Species-Specific Flash Patterns Track the Nocturnal Behavior of Sympatric Taiwanese Fireflies.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Goh KS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8773436 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Comparison and quantification of multiple pre- and post-pollination barriers to interspecific hybridization are important to understand the factors promoting reproductive isolation. Such isolating factors have been studied recently in many flowering plant species which seek after the general roles and relative strengths of different pre- and post-pollination barriers. In this study, we quantified six isolating factors (ecogeographic isolation, phenological isolation, pollinator isolation, pollinia-pistil interactions, fruit production, and seed development) that could possibly be acting as reproductive barriers at different stages among three sympatric Habenaria species (H. limprichtii, H. davidii, and H. delavayi). These three species overlap geographically but occupy different microhabitats varying in soil water content. They were isolated through pollinator interactions both ethologically (pollinator preference) and mechanically (pollinia attachment site), but to a variable degree for different species pairs. Interspecific crosses between H. limprichtii and H. davidii result in high fruit set, and embryo development suggested weak post-pollination barriers, whereas bidirectional crosses of H. delavayi with either of the other two species fail to produce fruits. Our results revealed that pollinators were the most important isolating barrier including both ethological and mechanical mechanisms, to maintain the boundaries among these three sympatric Habenaria species. Our study also highlights the importance of a combination of pre-and post-pollination barriers for species co-existence in Orchidaceae.
| S-EPMC9257206 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Most organisms are dependent on sensory cues from their environment for survival and reproduction. Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) represent an ideal system for studying sensory niche adaptation due to many species relying on bioluminescent communication; as well as a diversity of ecologies. Here; using transcriptomics; we examine the phototransduction pathway in this non-model organism; and provide some of the first evidence for positive selection in the phototransduction pathway beyond opsins in beetles. Evidence for gene duplications within Lampyridae are found in inactivation no afterpotential C and inactivation no afterpotential D. We also find strong support for positive selection in arrestin-2; inactivation no afterpotential D; and transient receptor potential-like; with weak support for positive selection in guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(q) subunit alpha and neither inactivation nor afterpotential C. Taken with other recent work in flies; butterflies; and moths; this represents an exciting new avenue of study as we seek to further understand diversification and constraint on the phototransduction pathway in light of organism ecology.
| S-EPMC8235688 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Movement behavior and habitat use of the long-eared bat species Plecotus auritus and Plecotus austriacus were studied in the Havelland region in Brandenburg (Germany). Data collection included mist-netting, radiotelemetry, reconstruction of prey items, and monitoring of roosting sites. Body measurements confirm a high degree of phenotypic similarity between the two species. Total activity areas (100% Minimum Convex Polygons, MCPS) of Plecotus austriacus (2828.3 ± 1269.43 ha) were up to five-fold larger compared to Plecotus auritus (544.54 ± 295.89 ha). The activity areas of Plecotus austriacus contained up to 11 distinct core areas, and their mean total size (149.7 ± 0.07 ha) was approximately three-fold larger compared to core areas of Plecotus auritus (49.2 ± 25.6 ha). The mean distance between consecutive fixes per night was 12.72 ± 3.7 km for Plecotus austriacus and 4.23 ± 2.8 km for Plecotus auritus. While Plecotus austriacus was located most frequently over pastures (>40%) and meadows (>20%), P. auritus was located mostly within deciduous (>50%) and mixed forests (>30%) in close vicinity to its roosts. Roost site monitoring indicates that the activity of P. austriacus is delayed relative to P. auritus in spring and declined earlier in autumn. These phenological differences are probably related to the species' respective diets. Levins' measure of trophic niche breadth suggests that the prey spectrum for P. auritus is more diverse during spring (B = 2.86) and autumn (B = 2.82) compared to P. austriacus (spring: B = 1.7; autumn: B = 2.1). Our results give reason to consider these interspecific ecological variations and species-specific requirements of P. auritus and P. austriacus to develop adapted and improved conservation measures.
