scholarly journals Much more than a clasp: Evolutionary pattern of amplexus diversity in anurans

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D. Carvajal-Castro ◽  
Yelenny López-Aguirre ◽  
Ana María Ospina-L ◽  
Juan C. Santos ◽  
Bibiana Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Evolutionary Pattern ◽  
Reproductive Modes

ABSTRACTThe evolution and diversification of animal reproductive modes have been pivotal questions in behavioral ecology. Amphibians present the highest diversity of reproductive modes among vertebrates, involving various behavioral, physiological and morphological traits. One of such features is the amplexus, the clasp or embrace of males on females during reproduction, which is almost universal to anurans. Hypotheses about the origin amplexus are limited and have not been thoroughly tested, nor had they taken into account evolutionary relationships in most comparative studies. However, these considerations are crucial to understand the evolution of reproductive modes. Here, using an evolutionary framework, we reconstruct the ancestral state of amplexus in 686 anuran species; investigate whether the amplexus type is a conserved trait; and test whether sexual size dimorphism (SSD) could have influenced the amplexus type or male performance while clasping females. Overall, we found evidence of at least 35 evolutionary transitions in amplexus type across anurans. We also found that amplexus exhibits a high phylogenetic signal (it is conserved across Anura evolutionary history) and the amplexus type does not evolve in association with SSD. We discuss the implications of our findings on the diversity of amplexus types across anurans.

scholarly journals Much more than a clasp: evolutionary patterns of amplexus diversity in anurans

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D Carvajal-Castro ◽  
Yelenny López-Aguirre ◽  
Ana María Ospina-L ◽  
Juan C Santos ◽  
Bibiana Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Behavioural Ecology ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Reproductive Modes

Abstract The evolution and diversification of animal reproductive modes have been pivotal questions in behavioural ecology. Amphibians present the highest diversity of reproductive modes among vertebrates, involving various behavioural, physiological and morphological traits. One such feature is the amplexus, which is the clasp or embrace of males on females during reproduction and is found almost universally in anurans. Hypotheses about the origin of amplexus are limited and have not been tested thoroughly, nor have they taken into account evolutionary relationships in most comparative studies. However, these considerations are crucial to an understanding of the evolution of reproductive modes. Here, using an evolutionary framework, we reconstruct the ancestral state of amplexus in 685 anuran species. We investigate whether the type of amplexus has a strong phylogenetic signal and test whether sexual size dimorphism could have influenced amplexus type or male performance while clasping females. Overall, we found evidence of ≥34 evolutionary transitions in amplexus type across anurans. We found that amplexus type exhibits a high phylogenetic signal and that amplexus type does not evolve in association with sexual size dimorphism. We discuss the implications of our findings for the diversity of amplexus types across anurans.

scholarly journals Are evolutionary transitions in sexual size dimorphism related to sex determination in reptiles?

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-603
Author(s):  
Gergely Katona ◽  
Balázs Vági ◽  
Zsolt Végvári ◽  
András Liker ◽  
Robert P. Freckleton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Size Dimorphism

scholarly journals Evolution of sexual size dimorphism and its relationship with sex ratio in carabid beetles of Genus Ceroglossus Solier

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 769-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo A. Benítez ◽  
Jorge Avaria-Llautureo ◽  
Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre ◽  
Viviane Jerez ◽  
Luis E. Parra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Geometrical Shape ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Morphological Studies

Abstract Although the degree of mate competition, given extreme differences in sex ratio, explains much of the pattern of male-biased size dimorphism among diverse taxa, it fails for some species which have potential for intense male competition for mates and yet exhibit little or no sexual size dimorphism (SSD). This fact suggest that species with low SSD should be express the effect of evolutionary pressure in non-obvious geometrical shape promoted by sex ratio in an evolutionary time scale. To evaluate this hypothesis we used phylogenetic comparative method in a Bayesian framework to investigate the evolution of SSD and the role of sex ratio at inter-specific level in the species of Ceroglossus (Coleoptera: Carabidae). In our results the proportion farthest from 1:1 is associated with more disparate body shape, even though the entire group has minimum variation in sex ratio, which is an intrinsic life history character of this group considering its phylogenetic conservatism or phylogenetic signal. We suggest that the sex ratio has determined the dimorphism degree during evolution of this group, since both traits have increased or decreased together during the species divergence (i.e. positive phylogenetic correlation: r2≈0.85). We suggest that morphological studies of SSD will benefit from using comparative method with Bayesian approaches to assess the effect of phylogenetic history and its uncertainty. Finally, this will be allow to researchers to quantify the uncertainty of specific evolutionary hypotheses accounting for observed sexual dimorphism patterns.

