scholarly journals Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. eaav6699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carine Emer ◽  
Mauro Galetti ◽  
Marco A. Pizo ◽  
Pedro Jordano ◽  
Miguel Verdú
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Rescue Effect ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Avian Seed Dispersal

Species on Earth are interconnected with each other through ecological interactions. Defaunation can erode those connections, yet we lack evolutionary predictions about the consequences of losing interactions in human-modified ecosystems. We quantified the fate of the evolutionary history of avian–seed dispersal interactions across tropical forest fragments by combining the evolutionary distinctness of the pairwise-partner species, a proxy to their unique functional features. Both large-seeded plant and large-bodied bird species showed the highest evolutionary distinctness. We estimate a loss of 3.5 to 4.7 × 104 million years of cumulative evolutionary history of interactions due to defaunation. Bird-driven local extinctions mainly erode the most evolutionarily distinct interactions. However, the persistence of less evolutionarily distinct bird species in defaunated areas exerts a phylogenetic rescue effect through seed dispersal of evolutionarily distinct plant species.

scholarly journals Shedding new light on opsin evolution

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1726) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Porter ◽  
Joseph R. Blasic ◽  
Michael J. Bok ◽  
Evan G. Cameron ◽  
Thomas Pringle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
History Of ◽  
Functional Features

Opsin proteins are essential molecules in mediating the ability of animals to detect and use light for diverse biological functions. Therefore, understanding the evolutionary history of opsins is key to understanding the evolution of light detection and photoreception in animals. As genomic data have appeared and rapidly expanded in quantity, it has become possible to analyse opsins that functionally and histologically are less well characterized, and thus to examine opsin evolution strictly from a genetic perspective. We have incorporated these new data into a large-scale, genome-based analysis of opsin evolution. We use an extensive phylogeny of currently known opsin sequence diversity as a foundation for examining the evolutionary distributions of key functional features within the opsin clade. This new analysis illustrates the lability of opsin protein-expression patterns, site-specific functionality (i.e. counterion position) and G-protein binding interactions. Further, it demonstrates the limitations of current model organisms, and highlights the need for further characterization of many of the opsin sequence groups with unknown function.

scholarly journals Ancient origin of high taxonomic richness among insects

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1824) ◽  
pp. 20152476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Clapham ◽  
Jered A. Karr ◽  
David B. Nicholson ◽  
Andrew J. Ross ◽  
Peter J. Mayhew
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fossil Insect ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Family Level ◽  
History Of

Insects are a hyper-diverse group, comprising nearly three-quarters of all named animal species on the Earth, but the environmental drivers of their richness and the roles of ecological interactions and evolutionary innovations remain unclear. Previous studies have argued that family-level insect richness increased continuously over the evolutionary history of the group, but inclusion of extant family records artificially inflated the relative richness of younger time intervals. Here we apply sampling-standardization methods to a species-level database of fossil insect occurrences, removing biases present in previous richness curves. We show that insect family-richness peaked 125 Ma and that Recent values are only 1.5–3 times as high as the Late Palaeozoic. Rarefied species-richness data also tentatively suggest little or no net increase in richness over the past 125 Myr. The Cretaceous peak in family richness was coincident with major radiations within extant groups but occurred prior to extinctions within more basal groups. Those extinctions may in part be linked to mid-Cretaceous floral turnover following the evolution of flowering plants. Negligible net richness change over the past 125 Myr implies that major radiations within extant groups were offset by reduced richness within groups that are now relict or extinct.

scholarly journals Estimating interaction credit for trophic rewilding in tropical forests

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1761) ◽  
pp. 20170435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma-Liina Marjakangas ◽  
Luísa Genes ◽  
Mathias M. Pires ◽  
Fernando A. S. Fernandez ◽  
Renato A. F. de Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Species Interaction ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Candidate Species

Trophic rewilding has been suggested as a restoration tool to restore ecological interactions and reverse defaunation and its cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. One of the ecological processes that has been jeopardized by defaunation is animal-mediated seed dispersal. Here, we propose an approach that combines joint species distribution models with occurrence data and species interaction records to quantify the potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions through rewilding and apply it to the Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. Using this approach, we identify areas that should benefit the most from trophic rewilding and candidate species that could contribute to cash the credit of seed-dispersal interactions in a given site. We found that sites within large fragments bearing a great diversity of trees may have about 20 times as many interactions to be cashed through rewilding as small fragments in regions where deforestation has been pervasive. We also ranked mammal and bird species according to their potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions if reintroduced while considering the biome as a whole and at finer scales. The suggested approach can aid future conservation efforts in rewilding projects in defaunated tropical rainforests. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change’.

scholarly journals Agricultural land in the Amazon basin supports low bird diversity and is a poor replacement for primary forest

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Montague H C Neate-Clegg ◽  
Çağan H Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
History Of ◽  
Matrix Habitats

Abstract The Amazon has a long history of disturbance under subsistence agriculture, but slash-and-burn agriculture is small in scale and has relatively low impact on resident avifauna. More recently, the Amazon has suffered extensive deforestation in favor of cattle ranching and other modern systems of agriculture. Cattle pastures, mechanized agriculture, and even tree plantations have detrimental effects on bird communities, greatly lowering diversity, especially that of primary forest interior specialists. A rising threat to the Amazon is the spread of oil palm plantations that retain few bird species and are not viable alternatives to forest. Embedded within the expanding agropastoral mosaic are forest fragments that have experienced a well-documented loss of diversity. Yet, the matrix can mitigate the recovery of fragmented bird communities depending on the type of secondary regrowth. Connectivity via matrix habitats or forest corridors is critical for the maintenance of forest avifauna. With so many types of land use developing across the Amazon, the “tropical countryside” has potential value for bird diversity. However, evidence suggests that the agropastoral mosaic harbors a small, more homogenized avifauna with few forest species, especially when primary forest is absent from the landscape. For the Amazon Basin’s bird life to be conserved into the future, preservation of large tracts of well-connected primary forest is vital. Tropical countryside dominated by agriculture simply cannot sustain sufficient levels of biodiversity.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

STRUCTURAL REARRANGEMENTS AT THE REGULATORY REGION OF THE DRAS1 GENE IN THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF PHYLOGENETICALLY DISTANT DROSOPHILA SPECIES

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. CHEKUNOVA ◽  
◽  
S. YU. SOROKINA ◽  
E.A. SIVOPLYAS ◽  
G.N. BAKHTOYAROV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Drosophila Species ◽  
Structural Rearrangements ◽  
History Of
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