffer ◽  
Silke Eschner
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Ploidy Level ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Ploidy Levels ◽  
Random Block ◽  
Germination Behaviour ◽  
Tetraploid Cytotypes

In a random block field experiment, life-history traits associated with colonizing ability of diploid and tetraploid cytotypes of Capsella (Brassicaceae) were compared. These were germination, flowering, growth-form parameters, and leaf shape. Data are not in favour of differences in germination behaviour between the diploid and tetraploid Capsella species, as germination rate and capacity are highly influenced by inception and release of seed dormancy. Although our data at first glance seem to suggest that diploid C. rubella start flowering later than tetraploid C. bursa-pastoris, considerable ecotypic variation for flowering in both species makes it difficult to assign an effect specifically to ploidy level. We also conclude that plant height, rosette diameter, and branching number are not directly determined by ploidy level. In contrast however, leaf shape is clearly determined by ploidy level. In the light of all available data including data of previous experiments, we suggest that gene duplication by polyploidization may have been a key element that provided C. bursa-pastoris with additional genetic flexibility. It is not primarily the gain of colonization ability, as both species are weeds and colonizers. Rather, the greater genetic flexibility enabled C. bursa-pastoris to extend its range beyond that of C. rubella. Key words: ploidy level, germination, flowering, growth form, leaf morphology, Capsella.

scholarly journals Dispersal as a source of variation in age-specific reproductive strategies in a wild population of lizards

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1820) ◽  
pp. 20151741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Cotto ◽  
Manuel Massot ◽  
Ophélie Ronce ◽  
Jean Clobert
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Offspring Sex Ratio ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Common Lizard ◽  
High Investment

Dispersal syndromes describe the patterns of covariation of morphological, behavioural, and life-history traits associated with dispersal. Studying dispersal syndromes is critical to understanding the demographic and genetic consequences of movements. Among studies describing the association of life-history traits with dispersal, there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that dispersal syndromes can vary with age. Recent theory also suggests that dispersive and philopatric individuals might have different age-specific reproductive efforts. In a wild population of the common lizard ( Zootoca vivipara ), we investigated whether dispersive and philopatric individuals have different age-specific reproductive effort, survival, offspring body condition, and offspring sex ratio. Consistent with theoretical predictions, we found that young dispersive females have a higher reproductive effort than young philopatric females. Our results also suggest that the early high investment in reproduction of dispersive females trades-off with an earlier onset of senescence than in philopatric females. We further found that young dispersive females produce smaller offspring in lower body condition than do young philopatric females. Overall, our results provide empirical evidence that dispersive and philopatric individuals have different age-specific life-history traits.

Genetic variation in the widespread Embothrium coccineum (Proteaceae) endemic to Patagonia: effects of phylogeny and historical events

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cintia P. Souto ◽  
Andrea C. Premoli
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Cold Tolerant ◽  
Parsimony Trees

Allozyme electrophoresis was used to measure and compare, with other members of the Proteaceae, levels and distribution of genetic diversity in Embothrium coccineum J.R.Forst., a widespread outcrossing species endemic of Andean Patagonian forests. We analysed variation at the species level by sampling 34 populations along its entire range of ~20° latitude. We tested the hypothesis of multiple Pleistocene refugia by phylogeographic methods. We resolved 16 isozyme loci assayed in 934 adult trees. At the species level, total genetic diversity (HT = 0.220) was similar to that of other outcrossed and widespread plant species. Genetic parameters (NA, PSS, HE) were not statistically different from other outcrossed but mostly range-restricted Proteaceae, reflecting a strong phylogenetic imprinting for species sharing life-history traits. Populations are genetically divergent among each other (FST = 0.202). The low correlation between geographic and genetic distances suggests separate histories, i.e. multiple glacial refugia for the cold-tolerant E. coccineum. Phylogeographic trees produced different topologies, although maximum likelihood and parsimony trees shared some elements. Both trees suggest a northern and central clade, and then a separate southern clade. Current processes such as gene flow and selection confound the historic signal. These results seem in contrast to many of the northern hemisphere post-glacial phylogeographic reconstructions which show clear historical tracks of northern range expansion from southern refugia. The present study highlights the importance of phylogenetic imprinting, life-history traits and historical events driving genetic diversity patterns in this widespread Proteaceae from southern South America.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Diaspore Characteristics with Phylogeny, Life History Traits, and Their Ecological Adaptation of 150 Species from the Cold Desert of Northwest China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Liang Liu ◽  
Dao-Yuan Zhang ◽  
Shi-Min Duan ◽  
Xi-Yong Wang ◽  
Ming-Fang Song
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Biological Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Adaptation ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Cold Desert ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert ◽  
The Relationship

