scholarly journals Invasive predators induce plastic and adaptive responses during embryo development in a threatened frog

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Martina Muraro ◽  
Samuele Romagnoli ◽  
Benedetta Barzaghi ◽  
Mattia Falaschi ◽  
Raoul Manenti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Procambarus Clarkii ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Local Adaptations ◽  
Invasive Predators ◽  
Alien Predator ◽  
Plastic Responses

Invasive predators can strongly affect native populations. If alien predator pressure is strong enough, it can induce anti-predator responses, including phenotypic plasticity of exposed individuals and local adaptations of impacted populations. Furthermore, maternal investment is an additional pathway that could provide resources and improve performance in the presence of alien predators. We investigated the potential responses to an alien predator crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in a threatened frog (Rana latastei) by combining field observations with laboratory measurements of embryo development rate, to assess the importance of parental investment, origin and exposure to the crayfish cues. We detected a strong variation in parental investment amongst frog populations, but this variation was not related to the invasion status of the site of origin, suggesting that mothers did not modulate parental investment in relation to the presence of alien predators. However, cues of the invasive crayfish elicited plastic responses in clutches and tadpoles development: embryos developed faster when exposed to the predator. Furthermore, embryos from invaded sites reached Gosner’s development stage 25 faster than those from non-invaded sites. This ontogenetic shift can be interpreted as a local adaptation to the alien predator and suggests that frogs are able to recognise the predatory risk. If these plastic responses and local adaptation are effective escape strategies against the invasive predator, they may improve the persistence of native frog populations.

scholarly journals Raised by aliens: constant exposure to an invasive predator triggers morphological but not behavioural plasticity in a threatened species tadpoles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Melotto ◽  
Gentile Francesco Ficetola ◽  
Roberta Pennati ◽  
Nicoletta Ancona ◽  
Raoul Manenti
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Procambarus Clarkii ◽  
Muscle Size ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Invasive Predators ◽  
Behavioural Tests

AbstractDuring biotic invasions, native communities are abruptly exposed to novel and often severe selective pressures. The lack of common evolutionary history with invasive predators can hamper the expression of effective anti-predator responses in native prey, potentially accelerating population declines. Nonetheless, rapid adaptation and phenotypic plasticity may allow native species to cope with the new ecological pressures. We tested the hypothesis that phenotypic plasticity is fostered when facing invasive species and evaluated whether plasticity offers a pool of variability that might help the fixation of adaptive phenotypes. We assessed behavioural and morphological trait variation in tadpoles of the Italian agile frog (Rana latastei) in response to the invasive crayfish predator, Procambarus clarkii, by rearing tadpoles under different predation-risk regimes: non-lethal crayfish presence and crayfish absence. After two-month rearing, crayfish-exposed tadpoles showed a plastic shift in their body shape and increased tail muscle size, while behavioural tests showed no effect of crayfish exposure on tadpole behaviour. Furthermore, multivariate analyses revealed weak divergence in morphology between invaded and uninvaded populations, while plasticity levels were similar between invaded and uninvaded populations. Even if tadpoles displayed multiple plastic responses to the novel predator, none of these shifts underwent fixation after crayfish arrival (10–15 years). Overall, these findings highlight that native prey can finely tune their responses to invasive predators through plasticity, but the adaptive value of these responses in whitstanding the novel selective pressures, and the long-term consequences they can entail remain to be ascertained.

