scholarly journals Spatio-temporal ecological and evolutionary dynamics in natural butterfly populations

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Insect Community ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Long term studies of wild populations indicate that natural selection can cause rapid and dramatic changes in traits, with spatial and temporal variation in the strength of selection a critical driver of genetic variation in natural populations. In 2012, we began a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in populations of the butterfly Lycaeides ideas in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). We aimed to quantify the role of environment-dependent selection on evolution in these populations. Building on previous work, in 2017 we collected new samples, incorporated distance sampling, and surveyed the insect community at each site. We also defined the habitat boundary at anew, eleventh site. Our preliminary analyses suggest that both genetic drift and selection are important drivers in this system.   Featured photo from Figure 1 in report.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics in Natural Butterfly Populations (2015 Field Season)

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 29-32
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Long Term Studies

The study of evolution in natural populations has advanced our understanding of the origin and maintenance of biological diversity. For example, long term studies of wild populations indicate that natural selection can cause rapid and dramatic changes in traits, but that in some cases these evolutionary changes are quickly reversed when periodic variation in weather patterns or the biotic environment cause the optimal trait value to change (e.g., Reznick et al. 1997, Grant and Grant 2002). In fact, spatial and temporal variation in the strength and nature of natural selection could explain the high levels of genetic variation found in many natural populations (Gillespie 1994, Siepielski et al. 2009). Long term studies of evolution in the wild could also be informative for biodiversity conservation and resource management, because, for example, data on short term evolutionary responses to annual fluctuations in temperature or rainfall could be used to predict longer term evolution in response to directional climate change. Most previous research on evolution in the wild has considered one or a few observable traits or genes (e.g., Kapan 2001, Grant and Grant 2002, Barrett et al. 2008). We believe that more general conclusions regarding the rate and causes of evolutionary change in the wild and selection’s contribution to the maintenance of genetic variation could be obtained by studying genome-wide molecular evolution in a suite of natural populations. Thus, in 2012 we began a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in a series of natural butterfly populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). This study will allow us to quantify the contribution of environment-dependent natural selection to evolution in these butterfly populations and determine whether selection consistently favors the same alleles across space and through time.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Evolutionary Dynamics in Natural Butterfly Populations (2012 Field Season)

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 73-76
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Long Term Studies

The study of evolution in natural populations has advanced our understanding of the origin and maintenance of biological diversity. For example, long term studies of wild populations indicate that natural selection can cause rapid and dramatic changes in traits, but that in some cases these evolutionary changes are quickly reversed when periodic variation in weather patterns or the biotic environment cause the optimal trait value to change (e.g., Reznick et al. 1997; Grant and Grant 2002). In fact, spatial and temporal variation in the strength and nature of natural selection could explain the high levels of genetic variation found in many natural populations (Gillespie 1994; Siepielski et al. 2009). Long term studies of evolution in the wild could also be informative for biodiversity conservation and resource management, because, for example, data on short term evolutionary responses to annual fluctuations in temperature or rainfall could be used to predict longer term evolution in response to directional climate change. Most previous research on evolution in the wild has considered one or a few observable traits or genes (Kapan 2001; Grant and Grant 2002; Barrett et al. 2008). We believe that more general conclusions regarding the rate and causes of evolutionary change in the wild and selection’s contribution to the maintenance of genetic variation could be obtained by studying genome-wide molecular evolution in a suite of natural populations. Thus, we have begun a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in a series of natural butterfly populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). This study will allow us to quantify the contribution of environment-dependent natural selection to evolution in these butterfly populations and determine whether selection consistently favors the same alleles across space and through time.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics in Natural Butterfly Populations (2013 Field Season)

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 146-149
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Molecular Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Long Term Studies

The study of evolution in natural populations has advanced our understanding of the origin and maintenance of biological diversity. For example, long term studies of wild populations indicate that natural selection can cause rapid and dramatic changes in traits, but that in some cases these evolutionary changes are quickly reversed when periodic variation in weather patterns or the biotic environment cause the optimal trait value to change (e.g., Reznick et al. 1997, Grant and Grant 2002). In fact, spatial and temporal variation in the strength and nature of natural selection could explain the high levels of genetic variation found in many natural populations (Gillespie 1994, Siepielski et al. 2009). Long term studies of evolution in the wild could also be informative for biodiversity conservation and resource management, because, for example, data on short term evolutionary responses to annual fluctuations in temperature or rainfall could be used to predict longer term evolution in response to directional climate change. Most previous research on evolution in the wild has considered one or a few observable traits or genes (Kapan 2001, Grant and Grant 2002, Barrett et al. 2008). We believe that more general conclusions regarding the rate and causes of evolutionary change in the wild and selection’s contribution to the maintenance of genetic variation could be obtained by studying genome-wide molecular evolution in a suite of natural populations. Thus, we have begun a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in a series of natural butterfly populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). This study will allow us to quantify the contribution of environment-dependent natural selection to evolution in these butterfly populations and determine whether selection consistently favors the same alleles across space and through time.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal ecological and evolutionary dynamics in natural butterfly populations

