scholarly journals Temporal niche partitioning of Swiss black scavenger flies in relation to season and substrate age (Diptera, Sepsidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick T. Rohner ◽  
Jean-Paul Haenni ◽  
Athene Giesen ◽  
Juan Pablo Busso ◽  
Martin A. Schäfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Temporal Niche

Understanding why and how multiple species manage to coexist represents a primary goal of ecological and evolutionary research. This is of particular relevance for communities that depend on resource rich ephemeral habitats that are prone to high intra- and interspecific competition. Black scavenger flies (Diptera: Sepsidae) are common and abundant acalyptrate flies associated with livestock dung decomposition in human-influenced agricultural grasslands worldwide. Several widespread sepsid species with apparently very similar ecological niches coexist in Europe, but despite their ecological role and their use in evolutionary ecological research, our understanding of their ecological niches and spatio-temporal distribution is still rudimentary. To gain a better understanding of their ecology, we here investigate niche partitioning at two temporal scales. First, we monitored the seasonal occurrence, often related to thermal preference, over multiple years and sites in Switzerland that differ in altitude. Secondly, we also investigate fine-scale temporal succession on dairy cow pastures. In accordance with their altitudinal and latitudinal distribution in Europe, some species were common over the entire season with a peak in summer, hence classified as warm-loving, whereas others were primarily present in spring or autumn. Phenological differences thus likely contribute to species coexistence throughout the season. However, the community also showed pronounced species turnover related to cow pat age. Some species colonize particularly fresh dung and are gradually replaced by others. Furthermore, the correlation between co-occurrence and phylogenetic distance of species revealed significant under-dispersion, indicating that more closely related species are frequently recovered at the same location. As a whole, our data suggests temporal niche differentiation of closely related species that likely facilitates the rather high species diversity on Swiss cattle pastures. The underlying mechanisms allowing close relatives to co-occur however require further scrutiny.

scholarly journals Reproductive interference hampers species coexistence despite conspecific sperm precedence

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryosuke Iritani ◽  
Suzuki Noriyuki
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Reproductive Interference ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Sperm Precedence ◽  
Interspecific Mating ◽  
Closely Related Species

AbstractNegative interspecific mating interactions, known as reproductive interference, can hamper species coexistence in a local patch and promote niche partitioning or geographical segregation of closely related species. Conspecific sperm precedence (CSP), which occurs when females that have mated with both conspecific and heterospecific males preferentially use conspecific sperm for fertilization, might contribute to species coexistence by mitigating the costs of interspecific mating and hybridization. We examined whether two closely related species exhibiting CSP can coexist in a local environment in the presence of reproductive interference. First, using a behaviourally explicit mathematical model, we demonstrated that two species characterized by negative mating interactions are unlikely to coexist because the costs of reproductive interference, such as loss of mating opportunity with conspecific partners, are inevitably incurred when individuals of both species are present. Second, we experimentally demonstrated differences in mating activity and preference in twoHarmonialadybird species known to exhibit CSP. According to the developed mathematical model of reproductive interference, these behavioural differences should lead to local extinction ofH. yedoensisbecause of reproductive interference byH. axyridis. This prediction is consistent with field observations thatH. axyridisuses various food sources and habitats whereasH. yedoensisis confined to a less preferred prey item and a pine tree habitat. Finally, by a comparative approach, we showed that niche partitioning or parapatric distribution, but not sympatric coexistence in the same habitat, is maintained between species with CSP belonging to a wide range of taxa, including vertebrates and invertebrates living in aquatic or terrestrial environments. Taken together, these results lead us to conclude that reproductive interference generally destabilizes local coexistence even in closely related species that exhibit CSP.