14 EQUINE CLONING AND EMBRYO AGGREGATION: EFFECT OF BOVINE, PORCINE, FELINE AND EQUINE OOPLAST

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
A. Gambini ◽  
J. Jarazo ◽  
A. De Stefano ◽  
F. Karlanian ◽  
D. Salamone
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Development ◽  
Metaphase Plate ◽  
Donor Cell ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Blastocyst Stage ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Aggregation Effect ◽  
Group I

The low number of horse slaughterhouses is one of the reasons for the limited availability of horse oocytes for research in cloning. The aim of our study was to assess the capability of equine, bovine, porcine, or feline ooplast to produce cloned embryos when equine cells are used as donor nuclei and to evaluate if embryo aggregation improves their development. Oocytes from mentioned species were collected from ovaries derived from slaughterhouses, except for cat ovaries that were obtained from ovariectomized queens. Oocytes were matured in TCM199 supplemented following standard protocols for each species. After maturation, cumulus and zona pellucida were removed. Enucleation was performed by aspiration of the metaphase plate under ultraviolet light. Donor cell and ooplast were attached by phytohemagglutinin treatment and then electrofused. Activation protocols were ionomycin for 4 min, except for porcine, which were electrically activated, followed by culture in 1.9 mM 6-DMAP for bovine, feline and porcine, except for equine: 1 mM 6-DMAP with 5 mg mL–1 of cycloheximide. Reconstructed embryos (RE) were cultured in SOF in the well of well system in 2 different groups: only one RE per well (1X) and three RE per well (3X, aggregated embryos, AE). Blastocysts derived from homospecific clones were transferred to synchronized mares. Cleavage and maximum development stage achieved of all experimental groups were assessed. In vitro development was compared using the chi-square test. In group 1X, a total of 64, 49, 38 and 145 RE were performed for porcine, bovine, feline and equine, respectively and in group 3X, 88, 48, 48 and 195 RE. Cleavage of cloned embryos ranged from 67 to 87%. Aggregated of homospecific equine clones showed the highest blastocyst rates (1X: 5.5%, 3X: 34%) and after embryo transfer (4 recipients for each group), an ongoing pregnancy (day 300, at the time of submission) was only achieved with aggregated embryo confirming the positive effect of embryo aggregation in these clones. The stages with higher developmental arrest of heterospecific nonaggregated embryos were 2 to 4 cells for porcine ooplast (23/64, 36%) and 4 to 8 cells for bovine and feline ooplast (37/49, 75% and 18/38, 47%, respectively). Blastocyst stage was only reached using feline ooplast (group I: 2/38, 5.26% and group II: 2/16, 12.5%). Heterospecific aggregated clones were able to achieve 16-cell stage, showing statistic differences compared with group 1X. As we reported previously, embryo aggregation shows benefits for homospecific equine clones, although more studies are needed to clarify if aggregation of heterospecific clones has the same effect. All heterospecific ooplasm was able to support embryo development. The stage of major developmental arrests was similar to embryonic genomic activation stage. Our results suggest that cat oocyte seems to be the best receptor to support equine cloned embryo development.

scholarly journals Deep learning for automatic determination of blastocyst embryo development stage

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. e273
Author(s):  
Alejandro Chavez-Badiola ◽  
Gerardo Mendizabal-Ruiz ◽  
Vladimir Ocegueda-Hernandez ◽  
Adolfo Flores-Saiffe Farias ◽  
Andrew J. Drakeley
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Automatic Determination

scholarly journals Parental Investment and Mate Value

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Antfolk ◽  
Agneta Sjölund
Keyword(s):  
Parental Investment ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Mate Value ◽  
Reproductive Behaviors ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
Childhood Environment

Stressors in the childhood environment, such as decreased parental investment (PI) regulates an individual’s reproductive behaviors. The effect of these behaviors on fitness is partly determined by individual mate value (MV). We tested whether PI during childhood is associated to MV in adulthood. Adult men and women (N = 1244) reported received maternal and paternal investment, and also current MV. We found that high PI in childhood was associated with increased MV in adulthood. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between maternal and paternal investment and the association between paternal investment and MV was mediated through maternal investment. We conclude that PI, especially maternal investment, might influence MV in offspring.

scholarly journals Female northern grass lizards judge mates by body shape to reinforce local adaptation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Guo ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Xiao-Fang Liang ◽  
Yan-Fu Qu ◽  
Xiang Ji
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Genetic Distance ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Local Adaptations ◽  
Female Mate

