scholarly journals Co-evolution of dispersal with social behaviour favours social polymorphism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Mullon ◽  
Laurent Keller ◽  
Laurent Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Evolution Of Dispersal ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Social Polymorphism ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Kin Structure ◽  
Social Behaviours

Dispersal determines gene flow among groups in a population and so plays a major role in many ecological and evolutionary processes, from biological invasions to species extinctions. Because patterns of gene flow shape kin structure, dispersal is also important to the evolution of social behaviours that influence reproduction and survival within groups. Conversely, dispersal patterns depend on kin structure and social behaviour. Dispersal and social behaviour therefore co-evolve but the nature and consequences of this interplay are not well understood. Here, we model this co-evolution and show that it readily leads to the emergence and maintenance of two broadly-defined social morphs: a sessile, benevolent morph expressed by individuals who tend to increase the fecundity of others within their group relative to their own; and a dispersive, self-serving morph expressed by individuals who tend to increase their own fecundity relative to others’ within their group. This social polymorphism arises as a consequence of a positive linkage between the loci responsible for dispersal and social behaviour, leading to benevolent individuals preferentially interacting with relatives and self-serving individuals with non-relatives. We find that this positive linkage is favoured under a large spectrum of conditions, which suggests that an association between dispersal proclivity and other social traits should be common in nature. In line with this prediction, dispersing individuals across a wide range of organisms have been reported to differ in their social tendencies from non-dispersing individuals.

scholarly journals Organisms on the move: ecology and evolution of dispersal

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Gibbs ◽  
Marjo Saastamoinen ◽  
Aurélie Coulon ◽  
Virginie M. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Evolution Of Dispersal ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Cross Fertilization ◽  
Made In ◽  
Modelling Approaches

The symposium and workshop ‘ Organisms on the move : ecology and evolution of dispersal ’, held in Ghent (Belgium), 14–18 September 2009, brought together a wide range of researchers using empirical and modelling approaches to examine the dispersal process. This meeting provided an opportunity to assess how much cross-fertilization there has been between empiricists and theoreticians, to present novel insights on dispersal patterns in plants, animals and micro-organisms and to measure the progress made in examining the causes and consequences of dispersal.

scholarly journals Social polymorphism is favoured by the co-evolution of dispersal with social behaviour

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Mullon ◽  
Laurent Keller ◽  
Laurent Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Evolution Of Dispersal ◽  
Social Polymorphism

scholarly journals Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Ecological Changes, Social Behaviour and Human Intergroup Tolerance 300,000 to 30,000 BP

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Spikins ◽  
Jennifer C. French ◽  
Seren John-Wood ◽  
Calvin Dytham
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Social Behaviours

AbstractArchaeological evidence suggests that important shifts were taking place in the character of human social behaviours 300,000 to 30,000 years ago. New artefact types appear and are disseminated with greater frequency. Transfers of both raw materials and finished artefacts take place over increasing distances, implying larger scales of regional mobility and more frequent and friendlier interactions between different communities. Whilst these changes occur during a period of increasing environmental variability, the relationship between ecological changes and transformations in social behaviours is elusive. Here, we explore a possible theoretical approach and methodology for understanding how ecological contexts can influence selection pressures acting on intergroup social behaviours. We focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of intergroup tolerance in different ecological contexts using agent-based modelling (ABM). We assess the relative costs and benefits of different ‘tolerance’ levels in between-group interactions on survival and resource exploitation in different environments. The results enable us to infer a potential relationship between ecological changes and proposed changes in between-group behavioural dynamics. We conclude that increasingly harsh environments may have driven changes in hormonal and emotional responses in humans leading to increasing intergroup tolerance, i.e. transformations in social behaviour associated with ‘self-domestication’. We argue that changes in intergroup tolerance is a more parsimonious explanation for the emergence of what has been seen as ‘modern human behaviour’ than changes in hard aspects of cognition or other factors such as cognitive adaptability or population size.

scholarly journals Geography is more important than life history in the recent diversification of the tiger salamander complex

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (17) ◽  
pp. e2014719118
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Everson ◽  
Levi N. Gray ◽  
Angela G. Jones ◽  
Nicolette M. Lawrence ◽  
Mary E. Foley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Tiger Salamander ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Mexican Axolotl ◽  
Population Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Lineage Divergence

