Life Sciences Commons^™

Underappreciated Consequences Of Phenotypic Plasticity For Ecological Speciation, Benjamin M. Ftizpatrick

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Phenotypic plasticity was once seen primarily as a constraint on adaptive evolution or merely a nuisance by geneticists. However, some biologists promote plasticity as a source of novelty and a factor in evolution on par with mutation, drift, gene flow, and selection. These claims are controversial and largely untested, but progress has been made on more modest questions about effects of plasticity on local adaptation (the first component of ecological speciation). Adaptive phenotypic plasticity can be a buffer against divergent selection. It can also facilitate colonization of new niches and rapid divergent evolution. The influence of non-adaptive plasticity has been …

Developmental Evolution Of Flowering Plant Pollen Tube Cell Walls: Callose Synthase (Cals) Gene Expression Patterns, Jason M. Abercrombie, Brian C. O'Meara, Andrew R. Moffatt, Joseph H. Williams

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Background

A number of innovations underlie the origin of rapid reproductive cycles in angiosperms. A critical early step involved the modification of an ancestrally short and slow-growing pollen tube for faster and longer distance transport of sperm to egg. Associated with this shift are the predominantly callose (1,3-β-glucan) walls and septae (callose plugs) of angiosperm pollen tubes. Callose synthesis is mediated by callose synthase (CalS). Of 12 CalS gene family members in Arabidopsis, only one (CalS5) has been directly linked to pollen tube callose. CalS5 orthologues are present in several monocot and eudicot genomes, but little is …

Spatial Geographic Mosaic In An Aquatic Predator-Prey Network, Johel Chaves-Campos, Steven G. Johnson, C. Darrin Hulsey

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution predicts 1) spatial variation in predatory structures as well as prey defensive traits, and 2) trait matching in some areas and trait mismatching in others mediated by gene flow. We examined gene flow and documented spatial variation in crushing resistance in the freshwater snails Mexipyrgus churinceanus, Mexithauma quadripaludium, Nymphophilus minckleyi, and its relationship to the relative frequency of the crushing morphotype in the trophically polymorphic fish Herichthys minckleyi. Crushing resistance and the frequency of the crushing morphotype did show spatial variation among 11 naturally replicated communities in the Cuatro Ciénegas …

Population Growth Of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida Brasiliensis Mexicana) Predates Human Agricultural Activity, Amy Russell, Murray P. Cox, Veronica A. Brown, Gary F. Mccracken

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Background

Human activities, such as agriculture, hunting, and habitat modification, exert a significant effect on native species. Although many species have suffered population declines, increased population fragmentation, or even extinction in connection with these human impacts, others seem to have benefitted from human modification of their habitat. Here we examine whether population growth in an insectivorous bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) can be attributed to the widespread expansion of agriculture in North America following European settlement. Colonies of T. b. mexicana are extremely large (~10⁶ individuals) and, in the modern era, major agricultural insect pests form an important …