Resource abundance and frugivory in two manakin species (Aves: Pipridae) inhabiting a reforested area in Colombia

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 511-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan A. Morales-Betancourt ◽  
Gabriel J. Castaño-Villa ◽  
Francisco E. Fontúrbel
Keyword(s):  
Community Ecology ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Central Issue ◽  
Frugivorous Birds ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Resource Abundance ◽  
Resource Dynamics

Coexistence of closely related species is a central issue in community ecology, and those species are expected to present niche differentiation, particularly when resources become scarce (García & Arroyo 2005). Hence, resource abundance and diet differences might be playing a key role in determining species coexistence (Chapman & Rosenberg 1991, Stevenson et al. 2000). Trophic niche differentiation in frugivorous birds could be driven by fruit selection, morphology, behaviour (Moermond & Denslow 1983, 1985) and the spatiotemporal resource dynamics (Blake & Loiselle 1991, Saracco et al. 2005, Solórzano et al. 2000).

scholarly journals Evolutionary Spread and Recombination of Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses in the Suiformes

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 649-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Niebert ◽  
Ralf R. Tönjes
Keyword(s):  
Long Terminal Repeat ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
African Origin ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Separate Event ◽  
Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACT Different Suiformes with increasing phylogenetic distance to the common pig (Sus scrofa) were assayed for the presence of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) in general (pol gene), while the distribution of long terminal repeat (LTR) types (with or without repeats in U3) and env genes (classes A, B, and C) were determined in detail. PERV was not detectable in the most distantly related species, while classes PERV-A and PERV-B are present in Suiformes originating in the Pliocene epoch, and class PERV-C was detectable only in S. scrofa and in closely related species originating in the Holocene epoch. This distribution pattern of PERV classes is in line with our previous study on the age of PERV (45) and suggests an African origin of about 7.5 million years ago (MYA) and a gradual spread of PERV through the Suiformes. It seems likely that PERV-C originated more recently (1.5 to 3.5 MYA) by recombination with a homologue of unknown descent, while the origin of the repeatless LTR was a separate event approximately 3.5 MYA.

scholarly journals Species coexistence and overlapping distributions in a metacommunity are compatible with niche differences and competition at a local scale

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Dubart ◽  
Patrice David ◽  
Frida Ben-Ami ◽  
Christoph R. Haag ◽  
V. Ilmari Pajunen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Baltic Coast ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractNiche partitioning is the most studied factor structuring communities of competing species. In fragmented landscapes, however, a paradox can exist: different taxa may competitively dominate different types of habitat patches, resulting in a form of spatial niche partitioning, yet differences in long-term distributions among species can appear surprisingly small. This paradox is illustrated by an emblematic metacommunity - that of Daphnia spp. in rockpools on the Finnish Baltic coast, where three species compete with each other, have distinct ecological preferences, yet largely overlap in long-term distributions. Here we examine how metacommunity models that explicitly estimate species-specific demographic parameters can solve the apparent paradox. Our research confirms previous studies that local extinction rates are influenced by environmental variables in a strong and species-specific way and are considerably increased by interspecific competition. Yet, our simulations show that this situation exists alongside interspecific differences in realized niches that are, overall, small, and identified three main explanations for this compatibility. Our results illustrate how state-space modelling can clarify complex metacommunity dynamics and explain why local competition and niche differentiation do not always scale up to the landscape level.

scholarly journals Species coexistence: macroevolutionary relationships and the contingency of historical interactions

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1827) ◽  
pp. 20160047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Germain ◽  
Jason T. Weir ◽  
Benjamin Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Allopatric Species ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Annual Plant Species

Evolutionary biologists since Darwin have hypothesized that closely related species compete more intensely and are therefore less likely to coexist. However, recent theory posits that species diverge in two ways: either through the evolution of ‘stabilizing differences’ that promote coexistence by causing individuals to compete more strongly with conspecifics than individuals of other species, or through the evolution of ‘fitness differences’ that cause species to differ in competitive ability and lead to exclusion of the weaker competitor. We tested macroevolutionary patterns of divergence by competing pairs of annual plant species that differ in their phylogenetic relationships, and in whether they have historically occurred in the same region or different regions (sympatric versus allopatric occurrence). For sympatrically occurring species pairs, stabilizing differences rapidly increased with phylogenetic distance. However, fitness differences also increased with phylogenetic distance, resulting in coexistence outcomes that were unpredictable based on phylogenetic relationships. For allopatric species, stabilizing differences showed no trend with phylogenetic distance, whereas fitness differences increased, causing coexistence to become less likely among distant relatives. Our results illustrate the role of species' historical interactions in shaping how phylogenetic relationships structure competitive dynamics, and offer an explanation for the evolution of invasion potential of non-native species.

