scholarly journals Pteridine pigments compensate for environmental availability of carotenoids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devi Stuart-Fox ◽  
Katrina Rankin ◽  
Adrian Lutz ◽  
Adam Elliott ◽  
Andrew Hugall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Skin Tissue ◽  
Honest Signalling ◽  
Colour Variation ◽  
Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Availability ◽  
Pigment Concentrations ◽  
Production Mechanisms

Carotenoid-based colours are a textbook example of honest signalling because carotenoids must be acquired from the environment. However, many species produce similar colours using self-synthesised pteridine pigments. A compelling but untested hypothesis is that pteridines compensate for low environmental availability of carotenoids because it is metabolically cheaper to synthesise pteridines than to acquire and sequester carotenoids. Based on a phylogenetic comparative analysis of 11 pigment concentrations in skin tissue of agamid lizards, we show that pteridine concentrations are higher and carotenoid concentrations lower in less productive environments. Both carotenoid and pteridine pigments were present in all species, but only pteridine concentrations explained colour variation among species. Furthermore, pigment concentrations were uncorrelated with indices of sexual selection. These results suggest that variation among species in pteridine synthesis compensates for environmental availability of carotenoids and challenge the paradigm of honest carotenoid signalling in vertebrates with complex colour production mechanisms.

scholarly journals Environmental gradients predict the ratio of environmentally acquired carotenoids to self-synthesised pteridine pigments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devi Stuart-Fox ◽  
Katrina Rankin ◽  
Adrian Lutz ◽  
Adam Elliott ◽  
Andrew Hugall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Vegetation Productivity ◽  
Colour Variation ◽  
Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis ◽  
Pigment Concentrations

Carotenoids are important pigments producing integument coloration; however, their dietary availability may be limited in some environments. Many species produce red to yellow hues using a combination of carotenoids and self-synthesised pteridine pigments. A compelling but untested hypothesis is that pteridines replace carotenoids in environments where carotenoid availability is limited. Based on a phylogenetic comparative analysis of pigment concentrations in agamid lizards, we show that environmental gradients predict the ratio of carotenoids to pteridines; carotenoid concentrations are lower and pteridine concentrations higher in arid environments with low vegetation productivity. Both carotenoid and pteridine pigments were present in all species, but only pteridine concentrations explained colour variation among species and there were no correlations between carotenoid and pteridine pigments with similar hue. These results suggest that pteridine pigments replace carotenoids in carotenoid-limited environments, irrespective of skin hue, presumably because it is metabolically cheaper to synthesise pteridines than to acquire and sequester carotenoids when carotenoids are rare.

scholarly journals Colour dimorphism in labrid fishes as an adaptation to life on coral reefs

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1923) ◽  
pp. 20200167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Hodge ◽  
F. Santini ◽  
P. C. Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Environmental Context ◽  
Marine Fishes ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Colour Dimorphism

Conspicuous coloration displayed by animals that express sexual colour dimorphism is generally explained as an adaptation to sexual selection, yet the interactions and relative effects of selective forces influencing colour dimorphism are largely unknown. Qualitatively, colour dimorphism appears more pronounced in marine fishes that live on coral reefs where traits associated with strong sexual selection are purportedly more common. Using phylogenetic comparative analysis, we show that wrasses and parrotfishes exclusive to coral reefs are the most colour dimorphic, but surprisingly, the effect of habitat is not influenced by traits associated with strong sexual selection. Rather, habitat-specific selective forces, including clear water and structural refuge, promote the evolution of pronounced colour dimorphism that manifests colours less likely to be displayed in other habitats. Our results demonstrate that environmental context ultimately determines the evolution of conspicuous coloration in colour-dimorphic labrid fishes, despite other influential selective forces.

scholarly journals Habitat structure drives the evolution of aerial displays in birds

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
João C. T. Menezes ◽  
Eduardo S. A. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis ◽  
Open Habitat ◽  
Sexual Traits

Physical properties of the environment may shape signalling traits by determining how effective the signals are in affecting the behaviour of other individuals. Evidence abounds of signalling environment driving the evolution of colours and sounds, but little is known about its influence upon gestural displays. Here, we performed a continent-wide phylogenetic comparative analysis to test the hypothesis that habitat structure drives the evolution of aerial sexual displays in passerine birds. We found that aerial displays are seven times more likely to evolve in open habitats than in forests, likely as a result of physical properties that allow aerial displays to transmit more broadly in open habitats. Our results provide an emblematic example of how environmental factors may help predict the direction of evolution of otherwise unpredictable sexual traits. The broader range of aerial displays in open habitats may also mean that females can sample more males, potentially leading to more intense sexual selection over open-habitat, aerial-displaying males.

scholarly journals Coevolution of parasite virulence and host mating strategies

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (43) ◽  
pp. 13290-13295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Ashby ◽  
Michael Boots
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Short Life ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Parasite Evolution ◽  
Low Levels

Parasites are thought to play an important role in sexual selection and the evolution of mating strategies, which in turn are likely to be critical to the transmission and therefore the evolution of parasites. Despite this clear interdependence we have little understanding of parasite-mediated sexual selection in the context of reciprocal parasite evolution. Here we develop a general coevolutionary model between host mate preference and the virulence of a sexually transmitted parasite. We show when the characteristics of both the host and parasite lead to coevolutionarily stable strategies or runaway selection, and when coevolutionary cycling between high and low levels of host mate choosiness and virulence is possible. A prominent argument against parasites being involved in sexual selection is that they should evolve to become less virulent when transmission depends on host mating success. The present study, however, demonstrates that coevolution can maintain stable host mate choosiness and parasite virulence or indeed coevolutionary cycling of both traits. We predict that choosiness should vary inversely with parasite virulence and that both relatively long and short life spans select against choosy behavior in the host. The model also reveals that hosts can evolve different behavioral responses from the same initial conditions, which highlights difficulties in using comparative analysis to detect parasite-mediated sexual selection. Taken as a whole, our results emphasize the importance of viewing parasite-mediated sexual selection in the context of coevolution.

Phylogenetic comparative analysis and the secondary structure of ribonuclease P RNA — a review

Gene ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman R. Pace ◽  
David K. Smith ◽  
Gary J. Olsen ◽  
Bryan D. James
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Ribonuclease P ◽  
Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis ◽  
Ribonuclease P Rna

Sexual dimorphism in the claws of the European terrapin (Emys orbicularis): potential implications for the reproductive fitness of the species.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Alarcos ◽  
Jaime Madrigal-González ◽  
Miguel Lizana ◽  
Fabio Flechoso
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Reproductive Fitness ◽  
Emys Orbicularis ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Males And Females

There are many biometric differences between the males and females of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) as regards their size, colouring, the shape of the plastron, tail, etc. The males use their claws to grasp the female during copulation and hence sexual selection should favour the males that have larger claws, which allow them to grasp the female better. Here, we address this type of sexual dimorphism in a comparative analysis of indices obtained from claw length, the length of the carapace and the locality where individuals were sampled. The results show that the curvature of the claws differs between the two sexes, being longer in males and increasing with age, size, and hence, the state of sexual maturity, than in females. Greater claw length could confer advantages for males when grasping the carapace of females, and hence, improve their reproductive fitness. Importance in the reproductive success that might have this feature in males could originate future studies that will relate the shape, thickness, length and other measures of the claws in males with their reproductive success in different populations, genetic variety, and most importantly, viability of populations. 

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