Evolution Commons^™

Why The Delay In Recognizing Terrestrial Obligate Cave Species In The Tropics?, Francis G. Howarth

International Journal of Speleology

“Nothing could possibly live there!” They believed. Indeed, until recently, few specialized cave- adapted animals were known from volcanic, tropical, or oceanic island caves, and plausible theories had been put forward to explain their absence. But assume nothing in science! One must illuminate, explore, and survey habitats before declaring them barren. Our understanding of cave biology changed dramatically about 50 years ago following the serendipitous discovery of cave-adapted terrestrial arthropods in Brazil and on the young oceanic islands of the Galápagos and Hawai‘i. These discoveries and subsequent studies on the evolutionary ecology of cave animals have revealed a remarkable hidden …

A New Species Of Scorpio From Jordan (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae), Mohammad Al-Saraireh, Ersen A. Yağmur, Bassam Abu Afifeh, Zuhair Amr

Euscorpius

A new species Scorpio granulomanus sp. n. is described and illustrated from Dibbeen Forest, Jerash Governorate, Jordan. The new species is compared with the previously recorded species of the genus Scorpio L., 1758 in the Middle East; it can be distinguished from all other congeners by its very large, pointed granules on the dorsoexternal surface of the chela manus, and an untypically elongated chela manus.

Standing Genetic Variation As A Potential Mechanism Of Novel Cave Phenotype Evolution In The Freshwater Isopod, Asellus Aquaticus, Lizet R. Rodas, Serban M. Sarbu, Raluca Bancila, Devon Price, Žiga Fišer, Meredith E. Protas

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Novel phenotypes can come about through a variety of mechanisms including standing genetic variation from a founding population. Cave animals are an excellent system in which to study the evolution of novel phenotypes such as loss of pigmentation and eyes. Asellus aquaticus is a freshwater isopod crustacean found in Europe and has both a surface and a cave ecomorph which vary in multiple phenotypic traits. An orange eye phenotype was previously revealed by F2 crosses and backcrosses to the cave parent within two examined Slovenian cave populations. Complete loss of pigmentation, both in eye and body, is epistatic to the …

Long‑Term Adaptation To Galactose As A Sole Carbon Source Selects For Mutations Outside The Canonical Gal Pathway, Artemiza A. Martínez, Andrew Conboy, Sean Buskirk, Daniel A. Marad, Gregory I. Lang

Biology Faculty Publications

Galactose is a secondary fermentable sugar that requires specific regulatory and structural genes for its assimilation, which are under catabolite repression by glucose. When glucose is absent, the catabolic repression is attenuated, and the structural GAL genes are fully activated. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the GAL pathway is under selection in environments where galactose is present. However, it is unclear the adaptive strategies in response to long-term propagation in galactose as a sole carbon source in laboratory evolution experiments. Here, we performed a 4,000-generation evolution experiment using 48 diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations to study adaptation in galactose. We show that fitness …

Non-Aggressive Competition Between Males Of Srilankametrus Yaleensis (Kovařík Et Al., 2019) (Scorpionidae), And Other Types Of Agonistic Behavior Observed In Scorpions, Victoria Tang

Euscorpius

A peculiar intraspecific agonistic behavior involving a non-aggressive physical combat is reported between the adult males of Srilankametrus yaleensis (Kovařík et al., 2019) (Scorpionidae: Heterometrinae). The adult males were observed to resort to a ritualized and relatively gentle way for strength demonstration. The combat is characterized by lateral spreading of pedipalps, chelicerae-to-chelicerae collision, and entanglement of metasomal segments. This behavior is hereby considered a form of an intrasexual combat defined as the “arm-span competition”. It is hypothesized to be beneficial for solving territorial and/ or sexual competitions while avoiding unnecessary mortality which could pose adverse impact to the natural populations. …

Lychas Jakli Sp. N. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Indonesia, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

A new species Lychas jakli sp. n. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) is described from Indonesia, fully illustrated with color photos showing its morphology and habitus. A new synonymy is proposed: Lychas kotao Lourenço, 2020 = Lychas mucronatus (Fabricius, 1798), syn. n.