scholarly journals Parallel evolution of metazoan mitochondrial proteins

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galya V. Klink ◽  
Georgii A. Bazykin
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Reconstruction ◽  
Acid Sites ◽  
Mitochondrial Proteins ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Epistatic Interactions ◽  
The Mean

AbstractAmino acid propensities at amino acid sites change with time due to epistatic interactions or changing environment, affecting the probabilities of fixation of different amino acids. Such changes should lead to an increased rate of homoplasies (reversals, parallelisms, and convergences) at closely related species. Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny of twelve mitochondrial proteins from several thousand metazoan species, and measure the phylogenetic distances between branches at which either the same allele originated repeatedly due to homoplasies, or different alleles originated due to divergent substitutions. The mean phylogenetic distance between parallel substitutions is ∼20% lower than the mean phylogenetic distance between divergent substitutions, indicating that a variant fixed in a species is more likely to be deleterious in a more phylogenetically remote species, compared to a more closely related species. These findings are robust to artefacts of phylogenetic reconstruction or of pooling of sites from different conservation classes or functional groups, and imply that single-position fitness landscapes change at rates similar to rates of amino acid changes.

scholarly journals Ecological niche differentiation in Chiroxiphia and Antilophia manakins (Aves: Pipridae)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0243760
Author(s):  
Mariana Villegas ◽  
Bette A. Loiselle ◽  
Rebecca T. Kimball ◽  
John G. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Niche Differentiation ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Niche Conservatism ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Evolutionary Time ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Ecological Differentiation ◽  
Niche Divergence

Species distribution models are useful for identifying the ecological characteristics that may limit a species’ geographic range and for inferring patterns of speciation. Here, we test a hypothesis of niche conservatism across evolutionary time in a group of manakins (Aves: Pipridae), with a focus on Chiroxiphia boliviana, and examine the degree of ecological differentiation with other Chiroxiphia and Antilophia manakins. We tested whether allopatric sister species were more or less similar in environmental space than expected given their phylogenetic distances, which would suggest, respectively, ecological niche conservatism over time or ecologically mediated selection (i.e. niche divergence). We modeled the distribution of nine manakin taxa (C. boliviana, C. caudata, C. lanceolata, C. linearis, C. p. pareola, C. p. regina, C. p. napensis, Antilophia galeata and A. bokermanni) using Maxent. We first performed models for each taxon and compared them. To test our hypothesis we followed three approaches: (1) we tested whether C. boliviana could predict the distribution of the other manakin taxa and vice versa; (2) we compared the ecological niches by using metrics of niche overlap, niche equivalency and niche similarity; and (3) lastly, we tested whether niche differentiation corresponded to phylogenetic distances calculated from two recent phylogenies. All models had high training and test AUC values. Mean AUC ratios were high (>0.8) for most taxa, indicating performance better than random. Results suggested niche conservatism, and high niche overlap and equivalency between C. boliviana and C. caudata, but we found very low values between C. boliviana and the rest of the taxa. We found a negative, but not significant, relationship between niche overlap and phylogenetic distance, suggesting an increase in ecological differentiation and niche divergence over evolutionary time. Overall, we give some insights into the evolution of C. boliviana, proposing that ecological selection may have influenced its speciation.

scholarly journals Сравнение эколого-климатических ниш двух видов ковылей – Stipa sareptana A.K. Becker и S. krylovii Roshev. (Poaceae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Gudkova ◽  
M. V. Olonova ◽  
D. S. Feoktistov
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Morphological Pattern ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Gis Methods ◽  
Subordinate Role

