From genotype to phenotype: maintenance of a chemical polymorphism in the context of high geneflow

AbstractA major question in evolution is how to maintain many adaptive phenotypes within a species. In Mediterranean wild thyme, a staggering number of discrete chemical phenotypes (chemotypes) coexist in close geographic proximity. Plant chemotypes are defined by the dominant monoterpene produced in their essential oil. We study the genetics of six distinct chemotypes nested within two well established ecotypes. Ecotypes, and chemotypes within ecotypes, are spatially segregated, and their distribution tracks local differences in the abiotic environment. The ecotypes have undergone a rapid shift in distribution associated with current climate change. Here, combining genomic, phenotypic, and environmental data, we show how the genetics of ecotype determination can allow for such rapid evolutionary response despite high gene flow among ecotypes. Variation in three terpene-synthase loci explains almost all variation in ecotype identity, with one single locus accounting for as much as 78% of it. Phenotypic selection on ecotypes combined with low segregating genotypic redundancy and tight genetic determination leaves a clear footprint at the genomic level: alleles associated with ecotype identity track environmental variation despite extensive gene flow. Different chemotypes, nested within each ecotype, also track environmental variation. However, in contrast to ecotypes, chemotype identity is determined by more loci and show a wider range of genotypic redundancy, which dilutes the impact of phenotypic selection on alleles associated with different chemotypes. Identifying the genetics behind this polymorphism in thyme is a crucial step towards understanding the maintenance of this widespread chemical polymorphism found in many aromatic Lamiaceae.

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Fisheries management under climate and environmental uncertainty: control rules and performance simulation

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fst057 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 71 (8) ◽

pp. 2208-2220 ◽

Cited By ~ 105

Author(s):

André E. Punt ◽

Teresa A'mar ◽

Nicholas A. Bond ◽

Douglas S. Butterworth ◽

Carryn L. de Moor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fishery Management ◽

Climate Models ◽

Global Climate ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Environmental Variation ◽

Global Climate Models ◽

Reference Points ◽

Environmental Data ◽

And Performance ◽

The Impact

Abstract The ability of management strategies to achieve the fishery management goals are impacted by environmental variation and, therefore, also by global climate change. Management strategies can be modified to use environmental data using the “dynamic B0” concept, and changing the set of years used to define biomass reference points. Two approaches have been developed to apply management strategy evaluation to evaluate the impact of environmental variation on the performance of management strategies. The “mechanistic approach” estimates the relationship between the environment and elements of the population dynamics of the fished species and makes predictions for population trends using the outputs from global climate models. In contrast, the “empirical approach” examines possible broad scenarios without explicitly identifying mechanisms. Many reviewed studies have found that modifying management strategies to include environmental factors does not improve the ability to achieve management goals much, if at all, and only if the manner in which these factors drive the system is well known. As such, until the skill of stock projection models improves, it seems more appropriate to consider the implications of plausible broad forecasts related to how biological parameters may change in the future as a way to assess the robustness of management strategies, rather than attempting specific predictions per se.

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Ephemeroptera (Mayflies) Assemblages and Environmental Variation along Three Streams Located in the Dry-Hot Valleys of Baima Snow Mountain, Yunnan, Southwest China

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12090775 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 775

Author(s):

Muhammad Farooq ◽

Xianfu Li ◽

Lu Tan ◽

Davide Fornacca ◽

Yanpeng Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Composition ◽

Community Composition ◽

Environmental Variation ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Environmental Data ◽

