Why Ecology and Evolution Occupy Distinct Epistemic Niches

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-165
Author(s):  
Stefan Linquist ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Directional Selection ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Generally True ◽  
Evolutionary Explanations

Recent examples of rapid evolution under natural selection seem to require that the disciplines of ecology and evolution become better integrated. This inference makes sense only if one’s understanding of these disciplines is based on Hutchinson’s two-speed model of the ecological theater and the evolutionary play. Instead, these disciplines are more accurately viewed as occupying distinct “epistemic niches.” When so understood, we see that rapid evolution under selection, even if it is generally true, does not imply that evolutionary explanations are improved by the inclusion of ecological details. Nor are ecological explanations necessarily improved by the inclusion of information about trait variation, heritability, effective population size, or other standard evolutionary factors. To illustrate, I develop a version of Kitcher’s (1984) “gory details” argument to show that, even for some trait that is under strong directional selection, a dynamically sufficient explanation of its ecological relationships should ignore most of the information explaining why that trait is evolving. The wholesale integration of ecology and evolution looks even less appealing when empirical sufficiency, a purely practical requirement, is taken into account. As a way forward, I propose an eco-evo partitioning framework. This strategy enables researchers to estimate the empirical sufficiency of a purely ecological, a purely evolutionary, or a combined eco-evo approach.

scholarly journals Selection in a growing bacterial/yeast colony biases results of mutation accumulation experiments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Mahilkar ◽  
Sharvari Kemkar ◽  
Supreet Saini
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Mutation Accumulation ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
The Face ◽  
Mean Fitness

AbstractMutations provide the raw material for natural selection to act. Therefore, understanding the variety and relative frequency of different type of mutations is critical to understanding the nature of genetic diversity in a population. Mutation accumulation (MA) experiments have been used in this context to estimate parameters defining mutation rates, distribution of fitness effects (DFE), and spectrum of mutations. MA experiments performed with organisms such asDrosophilahave an effective population size of one. However, in MA experiments with bacteria and yeast, a single founder is allowed to grow to a size of a colony (~108). The effective population size in these experiments is of the order of 10. In this scenario, while it is assumed that natural selection plays a minimal role in dictating the dynamics of colony growth and therefore, the MA experiment; this effect has not been tested explicitly. In this work, we simulate colony growth and perform an MA experiment, and demonstrate that selection ensures that, in an MA experiment, fraction of all mutations that are beneficial is over represented by a factor greater than two. The DFE of beneficial and deleterious mutations are accurately captured in an MA experiment. We show that the effect of selection in a growing colony varies non-monotonically and that, in the face of natural selection dictating an MA experiment, estimates of mutation rate of an organism is not trivial. We perform experiments with 160 MA lines ofE. coli, and demonstrate that rate of change of mean fitness is a non-monotonic function of the colony size, and that selection acts differently in different sectors of a growing colony. Overall, we demonstrate that the results of MA experiments need to be revisited taking into account the action of selection in a growing colony.

scholarly journals Codon Usage Bias in Animals: Disentangling the Effects of Natural Selection, Effective Population Size, and GC-Biased Gene Conversion

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1092-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Galtier ◽  
Camille Roux ◽  
Marjolaine Rousselle ◽  
Jonathan Romiguier ◽  
Emeric Figuet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Codon Usage ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Gene Conversion ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Codon Usage Bias ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Biased Gene Conversion

scholarly journals Demography and natural selection have shaped genome-wide variation in the widely distributed conifer Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Wang ◽  
Carolina Bernhardsson ◽  
Pär K. Ingvarsson
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Picea Abies ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genome Wide

