Female toads engaging in adaptive hybridization prefer high-quality heterospecifics as mates

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (6484) ◽  
pp. 1377-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Chen ◽  
Karin S. Pfennig
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Nonrandom Mating ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Spadefoot Toads ◽  
Spadefoot Toad ◽  
Mating Calls ◽  
Spea Bombifrons ◽  
Evolutionary Fitness

Hybridization—interbreeding between species—is generally thought to occur randomly between members of two species. Contrary to expectation, female plains spadefoot toads (Spea bombifrons) can increase their evolutionary fitness by preferentially mating with high-quality males of another species, the Mexican spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata). Aspects of Mexican spadefoot males’ mating calls predict their hybrid offspring’s fitness, and plains spadefoot females prefer Mexican spadefoot males on the basis of these attributes, but only in populations and ecological conditions where hybridization is adaptive. By selecting fitness-enhancing mates of another species, females increase hybridization’s benefits and exert sexual selection across species. Nonrandom mating between species can thereby increase the potential for adaptive gene flow between species so that adaptive introgression is not simply happenstance.

scholarly journals The physical environment mediates male harm and its effect on selection in females

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1858) ◽  
pp. 20170424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yun ◽  
Patrick J. Chen ◽  
Amardeep Singh ◽  
Aneil F. Agrawal ◽  
Howard D. Rundle
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Female Fitness ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Natural And Sexual Selection

Recent experiments indicate that male preferential harassment of high-quality females reduces the variance in female fitness, thereby weakening natural selection through females and hampering adaptation and purging. We propose that this phenomenon, which results from a combination of male choice and male-induced harm, should be mediated by the physical environment in which intersexual interactions occur. Using Drosophila melanogaster , we examined intersexual interactions in small and simple (standard fly vials) versus slightly more realistic (small cages with spatial structure) environments. We show that in these more realistic environments, sexual interactions are less frequent, are no longer biased towards high-quality females, and that overall male harm is reduced. Next, we examine the selective advantage of high- over low-quality females while manipulating the opportunity for male choice. Male choice weakens the viability advantage of high-quality females in the simple environment, consistent with previous work, but strengthens selection on females in the more realistic environment. Laboratory studies in simple environments have strongly shaped our understanding of sexual conflict but may provide biased insight. Our results suggest that the physical environment plays a key role in the evolutionary consequences of sexual interactions and ultimately the alignment of natural and sexual selection.

scholarly journals Balancing selection and introgression of newt immune-response genes

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1884) ◽  
pp. 20180819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Fijarczyk ◽  
Katarzyna Dudek ◽  
Marta Niedzicka ◽  
Wiesław Babik
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Balancing Selection ◽  
Species Boundaries ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Interspecific Introgression ◽  
Differential Gene ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Relevant Variation ◽  
Novel Allele

The importance of interspecific introgression as a source of adaptive variation is increasingly recognized. Theory predicts that beneficial genetic variants cross species boundaries easily even when interspecific hybridization is rare and gene flow is strongly constrained throughout the genome. However, it remains unclear whether certain classes of genes are particularly prone to adaptive introgression. Genes affected by balancing selection (BS) may constitute such a class, because forms of BS that favour novel, initially rare alleles, should facilitate introgression. We tested this hypothesis in hybridizing newts by comparing 13 genes with signatures of BS, in particular an excess of common non-synonymous polymorphisms, to the genomic background (154 genes). Parapatric hybridizing taxa were less differentiated in BS candidate genes than more closely related allopatric lineages, while the opposite was observed in the control genes. Coalescent and forward simulations that explored neutral and BS scenarios under isolation and migration showed that processes other than differential gene flow are unlikely to account for this pattern. We conclude that BS, probably involving a form of novel allele advantage, promotes introgression. This mechanism may be a source of adaptively relevant variation in hybridizing species over prolonged periods.

scholarly journals Microsatellite DNA Evidence for Gene Flow in Neotropical Lek-Mating Long-Tailed Manakins

The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Clustering Analysis ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Dna Evidence ◽  
Lek Mating ◽  
Rapid Divergence ◽  
Para Determinar ◽  
Single Cluster

