scholarly journals Fragmentation helps evolutionary rescue in highly connected habitats

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Tomasini ◽  
Stephan Peischl
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Species Survival ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue ◽  
The Face ◽  
Population Sizes

AbstractGenetic variation and population sizes are critical factors for successful adaptation to novel environmental conditions. Gene flow between sub-populations is a potent mechanism to provide such variation and can hence facilitate adaption, for instance by increasing genetic variation or via adaptive introgression. On the other hand, if gene flow between different habitats is too strong, locally beneficial alleles may not be able to establish permanently. In the context of evolutionary rescue, intermediate levels of gene flow are therefore often optimal for maximizing a species chance for survival in meta-populations without spatial structure. To which extent and under which conditions gene flow facilitates or hinders evolutionary rescue in spatially structured populations remains unresolved. We address this question and show that detrimental effects of gene flow can become negligible in spatially structured populations subject to a gradual deterioration of environmental conditions. If the number of sub-populations is sufficiently large, we find a positive relationship between the amount of gene flow and the survival chance of the population. A counter-intuitive conclusion is that increased fragmentation can facilitate species survival in the face of severe environmental change if migration is common but limited to neighboring sub-populations.

Consequences of climatic change for distributions

2019 ◽  
pp. 165-184
Author(s):  
Brian Huntley
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Adaptive Genetic Variation ◽  
Spatial Structuring ◽  
Modelling Studies ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Fossil Records

Species’ distributions, population sizes, and community composition are affected, directly and indirectly, by climatic changes, leading to changes in location, extent, and/or quality of distributions, range fragmentation or coalescence, and temporal discontinuities in suitable conditions. Quaternary fossil records document these responses, emphasizing individualism of species’ responses and impermanence of communities. Recent observations document similar changes attributable to recent climatic changes, including rapid decreases and increases in ranges and/or populations. Both also document extinctions associated with rapid climatic changes. Modelling studies predict substantial changes in species’ distributions, population sizes, and communities in response to future climatic changes. Implicit assumptions that genetic variation enabling adaptation is ubiquitous throughout species’ ranges, or that gene flow may be sufficiently rapid to allow adaptation, may be invalid. Work is needed to investigate spatial structuring of adaptive genetic variation and rates of gene flow, and to develop new models. Without this, species extinction risks may be severely underestimated.

scholarly journals Altitudinal gradients, plant hybrid zones and evolutionary novelty

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1648) ◽  
pp. 20130346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Abbott ◽  
Adrian C. Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mount Etna ◽  
Hybrid Zones ◽  
Evolutionary Novelty ◽  
Altitudinal Gradients ◽  
Interspecific Gene Flow ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Local Environments ◽  
The Face ◽  
Plant Hybrid

Altitudinal gradients are characterized by steep changes of the physical and biotic environment that present challenges to plant adaptation throughout large parts of the world. Hybrid zones may form where related species inhabit different neighbouring altitudes and can facilitate interspecific gene flow and potentially the breakdown of species barriers. Studies of such hybrid zones can reveal much about the genetic basis of adaptation to environmental differences stemming from changes in altitude and the maintenance of species divergence in the face of gene flow. Furthermore, owing to recombination and transgressive effects, such hybrid zones can be sources of evolutionary novelty. We document plant hybrid zones associated with altitudinal gradients and emphasize similarities and differences in their structure. We then focus on recent studies of a hybrid zone between two Senecio species that occur at high and low altitude on Mount Etna, Sicily, showing how adaptation to local environments and intrinsic selection against hybrids act to maintain it. Finally, we consider the potential of altitudinal hybrid zones for generating evolutionary novelty through adaptive introgression and hybrid speciation. Examples of homoploid hybrid species of Senecio and Pinus that originated from altitudinal hybrid zones are discussed.

scholarly journals Anthropogenic disturbance drives dispersal syndromes, demography, and gene flow in spatially structured amphibian populations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Cayuela ◽  
Aurélien Besnard ◽  
Julien Cote ◽  
Martin Laporte ◽  
Eric Bonnaire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Habitat Patch ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Common Garden Experiments ◽  
Dispersal Evolution