AbstractUnder the neutral theory, species with larger effective population sizes are expected to harbour higher genetic diversity. However, across a wide variety of organisms, the range of genetic diversity is orders of magnitude more narrow than the range of effective population size. This observation has become known as Lewontin’s paradox and although aspects of this phenomenon have been extensively studied, the underlying causes for the paradox remain unclear. Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a widely distributed conifer species across the northern hemisphere and it consequently plays a major role in European forestry. Here, we use whole-genome re-sequencing data from 35 individuals to perform population genomic analyses in P. abies in an effort to understand what drives genome-wide patterns of variation in this species. Despite having a very wide geographic distribution and an enormous current population size, our analyses find that genetic diversity of P.abies is low across a number of populations (p=0.005-0.006). To assess the reasons for the low levels of genetic diversity, we infer the demographic history of the species and find that it is characterised by several re-occurring bottlenecks with concomitant decreases in effective population size can, at least partly, provide an explanation for low polymorphism we observe in P. abies. Further analyses suggest that recurrent natural selection, both purifying and positive selection, can also contribute to the loss of genetic diversity in Norway spruce by reducing genetic diversity at linked sites. Finally, the overall low mutation rates seen in conifers can also help explain the low genetic diversity maintained in Norway spruce.

scholarly journals The genetic structure of populations of orchids and its evolutionary importance: understanding processes from patterns

Lankesteriana ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond L. Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Genetic Drift ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Mutation Rates ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genetic Structure Of Populations

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Evolution through either natural selection or genetic drift is dependent on variation at the genetic and mor- phological levels. Processes that influence the genetic structure of populations include mating systems, effective population size, mutation rates and gene flow among populations. </span></p></div></div></div>

scholarly journals Codon usage bias in animals: disentangling the effects of natural selection, effective population size and GC-biased gene conversion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Galtier ◽  
C. Roux ◽  
M. Rousselle ◽  
J. Romiguier ◽  
E. Figuet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Codon Usage ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Gene Conversion ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Codon Usage Bias ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Translational Selection ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Biased Gene Conversion

AbstractSelection on codon usage bias is well documented in a number of microorganisms. Whether codon usage is also generally shaped by natural selection in large organisms, despite their relatively small effective population size (Ne), is unclear. Codon usage bias in animals has only been studied in a handful of model organisms so far, and can be affected by confounding, non-adaptive processes such as GC-biased gene conversion and experimental artefacts. Using population transcriptomics data we analysed the relationship between codon usage, gene expression, allele frequency distribution and recombination rate in 31 non-model species of animals, each from a different family, covering a wide range of effective population sizes. We disentangled the effects of translational selection and GC-biased gene conversion on codon usage by separately analysing GC-conservative and GC-changing mutations. We report evidence for effective translational selection on codon usage in large-Ne species of animals, but not in small-Ne ones, in agreement with the nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution. C- and T-ending codons are generally preferred over synonymous G- and A-ending ones, for reasons that remain to be determined. In contrast, we uncovered a conspicuous effect of GC-biased gene conversion, which is widespread in animals and the main force determining the fate of AT↔GC mutations. Intriguingly, the strength of its effect was uncorrelated with Ne.

scholarly journals NATURAL SELECTION FOR WITHIN-GENERATION VARIANCE IN OFFSPRING NUMBER

Genetics ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-606
Author(s):  
John H Gillespie
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Variance Component ◽  
Fixation Probability ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Offspring Number ◽  
Selection For

ABSTRACT In this paper it is shown that natural selection can act on the within-generation variance in offspring number. The fitness of a genotype will increase as its variance in offspring number decreases. The intensity of selection on the variance component is inversely proportional to population size, although the fixation probability of a gene which differs from its allele only in the variance in its offspring number is independent of population size. The concept of effective population size is shown to be of limited use when there is genetic variation in the variance in offspring number.

scholarly journals Demography and Natural Selection Have Shaped Genetic Variation in the Widely Distributed Conifer Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 3803-3817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Wang ◽  
Carolina Bernhardsson ◽  
Pär K Ingvarsson
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Picea Abies ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Neutral Theory ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Low Genetic Diversity

