scholarly journals Nontraditional Life-History Choices: What Can "Intermediates" Tell Us about Evolutionary Transitions between Modes of Invertebrate Development?

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Collin
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Invertebrate Development

scholarly journals Major Evolutionary Transitions in Social Insects, the Importance of Worker Sterility and Life History Trade-Offs

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Bernadou ◽  
Boris H. Kramer ◽  
Judith Korb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Worker Sterility

The evolution of eusociality in social insects, such as termites, ants, and some bees and wasps, has been regarded as a major evolutionary transition (MET). Yet, there is some debate whether all species qualify. Here, we argue that worker sterility is a decisive criterion to determine whether species have passed a MET (= superorganisms), or not. When workers are sterile, reproductive interests align among group members as individual fitness is transferred to the colony level. Division of labour among cooperating units is a major driver that favours the evolution of METs across all biological scales. Many METs are characterised by a differentiation into reproductive versus maintenance functions. In social insects, the queen specialises on reproduction while workers take over maintenance functions such as food provisioning. Such division of labour allows specialisation and it reshapes life history trade-offs among cooperating units. For instance, individuals within colonies of social insects can overcome the omnipresent fecundity/longevity trade-off, which limits reproductive success in organisms, when increased fecundity shortens lifespan. Social insect queens (particularly in superorganismal species) can reach adult lifespans of several decades and are among the most fecund terrestrial animals. The resulting enormous reproductive output may contribute to explain why some genera of social insects became so successful. Indeed, superorganismal ant lineages have more species than those that have not passed a MET. We conclude that the release from life history constraints at the individual level is a important, yet understudied, factor across METs to explain their evolutionary success.

scholarly journals Monotocy and the evolution of plural breeding in mammals

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Lukas ◽  
Tim Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Life History Parameters ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Size Stability ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Kinship Structure ◽  
Competition For Food ◽  
Plural Breeding

Abstract In many mammals, breeding females are intolerant of each other and seldom associate closely but, in some, they aggregate in groups that vary in size, stability, and kinship structure. Aggregation frequently increases competition for food, and interspecific differences in female sociality among mammals are commonly attributed to contrasts in ecological parameters, including variation in activity timing, the distribution of resources, as well as the risk of predation. However, there is increasing indication that differences in female sociality are also associated with phylogenetic relationships and with contrasts in life-history parameters. We show here that evolutionary transitions from systems where breeding females usually occupy separate ranges (“singular breeding”) to systems where breeding females usually aggregate (“plural breeding”) have occurred more frequently in monotocous lineages where females produce single young than in polytocous ones where they produce litters. A likely explanation of this association is that competition between breeding females for resources is reduced where they produce single young and is more intense where they produce litters. Our findings reinforce evidence that variation in life-history parameters plays an important role in shaping the evolution of social behavior.

scholarly journals Ecology and the diversification of reproductive strategies in viviparous fishes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Tobler ◽  
Zachary Culumber
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
High Resource ◽  
Correlated Patterns ◽  
Maternal Provisioning ◽  
Provisioning Strategies

AbstractShifts in life history evolution can potentiate sexual selection and speciation. However, we rarely understand the causative links between correlated patterns of diversification or the tipping points that initiate changes with cascading effects. We investigated livebearing fishes with repeated transitions from pre- (lecithotrophy) to post-fertilization maternal provisioning (matrotrophy) to identify the potential ecological drivers of evolutionary transitions in life history. Phylogenetic comparative analyses across 94 species revealed that bi-directional evolution along the lecithotrophy-matrotrophy continuum is correlated with ecology, supporting adaptive hypotheses of life history diversification. Consistent with theory, matrotrophy was associated with high resource availability and low competition. Our results suggest that ecological sources of selection contribute to the diversification of female provisioning strategies in livebearing fishes, which have been associated with macroevolutionary patterns of sexual selection and speciation.

scholarly journals Correlated evolution of sex and reproductive mode in corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia)

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1702) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Kerr ◽  
Andrew H. Baird ◽  
Terry P. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Reproductive Mode ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Evolutionary Pathway ◽  
Sexual Systems ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Taxonomic Patterns