Elevation Gradients ◽

Depth Analysis ◽

The Impact

Mountain freshwater ecosystems are threatened all over the world by a range of human-induced stresses, ensuing in a rapid loss of habitats and species diversity. Many macroinvertebrates are reactive to habitat disturbance, and mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are amongst the most sensitive groups. Despite they are susceptible to environmental deviation, knowledge concerning their species richness and diversity is still unknown in remote areas. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the mayfly species assemblage and community composition along different mountain streams and assess potential differences, and (2) identify the environmental variation and its influence on the structure of mayfly communities within such freshwater systems. We collected biological and environmental data from 35 sites situated along elevation gradients in the Baima Snow Mountain, northwest Yunnan, China. Multivariate analyses were performed on the environmental variables and the mayfly species composition, as well as on richness and diversity indices. We found that the community composition of mayflies was different across all three watercourses. Among the 18 Ephemeroptera taxa identified, Baetis sp. and Baetiella marginata were highly dominant, accounting for over 50% of the dissimilarity of each stream. In terms of species assemblages, almost all sites in the Yeri stream hosted good-quality habitats for several mayfly species, as reflected by the highest species richness. The Benzilan stream followed, whereas the Sharong stream showed relatively low mayfly assemblage. This variation was explained by the high environmental heterogeneity between the three watercourses. In particular, the RDA model revealed that among the different environmental factors analyzed, altitude, conductivity, total dissolved solids, water temperature, dissolved silicon, and pH explained most of the variation in species composition. Moreover, the altitude alone explained 17.74% of the variation, and in-depth analysis confirmed its significant effect on diversity indices. Further research should focus on evaluating the scale of threats to this important group of insects in the mountain freshwater ecosystem, particularly the impact of human-induced disturbances such as land use/landcover alterations.

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Limited evolutionary rescue of locally adapted populations facing climate change

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2012.0083 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 368 (1610) ◽

pp. 20120083 ◽

Cited By ~ 96

Author(s):

Katja Schiffers ◽

Elizabeth C. Bourne ◽

Sébastien Lavergne ◽

Wilfried Thuiller ◽

Justin M. J. Travis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Gene Flow ◽

Habitat Heterogeneity ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Evolutionary Potential ◽

Evolutionary Response ◽

Evolutionary Rescue ◽

The Impact ◽

Rapid Environmental Change

Dispersal is a key determinant of a population's evolutionary potential. It facilitates the propagation of beneficial alleles throughout the distributional range of spatially outspread populations and increases the speed of adaptation. However, when habitat is heterogeneous and individuals are locally adapted, dispersal may, at the same time, reduce fitness through increasing maladaptation. Here, we use a spatially explicit, allelic simulation model to quantify how these equivocal effects of dispersal affect a population's evolutionary response to changing climate. Individuals carry a diploid set of chromosomes, with alleles coding for adaptation to non-climatic environmental conditions and climatic conditions, respectively. Our model results demonstrate that the interplay between gene flow and habitat heterogeneity may decrease effective dispersal and population size to such an extent that substantially reduces the likelihood of evolutionary rescue. Importantly, even when evolutionary rescue saves a population from extinction, its spatial range following climate change may be strongly narrowed, that is, the rescue is only partial. These findings emphasize that neglecting the impact of non-climatic, local adaptation might lead to a considerable overestimation of a population's evolvability under rapid environmental change.

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Assessing population collapse of Drupella spp. (Mollusca: Gastropoda) 2 years after a coral bleaching event in the Republic of Maldives

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/s10750-021-04546-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

L. Saponari ◽

I. Dehnert ◽

P. Galli ◽

S. Montano

Keyword(s):

Coral Bleaching ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Coral Cover ◽

Environmental Data ◽

High Plasticity ◽

Bleaching Event ◽

Coral Recovery ◽

The Republic ◽

The Impact ◽

Line Intercept

AbstractCorallivory causes considerable damage to coral reefs and can exacerbate other disturbances. Among coral predators, Drupella spp. are considered as delayer of coral recovery in the Republic of Maldives, although little information is available on their ecology. Thus, we aimed to assess their population structure, feeding behaviour and spatial distribution around 2 years after a coral bleaching event in 2016. Biological and environmental data were collected using belt and line intercept transects in six shallow reefs in Maldives. The snails occurred in aggregations with a maximum of 62 individuals and exhibited a preference for branching corals. Yet, the gastropods showed a high plasticity in adapting feeding preferences to prey availability. Drupella spp. were homogenously distributed in the study area with an average of 9.04 ± 19.72 ind/200 m2. However, their occurrence was significantly different at the reef scale with the highest densities found in locations with higher coral cover. The impact of Drupella spp. appeared to be minimal with the population suffering from the loss of coral cover. We suggest that monitoring programs collect temporal- and spatial-scale data on non-outbreaking populations or non-aggregating populations to understand the dynamics of predation related to the co-occurrence of anthropogenic and natural impacts.