Abstract Under the neutral theory, species with larger effective population size are expected to harbor higher genetic diversity. However, across a wide variety of organisms, the range of genetic diversity is orders of magnitude more narrow than the range of effective population size. This observation has become known as Lewontin’s paradox and although aspects of this phenomenon have been extensively studied, the underlying causes for the paradox remain unclear. Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a widely distributed conifer species across the northern hemisphere, and it consequently plays a major role in European forestry. Here, we use whole-genome resequencing data from 35 individuals to perform population genomic analyses in P. abies in an effort to understand what drives genome-wide patterns of variation in this species. Despite having a very wide geographic distribution and an corresponding enormous current population size, our analyses find that genetic diversity of P. abies is low across a number of populations (π = 0.0049 in Central-Europe, π = 0.0063 in Sweden-Norway, π = 0.0063 in Finland). To assess the reasons for the low levels of genetic diversity, we infer the demographic history of the species and find that it is characterized by several reoccurring bottlenecks with concomitant decreases in effective population size can, at least partly, provide an explanation for low polymorphism we observe in P. abies. Further analyses suggest that recurrent natural selection, both purifying and positive selection, can also contribute to the loss of genetic diversity in Norway spruce by reducing genetic diversity at linked sites. Finally, the overall low mutation rates seen in conifers can also help explain the low genetic diversity maintained in Norway spruce.

scholarly journals Differences in local population history at the finest level: the case of the Estonian population

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1580-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasili Pankratov ◽  
Francesco Montinaro ◽  
Alena Kushniarevich ◽  
Georgi Hudjashov ◽  
Flora Jay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Population History ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Estonian Population

Abstract Several recent studies detected fine-scale genetic structure in human populations. Hence, groups conventionally treated as single populations harbour significant variation in terms of allele frequencies and patterns of haplotype sharing. It has been shown that these findings should be considered when performing studies of genetic associations and natural selection, especially when dealing with polygenic phenotypes. However, there is little understanding of the practical effects of such genetic structure on demography reconstructions and selection scans when focusing on recent population history. Here we tested the impact of population structure on such inferences using high-coverage (~30×) genome sequences of 2305 Estonians. We show that different regions of Estonia differ in both effective population size dynamics and signatures of natural selection. By analyzing identity-by-descent segments we also reveal that some Estonian regions exhibit evidence of a bottleneck 10–15 generations ago reflecting sequential episodes of wars, plague and famine, although this signal is virtually undetected when treating Estonia as a single population. Besides that, we provide a framework for relating effective population size estimated from genetic data to actual census size and validate it on the Estonian population. This approach may be widely used both to cross-check estimates based on historical sources as well as to get insight into times and/or regions with no other information available. Our results suggest that the history of human populations within the last few millennia can be highly region specific and cannot be properly studied without taking local genetic structure into account.

scholarly journals Expansion history and environmental suitability shape effective population size in a plant invasion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph E Braasch ◽  
Brittany S Barker ◽  
Katrina M Dlugosch
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Marginal Populations ◽  
Climate History

The margins of an expanding range are predicted to be challenging environments for adaptation. Marginal populations should often experience low effective population sizes (Ne) where genetic drift is high due to demographic expansion and/or census population size is low due to unfavorable environmental conditions. Nevertheless, invasive species demonstrate increasing evidence of rapid evolution and potential adaptation to novel environments encountered during colonization, calling into question whether significant reductions in Ne are realized during range expansions in nature. Here we report one of the first empirical tests of the joint effects of expansion dynamics and environment on effective population size variation during invasive range expansion. We estimate contemporary values of Ne using rates of linkage disequilibrium among genome-wide markers within introduced populations of the highly invasive plant Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle) in North America (California, USA), as well as in native European populations. As predicted, we find that Ne within the invasion is positively correlated with both expansion history (time since founding) and habitat quality (abiotic climate). History and environment had independent additive effects with similar effect sizes, supporting an important role of both factors in this invasion. These results support theoretical expectations for the population genetics of range expansion, though whether these processes can ultimately arrest the spread of an invasive species remains an open question.

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