Abstract I genotyped lek-mating Long-tailed Manakins (Chiroxiphia linearis) at Monteverde and Santa Rosa, Costa Rica, 115 km apart. Cavalli-Sforza distance was 0.04, DLR was 0.18, and RST and θ were both 0.02. Bayesian clustering analysis indicated that both populations were part of a single cluster rather than from distinct clusters. I present a binomial test for probability of allelic absence as a function of sample size. Genotypic likelihood tests assigned 50% of Monteverde birds to Santa Rosa, versus 26% of Santa Rosa birds to Monteverde. Two lines of evidence supported the idea of asymmetric gene flow up the elevational gradient from Santa Rosa to Monteverde. Low differentiation at this spatial scale, despite intense sexual selection, suggests that sexual selection alone is unlikely to promote rapid divergence leading to speciation. Reduced gene flow, produced by geographic barriers or behavioral factors, may also be required. Evidencia de Flujo Génico Mediante ADN Microsatelital en Chiroxiphia linearis, un Ave Neotropical con Estrategia Reproductiva Tipo “Lek” Resumen. Determiné el genotipo de individuos de Chiroxiphia linearis en dos poblaciones separadas por 115 km, Monteverde y Santa Rosa en Costa Rica. La distancia de Cavalli-Sforza fue 0.04, DLR fue 0.18, y tanto el valor de RST como el de θ fue 0.02. Un análisis de agrupamiento bayesiano indicó que ambas poblaciones pertenecen a un mismo grupo y no a dos grupos diferentes. Presento una prueba binomial para determinar la probabilidad de ausencia alélica como una función del tamaño muestral. La prueba de probabilidad genotípica asignó al 50% de los individuos de Monteverde a la población de Santa Rosa, mientras que un 26% de los individuos de Santa Rosa fue asignado a Monteverde. Dos líneas de evidencia apoyan la idea de flujo génico asimétrico hacia arriba del gradiente altitudinal entre Santa Rosa y Monteverde. A pesar de la intensa presión selectiva sexual, la baja diferenciación a esta escala espacial sugiere que probablemente la selección sexual por sí sola no promueve la rápida divergencia que conduce a la especiación. También se requeriría reducción del flujo génico a través de barreras geográficas y factores conductuales.

scholarly journals Leptin Manipulation Reduces Appetite and Causes a Switch in Mating Preference in the Plains Spadefoot Toad (Spea bombifrons)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e0125981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Garcia ◽  
Karin S. Pfennig ◽  
Sabrina S. Burmeister
Keyword(s):  
Mating Preference ◽  
Spadefoot Toad ◽  
Spea Bombifrons

The role of Spadefoot Toad tadpoles in wetland trophic structure as influenced by environmental and morphological factors

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Ghioca-Robrecht ◽  
L. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Trophic Structure ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Southern Great Plains ◽  
Larval Amphibians ◽  
Spadefoot Toad ◽  
Spea Bombifrons ◽  
And Function

Larval amphibians reach high densities in playa wetlands in the Southern Great Plains (SGP), USA, and thus may influence the entire structure and function of these ecosystems. We investigated whether both carnivorous and omnivorous morphotypes of Spadefoot Toad tadpoles (New Mexico Spadefoot, Spea multiplicata (Cope, 1863), and Plains Spadefoot, Spea bombifrons (Cope, 1863)) would exhibit a macrophagous feeding behavior that would allow them to occupy several trophic levels in playas. We also compared tadpole diets and foregut widths as influenced by the land use surrounding playas (cultivated versus grassland watersheds), year (dry versus wet year), and body size (snout-to-vent length). Tadpole diets were dominated by detritus and diatoms and tadpole foreguts increased with body size. Generally, more arthropods and less cyanobacteria were found in Spea tadpole diets as tadpoles grew larger, suggesting they influence different trophic levels with age. Foreguts were wider in carnivores than omnivores, suggesting carnivores had increased ability to ingest larger prey. Also, omnivores had wider foreguts in cropland than grassland playas, suggesting they ingest larger food items in cropland playas. From estimates of the amounts of invertebrates, detritus, and algae consumed by Spea tadpoles, we demonstrate that these larvae influence the entire trophic structure of wetland ecosystems.

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 Offspring viability benefits but no apparent costs of mating with high quality males

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons ◽  
Rebecca Holley
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Male Courtship ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Female Resistance ◽  
Genetic Quality ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus ◽  
Courtship Signals

Traditional models of sexual selection posit that male courtship signals evolve as indicators of underlying male genetic quality. An alternative hypothesis is that sexual conflict over mating generates antagonistic coevolution between male courtship persistence and female resistance. In the scarabaeine dung beetle Onthophagus taurus , females are more likely to mate with males that have high courtship rates. Here, we examine the effects of exposing females to males with either high or low courtship rates on female lifetime productivity and offspring viability. Females exposed to males with high courtship rates mated more often and produced offspring with greater egg–adult viability. Female productivity and lifespan were unaffected by exposure to males with high courtship rates. The data are consistent with models of sexual selection based on indirect genetic benefits, and provide little evidence for sexual conflict in this system.

scholarly journals Genome Assembly of the Roundjaw Bonefish (Albula glossodonta), a Vulnerable Circumtropical Sportfish

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon D. Pickett ◽  
Sheena Talma ◽  
Jessica R. Glass ◽  
Daniel Ence ◽  
Paul D. Cowley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Genome Assembly ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Genetic Connectivity ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
High Quality Genome