| S-EPMC8697949 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Urbanization can radically disrupt natural ecosystems through alteration of the sensory environment. Habitat disturbances are predicted to favor behaviorally flexible species capable of adapting to altered environments. When artificial light at night (ALAN) is introduced into urban areas, it has the potential to impede reproduction of local firefly populations by obscuring their bioluminescent courtship signals. Whether individual fireflies can brighten their signals to maintain visibility against an illuminated background remains unknown. In this study, we exposed male Aquatica ficta fireflies to diffused light of varying wavelength and intensity, and recorded their alarm flash signals. When exposed to wavelengths at or below 533 nm, males emitted brighter signals with decreased frequency. This is the first evidence of individual-level light signal plasticity in fireflies. In contrast, long wavelength ambient light (? 597 nm) did not affect signal morphology, likely because A. ficta cannot perceive these wavelengths. These results suggest long wavelength lighting is less likely to impact firefly courtship, and its use in place of broad spectrum white lighting could augment firefly conservation efforts. More generally, this study demonstrates benefits of bioluminescent signal plasticity in a "noisy" signaling environment, and sheds light on an important yet understudied consequence of urbanization.
| S-EPMC5802884 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The maintenance of reproductive isolation in the face of gene flow is a particularly contentious topic, but differences in reproductive behavior may provide the key to explaining this phenomenon. However, we do not yet fully understand how behavior contributes to maintaining species boundaries. How important are behavioral differences during reproduction? To what extent does assortative mating maintain reproductive isolation in recently diverged populations and how important are "magic traits"? Assortative mating can arise as a by-product of accumulated differences between divergent populations as well as an adaptive response to contact between those populations, but this is often overlooked. Here we address these questions using recently described species pairs of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), from two separate locations and a phenotypically intermediate allopatric population on the island of North Uist, Scottish Western Isles. We identified stark differences in the preferred nesting substrate and courtship behavior of species pair males. We showed that all males selectively court females of their own ecotype and all females prefer males of the same ecotype, regardless of whether they are from species pairs or allopatric populations. We also showed that mate choice does not appear to be driven by body size differences (a potential "magic trait"). By explicitly comparing the strength of these mating preferences between species pairs and single-ecotype locations, we were able to show that present levels of assortative mating due to direct mate choice are likely a by-product of other adaptations between ecotypes, and not subject to obvious selection in species pairs. Our results suggest that ecological divergence in mating characteristics, particularly nesting microhabitat may be more important than direct mate choice in maintaining reproductive isolation in stickleback species pairs.
| S-EPMC7882950 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Three sympatric species of Caribbean grunts (H. flavolineatum, H. carbonarium and H. macrostomum) were collected while SCUBA diving. RNA was extracted from livers, and the transcriptomes were assembled and annotated to investigate positive selection (Pairwise dN/dS) and patterns of gene expression between the three species.
2019-02-14 | GSE124093 | GEO
Project description:The co-occurrence of 2 similar species depends on their ability to occupy different ecological niches. Here, we compared the consistency of different aspects of foraging behavior in 2 co-occurring harvester ant species (Messor ebeninus and Messor arenarius), under field conditions. The 2 species are active concomitantly and display a similar diet, but M. arenarius features smaller colonies, larger workers on average, and a broader range of foraging strategies than M. ebeninus. We characterized the flora in the 2 species' natural habitat, and detected a nesting preference by M. arenarius for more open, vegetation-free microhabitats than those preferred by M. ebeninus. Next, we tested the food preference of foraging colonies by presenting 3 non-native seed types. Messor arenarius was more selective in its food choice. Colonies were then offered 1 type of seeds over 3 days in different spatial arrangements from the nest entrance (e.g., a seed plate close to the nest entrance, a seed plate blocked by an obstacle, or 3 plates placed at increasing distances from the nest entrance). While both species were consistent in their foraging behavior, expressed as seed collection, under different treatments over time, M. ebeninus was more consistent than M. arenarius. These differences between the species may be explained by their different colony size, worker size, and range of foraging strategies, among other factors. We suggest that the differences in foraging, such as in food preference and behavioral consistency while foraging, could contribute to the co-occurrence of these 2 species in a similar habitat.