Still A Private Universe? Community College Students’ Understanding Of Evolution, Meredith A. Dorner, Philip Sadler, Brian Alters

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Measuring what students know and retain about evolution is essential to improving our understanding of how students learn evolution. The literature shows that college students appear to have a poor understanding of evolution, answering questions on various instruments correctly only about half of the time. There is little research regarding evolution understanding among community college students and so this study examines if those students who are enrolled in life science classes, who are assessed using questions based on grade eight standards, show a better understanding of evolutionary principles than younger students and if there are differences in knowledge based …

A Comparison Of Microsatellites And Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms For The Assessment Of Population Structure In The Amblyomma Maculatum Koch, 1844 Species Complex, Henrey A. Deese

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, 1844 is widespread throughout North and Central America and is the primary vector for the emerging pathogen Rickettsia parkeri. In the U.S., the population in the Southwest (A. maculatum morphotype III) is morphologically different from the population east of the Rocky Mountains (A. maculatum morphotype II). This research tests the hypothesis that A. maculatum morphotype II and morphotype III represent distinct species through the analysis and comparison of 6 microsatellite loci and suite of 135,221 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from ddRADseq. Population genetic analysis of both microsatellites and SNPs …

Neural And Behavioral Evolution In An Eavesdropper With A Rapidly Evolving Host, Aaron W. Wikle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The diversification of animal communication systems is driven by many interacting factors. Unintended receivers play an important part in this process, yet little is known about their role in signal evolution. Flies of the genus Ormia are parasitoids of crickets and rely on acoustic cues to locate hosts. In Hawaii, selection imposed by Ormia ochracea has led to recent and rapid diversification in the songs of their host. Here, we compare neural and behavioral responses of Hawaiian flies to those of an ancestral population to understand the role of parasitoid sensory and behavioral variation in the evolution of host songs. …

Surviving The Serenade: How Conflicting Natural And Sexual Selection Drove Rapid Diversification Of Mating Signals In An Insect, James H. Gallagher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how the early stages of sexual signal diversification proceed is of critical importance because the nature of these microevolutionary dynamics can directly shape species trajectories and macroevolutionary patterns. Unfortunately, studying signal diversification is challenging because signals involve complex interactions between behavioral, morphological, and physiological components, many of which can only be measured in real time. Here we had the opportunity to directly study this process with the recent increase in sexual signal variation in Hawaiian populations of the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus). In Hawaii, male song attracts both female crickets and a deadly acoustically orienting parasitoid …

The Evolutionary Causes And Consequences Of Mammalian Hybridization, Kelsie E. Hunnicutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The natural recombination of divergent genomes within hybrid offspring provides windows through which we can study evolutionary processes and the dynamics of speciation. In this work, I use a combination of comparative and population genomics on both laboratory crosses of divergent rodent lineages and a hybrid zone of cottontail rabbits in the wild to study the causes and consequences of hybridization in mammals. Hybrid sterility is a common reproductive barrier between species that tends to preferentially manifest in the heterogametic sex and frequently genetically maps to the sex chromosomes. Thus, the sex chromosomes appear to play a special role in …

Molecular And Systemic Epigenetic Inheritance: Integrating Development, Genetics, And Evolution, Robert Lickliter, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Currently, a central problem for theoretical biology is the integration of development with genetics and evolutionary theory. Through the late 20^th century, biologists held that animals resemble their ancestors strictly because of the transgenerational transmission of DNA. This view effectively wrote development out of evolutionary biology. However, many molecular and developmental biologists now understand that phenotypes—anatomical, physiological, and behavioral traits—are not determined by genes (i.e., DNA segments) alone; instead, they emerge epigenetically from developmental processes involving co-acting genetic factors, environmental factors, molecular epigenetic factors, and other non-genetic factors within organisms’ bodies. This insight forces a rethinking of biological inheritance. …

What Taking Development Seriously Means For Evolutionary Theory, David C. Witherington, Robert Lickliter, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Proponents of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) emphasize the critical role that organisms and their development play in the process of evolution. This framework explicitly rejects the genocentric focus that once dominated interpretations of the Modern Synthesis in evolutionary theory. In place of genocentrism, EES highlights processes like niche construction, developmental constraint, and extragenetic inheritance as central to any understanding of evolutionary process. However, much more is at stake in adopting the EES than simply moving beyond the gene-dominant viewpoint of the Modern Synthesis. The EES, in fact, represents a fundamental challenge to the core of classic Darwinism itself by …

Multilevel Selection On Social Network Traits Differs Between Sexes In Experimental Populations Of Forked Fungus Beetles, R. A. Costello, P. A. Cook, E. D. Brodie Iii, Vincent A. Formica

Biology Faculty Works

Both individual and group behavior can influence individual fitness, but multilevel selection is rarely quantified on social behaviors. Social networks provide a unique opportunity to study multilevel selection on social behaviors, as they describe complex social traits and patterns of interaction at both the individual and group levels. In this study, we used contextual analysis to measure the consequences of both individual network position and group network structure on individual fitness in experimental populations of forked fungus beetles (Bolitotherus cornutus) with two different resource distributions. We found that males with high individual connectivity (strength) and centrality (betweenness) had …

