Population genomic evidence of selection on structural variants in a natural hybrid zone

Structural variants (SVs) can promote speciation by directly causing reproductive isolation or by suppressing recombination across large genomic regions. Whereas examples of each mechanism have been documented, systematic tests of the role of SVs in speciation are lacking. Here, we take advantage of long-read (Oxford nanopore) whole-genome sequencing and a hybrid zone between two Lycaeides butterfly taxa (L. melissa and Jackson Hole Lycaeides) to comprehensively evaluate genome-wide patterns of introgression for SVs and relate these patterns to hypotheses about speciation. We found >100,000 SVs segregating within or between the two hybridizing species. SVs and SNPs exhibited similar levels of genetic differentiation between species, with the exception of inversions, which were more differentiated. We detected credible variation in patterns of introgression among SV loci in the hybrid zone, with 562 of 1419 ancestry-informative SVs exhibiting genomic clines that deviating from null expectations based on genome-average ancestry. Overall, hybrids exhibited a directional shift towards Jackson Hole Lycaeides ancestry at SV loci, consistent with the hypothesis that these loci experienced more selection on average then SNP loci. Surprisingly, we found that deletions, rather than inversions, showed the highest skew towards excess introgression from Jackson Hole Lycaeides. Excess Jackson Hole Lycaeides ancestry in hybrids was also especially pronounced for Z-linked SVs and inversions containing many genes. In conclusion, our results show that SVs are ubiquitous and suggest that SVs in general, but especially deletions, might contribute disproportionately to hybrid fitness and thus (partial) reproductive isolation.

US Fed communication will be key to economic prospects

Significance While Chair Jerome Powell cautions that full employment remains some way off, the Fed is considering how and when to wind down its asset purchases. It could give more guidance at the Jackson Hole meeting this month. Impacts The Fed balance sheet has doubled as a share of GDP in 2020/21 and will remain large, possibly only shrinking slowly as the economy grows. Facing criticism of driving inequality, the Fed is unlikely to remove stimulus until gauges such as Black unemployment fall to low levels. Powell’s term as chair ends in February; Joe Biden and Janet Yellen will assess by end-2021 whether he should serve a second term.

The (In)applicability of the Right of Innocent Passage in the Gulf of Finland – Russia’s Return to a Mare Clausum?

The Gulf of Finland has one of the busiest shipping routes globally and is the main export channel for Russian oil and gas. The Russian Federation has not closed its territorial sea for the east-west passage of ships to and from its ports. However, it has blocked over the past dozen years the north-south passage of an Estonian-Finnish commercial ferry line that has not received the Russian Federation’s permission for crossing its territorial sea. The Russian Federation’s permit-based passage regime caused the closure of that ferry line in 2007 and reportedly still hinders its re-establishment. In this context, the Russian Federation’s practice on the right of innocent passage through its territorial sea in the Gulf of Finland resembles the Soviet Union’s practice prior to the 1989 Jackson Hole statement.

The tangled web we weave: how humans influence predator-prey dynamics

Large carnivores like gray wolves (Canis lupus) play key roles in regulating ecosystem structure and function. After being functionally extirpated from the United States by the early 1900s, wolves have recently recolonized portions of their historic ranges and are increasingly coming into contact with a rapidly-growing human population. When carnivores encounter humans, the way they behave, and therefore the way they shape ecosystems, is likely to change. Unfortunately, our ability to predict how wolves will affect ecosystems in human-dominated areas is limited by an incomplete understanding of how and why carnivores respond to human influence. We are therefore investigating wolf kill sites across Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where we can disentangle the effects of multiple simultaneous human influences. Specifically, we are evaluating whether and how spatiotemporal patterns of wolf predation may change in response to unnatural physical infrastructure, disturbance from general human activity, potential threat of mortality, and human-altered prey distributions. Our ongoing field study will help managers anticipate effects of wolf predation in and around human-influenced areas while contributing novel information to theories of predation risk and predator-prey interactions. Featured photo by YNP on Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/HGfKqs

Surgeons, Scholars, and Leaders Symposium: A 5-Year Experience

The Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati developed the Surgeons, Scholars, and Leaders Symposium to address the underappreciated aspects of surgical education that are critical in the development of the academic surgeon. Surgical education has undergone many gaps since the beginning of a traditional surgical residency, first pioneered by Dr. Halsted in 1904; still, many gaps in surgical education remain. Topics such as research, financial planning, leadership, career development, and many others are not adequately addressed in formalized training. The Surgeons, Scholars, and Leaders Symposium was first held in January 2015 in Jackson Hole, WY, and has subsequently become an annual event. Recurrent themes addressed at the Symposium include global health, resident autonomy, research program development, leadership, mentorship, career development, and managing transitions. The annual Surgeons, Scholars, and Leaders Symposium has been instrumental in addressing these underappreciated aspects of surgeon development and will continue to be an important venue for the next generation of surgical leaders.

Trade uncertainty makes interest rates less effective

Subject Financial market outlook. Significance At the annual gathering last month of the world’s central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, policymakers acknowledged that the economic uncertainty that the US-China trade conflict is generating was undermining the efficacy of monetary policy. James Bullard, the president of the St Louis Federal Reserve (Fed), warned that developed countries are experiencing a “regime shift” in economic conditions, in which trade-war-induced uncertainty -- and the unpredictability of US policy more broadly -- is becoming a permanent feature of policymaking, sapping the potency of forward guidance and overburdening monetary policy. Impacts Since the US tariff increase in May, the global stock of negative-yielding bonds has surged above 16 trillion dollars and will rise further. The dollar is at its highest since May 2017 and seems likely to rise further as US growth is far outpacing other major developed markets. The renminbi/dollar rate fell the most on record in August, raising capital outflow risks, most likely to the United States or Japan.

Tense Jackson Hole summit raises global growth risks

Headline INTERNATIONAL: GDP risks rise amid monetary tension

Jackson Hole meet will affect Trump trade agenda

Headline UNITED STATES: Jackson Hole will affect trade agenda