Testing Rensch’s rule in Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus, a seed-feeding beetle infesting Leucaena leucocephala plants

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-311
Author(s):  
M.N. Rossi ◽  
E.B. Haga
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Leucaena Leucocephala ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
The Body ◽  
Rensch’S Rule ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Rensch's Rule ◽  
Males And Females

Rensch’s rule states that males vary more in size than females when body size increases. The main cause of Rensch’s rule has been credited to sexual selection. However, different degrees of plasticity between the sexes have also been proven to be useful for describing variations in sexual size dimorphism, particularly within an intraspecific context. For insects, in general, this rule has rarely been tested within species. Here, we tested whether Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus (Schaeffer, 1907) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) followed Rensch’s rule when individuals emerged from seeds immediately after fruit collection and when they were reared for one generation, by measuring three morphological traits. Rensch’s rule was not followed for any of the morphological traits. Variations in body size were similar in males and females for bruchines that first emerged from seeds and for those that were reared for one generation. These findings suggest that environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, and seasonality) are unlikely to drive differential plasticity in males and females of this seed-feeding beetle. It is possible that changes in the body size of A. macrophthalmus have a genetic basis. However, regardless of whether variations in body size have a genetic basis, our findings provide no support for Rensch’s rule.

scholarly journals Compound Dynamics and Combinatorial Patterns of Amino Acid Repeats Encode a System of Evolutionary and Developmental Markers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3159-3178
Author(s):  
Ilaria Pelassa ◽  
Marica Cibelli ◽  
Veronica Villeri ◽  
Elena Lilliu ◽  
Serena Vaglietti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Amino Acid Repeats ◽  
Eukaryotic Proteomes ◽  
History Of

Abstract Homopolymeric amino acid repeats (AARs) like polyalanine (polyA) and polyglutamine (polyQ) in some developmental proteins (DPs) regulate certain aspects of organismal morphology and behavior, suggesting an evolutionary role for AARs as developmental “tuning knobs.” It is still unclear, however, whether these are occasional protein-specific phenomena or hints at the existence of a whole AAR-based regulatory system in DPs. Using novel approaches to trace their functional and evolutionary history, we find quantitative evidence supporting a generalized, combinatorial role of AARs in developmental processes with evolutionary implications. We observe nonrandom AAR distributions and combinations in HOX and other DPs, as well as in their interactomes, defining elements of a proteome-wide combinatorial functional code whereby different AARs and their combinations appear preferentially in proteins involved in the development of specific organs/systems. Such functional associations can be either static or display detectable evolutionary dynamics. These findings suggest that progressive changes in AAR occurrence/combination, by altering embryonic development, may have contributed to taxonomic divergence, leaving detectable traces in the evolutionary history of proteomes. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that the evolutionary trajectories of the 20 AARs in eukaryotic proteomes are highly interrelated and their individual or compound dynamics can sharply mark taxonomic boundaries, or display clock-like trends, carrying overall a strong phylogenetic signal. These findings provide quantitative evidence and an interpretive framework outlining a combinatorial system of AARs whose compound dynamics mark at the same time DP functions and evolutionary transitions.

Sexual size dimorphism, morphological traits and jump performance in seven species of desert fleas (Siphonaptera)

2003 ◽  
Vol 261 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Krasnov ◽  
S. A. Burdelov ◽  
I. S. Khokhlova ◽  
N. V. Burdelova
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
Size Dimorphism

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Sex Identification using Morphological Traits of Two Aegithalidae Species

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 946-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqiang Li ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Songtao Lin ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Sex Identification ◽  
Size Dimorphism

scholarly journals Global geographic patterns of sexual size dimorphism in birds: Support for a latitudinal trend?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R Friedman ◽  
Vladimír Remeš
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
The North ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Latitudinal Trend

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is widespread among animals, and is a common indication of differential selection among males and females. Sexual selection theory predicts that SSD should increase as one sex competes more fiercely for access to mates, but it is unclear what effect spatial variation in ecology may have on this behavioral process. Here, we examine SSD across the class Aves in a spatial and phylogenetic framework, and test several a priori hypotheses regarding its relationship with climate. We mapped the global distribution of SSD from published descriptions of body size, distribution, and phylogenetic relationships across 2581 species of birds. We examined correlations between SSD and nine predictor variables representing a priori models of physical geography, climate, and climate variability. Our results show guarded support for a global latitudinal trend in SSD based on a weak prevalence of species with low or female-biased SSD in the North, but substantial spatial heterogeneity. While several stronger relationships were observed between SSD and climate predictors within zoogeographical regions, no global relationship emerged that was consistent across multiple methods of analysis. While we found support for a global relationship between climate and SSD, this support lacked consistency and explanatory power. Furthermore the strong phylogenetic signal and conspicuous lack of support from phylogenetically corrected analyses suggests that any such relationship in birds is likely due to the idiosyncratic histories of different lineages. In this manner, our results broadly agree with studies in other groups, leading us to conclude that the relationship between climate and SSD is at best complex. This suggests that SSD is linked to behavioral dynamics that may at a global scale be largely independent of environmental conditions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document