Diaspore characteristics of 22 families, including 102 genera and 150 species (55 represented by seeds and 95 by fruits) from the Gurbantunggut Desert were analyzed for diaspore biological characteristics (mass, shape, color, and appendage type). The diaspore mass and shape were significantly different in phylogeny group (APG) and dispersal syndromes; vegetative periods significantly affected diaspore mass, but not diaspore shape; and ecotypes did not significantly affect diaspore mass and shape, but xerophyte species had larger diaspore mass than mesophyte species. Unique stepwise ANOVA results showed that variance in diaspore mass and shape among these 150 species was largely dependent upon phylogeny and dispersal syndromes. Therefore, it was suggested that phylogeny may constrain diaspore mass, and as dispersal syndromes may be related to phylogeny, they also constrained diaspore mass and shape. Diaspores of 85 species (56.67%) had appendages, including 26 with wings/bracts, 18 with pappus/hair, 14 with hooks/spines, 10 with awns, and 17 with other types of appendages. Different traits (mass, shape, color, appendage, and dispersal syndromes) of diaspore decided plants forming different adapted strategies in the desert. In summary, the diaspore characteristics were closely related with phylogeny, vegetative periods, dispersal syndromes, and ecotype, and these characteristics allowed the plants to adapt to extreme desert environments.

scholarly journals Variation in life-history traits among Daphnia and its relationship to species-level responses to phosphorus limitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 191024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Hartnett
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Food Quality ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Phosphorus Limitation ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
P Limitation

Currently organisms are experiencing changes in their environment at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, the study of the contributions to and responses in traits linked to fitness is crucial, as they have direct consequences on a population's success in persisting under such a change. Daphnia is used as a model organism as the genus contains keystone primary consumers in aquatic food webs. A life-history table experiment (LHTE) using four species of Daphnia was conducted to compare variation in life-history traits among species across two different environmental conditions (high and low phosphorus availability). Results indicate that the food quality environment had the most impact on life-history traits, while genetic contributions to traits were higher at the species-level than clonal-level. Higher trait variation and species-level responses to P-limitation were more evident in reproductive traits, while growth traits were found to be less affected by food quality and had less variation. Exploring trait variation and potential plasticity in organisms is increasingly important to consider as a potential mechanism for population persistence given the fluctuations in environmental stressors we are currently experiencing.

Does temporal variation in predation risk affect antipredator responses of larval Indian Skipper Frogs (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis)?

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-209
Author(s):  
S.C. Supekar ◽  
N.P. Gramapurohit
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Seasonal Cycles ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Euphlyctis Cyanophlyctis ◽  
Specific Behaviour ◽  
Antipredator Responses ◽  
Long Tails

Predation risk varies on a moment-to-moment basis, through day and night, lunar and seasonal cycles, and over evolutionary time. Hence, it is adaptive for prey animals to exhibit environment-specific behaviour, morphology, and (or) life-history traits. Herein, the effects of temporally varying predation risk on growth, behaviour, morphology, and life-history traits of larval Indian Skipper Frogs (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis (Schneider, 1799)) were studied by exposing them to no risk, continuous, predictable, and unpredictable risks at different time points. Our results show that larval E. cyanophlyctis could learn the temporal pattern of risk leading to weaker behavioural responses under predictable risk and stronger responses to unpredictable risk. Temporally varying predation risk had a significant impact on tadpole morphology. Tadpoles facing continuous risk had narrow tail muscles. Tadpoles facing predictable risk during the day were heavy with wide and deep tail muscles, whereas those facing predictable risk at night had long tails. Tadpoles facing unpredictable risk were heavy with narrow tail muscles. Metamorphic traits of E. cyanophlyctis were also affected by the temporal variation in predation risk. Tadpoles facing predictable risk during the day emerged at the largest size. However, tadpoles facing predictable risk at night and unpredictable risk metamorphosed earlier, whereas those facing continuous risk metamorphosed later.

scholarly journals A physiologically explicit morphospace for tracheid-based water transport in modern and extinct seed plants

Paleobiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Wilson ◽  
Andrew H. Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Resistance ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Morphometric Analysis ◽  
Ginkgo Biloba ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Seed Plant ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

We present a morphometric analysis of water transport cells within a physiologically explicit three-dimensional space. Previous work has shown that cell length, diameter, and pit resistance govern the hydraulic resistance of individual conducting cells; thus, we use these three parameters as axes for our morphospace. We compare living and extinct plants within this space to investigate how patterns of plant conductivity have changed over evolutionary time. Extinct coniferophytes fall within the range of living conifers, despite differences in tracheid-level anatomy. Living cycads, Ginkgo biloba, the Miocene fossil Ginkgo beckii, and extinct cycadeoids overlap with both conifers and vesselless angiosperms. Three Paleozoic seed plants, however, occur in a portion of the morphospace that no living seed plant occupies. Lyginopteris, Callistophyton, and, especially, Medullosa evolved tracheids with high conductivities similar to those of some vessel-bearing angiosperms. Such fossils indicate that extinct seed plants evolved a structural and functional diversity of xylem architectures broader, in some ways, than the range observable in living seed plants.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document