AbstractThere is growing evidence that anthropogenic landscapes can strongly influence the evolution of dispersal, particularly through fragmentation, and may drive organisms into an evolutionary trap by suppressing dispersal. However, the influence on dispersal evolution of anthropogenic variation in habitat patch turnover has so far been largely overlooked. In this study, we examined how human-driven variation in patch persistence affects dispersal rates and distances, determines dispersal-related phenotypic specialization, and drives neutral genetic structure in spatially structured populations. We addressed this issue in an amphibian, Bombina variegata, using an integrative approach combining capture–recapture modeling, demographic simulation, common garden experiments, and population genetics. B. variegata reproduces in small ponds that occur either in habitat patches that are persistent (i.e. several decades or more), located in riverine environments with negligible human activity, or in patches that are highly temporary (i.e. a few years), created by logging operations in intensively harvested woodland. Our capture–recapture models revealed that natal and breeding dispersal rates and distances were drastically higher in spatially structured populations (SSPs) in logging environments than in riverine SSPs. Population simulations additionally showed that dispersal costs and benefits drive the fate of logging SSPs, which cannot persist without dispersal. The common garden experiments revealed that toadlets reared in laboratory conditions have morphological and behavioral specialization that depends on their habitat of origin. Toadlets from logging SSPs were found to have higher boldness and exploration propensity than those from riverine SSPs, indicating transgenerationally transmitted dispersal syndromes. We also found contrasting patterns of neutral genetic diversity and gene flow in riverine and logging SSPs, with genetic diversity and effective population size considerably higher in logging than in riverine SSPs. In parallel, intra-patch inbreeding and relatedness levels were lower in logging SSPs. Controlling for the effect of genetic drift and landscape connectivity, gene flow was found to be higher in logging than in riverine SSPs. Taken together, these results indicate that anthropogenic variation in habitat patch turnover may have an effect at least as important as landscape fragmentation on dispersal evolution and the long-term viability and genetic structure of wild populations.

scholarly journals Adaptive introgression: a plant perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 20170688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Suarez-Gonzalez ◽  
Christian Lexer ◽  
Quentin C. B. Cronk
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Standing Variation ◽  
The Face ◽  
Signatures Of Selection ◽  
Lines Of Evidence ◽  
Conservation And Management

Introgression is emerging as an important source of novel genetic variation, alongside standing variation and mutation. It is adaptive when such introgressed alleles are maintained by natural selection. Recently, there has been an explosion in the number of studies on adaptive introgression. In this review, we take a plant perspective centred on four lines of evidence: (i) introgression, (ii) selection, (iii) phenotype and (iv) fitness. While advances in genomics have contributed to our understanding of introgression and porous species boundaries (task 1), and the detection of signatures of selection in introgression (task 2), the investigation of adaptive introgression critically requires links to phenotypic variation and fitness (tasks 3 and 4). We also discuss the conservation implications of adaptive introgression in the face of climate change. Adaptive introgression is particularly important in rapidly changing environments, when standing genetic variation and mutation alone may only offer limited potential for adaptation. We conclude that clarifying the magnitude and fitness effects of introgression with improved statistical techniques, coupled with phenotypic evidence, has great potential for conservation and management efforts.

scholarly journals Between migration load and evolutionary rescue: dispersal, adaptation and the response of spatially structured populations to environmental change

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20132795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Bourne ◽  
Greta Bocedi ◽  
Justin M. J. Travis ◽  
Robin J. Pakeman ◽  
Rob W. Brooker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Local Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue ◽  
Opposing Effects

The evolutionary potential of populations is mainly determined by population size and available genetic variance. However, the adaptability of spatially structured populations may also be affected by dispersal: positively by spreading beneficial mutations across sub-populations, but negatively by moving locally adapted alleles between demes. We develop an individual-based, two-patch, allelic model to investigate the balance between these opposing effects on a population's evolutionary response to rapid climate change. Individual fitness is controlled by two polygenic traits coding for local adaptation either to the environment or to climate. Under conditions of selection that favour the evolution of a generalist phenotype (i.e. weak divergent selection between patches) dispersal has an overall positive effect on the persistence of the population. However, when selection favours locally adapted specialists, the beneficial effects of dispersal outweigh the associated increase in maladaptation for a narrow range of parameter space only (intermediate selection strength and low linkage among loci), where the spread of beneficial climate alleles is not strongly hampered by selection against non-specialists. Given that local selection across heterogeneous and fragmented landscapes is common, the complex effect of dispersal that we describe will play an important role in determining the evolutionary dynamics of many species under rapidly changing climate.