Each species besides of having the unique morphological pattern also has an unique ecologo-climatic niche and geographical range. The study of ecologico-climatic and geographic divergence can make significant contribution to understanding of the species genesis and its volume. The purpose of this paper was to compare the ecologo-climatic niches of the closely related species Stipa sareptana and S. krylovii in order to reveal their identity. The research allowed specifying the areas of both species. Using GIS methods and based on the points of presence and six independent bioclimatic characters, their potential ranges – areas where the climatic conditions are favorable for growth – were identified and ecologo-climatic niches revealed. It was established that the most important factors determining the distribution of S. krylovii and S. sareptana are the mean annual temperature and seasonality of precipitation. Other factors play a subordinate role. The comparison of ecological niches, generated by MaxEnt, showed their differences at a statistically significant level.

scholarly journals Antagonism correlates with metabolic similarity in diverse bacteria

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (40) ◽  
pp. 10684-10688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Russel ◽  
Henriette L. Røder ◽  
Jonas S. Madsen ◽  
Mette Burmølle ◽  
Søren J. Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Metabolic Networks ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Origin Of Species ◽  
Natural Carbon

In the Origin of Species, Charles R. Darwin [Darwin C (1859) On the Origin of Species] proposed that the struggle for existence must be most intense among closely related species by means of their functional similarity. It has been hypothesized that this similarity, which results in resource competition, is the driver of the evolution of antagonism among bacteria. Consequently, antagonism should mostly be prevalent among phylogenetically and metabolically similar species. We tested the hypothesis by screening for antagonism among all possible pairwise interactions between 67 bacterial species from 8 different environments: 2,211 pairs of species and 4,422 interactions. We found a clear association between antagonism and phylogenetic distance, antagonism being most likely among closely related species. We determined two metabolic distances between our strains: one by scoring their growth on various natural carbon sources and the other by creating metabolic networks of predicted genomes. For both metabolic distances, we found that the probability of antagonism increased the more metabolically similar the strains were. Moreover, our results were not compounded by whether the antagonism was between sympatric or allopatric strains. Intriguingly, for each interaction the antagonizing strain was more likely to have a wider metabolic niche than the antagonized strain: that is, larger metabolic networks and growth on more carbon sources. This indicates an association between an antagonistic and a generalist strategy.

scholarly journals The spindle assembly checkpoint and speciation

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9073
Author(s):  
Robert C. Jackson ◽  
Hitesh B. Mistry
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Spindle Assembly Checkpoint ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Chromosomal Rearrangements ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Geographical Isolation ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Definition Of

A mechanism is proposed by which speciation may occur without the need to postulate geographical isolation of the diverging populations. Closely related species that occupy overlapping or adjacent ecological niches often have an almost identical genome but differ by chromosomal rearrangements that result in reproductive isolation. The mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint normally functions to prevent gametes with non-identical karyotypes from forming viable zygotes. Unless gametes from two individuals happen to undergo the same chromosomal rearrangement at the same place and time, a most improbable situation, there has been no satisfactory explanation of how such rearrangements can propagate. Consideration of the dynamics of the spindle assembly checkpoint suggest that chromosomal fission or fusion events may occur that allow formation of viable heterozygotes between the rearranged and parental karyotypes, albeit with decreased fertility. Evolutionary dynamics calculations suggest that if the resulting heterozygous organisms have a selective advantage in an adjoining or overlapping ecological niche from that of the parental strain, despite the reproductive disadvantage of the population carrying the altered karyotype, it may accumulate sufficiently that homozygotes begin to emerge. At this point the reproductive disadvantage of the rearranged karyotype disappears, and a single population has been replaced by two populations that are partially reproductively isolated. This definition of species as populations that differ from other, closely related, species by karyotypic changes is consistent with the classical definition of a species as a population that is capable of interbreeding to produce fertile progeny. Even modest degrees of reproductive impairment of heterozygotes between two related populations may lead to speciation by this mechanism, and geographical isolation is not necessary for the process.

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