The North American tiger salamander species complex, including its best-known species, the Mexican axolotl, has long been a source of biological fascination. The complex exhibits a wide range of variation in developmental life history strategies, including populations and individuals that undergo metamorphosis; those able to forego metamorphosis and retain a larval, aquatic lifestyle (i.e., paedomorphosis); and those that do both. The evolution of a paedomorphic life history state is thought to lead to increased population genetic differentiation and ultimately reproductive isolation and speciation, but the degree to which it has shaped population- and species-level divergence is poorly understood. Using a large multilocus dataset from hundreds of samples across North America, we identified genetic clusters across the geographic range of the tiger salamander complex. These clusters often contain a mixture of paedomorphic and metamorphic taxa, indicating that geographic isolation has played a larger role in lineage divergence than paedomorphosis in this system. This conclusion is bolstered by geography-informed analyses indicating no effect of life history strategy on population genetic differentiation and by model-based population genetic analyses demonstrating gene flow between adjacent metamorphic and paedomorphic populations. This fine-scale genetic perspective on life history variation establishes a framework for understanding how plasticity, local adaptation, and gene flow contribute to lineage divergence. Many members of the tiger salamander complex are endangered, and the Mexican axolotl is an important model system in regenerative and biomedical research. Our results chart a course for more informed use of these taxa in experimental, ecological, and conservation research.

scholarly journals Population Genetics of the Red Rock Lobster,  Jasus edwardsii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Luke Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Rock Lobster ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Jasus Edwardsii ◽  
Polymorphic Microsatellite

<p>Understanding patterns of gene flow across a species range is a vital component of an effective fisheries management strategy. The advent of highly polymorphic microsatellite markers has facilitated the detection of fine-scale patterns of genetic differentiation at levels below the resolving power of earlier techniques. This has triggered the wide-spread re-examination of population structure for a number of commercially targeted species. The aims of thesis were to re-investigate patterns of gene flow of the red rock lobster Jasus edwardsii throughout New Zealand and across the Tasman Sea using novel microsatellite markers. Jasus edwardsii is a keystone species of subtidal rocky reef system and supports lucrative export markets in both Australia and New Zealand. Eight highly polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed from 454 sequence data and screened across a Wellington south coast population to obtain basic diversity indices. All loci were polymorphic with the number of alleles per locus ranging from 6-39. Observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.563-0.937 and 0.583-0.961, respectively. There were no significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium following standard Bonferroni corrections. The loci were used in a population analysis of J. edwardsii that spanned 10 degrees of latitude and stretched 3,500 km across the South Pacific. The analysis rejected the null-hypothesis of panmixia based on earlier mDNA analysis and revealed significant population structure (FST=0.011, RST=0.028) at a wide range of scales. Stewart Island was determined to have the highest levels of genetic differentiation of all populations sampled suggesting a high degree of reproductive isolation and self-recruitment. This study also identified high levels of asymmetric gene flow from Australia to New Zealand indicating a historical source-sink relationship between the two countries. Results from the genetic analysis were consistent with results from oceanographic dispersal models and it is likely that the genetic results reflect historical and contemporary patterns of Jasus edwardsii dispersal and recruitment throughout its range.</p>

The biology and ecology of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its implications for trait confinement

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 997-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Willenborg ◽  
R. C. Van Acker
Keyword(s):  
Triticum Aestivum ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Hexaploid Wheat ◽  
Triticum Turgidum ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Pollen Viability ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Trait Confinement

This review summarizes the biological and ecological factors of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that contribute to trait movement including the ability to volunteer, germination and establishment characteristics, breeding system, pollen movement, and hybridization potential. Although wheat has a short-lived seedbank with a wide range of temperature and moisture requirements for germination and no evidence of secondary dormancy, volunteer wheat populations are increasing in relative abundance and some level of seed persistence in the soil has been observed. Hexaploid wheat is predominantly self-pollinating with cleistogamous flowers and pollen viability under optimal conditions of only 0.5 h, yet observations indicate that pollen-mediated gene flow can and will occur at distances up to 3 km and is highly dependent on prevailing wind patterns. Hybridization with wild relatives such as A. cylindrica Host., Secale cereale L., and Triticum turgidum L. is a serious concern in regions where these species grow in field margins and unmanaged lands, regardless of which genome the transgene is located on. More research is needed to determine the long-term population dynamics of volunteer wheat populations before conclusions can be drawn with regard to their role in trait movement. Seed movement has the potential to create adventitious presence (AP) on a larger scale than pollen, and studies tracing the movement of wheat seed in the grain handling system are needed. Finally, the development of mechanistic models that predict landscape-level trait movement are required to identify transgene escape routes and critical points for gene containment in various cropping systems. Key words: Triticum, coexistence, gene flow, genetically-engineered, herbicide-resistant, trait confinement

