scholarly journals No evidence for developmental plasticity of color patterns in response to rearing substrate in pygmy grasshoppers

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
pp. 1044-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Karlsson ◽  
J. Johansson ◽  
S. Caesar ◽  
A. Forsman
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Ecological Strategies ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
Rearing Conditions ◽  
Strong Resemblance

Color polymorphisms in animals may result from genetic polymorphisms, developmental plasticity, or a combination where some phenotypic components are under strong genetic control and other aspects are influenced by developmental plasticity. Understanding how color polymorphisms evolve demands knowledge of how genetic and epigenetic environmental cues influence the development and phenotypic expression of organisms. Pygmy grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) vary in color pattern within and among populations. Color morphs differ in morphology, behavior, and life history, suggesting that they represent alternative ecological strategies. Pygmy grasshoppers also show fire melanism, a rapid increase in the frequency of black and dark-colored phenotypes in populations inhabiting fire-ravaged areas. We examined the influence of plasticity on color polymorphism in the pygmy grasshopper Tetrix subulata (L., 1761) using a split-brood design. Individuals were experimentally raised in solitude on either crushed charcoal or white aquarium gravel. Our analyses uncovered no plasticity of either color pattern or overall darkness of coloration in response to rearing substrate. Instead, we find a strong resemblance between maternal and offspring color patterns. We conclude that pygmy grasshopper color morphs are strongly influenced by genetic cues or maternal effects, and that there is no evidence for developmental plasticity of coloration in response to rearing conditions in these insects.

Genomic architecture of a genetically assimilated seasonal color pattern

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 370 (6517) ◽  
pp. 721-725
Author(s):  
Karin R. L. van der Burg ◽  
James J. Lewis ◽  
Benjamin J. Brack ◽  
Richard A. Fandino ◽  
Anyi Mazo-Vargas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Junonia Coenia ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Genetic Trait ◽  
Transduction Mechanisms ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Cue Detection ◽  
Wing Coloration

Developmental plasticity allows genomes to encode multiple distinct phenotypes that can be differentially manifested in response to environmental cues. Alternative plastic phenotypes can be selected through a process called genetic assimilation, although the mechanisms are still poorly understood. We assimilated a seasonal wing color phenotype in a naturally plastic population of butterflies (Junonia coenia) and characterized three responsible genes. Endocrine assays and chromatin accessibility and conformation analyses showed that the transition of wing coloration from an environmentally determined trait to a predominantly genetic trait occurred through selection for regulatory alleles of downstream wing-patterning genes. This mode of genetic evolution is likely favored by selection because it allows tissue- and trait-specific tuning of reaction norms without affecting core cue detection or transduction mechanisms.

scholarly journals Variación en el patrón de coloración de Anablepsoides hartii (Cyprinodontiformes: Cynolebiidae) en arroyos costeros de Venezuela

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Edwin Infante-Rivero
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Color Morph ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Annual Fish ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
The Family ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Variable Species ◽  
Males And Females

Anablepsoides hartii is a non-annual fish of the family Cynolebiidae. Historically, this species has presented some inconsistencies for proper identification, due to a variation in the color pattern. The aim of this study was to describe and illustrate the different types of color patterns found in this species. For this purpose, we examined a total of 336 preserved specimens (19 lots) deposited in the ichthyological collections of the Museo de Biologia de la Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Museo de Ciencias Naturales in Guanare, Venezuela. The specimens were sorted by distinctive characteristics of size, sex and locality. Besides, we took photographs of each individual, vectorized them with detail, separating light and dark colorations and delimited color patterns of the same tone with the program Corel Draw version x7 (Spanish). My analysis showed that A. hartii presented four colors patterns. The color morphs were classified as: 1 male, 2 female, 3 intermediate and 4 montane. The first two color morphs were separated by sexual characters (sexual dimorphism); in turn, the intermediate color morph presented characters of both males and females in the same individual. Finally, the montane color morph differed from the previous ones by presenting a series of incomplete lateral rows, followed by a half-body reticulation to the tail. This analysis allowed the identification of the differences in this morphologically variable species.

scholarly journals Complex multi-trait responses to multivariate environmental cues in a seasonal butterfly

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragya Singh ◽  
Erik van Bergen ◽  
Oskar Brattström ◽  
Dave Osbaldeston ◽  
Paul M. Brakefield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Plant Quality ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Host Plant Quality ◽  
Larval Host