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The impact of environmental variables on the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85493-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yong Kwan Lim ◽

Oh Joo Kweon ◽

Hye Ryoun Kim ◽

Tae-Hyoung Kim ◽

Mi-Kyung Lee

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Environmental Data ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Metropolitan Region ◽

Health Concern ◽

Ozone Level ◽

The Republic ◽

The Impact

AbstractCorona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major public health concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors, such as climate and air pollutants, in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea. We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February 2020 to July 2020. The data was then analyzed to identify correlations between each environmental factor with confirmed daily COVID-19 cases. Among the various environmental parameters, the duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to positively correlate with COVID-19 cases in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission revealed contradictory results when comparing the data from SMR and DGR. Moreover, statistical bias may have arisen due to an extensive epidemiological investigation and altered socio-behaviors that occurred in response to a COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, our results suggest that various environmental factors may play a role in COVID-19 transmission.

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Nitrate transport in the chalk vadose zone in in Picardy (France)

Geological Society London Special Publications ◽

10.1144/sp517-2020-164 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. SP517-2020-164

Author(s):

N. Surdyk ◽

L. Gourcy ◽

V. Bault ◽

N. Baran

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Quality ◽

Vadose Zone ◽

Nitrate Concentration ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Transport Time ◽

Major Question ◽

Noticeable Effect ◽

Fertiliser Application ◽

The Impact

AbstractSince the 1980s, nitrate has been shown to be present in soils and the vadose zone of various types of geological materials years after fertiliser application. In chalk where the vadose zone is thick, nitrate storage can be considerable and its transport time toward groundwater can be lengthy.In this context, evaluation of the impact of changes in agricultural practices on groundwater quality remains a major question. Improvement of groundwater quality can in certain cases be greatly delayed after the implementation of environmental agricultural practices.The principal objective of this study is to improve our knowledge of when changes in agricultural practices will have a noticeable effect on groundwater quality.To meet this objective, nitrate concentration profiles were performed in agricultural plots in Picardy (France). A crop marker event was used to calculate the transport velocity of water and associated solutes. This method is useful when other tracers (as tritium or chlorine) cannot be used. Estimated velocities range from 0.51 to 0.54 m/year; these values are similar to those described in similar chalk aquifers.

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Assessing the Impact of Pollen-mediated Gene Flow from GM Herbicide Tolerant Brassica Napus into Common Wild Relatives in Ireland

Biology & Environment Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy ◽

10.3318/bioe.2012.12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 112 (3) ◽

pp. 257-266 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marcus J. Collier ◽

Ewen Mullins

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Brassica Napus ◽

Wild Relatives ◽

Herbicide Tolerant ◽

The Impact

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Environmental Accounting and its Impact on the Economy: An Applied Study on Industrial Establishments in Jeddah Governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: المحاسبة البيئية وتأثيرها على الاقتصاد: دراسة تطبيقية على المنشآت الصناعية في محافظة جدة في المملكة العربية السعودية

المجلة العربية للعلوم ونشر الأبحاث مجلة العلوم الاقتصادية والإدارية والقانونية ◽

10.26389/ajsrp.m250220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (11) ◽

Author(s):

Maha Abbas Abo Hussain

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Environmental Policies ◽

Cost Accounting ◽

Environmental Accounting ◽

Environmental Data ◽

Environmental Cost ◽

Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽

Industrial Enterprises ◽

The Impact

This study aimed to shed light on the impact of environmental accounting measured in (environmental cost accounting, environmental sustainability, and environmental policies) in industrial enterprises on the economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To achieve the objectives of the study, the study relied on the descriptive-analytical approach, due to its suitability of the nature of the study, as well as the questionnaire tool was distributed to the study sample using random sample method, where (200) questionnaires were distributed to financial managers working in industrial enterprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Jeddah, the final study sample was (96) questionnaires. The results of the study showed that there is an impact of environmental accounting measured by (environmental cost accounting, environmental sustainability, and environmental policies) in industrial companies on the economy, individually and collectively. The study came out with a set of recommendations, the most important of which is the necessity of developing local standards or adopting international standards for environmental disclosure in other sectors in general and the state’s contribution to providing quantifiable environmental data and raising the limitations imposed on companies in particular in order to follow and encourage environmental laws.