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Population Size Estimates ◽  
Population Sizes

Spatial and temporal variation in the strength and nature of natural selection could help explain genetic diversity in natural populations and data on short term evolutionary responses to fluctuations in temperature and rainfall could facilitate predictions of climate change impacts. In 2012, we began a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in populations of Lycaeides idas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). In 2016, we used distance sampling to estimate population densities of 10 butterfly populations spread across the GYE in Wyoming and Montana. In parallel, we estimated host plant cover and conducted insect community surveys at each site. We also completed a genotyping-by-sequencing survey for eight populations sampled in 2013 and 2015 to estimate contemporary variance in effective population sizes. Based on 480 samples across sites, we found significant variation in population sizes (as estimated by distance sampling) among sites and years. Host plant abundance, climate, and insect communities varied among sites but were not consistently predictive of population size. Estimates of effective population sizes among sites showed pronounced variation that was uncorrelated with genetic diversity, possibly due to widespread fluctuating selection.   Featured photo from Figure 1 in report.

scholarly journals Forecasting eco-evolutionary dynamics in the Northern Blue butterfly (Lycaeides idas)

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Zachariah Gompert ◽  
Lauren Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Global Change ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Highly Correlated

Natural selection can drive rapid evolutionary change, particularly in human-altered habitats. Rapid adaptation to global change requires standing genetic variation for ecologically important traits, but at present little is known about how much relevant genetic variation most populations possess. With this in mind, we began a long term study of genome-wide molecular evolution in a series of natural butterfly populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) in 2012 to quantify the contribution of environment-dependent natural selection to evolution in these butterfly populations, and determine whether selection varies enough across space and time to maintain variation that could facilitate adaptation to global change. In 2018, we visited 11 focal populations to collect samples for DNA, estimate population sizes (using distance sampling and mark-release-recapture methods), and survey arthropod communities at the sites. Our analyses are ongoing, and this is a preliminary report, but thus far we have found that census population sizes are much higher than contemporary effective population sizes (though these metrics are highly correlated), and that both are independent of genetic diversity levels. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that selection plays a central role in eco-evolutionary dynamics in this system.   Featured photo from Figure 1 in report.

Assessing variation in assemblages of large marine fauna off ocean beaches using drones

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan P. Kelaher ◽  
Andrew P. Colefax ◽  
Alejandro Tagliafico ◽  
Melanie J. Bishop ◽  
Anna Giles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Carcharhinus Leucas ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Marine Wildlife

The turbulent waters off ocean beaches provide habitat for large marine fauna, including dolphins, sharks, rays, turtles and game fish. Although, historically, these assemblages have proven difficult to quantify, we used a new drone-based approach to assess spatial and temporal variation in assemblages of large marine fauna off four exposed beaches in New South Wales, Australia. In total, 4388 individual large marine animals were identified from 216 drone flights. The most common taxa, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) and Australian cownose rays (Rhinoptera neglecta), occurred in 25.5 and 19.9% of flights respectively. White (Carcharodon carcharias), bull (Carcharhinus leucas) and other whaler (Carcharhinus spp.) sharks were observed in <1% of flights. There was significant variation in the structure of assemblages of large fauna among beaches, with those adjacent to riverine estuaries having greater richness and abundance of wildlife. Overall, drone surveys were successful in documenting the spatio-temporal dynamics of an impressive suite of large marine fauna. We contend that emerging drone technology can make a valuable contribution to the ecological information required to ensure the long-term sustainability of sandy-beach ecosystems and associated marine wildlife.