AbstractDevelopmental plasticity in a seasonal environment allows an organism to optimally match its life-history traits with the fluctuating conditions. This critically relies on abiotic and biotic factors, such as temperature or food quality, that act as environmental cues and predict seasonal transitions. In most seasonal environments, multiple factors vary together, making it crucial to understand their combined effects on an organism’s phenotype. Here, we study plasticity in a multivariate environment in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana that exhibits two distinct seasonal phenotypes. Temperature is an important cue mediating plasticity in this species, but other environmental cues such as larval host plant quality could also be informative since plant quality deteriorates during the transition from wet to dry season in the field. We examine how temperature and host plant quality interact to affect life-history traits. Using a full-factorial design, we expose cohorts of larvae to either poor (old plants) or high (young plants) quality plants at different temperatures. Our results show that plant quality had a temperature and sex-dependent effect on life-history traits. At lower and intermediate temperatures, it decreased body mass and prolonged development time, indicating that poor plant quality acted as a stressor. However, metabolic rates in adults were not affected, indicating that individuals could, at least in part, compensate for stressful juvenile conditions. In contrast, at higher temperatures poor plant quality induced a partial dry-season phenotype, indicating that it may have acted as an environmental cue. Moreover, poor plant quality, particularly in males, also decreased the correlation between life history traits, signifying disrupted phenotypic integration. Our study reveals complex interactive effects of two environmental variables on seasonal plasticity, reflecting differences in their reliability as seasonal cues. This highlights the importance of studying the combined effects of multiple environmental factors to better understand the regulation of phenotypic plasticity in wild.

Functional significance of preserved color patterns of mollusks from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) of Alabama

1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia H. Kelley ◽  
Charles T. Swann
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Life Mode ◽  
Molluscan Fauna ◽  
Excellent Preservation ◽  
Architectural Constraints

The excellent preservation of the molluscan fauna from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) at Little Stave Creek, Alabama, has made it possible to describe the preserved color patterns of 15 species. In this study the functional significance of these color patterns is tested in the context of the current adaptationist controversy. The pigment of the color pattern is thought to be a result of metabolic waste disposal. Therefore, the presence of the pigment is functional, although the patterns formed by the pigment may or may not have been adaptive. In this investigation the criteria proposed by Seilacher (1972) for testing the functionality of color patterns were applied to the Gosport fauna and the results compared with life mode as interpreted from knowledge of extant relatives and functional morphology. Using Seilacher's criteria of little ontogenetic and intraspecific variability, the color patterns appear to have been functional. However, the functional morphology studies indicate an infaunal life mode which would preclude functional color patterns. Particular color patterns are instead interpreted to be the result of historical factors, such as multiple adaptive peaks or random fixation of alleles, or of architectural constraints including possibly pleiotropy or allometry. The low variability of color patterns, which was noted within species and genera, suggests that color patterns may also serve a useful taxonomic purpose.

Hormones and Behavior

2019 ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
Maren N. Vitousek ◽  
Laura A. Schoenle
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Behavior

Hormones mediate the expression of life history traits—phenotypic traits that contribute to lifetime fitness (i.e., reproductive timing, growth rate, number and size of offspring). The endocrine system shapes phenotype by organizing tissues during developmental periods and by activating changes in behavior, physiology, and morphology in response to varying physical and social environments. Because hormones can simultaneously regulate many traits (hormonal pleiotropy), they are important mediators of life history trade-offs among growth, reproduction, and survival. This chapter reviews the role of hormones in shaping life histories with an emphasis on developmental plasticity and reversible flexibility in endocrine and life history traits. It also discusses the advantages of studying hormone–behavior interactions from an evolutionary perspective. Recent research in evolutionary endocrinology has provided insight into the heritability of endocrine traits, how selection on hormone systems may influence the evolution of life histories, and the role of hormonal pleiotropy in driving or constraining evolution.

scholarly journals Butterfly Mimicry Polymorphisms Highlight Phylogenetic Limits of Gene Reuse in the Evolution of Diverse Adaptations

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 2842-2853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas W VanKuren ◽  
Darli Massardo ◽  
Sumitha Nallu ◽  
Marcus R Kronforst
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationship ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Butterfly Wing ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Developmental Gene ◽  
Genome Region ◽  
Correlated Factors ◽  
Unique Genes

Abstract Some genes have repeatedly been found to control diverse adaptations in a wide variety of organisms. Such gene reuse reveals not only the diversity of phenotypes these unique genes control but also the composition of developmental gene networks and the genetic routes available to and taken by organisms during adaptation. However, the causes of gene reuse remain unclear. A small number of large-effect Mendelian loci control a huge diversity of mimetic butterfly wing color patterns, but reasons for their reuse are difficult to identify because the genetic basis of mimicry has primarily been studied in two systems with correlated factors: female-limited Batesian mimicry in Papilio swallowtails (Papilionidae) and non-sex-limited Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius longwings (Nymphalidae). Here, we break the correlation between phylogenetic relationship and sex-limited mimicry by identifying loci controlling female-limited mimicry polymorphism Hypolimnas misippus (Nymphalidae) and non-sex-limited mimicry polymorphism in Papilio clytia (Papilionidae). The Papilio clytia polymorphism is controlled by the genome region containing the gene cortex, the classic P supergene in Heliconius numata, and loci controlling color pattern variation across Lepidoptera. In contrast, female-limited mimicry polymorphism in Hypolimnas misippus is associated with a locus not previously implicated in color patterning. Thus, although many species repeatedly converged on cortex and its neighboring genes over 120 My of evolution of diverse color patterns, female-limited mimicry polymorphisms each evolved using a different gene. Our results support conclusions that gene reuse occurs mainly within ∼10 My and highlight the puzzling diversity of genes controlling seemingly complex female-limited mimicry polymorphisms.

scholarly journals Endocrine Control of Life-Cycle Stages: A Constraint on Response to the Environment?

