Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Evolution
Misrepresenting biases in arrival: a comment on Svensson (2022)
Published: 2022-11-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
The idea that adaptive change is subject to biases in variation by a "first come, first served" dynamic is not part of classic evolutionary reasoning. Yet, predictable effects of biases in the introduction of variation have been reported in models of population genetics, in laboratory evolution, and in retrospective analyses of natural adaptation. This effect of "arrival bias" has potentially [...]
Evolutionary origins of the Mesoamerican-eastern United States floristic disjunction: current status and future prospects
Published: 2022-11-07
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Botany, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Biogeographic disjunction patterns, where multiple taxonomic groups are shared between isolated geographic areas, represent excellent systems for investigating the historical assembly of modern biotas as well as fundamental biological processes such as speciation, diversification, niche evolution, and evolutionary responses to climate change. Studies on plant genera disjunct across the Northern [...]
Incompatibility and interchangeability in molecular evolution
Published: 2022-11-02
Subjects: Evolution, Life Sciences, Molecular Genetics
There is remarkable variation in the rate at which genetic incompatibilities in molecular interactions accumulate. In some cases, minor changes – even single nucleotide substitutions – create major epistatic incompatibilities when hybridization forces new variants to function in a novel genetic background from an isolated population. In other cases, genes or even entire functional pathways can be [...]
Deep reticulation: the long legacy of hybridization in vascular plant evolution
Published: 2022-10-26
Subjects: Biodiversity, Botany, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Plant Biology, Plant Sciences
Hybridization has long been recognized as a fundamental evolutionary process in plants, but our understanding of its phylogenetic distribution and biological significance across deep evolutionary scales has been largely obscure—until recently. Over the past decade, genomic and phylogenomic datasets have revealed, perhaps not surprisingly, that hybridization, often associated with polyploidy, has [...]
Best practices in designing, sequencing and identifying random DNA barcodes
Published: 2022-09-28
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Random DNA barcodes are a versatile tool for tracking cell lineages, with applications ranging from development to cancer to evolution. Here we review and critically evaluate barcode designs as well as methods of barcode sequencing and initial processing of barcode data. We first demonstrate how various barcode design decisions affect data quality and propose a new optimal design that balances [...]
Linking Predator Responses to Alkaloid Variability in Poison Frogs
Published: 2022-09-21
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Zoology
Many chemically-defended/aposematic species rely on diet for sequestering the toxins with which they defend themselves. This dietary acquisition can lead to variable chemical defenses across space, as the community composition of chemical sources is likely to vary across the range of (an aposematic) species. We characterized the alkaloid content of two populations of the Dyeing Poison Frog [...]
The evolution of eusociality: Kin selection theory, division of labour models, and evo-devo explanations
Published: 2022-09-12
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
The evolution of eusociality has long been recognized as an evolutionary paradox. We identify three different but complementary approaches to the study of the evolution of eusociality. Kin selection models explain why individuals can evolve to have distinct reproductive or non-reproductive roles. Division of labour models elucidate how specialisation can emerge and evolve. Conceptual models from [...]
The role of hybrid seed inviability in angiosperm speciation
Published: 2022-09-03
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Understanding which reproductive barriers contribute to speciation is essential to understanding the diversity of life on earth. Several contemporary examples of strong hybrid seed inviability (HSI) between recently diverged species suggest that HSI may play a fundamental role in plant speciation. Yet, a broader synthesis of HSI is needed to clarify its role in diversification. Here, I review the [...]
Unraveling the environment-phenotype-genotype nexus: examples, lessons and prospects from bird plumage colors
Published: 2022-09-01
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Connecting adaptive phenotypic variation to both its genetic and ecological bases is one of the central goals of evolutionary biology. Birds, due to their ease of study and solid base of existing knowledge, present an ideal clade in which to advance that goal. Bird color traits in particular have a long tradition of being at the forefront of conceptual advances in evolutionary biology. Combined [...]
The Darwinian Core of Evolutionary Theory and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Similarities and Differences
Published: 2022-08-14
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
In this paper, we evaluate debates surrounding calls for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in light of the Darwinian core of evolutionary theory, which was somewhat broader than the Modern Synthesis. We suggest that Darwin’s nuanced operationalization of natural selection rested upon two innovations: the atomization of individuals into trait-variants, and a reconceptualization of heredity in [...]
Experimental validation of transposable element insertions using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Published: 2022-07-30
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Transposable elements (TEs), also known as transposons, are repetitive DNA sequences, present in virtually all organisms, that can move from one genomic position to another. TEs can be a source of mutations with important consequences for organisms. Despite their interest, its repetitive nature has made their study very challenging. However, the emergence of new sequencing technologies that allow [...]
European light skin may have evolved as an adaptation to the Neolithic sedentary lifestyle
Published: 2022-07-28
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Population Biology
Light skin facilitates the penetration of ultraviolet light (UV) radiation through the skin, increasing the synthesis of vitamin D that in turn stimulates bone formation. It has been suggested that light skin appeared in the ancestors of modern Europeans as an adaptation to the conditions of low UV radiation in high latitudes; however, paleogenetic studies have recently shown it did not evolve [...]
Shared neural transcriptomic patterns underlie the repeated evolution of mutualistic cleaning behavior in Labridae wrasses
Published: 2022-07-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Despite the remarkable diversity of life forms on earth, evolutionary biologists have discovered numerous instances where even distantly related species share astonishing similarities in how they behave, look, and function. Given the importance of happenstance in evolution (e.g., random mutations, genetic drift, environmental stochasticity), it is often assumed that the mechanisms underlying such [...]
Jointly Modeling the Evolution of Discrete and Continuous Traits
Published: 2022-07-13
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Whether modeling the evolution of a discrete or continuous character, the focal trait of interest does not evolve in isolation and require comparative methods that model multivariate evolution. Progress along these lines has involved modeling multivariate evolution of the same class of character and there are fewer options when jointly modeling traits when one character is discrete and the other [...]
The brain’s bootstrapping problem and its consequences: Parental provisioning and variation in vertebrate brain sizes
Published: 2022-07-05
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Our understanding of the considerable variation in vertebrate brain size remains incomplete. Large brains are adaptive but brains require unusually high, near-constant energy inputs, and are prioritized energy targets. This trade-off also has understudied developmental consequences: immatures must develop a fully functional brain without already having one. We here propose that energy subsidies [...]