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Integration of Environmental Information in a Mining Region Using a Geoportal

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202127801013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 278 ◽

pp. 01013

Author(s):

Svetlana Ivanova ◽

Elena Sant’eva ◽

Maxim Bakanov ◽

Leszek Sobik ◽

Leonid Lopukhinsky

Keyword(s):

Spatial Data ◽

Environmental Information ◽

Environmental Data ◽

Information Support ◽

Direct Access ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Mining Operations ◽

Technological Support ◽

Multidimensional Information ◽

The Impact

At present, the complex nature of the impact on the ecosystem in regions with intensive mining creates a multidimensional information “plume” consisting of data on mineral reserves, the state of mining operations, accumulated, current and future environmental pollution. The transition to the lean use of the subsoil and the reasonable disposal of mining waste requires fundamentally new forms of environmental information accumulation and processing during designing new enterprises and regulating the activities of existing ones. The most promising form of information support for the greening of mining is a geoportal. It is a complex of software and technological support for working with spatial data. Its key task is to provide the users with tools and services for storing and cataloging, publishing and loading spatial and environmental data, searching and filtering by metadata, interactive web visualization, direct access to geodata based on map web services.

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How dry was the LGM? A Biosphere-Hydrosphere modelling approach for the paleo-lake Chew Bahir and Omo-River catchment in southern Ethiopia

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-5923 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Markus L. Fischer ◽

Felix Bachofer ◽

Martin H. Trauth ◽

Annett Junginger

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Environmental Data ◽

Boosted Regression Trees ◽

Lapse Rate ◽

Southern Ethiopia ◽

Lake Turkana ◽

Ethiopian Highlands ◽

Omo River ◽

The Impact ◽

Modelling Approach

The formation of the East African Rift System led to the emergence of large topographical contrasts in southern Ethiopia. This extreme topography is in turn responsible for an extreme gradient in the distribution of precipitation between the dry lowlands (~500 mm a-1) in the surrounding of Lake Turkana and the moist western Ethiopian Highlands (~2,000 mm a-1). As a consequence, the prevailing vegetation is fractionated into a complex mosaic that includes desert scrubland along the Lake Turkana shore, woodlands and wooded grasslands in the Omo-River lowlands and the paleo-lake Chew Bahir catchment, afro-montane forests of the Ethiopian Highlands, and afro-alpine heath in most elevated parts. During the past 25 ka, southern Ethiopia has been exposed to significant climate changes, from a dry and cold Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 25-18 ka BP) to the African Humid Period (AHP, 15-5 ka BP), and back to present-day dry conditions. These shifts in temperature and precipitation may have affected the vegetation pattern and landscape in the area, but environmental data especially from LGM times are rare. This is because in times of a dry climate the paleo-lake Chew Bahir was dried up and hence the climate record in lake sediments was interrupted.In this study, we investigate the hydrological conditions during the LGM using a previously-developed lake balance model (LBM) for southern Ethiopia, which is now coupled with a new predictive vegetation model (PVM) to better understand the biosphere-hydrosphere interactions and thus possible precipitation thresholds. The PVM is based on the method of boosted regression trees using elevation and monthly precipitation as input to predict land-cover, tree-cover and vegetation greenness for a ~1 km grid covering the Omo-River, paleo-lake Chew Bahir, Lake Chamo and Lake Abaya catchments. We linked the PVM and the resulting land surface parameters with the LBM to model the impact of a changing land-cover to the actual evaporation. Furthermore, we used the glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGT) based paleo-temperature and tropical lapse rate reconstructions from Mount Kenya to consider the orographic temperature distribution in southern Ethiopia during the LGM. Using both, we simulated different precipitation amounts from 100% to 50% compared to the modern-day multi-annual averages and their effect on vegetation and lake levels of paleo-lake Chew Bahir. Our biosphere-hydrosphere modelling approach suggests 25 to 30% lower moisture availability during the LGM compared to the modern conditions and provides a high-resolution spatial reconstruction of the potential prevailing vegetation in the southern Ethiopian region.

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