Biomechanics Of Mantis Prey Capture, Danielle S. Taylor

Honors Theses

Mantis species have a variety of different morphologies, so do the extreme forms of mantis limbs trade prey catching capability for camouflage? We hypothesize that some extreme forms of mantis limbs that are associated with cryptic species may be associated with a tradeoff of the capability of those limbs. Previous research has developed 2D morphologies of several hundred species of mantises. We are creating a 3D morphology by using micro dissection, micro CT imaging to construct our 3D biomechanical model. We found the attachment points of the ligaments and muscles from a Tenodera forearm and have constructed a 2D biomechanical …

Variation In Soil-Mediated Drought Response Traits Between Sympatric Species Of Mimulus, Anna Reitman

Scripps Senior Theses

The ‘time limitation hypothesis’ is an evolutionary theory regarding evolution in angiosperms. The theory attributes ephemeral drought stress to transitions from a perennial to annual life history and an animal- to self-pollinating mating style. The most influential edaphic parameter on water availability is soil texture (i.e. grain size) due to its controls on porosity. Adhesion weakens with coarseness allowing for expedited rates of water loss via evaporation and percolation. The potential implications of coarse soil textures on major transitions in angiosperms due to drought mediation as the ‘time-limitation hypothesis’ proposes has yet to be thoroughly examined. Here, we grew two …

Between Choice And Compulsion: An Examination And Critique Of The Evolution Of 'Original Sin', Matthew James Wynn

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

“Why are we the way that we are?” is one of the hardest questions to answer because it requires grasping the origin of human beings. This has left philosophers and theologians in century-long debates on forming a “cosmogony of ontology” (i.e., how the origin of the universe informs the human condition). The concept, “original sin” was developed by a North African theologian named Augustine (354 – 430 CE). Augustine’s reading of Genesis 3, and inaccurate translation of Romans 5:12, taught that a person is born morally culpable for a fault antecedent to their existence. This way of thinking about the …

The Anatomy And Phylogeny Of A New Large Plioplatecarpine Mosasaur From The Campanian Bearpaw Shale Of Montana (Usa), Richard A. Carr

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

In 2018, a large and associated plioplatecarpine mosasaur skull, pectoral girdle, and rib cage, whose total body length may have exceeded five meters, was uncovered in the Late Campanian Bearpaw Shale of Northeast Montana (USA). Phylogenetic analysis of this specimen, MOR 10855, recovers this individual as a basal member of the genus Plioplatecarpus. This specimen, is unique in that it is estimated to be nearly twice the size of any of the other species of Plioplatecarpus found in the Western Interior Seaway during this part of the Cretaceous. While the included phylogenetic study suggests MOR 10855 represents a new …

Placing The Evolutionary History Of Desmognathus Salamanders In Context: A Phylogeographic Approach, Kara Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Patterns of genetic variation do not arise in a vacuum but are instead shaped by the interplay between evolutionary forces and ecological constraints. Here, I use a phylogeographic approach to examine the role that ecology played in lineage divergence in the Desmognathus quadramaculatus species complex (Family: Plethodontidae), which consists of three nominal species: D. quadramaculatus, D. marmoratus, and D. folkertsi. Previous phylogenetic studies have shown that individuals from these species do not form clades based on phenotype. My approach to reconciling phylogenetic discordance was two-fold, using (1) genome-wide markers to provide insight into the …

Nuclear Phylogeny And Insights Into Whole-Genome Duplications And Reproductive Development Of Solanaceae Plants, Jie Wang, Weibin Xu, Junwen Zhai, Yi Hu, Jing Guo, Caifei Zhang, Yiyong Zhao, Lin Zhang, Christopher T. Martine, Hong Ma, Chien-Hsun Huang

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanaceae, the nightshade family, have ∼2700 species, including the important crops potato and tomato, ornamentals, and medicinal plants. Several sequenced Solanaceae genomes show evidence for whole-genome duplication (WGD), providing an excellent opportunity to investigate WGD and its impacts. Here, we generated 93 transcriptomes/genomes and combined them with 87 public datasets, for a total of 180 Solanaceae species representing all four subfamilies and 14 of 15 tribes. Nearly 1700 nuclear genes from these transcriptomic/genomic datasets were used to reconstruct a highly resolved Solanaceae phylogenetic tree with six major clades. The Solanaceae tree supports four previously recognized subfamilies (Goetzeioideae, Cestroideae, Nicotianoideae, …