ABSTRACTBackgroundBonefishes are cryptic species indiscriminately targeted by subsistence and recreational fisheries worldwide. The roundjaw bonefish, Albula glossodonta is the most widespread bonefish species in the Indo-Pacific and is listed as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN’s Red List due to anthropogenic activities. Whole-genome datasets allow for improved population and species delimitation, which – prior to this study – were lacking for Albula species.ResultsWe generated a high-quality genome assembly of an A. glossodonta individual from Hawai‘i, USA. The assembled contigs had an NG50 of 4.75 Mbp and a maximum length of 28.2 Mbp. Scaffolding yielded an NG50 of 14.49 Mbp, with the longest scaffold reaching 42.29 Mbp. Half the genome was contained in 20 scaffolds. The genome was annotated with 28.3 K protein-coding genes. We then analyzed 66 A. glossodonta individuals and 38,355 SNP loci to evaluate population genetic connectivity between six atolls in Seychelles and Mauritius in the Western Indian Ocean. We observed genetic homogeneity between atolls in Seychelles and evidence of reduced gene flow between Seychelles and Mauritius. The South Equatorial Current could be one mechanism limiting gene flow of A. glossodonta populations between Seychelles and Mauritius.ConclusionsQuantifying the spatial population structure of widespread fishery species such as bonefishes is necessary for effective transboundary management and conservation. This population genomic dataset mapped to a high-quality genome assembly allowed us to discern shallow population structure in a widespread species in the Western Indian Ocean. The genome assembly will be useful for addressing the taxonomic uncertainties of bonefishes globally.

scholarly journals The effects of male harm vary with female quality and environmental complexity in Drosophila melanogaster

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 20180443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison MacPherson ◽  
Li Yun ◽  
Tania S. Barrera ◽  
Aneil F. Agrawal ◽  
Howard D. Rundle
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Mate Competition ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Behavioural Interactions ◽  
Recent Attention

Mate competition provides the opportunity for sexual selection which often acts strongly on males, but also the opportunity for sexual conflict that can alter natural selection on females. Recent attention has focused on the potential of sexual conflict to weaken selection on females if male sexual attention, and hence harm, is disproportionately directed towards high- over low-quality females, thereby reducing the fitness difference between these females. However, sexual conflict could instead strengthen selection on females if low-quality females are more sensitive to male harm than high-quality females, thereby magnifying fitness differences between them. We quantify the effects of male exposure on low- versus high-quality females in Drosophila melanogaster in each of two environments (‘simple’ and ‘complex’) that are known to alter behavioural interactions. We show that the effects of male harm are greater for low- compared to high-quality females in the complex but not the simple environment, consistent with mate competition strengthening selection on females in the former but not in the latter environment.

scholarly journals Differential encoding of signals and preferences by noradrenaline in the anuran brain

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (18) ◽  
pp. jeb214148
Author(s):  
Sabrina S. Burmeister ◽  
Verónica G. Rodriguez Moncalvo ◽  
Karin S. Pfennig
Keyword(s):  
Social Preferences ◽  
Preoptic Area ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Auditory Midbrain ◽  
Differential Encoding ◽  
Spadefoot Toad ◽  
Spea Bombifrons ◽  
Independent Preferences ◽  
Noradrenaline Levels

ABSTRACTSocial preferences enable animals to selectively interact with some individuals over others. One influential idea for the evolution of social preferences is that preferred signals evolve because they elicit greater neural responses from sensory systems. However, in juvenile plains spadefoot toad (Spea bombifrons), a species with condition-dependent mating preferences, responses of the preoptic area, but not of the auditory midbrain, mirror adult social preferences. To examine whether this separation of signal representation from signal valuation generalizes to other anurans, we compared the relative contributions of noradrenergic signalling in the preoptic area and auditory midbrain of S. bombifrons and its close relative Spea multiplicata. We manipulated body condition in juvenile toads by controlling diet and used high pressure liquid chromatography to compare call-induced levels of noradrenaline and its metabolite MHPG in the auditory midbrain and preoptic area of the two species. We found that calls from the two species induced different levels of noradrenaline and MHPG in the auditory system, with higher levels measured in both species for the more energetic S. bombifrons call. In contrast, noradrenaline levels in the preoptic area mirrored patterns of social preferences in both S. bombifrons and S. multiplicata. That is, noradrenaline levels were higher in response to the preferred calls within each species and were modified by diet in S. bombifrons (with condition-dependent preferences) but not S. multiplicata (with condition-independent preferences). Our results are consistent with a potentially important role for preoptic noradrenaline in the development of social preferences and indicate that it could be a target of selection in the evolution of condition-dependent social preferences.

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