| S-EPMC6178789 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Eukaryotic genome size data are important both as the basis for comparative research into genome evolution and as estimators of the cost and difficulty of genome sequencing programs for non-model organisms. In this study, the genome size of 14 species of fireflies (Lampyridae) (two genera in Lampyrinae, three genera in Luciolinae, and one genus in subfamily incertae sedis) were estimated by propidium iodide (PI)-based flow cytometry. The haploid genome sizes of Lampyridae ranged from 0. 42 to 1. 31 pg, a 3. 1-fold span. Genome sizes of the fireflies varied within the tested subfamilies and genera. Lamprigera and Pyrocoelia species had large and small genome sizes, respectively. No correlation was found between genome size and morphological traits such as body length, body width, eye width, and antennal length. Our data provide additional information on genome size estimation of the firefly family Lampyridae. Furthermore, this study will help clarify the cost and difficulty of genome sequencing programs for non-model organisms and will help promote studies on firefly genome evolution.
| S-EPMC5767557 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Disentangling the role of competition in regulating the distribution of sympatric species can be difficult because species can have different habitat preferences or time use that introduce non-random patterns that are not related to interspecific interactions. We adopted a multi-step approach to systematically incorporate habitat preferences while investigating the co-occurrence of two presumed competitors, morphologically similar, and closely related ground-dwelling birds: the brown tinamou (Crypturellus obsoletus) and the tataupa tinamou (C. tataupa). First, we used single-species occupancy models to identify the main landscape characteristics affecting site occupancy, while accounting for detection probability. We then used these factors to control for the effect of habitat while investigating species co-occurrence. In addition, we investigated species present-time partitioning by measuring the degree of overlap in their activity time. Both species were strictly diurnal and their activity time highly overlapped (i.e., the species are not present-time partitioning). The distribution of the two species varied across the landscape, and they seemed to occupy opposite portions of the study area, but co-occurrence models and species interaction factors suggested that the tinamous have independent occupancy and detection. In addition, co-occurrence models that accounted for habitat performed better than models without habitat covariates. The observed co-occurrence pattern is more likely related to habitat preferences, wherein species segregated by elevation. These results provide evidence that habitat characteristics can play a bigger role than interspecific interactions in regulating co-existence of some species. Therefore, exploring habitat preferences while analyzing co-occurrence patterns is essential, in addition to being a feasible approach to achieve more accurate estimation of parameters reflecting species interactions. Occupancy models can be a valuable tool in such modeling.
| S-EPMC5528253 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Sugar maple and red maple are closely-related co-occurring tree species significant to the North American forest biome. Plant abiotic stress effects including nutritional imbalance and manganese (Mn) toxicity are well documented within this system, and are implicated in enhanced susceptibility to biotic stresses such as insect attack. Both tree species are known to overaccumulate foliar manganese (Mn) when growing on unbuffered acidified soils, however, sugar maple is Mn-sensitive, while red maple is not. Currently there is no knowledge about the cellular sequestration of Mn and other nutrients in these two species. Here, electron-probe x-ray microanalysis was employed to examine cellular and sub-cellular deposition of excessively accumulated foliar Mn and other mineral nutrients in vivo. For both species, excess foliar Mn was deposited in symplastic cellular compartments. There were striking between-species differences in Mn, magnesium (Mg), sulphur (S) and calcium (Ca) distribution patterns. Unusually, Mn was highly co-localised with Mg in mesophyll cells of red maple only. The known sensitivity of sugar maple to excess Mn is likely linked to Mg deficiency in the leaf mesophyll. There was strong evidence that Mn toxicity in sugar maple is primarily a symplastic process. For each species, leaf-surface damage due to biotic stress including insect herbivory was compared between sites with acidified and non-acidified soils. Although it was greatest overall in red maple, there was no difference in biotic stress damage to red maple leaves between acidified and non-acidified soils. Sugar maple trees on buffered non-acidified soil were less damaged by biotic stress compared to those on unbuffered acidified soil, where they are also affected by Mn toxicity abiotic stress. This study concluded that foliar nutrient distribution in symplastic compartments is a determinant of Mn sensitivity, and that Mn stress hinders plant resistance to biotic stress.
| S-EPMC4938512 | biostudies-literature