scholarly journals Variability of Anthoxanthum species in Poland in relation to geographical-historical and environmental conditions: isozyme variation

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Drapikowska
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Small Extent ◽  
Isozyme Variation ◽  
Isozyme Markers ◽  
Isozyme Variability

Abstract Variation of 9 isozyme systems was studied in Polish populations of 3 species of the genus Anthoxanthum: the native A. odoratum s. str. L. and A. alpinum Á. Löve & D. Löve, as well as the alien A. aristatum Boiss. Results of this study show that A. odoratum is characterized by a high isozyme variability of lowland populations, weakly correlated with habitat type, and partial genetic distinctness of montane populations. Moreover, 5 isozyme markers have been identified (Pgi-2, Dia-2, Mdh, Idh, Pgm) for the allopolyploid A. odoratum. Populations of A. aristatum are highly polymorphic (P = 98%). The observed isozyme differentiation of its populations (FST = 0.087) is low and gene flow between them (Nm = 5.314) is high. The genetic variation reflects environmental variation only to a small extent and is not significantly related to the phase of chorological expansion of this species. Altitudinal vicariants, A. alpinum and A. odoratum, are characterized by morphological and isozymatic distinctness, indicating their reproductive isolation. In populations of A. alpinum, polymorphism is high (P = 76.92%), differentiation among populations is moderate (FST = 0.198), and gene flow between populations along the altitudinal transect (Nm = 1.709) is relatively low

scholarly journals Town population size and structuring into villages and households drive infectious disease risks in pre-healthcare Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1949) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarmo Ketola ◽  
Michael Briga ◽  
Terhi Honkola ◽  
Virpi Lummaa
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Disease Risks ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Local Transmission

Social life is often considered to cost in terms of increased parasite or pathogen risk. However, evidence for this in the wild remains equivocal, possibly because populations and social groups are often structured, which affects the local transmission and extinction of diseases. We test how the structuring of towns into villages and households influenced the risk of dying from three easily diagnosable infectious diseases—smallpox, pertussis and measles—using a novel dataset covering almost all of Finland in the pre-healthcare era (1800–1850). Consistent with previous results, the risk of dying from all three diseases increased with the local population size. However, the division of towns into a larger number of villages decreased the risk of dying from smallpox and to some extent of pertussis but it slightly increased the risk for measles. Dividing towns into a larger number of households increased the length of the epidemic for all three diseases and led to the expected slower spread of the infection. However, this could be seen only when local population sizes were small. Our results indicate that the effect of population structure on epidemics, disease or parasite risk varies between pathogens and population sizes, hence lowering the ability to generalize the consequences of epidemics in spatially structured populations, and mapping the costs of social life, via parasites and diseases.

scholarly journals Gene flow and Andean uplift shape the diversification of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae) in Northern South America

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian C. Salgado-Roa ◽  
Carolina Pardo-Diaz ◽  
Eloisa Lasso De Paulis ◽  
Carlos F. Arias ◽  
Vera Nisaka Solferini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
South America ◽  
Color Polymorphism ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Eastern Cordillera ◽  
Colombian Andes ◽  
The Face ◽  
Andean Uplift ◽  
Northern South America