Long-term dynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni among Rattus rattus in patchy environment

Parasitology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Théron ◽  
J. P. Pointier ◽  
S. Morand ◽  
D. Imbert-Establet ◽  
G. Borel
Keyword(s):  
Schistosoma Mansoni ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Distribution Analysis ◽  
Patchy Environment ◽  
Human Parasite ◽  
Spatio Temporal

SUMMARYDynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni were studied during 8 consecutive years among Rattus rattus populations from 8 transmission sites of the marshy forest focus of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The schistosome population is over-dispersed (k = 0·119) within the murine hosts and ecological factors linked to the patchy environment may be responsible for such aggregated distribution. Analysis of the spatio-temporal variations in prevalences, intensities and abundances showed limited variations of the infection during the 8 years at the level of the whole parasite population but great spatial heterogeneity at the level of local schistosome populations. Inter-populational genetic variability linked to the degree of adaptation of this human parasite to the murine host may explain differences in transmission dynamics between the local populations of S. mansoni.

scholarly journals Drosophila Evolution over Space and Time (DEST) - A New Population Genomics Resource

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Kapun ◽  
Joaquin C B Nunez ◽  
María Bogaerts-Márquez ◽  
Jesús Murga-Moreno ◽  
Margot Paris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Bioinformatics Pipeline ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Sequencing Technologies ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Demographic Inference

Abstract Drosophila melanogaster is a leading model in population genetics and genomics, and a growing number of whole-genome datasets from natural populations of this species have been published over the last years. A major challenge is the integration of disparate datasets, often generated using different sequencing technologies and bioinformatic pipelines, which hampers our ability to address questions about the evolution of this species. Here we address these issues by developing a bioinformatics pipeline that maps pooled sequencing (Pool-Seq) reads from D. melanogaster to a hologenome consisting of fly and symbiont genomes and estimates allele frequencies using either a heuristic (PoolSNP) or a probabilistic variant caller (SNAPE-pooled). We use this pipeline to generate the largest data repository of genomic data available for D. melanogaster to date, encompassing 271 previously published and unpublished population samples from over 100 locations in > 20 countries on four continents. Several of these locations have been sampled at different seasons across multiple years. This dataset, which we call Drosophila Evolution over Space and Time (DEST), is coupled with sampling and environmental meta-data. A web-based genome browser and web portal provide easy access to the SNP dataset. We further provide guidelines on how to use Pool-Seq data for model-based demographic inference. Our aim is to provide this scalable platform as a community resource which can be easily extended via future efforts for an even more extensive cosmopolitan dataset. Our resource will enable population geneticists to analyze spatio-temporal genetic patterns and evolutionary dynamics of D. melanogaster populations in unprecedented detail.

scholarly journals A complex multi-locus, multi-allelic genetic architecture underlying the long-term selection-response in the Virginia body weight line of chickens

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjun Zan ◽  
Zheya Sheng ◽  
Lars Rönnegård ◽  
Christa F. Honaker ◽  
Paul B. Siegel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Selection Response ◽  
Multiple Alleles ◽  
Term Selection ◽  
Selection Responses ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms

AbstractThe ability of a population to adapt to changes in their living conditions, whether in nature or captivity, often depends on polymorphisms in multiple genes across the genome. In-depth studies of such polygenic adaptations are difficult in natural populations, but can be approached using the resources provided by artificial selection experiments. Here, we dissect the genetic mechanisms involved in long-term selection responses of the Virginia chicken lines, populations that after 40 generations of divergent selection for 56-day body weight display a nine-fold difference in the selected trait. In the F15 generation of an intercross between the divergent lines, 20 loci explained more than 60% of the additive genetic variance for the selected trait. We focused particularly on seven major QTL and found that only two fine-mapped to single, bi-allelic loci; the other five contained linked loci, multiple alleles or were epistatic. This detailed dissection of the polygenic adaptations in the Virginia lines provides a deeper understanding of genome-wide mechanisms involved in the long-term selection responses. The results illustrate that long-term selection responses, even from populations with a limited genetic diversity, can be polygenic and influenced by a range of genetic mechanisms.

scholarly journals Further Information on Ectomycorrhizal Macrofungi in the Greater Yellowstone Area

1999 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 149-151
Author(s):  
Joe Ammirati ◽  
M. Seidl ◽  
P. Matheny ◽  
Meinhard Moser ◽  
Bradley Kropp
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Yellowstone Lake ◽  
Early Season ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Area ◽  
Greater Yellowstone

Mushroom collecting in the Greater Yellowstone Area was relatively poor during the summer of 1999 due to a cool early season followed by dry weather during the summer. It was perhaps the poorest year of a long term study of Cortinarius, which Meinhard Moser and the late Vera and Kent McKnight began in earnest in the early 1980s; later joined by Joe Ammirati. None-the-less during the season Meinhard Moser was able to paint more than forty-five species for the monograph we are preparing on the Cortinarii of this region. At the end of the season, in late August, some good collections of Cortinarii were made at Sandpoint on Yellowstone Lake, and Lilypad Lake in Yellowstone National Park.

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