Sexuality and reproductive mode are two fundamental life-history traits that exhibit largely unexplained macroevolutionary patterns among the major groups of multicellular organisms. For example, the cnidarian class Anthozoa (corals and anemones) is mainly comprised of gonochoric (separate sex) brooders or spawners, while one order, Scleractinia (skeleton-forming corals), appears to be mostly hermaphroditic spawners. Here, using the most complete phylogeny of scleractinians, we reconstruct how evolutionary transitions between sexual systems (gonochorism versus hermaphrodism) and reproductive modes (brooding versus spawning) have generated large-scale taxonomic patterns in these characters. Hermaphrodites have independently evolved in three large, distantly related lineages consisting of mostly reef-building species. Reproductive mode in corals has evolved at twice the rate of sexuality, while the evolution of sexuality has been heavily biased: gonochorism is over 100 times more likely to be lost than gained, and can only be acquired by brooders. This circuitous evolutionary pathway accounts for the prevalence of hermaphroditic spawners among reef-forming scleractinians, despite their ancient gonochoric heritage.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal dimensions of a reproductive life history trait in a spiny lizard radiation (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián A. Velasco ◽  
Gustavo Campillo-García ◽  
Jesús Pinto-Ledezma ◽  
Oscar Flores-Villela
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life History ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Reproductive Life ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Reproductive Life History

AbstractThe ecological and evolutionary factors underlying life history trait variation is one of the most interesting topics in biology. Although many studies have evaluated either macroevolutionary or macroecological patterns of life history traits across several taxonomic groups, only few studies have attempted to integrate both dimensions in a single analytical framework. Here, we study how parity mode evolved across multiple scales in the radiation of spiny lizards (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). We adopted macroecological and macroevolutionary approaches to explore how climate across spatial and temporal scales drives the evolution of viviparity in this lizard radiation. We find support for a weak signature of current climates on the geographical distribution of oviparous and viviparous species. By contrast, we detected that evolutionary transitions from oviparity to viviparity reach a peak during the MidMiocene Climatic Optimum — a period with a profound climate change event. We suggest that this abrupt climatic cooling promoted evolutionary transitions to viviparity simultaneously across three clades in the spiny lizard radiation. The decoupling in macroecological and macroevolutionary patterns found here suggests that past climate change has played a larger role than current climates in the spatial and temporal diversification of this reproductive life history trait.

scholarly journals Colonial Life-history: A Major Evolutionary Transition, Involving Modularization of Multicellular Individuals and Heterochrony (Miniaturization and Adultation)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Life History ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Evolutionary Transition ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
The Family ◽  
Individual Size

The diversification of life-histories is mediated by cooperation, innovations of biological information, modularity, and heterochrony in developmental processes. These processes are defined, contextualized, and exemplified, studying the evolution of coloniality (i.e. life-history involving modularization of the multicellular individual) in the family of benthic tunicates Styelidae. This study proposes that in these colonial tunicates there is an inter-generational division of labor, where one generation is feeding, a second is developing by morphogenetic processes, and a third is aging by programmed cell death and phagocytosis. The communication system developed in these colonies is mediated, by changes in proportion, location, and gene expression of specialized blood cells. Colonial life-history in animals is related to the reduction of individual size; development of extra-corporeal tissues to interconnect zooids; the inter-generational division of labor; and the reduction of zooid’s individuality. Processes analogous with the widely accepted major evolutionary transitions (METs), suggesting that coloniality could be studied as a MET. The understanding of colonial life-histories could provide information about key mechanisms for life diversification.

scholarly journals Pollen feeding in Heliconius butterflies: the singular evolution of an adaptive suite

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20201304
Author(s):  
Fletcher J. Young ◽  
Stephen H. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Adaptive Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Pollen Feeding ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectories ◽  
Morphological And Physiological Traits ◽  
Adaptive Shifts ◽  
Potential Interactions