ABSTRACTAimThe Andean uplift has played a major role shaping the current Neotropical biodiversity. However, in arthropods other than butterflies, little is known about how this geographic barrier has impacted species historical diversification. Here we examined the phylogeography of the widespread and color polymorphic spider Gasteracantha cancriformis to: (i) evaluate the effect of the northern Andean uplift on its divergence and, (ii) assess whether its diversification occurred in the presence of gene flow.LocationNorthern Andes and BrazilMethodsWe inferred phylogenetic relationships and divergence times in G. cancriformis using mitochondrial and nuclear data from 105 individuals in northern South America. Genetic diversity, divergence and population structure were quantified. We also compared multiple demographic scenarios for this species using a model-based approach (PHRAPL) to establish divergence with or without gene flow. Finally, we evaluated the association between genetic variation and color polymorphism.ResultsBoth nuclear and mitochondrial data supported two well-differentiated clades, which correspond to populations occurring in opposite sides of the Eastern cordillera of the Colombian Andes. The splitting between these clades occurred in the early Pleistocene, around 2.13 million years ago (95% HPD = 0.98–3.93).Despite this vicariant event, there is shared genetic variation between the clades, which is better explained by a scenario of historical divergence in the face of gene flow. Color polymorphism was randomly scattered in both clades and is not statistically associated with the genetic variation studied here.Main ConclusionsThe final uplift of Eastern cordillera of the Colombian Andes was identified as the major force that shaped the diversification of G. cancriformis in Northern South America, resulting in a cis- and trans-Andean phylogeographic structure for the species. The divergence in the face of gene flow between cis- and trans-Andean populations found for this spider has been likely facilitated by the presence of low-elevation passes across the Eastern Colombian cordillera. Our work constitutes the first example where the Andean uplift coupled with gene flow influenced the evolutionary history of an arachnid lineage.

scholarly journals Three types of rescue can avert extinction in a changing environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (33) ◽  
pp. 10557-10562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth A. Hufbauer ◽  
Marianna Szűcs ◽  
Emily Kasyon ◽  
Courtney Youngberg ◽  
Michael J. Koontz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Inbreeding Depression ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Genetic Rescue ◽  
Microcosm Experiment ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Setting aside high-quality large areas of habitat to protect threatened populations is becoming increasingly difficult as humans fragment and degrade the environment. Biologists and managers therefore must determine the best way to shepherd small populations through the dual challenges of reductions in both the number of individuals and genetic variability. By bringing in additional individuals, threatened populations can be increased in size (demographic rescue) or provided with variation to facilitate adaptation and reduce inbreeding (genetic rescue). The relative strengths of demographic and genetic rescue for reducing extinction and increasing growth of threatened populations are untested, and which type of rescue is effective may vary with population size. Using the flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) in a microcosm experiment, we disentangled the genetic and demographic components of rescue, and compared them with adaptation from standing genetic variation (evolutionary rescue in the strictest sense) using 244 experimental populations founded at either a smaller (50 individuals) or larger (150 individuals) size. Both types of rescue reduced extinction, and those effects were additive. Over the course of six generations, genetic rescue increased population sizes and intrinsic fitness substantially. Both large and small populations showed evidence of being able to adapt from standing genetic variation. Our results support the practice of genetic rescue in facilitating adaptation and reducing inbreeding depression, and suggest that demographic rescue alone may suffice in larger populations even if only moderately inbred individuals are available for addition.

Adaptive introgression enables evolutionary rescue from extreme environmental pollution

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 364 (6439) ◽  
pp. 455-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias M. Oziolor ◽  
Noah M. Reid ◽  
Sivan Yair ◽  
Kristin M. Lee ◽  
Sarah Guberman VerPloeg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Selection Coefficient ◽  
Fundulus Grandis ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Aryl Hydrocarbon ◽  
Evolutionary Rescue ◽  
Recent Selection

Radical environmental change that provokes population decline can impose constraints on the sources of genetic variation that may enable evolutionary rescue. Adaptive toxicant resistance has rapidly evolved in Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) that occupy polluted habitats. We show that resistance scales with pollution level and negatively correlates with inducibility of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling. Loci with the strongest signatures of recent selection harbor genes regulating AHR signaling. Two of these loci introgressed recently (18 to 34 generations ago) from Atlantic killifish (F. heteroclitus). One introgressed locus contains a deletion in AHR that confers a large adaptive advantage [selection coefficient (s) = 0.8]. Given the limited migration of killifish, recent adaptive introgression was likely mediated by human-assisted transport. We suggest that interspecies connectivity may be an important source of adaptive variation during extreme environmental change.

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