Abstract Background: Identifying the factors that contribute to divergence among populations in mate preferences is important for understanding of the manner in which premating reproductive isolation might arise and how this isolation may in turn contribute to the evolutionary process of population divergence. Here, we offered female northern grass lizards (Takydromus septentrionalis) a choice of males between their own population and another four populations to test whether the preferences that females display in the mating trials correlate with phenotypic adaptation to local environments, or to the neutral genetic distance measured by divergence of mitochondrial DNA sequence loci. Results: Females showed a strong preference for native over foreign males. Females that mated with native versus foreign males did not differ from each other in mating latency, or copulation duration. From results of the structural equation modelling we knew that: 1) geographical distance directly contributed to genetic differentiation and environmental dissimilarity; 2) genetic differentiation and environmental dissimilarity indirectly contributed to female mate preference, largely through their effects on morphological divergence; and 3) females judged mates by body shape (appearance) and discriminated more strongly against morphologically less familiar allopatric males.Conclusions: Local adaptation rather than neutral genetic distance influences female mate preference in T. septentrionalis. The tendency to avoid mating with foreign males may indicate that, in T. septentrionalis, local adaptations are more valuable than genetic novelties. Our results highlight the importance of comprehensive studies integrating ecological, molecular and behavioral approaches to understand population divergence in female mate preferences as the consequence of local adaptations.

scholarly journals Mountain chickadees from different elevations sing different songs: acoustic adaptation, temporal drift or signal of local adaptation?

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 150019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie L. Branch ◽  
Vladimir V. Pravosudov
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Song Structure ◽  
Local Adaptations ◽  
Acoustic Adaptation ◽  
Food Caching ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Mountain Chickadees

Song in songbirds is widely thought to function in mate choice and male–male competition. Song is also phenotypically plastic and typically learned from local adults; therefore, it varies across geographical space and can serve as a cue for an individual's location of origin, with females commonly preferring males from their respective location. Geographical variation in song dialect may reflect acoustic adaptation to different environments and/or serve as a signal of local adaptation. In montane environments, environmental differences can occur over an elevation gradient, favouring local adaptations across small spatial scales. We tested whether food caching mountain chickadees, known to exhibit elevation-related differences in food caching intensity, spatial memory and the hippocampus, also sing different dialects despite continuous distribution and close proximity. Male songs were collected from high and low elevations at two different mountains (separated by 35 km) to test whether song differs between elevations and/or between adjacent populations at each mountain. Song structure varied significantly between high and low elevation adjacent populations from the same mountain and between populations from different mountains at the same elevations, despite a continuous distribution across each mountain slope. These results suggest that elevation-related differences in song structure in chickadees might serve as a signal for local adaptation.

scholarly journals Understanding local adaptation in a freshwater salmonid fish: evolution of a research programme

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 1404-1414
Author(s):  
L Asbjørn Vøllestad ◽  
Craig R Primmer
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Short Time Span ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Plastic Responses

Abstract Linking ecology and evolution can be challenging, particularly as these fields evolve rapidly tracking technological and theoretical developments. Thus, it is important for practitioners of different biological disciplines to understand new opportunities and challenges. Since theory and methods evolve, so will research programmes—often tracking opportunity. Here, we describe a research programme where we have investigated the population biology of grayling Thymallus thymallus in a Norwegian alpine landscape over three decades. Starting with classical ecological studies, we identified a set of populations that had evolved population-specific phenotypic traits over a relatively short time span (10–30 generations). These observations led us into evolutionary studies at various levels of biological organization, using population and quantitative genetic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. Overall, the results show that the populations exhibit evolutionary responses to local-scale differences in environment (mainly water temperature during early development). Further, plastic responses are important in the early phase of population diversification. Population genomic studies are now becoming possible following the completion of an annotated genome. This will help us and others in addressing questions about the genetic architecture of traits important for local adaptation, thus emphasizing that combining ecological and evolutionary approaches is more important and interesting than ever.

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