Major evolutionary transitions can be triggered by behavioural novelty, and are often associated with ‘adaptive suites’, which involve shifts in multiple co-adapted traits subject to complex interactions. Heliconius butterflies represent one such example, actively feeding on pollen, a behaviour unique among butterflies. Pollen feeding permits a prolonged reproductive lifespan, and co-occurs with a constellation of behavioural, neuroanatomical, life history, morphological and physiological traits that are absent in closely related, non-pollen-feeding genera. As a highly tractable system, supported by considerable ecological and genomic data, Heliconius are an excellent model for investigating how behavioural innovation can trigger a cascade of adaptive shifts in multiple diverse, but interrelated, traits. Here, we synthesize current knowledge of pollen feeding in Heliconius , and explore potential interactions between associated, putatively adaptive, traits. Currently, no physiological, morphological or molecular innovation has been explicitly linked to the origin of pollen feeding, and several hypothesized links between different aspects of Heliconius biology remain poorly tested. However, resolving these uncertainties will contribute to our understanding of how behavioural innovations evolve and subsequently alter the evolutionary trajectories of diverse traits impacting resource acquisition, life history, senescence and cognition.

scholarly journals Environmental stress maintains trioecy in nematode worms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlyn G. Anderson ◽  
Louis T. Bubrig ◽  
Janna L. Fierst
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Sexual Systems ◽  
Determination System ◽  
Stable Maintenance ◽  
Sex Determination System

AbstractSex is determined by chromosomes in mammals but it can be influenced by the environment in many worms, crustaceans and vertebrates. Despite this, there is little understanding of the relationship between ecology and the evolution of sexual systems. The nematode Auanema freiburgensis has a unique sex determination system in which individuals carrying one X chromosome develop into males while XX individuals develop into females in stress-free environments and self-fertile hermaphrodites in stressful environments. Theory predicts that trioecious populations with coexisting males, females and hermaphrodites should be unstable intermediates in evolutionary transitions between mating systems. In this article we study a mathematical model of reproductive evolution based on the unique life history and sex determination of A. freiburgensis. We develop the model in two scenarios, one where the relative production of hermaphrodites and females is entirely dependent on the environment and one based on empirical measurements of a population that displays incomplete, ‘leaky’ environmental dependence. In the first scenario environmental conditions can push the population along an evolutionary continuum and result in the stable maintenance of multiple reproductive systems. The second ‘leaky’ scenario results in the maintenance of three sexes for all environmental conditions. Theoretical investigations of reproductive system transitions have focused on the evolutionary costs and benefits of sex. Here, we show that the flexible sex determination system of A. freiburgensis may contribute to population-level resilience in the microscopic nematode’s patchy, ephemeral natural habitat. Our results demonstrate that life history, ecology and environment may play defining roles in the evolution of sexual systems.

scholarly journals Macroevolution of dimensionless life history metrics in tetrapods

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecina Babich Morrow ◽  
S. K. Morgan Ernest ◽  
Andrew J. Kerkhoff
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
The Impact

AbstractLife history traits represent organism’s strategies to navigate the fitness trade-offs between survival and reproduction. Eric Charnov developed three dimensionless metrics to quantify fundamental life history trade-offs. Lifetime reproductive effort (LRE), relative reproductive lifespan (RRL), and relative offspring size (ROS), together with body mass, can be used classify life history strategies across the four major classes of tetrapods: amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. First, we investigate how the metrics have evolved in concert with body mass. In most cases, we find evidence for correlated evolution between body mass and the three metrics. Finally, we compare life history strategies across the four classes of tetrapods and find that LRE, RRL, and ROS delineate a space in which the major tetrapod clades occupy mostly unique subspaces. These distinct combinations of life history strategies provide us with a framework to understand the impact of major evolutionary transitions in energetics, physiology, and ecology.

The Evolution of Annual and Perennial Plant Life Histories: Ecological Correlates and Genetic Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 461-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannice Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Developmental Genetics ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Perennial Plant ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
One Year

Flowering plants exhibit two principal life-history strategies: annuality (living and reproducing in one year) and perenniality (living more than one year). The advantages of either strategy depend on the relative benefits of immediate reproduction balanced against survivorship and future reproduction. This trade-off means that life-history strategies are associated with particular environments, with annuals being found more often in unpredictable habitats. Annuality and perenniality are the outcome of developmental genetic programs responding to their environment, with perennials being distinguished by their delayed competence to flower and reversion to growth after flowering. Evolutionary transitions between these strategies are frequent and have consequences for mating systems and genome evolution, with perennials being more likely to outcross with higher inbreeding depression and lower rates of molecular evolution. Integrating expectations from life-history theory with knowledge of the developmental genetics of flowering and seasonality is required to understand the mechanisms involved in the evolution of annual and perennial life histories.

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