The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry D. Jacobs ◽  
John C. Wingfield
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Endocrine Control ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Life Cycle Stages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Abstract Most organisms live in seasonal environments that fluctuate on a predictable schedule and sometimes unpredictably. Individuals must, therefore, adjust so as to maximize their survival and reproductive success over a wide range of environmental conditions. In birds, as in other vertebrates, endocrine secretions regulate morphological, physiological, and behavioral changes in anticipation of future events. The individual thus prepares for predictable fluctuations in its environment by changing life-cycle stages. We have applied finite-state machine theory to define and compare different life-history cycles. The ability of birds to respond to predictable and unpredictable regimes of environmental variation may be constrained by the adaptability of their endocrine control systems. We have applied several theoretical approaches to natural history data of birds to compare the complexity of life cycles, the degree of plasticity of timing of stages within the cycle, and to determine whether endocrine control mechanisms influence the way birds respond to their environments. The interactions of environmental cues on the timing of life-history stages are not uniform in all populations. Taking the reproductive life-history stage as an example, arctic birds that have short breeding seasons in severe environments appear to use one reliable environmental cue to time reproduction and they ignore other factors. Birds having longer breeding seasons exhibit greater plasticity of onset and termination and appear to integrate several environmental cues. Theoretical approaches may allow us to predict how individuals respond to their environment at the proximate level and, conversely, predict how constraints imposed by endocrine control systems may limit the complexity of life cycles.

Should I stay or should I go? Complex environments influence the developmental plasticity of flight capacity and flight-related trade-offs

2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan R Glass ◽  
Zachary R Stahlschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Temperature Variability ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Flight Capacity

Abstract Complex environments, characterized by co-varying factors (e.g. temperature and food availability) may cause animals to invest resources differentially into fitness-related traits. Thus, experiments manipulating multiple environmental factors concurrently provide valuable insight into the role of the environment in shaping not only important traits (e.g. dispersal capacity or reproduction), but also trait–trait interactions (e.g. trade-offs between traits). We used a multi-factorial design to manipulate variation in temperature (constant 28 °C vs. 28 ± 5 °C daily cycle) and food availability (unlimited vs. intermittent access) throughout development in the sand field cricket (Gryllus firmus). Using a univariate approach, we found that temperature variability and unlimited food availability promoted survival, development, growth, body size and/or reproductive investment. Using principal components as indices of resource allocation strategy, we found that temperature variability and unlimited food reduced investment into flight capacity in females. Thus, we detected a sex-specific trade-off between flight and other life-history traits that was developmentally plastic in response to variation in temperature and food availability. We develop an experimental and statistical framework to reveal shifts in correlative patterns of investment into different life-history traits. This approach can be applied to a range of biological systems to investigate how environmental complexity influences traits and trait trade-offs.

Microenvironmental variation in preassay rearing conditions can lead to anomalies in the measurement of life-history traits

2006 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sutirth Dey ◽  
Snigdhadip Dey ◽  
J. Mohan ◽  
Amitabh Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Rearing Conditions

Measuring Perceptual Distance of Organismal Color Pattern using the Features of Deep Neural Networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew C. Wham ◽  
Briana Ezray ◽  
Heather M. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Deep Neural Networks ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Perceptual Distance ◽  
Data Formats ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Study Designs

ABSTRACTA wide range of research relies upon the accurate and repeatable measurement of the degree to which organisms resemble one another. Here, we present an unsupervised workflow for analyzing the relationships between organismal color patterns. This workflow utilizes several recent advancements in deep learning based computer vision techniques to calculate perceptual distance. We validate this approach using previously published datasets surrounding diverse applications of color pattern analysis including mimicry, population differentiation, heritability, and development. We demonstrate that our approach is able to reproduce the biologically relevant color pattern relationships originally reported in these studies. Importantly, these results are achieved without any task-specific training. In many cases, we were able to reproduce findings directly from original photographs or plates with minimum standardization, avoiding the need for intermediate representations such as a cartoonized images or trait matrices. We then present two artificial datasets designed to highlight how this approach handles aspects of color patterns, such as changes in pattern location and the perception of color contrast. These results suggest that this approach will generalize well to support the study of a wide range of biological processes in a diverse set of taxa while also accommodating a variety of data formats, preprocessing techniques, and study designs.

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