Bidirectional interactions between host social behaviour and parasites arise through ecological and evolutionary processes

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Dana M. Hawley ◽  
Amanda K. Gibson ◽  
Andrea K. Townsend ◽  
Meggan E. Craft ◽  
Jessica F. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Parasite Infection ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Ecological Patterns ◽  
Ecological Feedbacks ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Bidirectional Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviours

Abstract An animal's social behaviour both influences and changes in response to its parasites. Here we consider these bidirectional links between host social behaviours and parasite infection, both those that occur from ecological vs evolutionary processes. First, we review how social behaviours of individuals and groups influence ecological patterns of parasite transmission. We then discuss how parasite infection, in turn, can alter host social interactions by changing the behaviour of both infected and uninfected individuals. Together, these ecological feedbacks between social behaviour and parasite infection can result in important epidemiological consequences. Next, we consider the ways in which host social behaviours evolve in response to parasites, highlighting constraints that arise from the need for hosts to maintain benefits of sociality while minimizing fitness costs of parasites. Finally, we consider how host social behaviours shape the population genetic structure of parasites and the evolution of key parasite traits, such as virulence. Overall, these bidirectional relationships between host social behaviours and parasites are an important yet often underappreciated component of population-level disease dynamics and host–parasite coevolution.

Present and Future Use of Fencing in the Management of Larger African Mammals

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Hoare
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
African Mammals ◽  
Wide Range

The varying reasons are outlined for needing to control the movements or otherwise manage a wide range of African animal wildlife species by means of fencing. In all cases there is an underlying conflict of interest between people and animals — principally the larger mammals. Fencing is seen as the most powerful tool in this process of land-use division, and high expectations of fences are held by people who are adversely affected by wildlife activities and similarly by many conservationists. To date the main determinants in the siting and construction of fences have been political pressure or the availability of funds; wildlife fencing is perhaps the only factor having a substantial influence on ecosystems and animal populations that has remained virtually devoid of any serious input of ecological knowledge, of systematic investigation, or of environmental legislation.The wild species requiring management are many and varied in individual size, group size, and dispersal patterns; they also exhibit an array of special behaviours when confronted with a barrier. This means that any barrier will come under very variable levels and types of challenge, and that the effects of it on the biology of both target and non-target species must be carefully considered.Research on the behaviour of animals at fences has been limited, being mostly confined to domestic species or non-African wildlife. Certainly, very little systematic investigation has been carried out to determine whether fences have achieved their objectives or been economically justified, and to what extent they have caused environmental side-effects on the population dynamics of animals or the disturbance of plant communities.Current evidence suggests that electric or power fences are an increasingly efficient way of managing wild mammals and that fencing programmes should become more deflecting than encircling. Fences create ‘hard edges’ between dissimilar forms of land-use and cause long-term inflexibility that limits planning and forecloses options. As the pressure for land becomes more and more acute, the control of wildlife with the help of fences needs to develop into a specialized field of its own, based on sounder ecological, sociological, and economic, principles than hitherto, within the expanding scope of adaptive wildlife management.

scholarly journals Speciation with gene flow in marine systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Gerrit Potkamp ◽  
Charles H.J.M. Fransen
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Tropical Fish ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Disruptive Selection ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Marine Realm

Over the last century, a large body of literature emerged on mechanisms driving speciation. Most of the research into these questions focussed on terrestrial systems, while research in marine systems lagged behind. Here, we review the population genetic mechanisms and geographic context of 33 potential cases of speciation with gene flow in the marine realm, using six criteria inferred from theoretical models of speciation. Speciation with gene flow occurs in a wide range of marine taxa. Single traits, which induce assortative mating and are subjected to disruptive selection, such as differences in host-associations in invertebrates or colour pattern in tropical fish, are potentially responsible for a decrease in gene flow and may be driving divergence in the majority of cases. However, much remains unknown, and with the current knowledge, the frequency of ecological speciation with gene flow in marine systems remains difficult to estimate. Standardized, generally applicable statistical methods, explicitly testing different hypotheses of speciation, are, going forward, required to confidently infer speciation with gene flow.

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