Clinal versus disruptive latitudinal variation in fruit traits of a South American mistletoe.

Fruit traits have historically been interpreted as plant adaptations to their seed dispersers. On the other hand, different environmental factors, which vary spatially and temporally, can shape fruit-trait variation. The mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus has a latitudinal distribution along the South American Pacific rim that encompasses two different biomes, the matorral of central Chile and the temperate forest that extends south of the matorral. This mistletoe shows contrasting fruiting phenology (spring vs summer), fruit color (yellow vs green), and seed dispersers (birds vs marsupial) in these two biomes. We characterized geographic variation of morphological and nutritional fruit traits of T. corymbosus to evaluate which macroecological factor, biome or latitude, better explains spatial variation in these variables. For each of 22 populations, we obtained environmental data (temperature, precipitation, and canopy cover), measured fruit and seed morphology traits (size, shape, and weight), and pulp moisture and nutritional content (fiber, protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash, and caloric content). Patterns of variation for each variable were described by fitting and comparing five different simple models varying in slope, intercept or both. Fruit morphology showed a clear biome-related disruptive pattern, seed morphological traits were unrelated to either biome or latitude, whereas nutritional variables showed diverse patterns. Different environmental factors seem to affect fruit development and phenology, determining the observed fruit characteristics, with seed dispersers playing a minor role in shaping these patterns. More generally, the contrasting plant-seed disperser associations we addressed can be interpreted as the outcome of an ecological-fitting rather than of a coevolutionary process.

The experimental range extension of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) influences the metabolic activity of tropical streams.

The ecological consequences of biological range extensions reflect the interplay between the functional characteristics of the newly arrived species and their recipient ecosystems. Teasing apart the relative contribution of each component is difficult because most colonization events are studied retrospectively, i.e., after a species became established and its consequences apparent. We conducted a prospective experiment to study the ecosystem consequences of a consumer introduction, using whole-stream metabolism as our integrator of ecosystem activity. In four Trinidadian streams, we extended the range of a native fish, the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), by introducing it over barrier waterfalls that historically excluded it from these upper reaches. To assess the context dependence of these range extensions, we thinned the riparian forest canopy on two of these streams to increase benthic algal biomass and productivity. Guppy's range extension into upper stream reaches significantly impacted stream metabolism but the effects depended upon the specific stream into which they had been introduced. Generally, increases in guppy biomass caused an increase in gross primary production (GPP) and community respiration (CR). The effects guppies had on GPP were similar to those induced by increased light level and were larger in strength than the effects stream stage had on CR. These results, combined with results from prior experiments, contribute to our growing understanding of how consumers impact stream ecosystem function when they expand their range into novel habitats. Further study will reveal whether local adaptation, known to occur rapidly in these guppy populations, modifies the ecological consequences of this species introduction.

Microbe Profile: Saccharomyces eubayanus, the missing link to lager beer yeasts.

Saccharomyces eubayanus was described less than 10 years ago and its discovery settled the long-lasting debate on the origins of the cold-tolerant yeast responsible for lager beer fermentation. The largest share of the genetic diversity of S. eubayanus is located in South America, and strains of this species have not yet been found in Europe. One or more hybridization events between S. eubayanus and S. cerevisiae ale beer strains gave rise to S. pastorianus, the allopolyploid yeasts responsible for lager beer production worldwide. The identification of the missing progenitor of lager yeast opened new avenues for brewing yeast research. It allowed not only the selective breeding of new lager strains, but revealed also a wild yeast with interesting brewing abilities so that a beer solely fermented by S. eubayanus is currently on the market.

Testing for latitudinal gradients in defense at the macroevolutionary scale.

Plant defenses against herbivores are predicted to evolve to be greater in warmer climates, such as lower latitudes where herbivore pressure is also thought to be higher. Instead, recent findings are often inconsistent with this expectation, suggesting alternative hypotheses are needed. We tested for latitudinal gradients in plant defense evolution at the macroevolutionary scale by characterizing plant chemical defenses across 80 species of the evening primroses, spanning both North and South America. We quantified phenolics in leaves, flowers, and fruits, using advanced analytical chemistry techniques. Dominant individual ellagitannin compounds, total concentrations of ellagitannins, flavonoids, total phenolics, and compound diversity were quantified. Variation in these compounds was predicted with latitude, temperature, precipitation, and continent using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) multiple regression models. Latitude did not strongly explain variation in chemical defenses. Instead, fruit total ellagitannins, oenothein A, and total phenolics were greater in species inhabiting regions with colder climates. Using analytical chemistry and 80 species in two continents, we show that contrary to classic predictions, concentrations of secondary metabolites are not greater at lower latitudes or in warmer regions. We propose higher herbivore pressure in colder climates and gradients in resource availability as potential drivers of the observed patterns in Oenothera.

Testing Convergent Evolution in Auditory Processing Genes between Echolocating Mammals and the Aye-Aye, a Percussive-Foraging Primate.

Several taxonomically distinct mammalian groups-certain microbats and cetaceans (e.g., dolphins)-share both morphological adaptations related to echolocation behavior and strong signatures of convergent evolution at the amino acid level across seven genes related to auditory processing. Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) are nocturnal lemurs with a specialized auditory processing system. Aye-ayes tap rapidly along the surfaces of trees, listening to reverberations to identify the mines of wood-boring insect larvae; this behavior has been hypothesized to functionally mimic echolocation. Here we investigated whether there are signals of convergence in auditory processing genes between aye-ayes and known mammalian echolocators. We developed a computational pipeline (Basic Exon Assembly Tool) that produces consensus sequences for regions of interest from shotgun genomic sequencing data for nonmodel organisms without requiring de novo genome assembly. We reconstructed complete coding region sequences for the seven convergent echolocating bat-dolphin genes for aye-ayes and another lemur. We compared sequences from these two lemurs in a phylogenetic framework with those of bat and dolphin echolocators and appropriate nonecholocating outgroups. Our analysis reaffirms the existence of amino acid convergence at these loci among echolocating bats and dolphins; some methods also detected signals of convergence between echolocating bats and both mice and elephants. However, we observed no significant signal of amino acid convergence between aye-ayes and echolocating bats and dolphins, suggesting that aye-aye tap-foraging auditory adaptations represent distinct evolutionary innovations. These results are also consistent with a developing consensus that convergent behavioral ecology does not reliably predict convergent molecular evolution.

Disease Dynamics in Ants: A Critical Review of the Ecological Relevance of Using Generalist Fungi to Study Infections in Insect Societies.

It is assumed that social life can lead to the rapid spread of infectious diseases and outbreaks. In ants, disease outbreaks are rare and the expression of collective behaviors is invoked to explain the absence of epidemics in natural populations. Here, we address the ecological approach employed by many studies that have notably focused (89% of the studies) on two genera of generalist fungal parasites (Beauveria and Metarhizium). We ask whether these are the most representative models to study the evolutionary ecology of ant-fungal parasite interactions. To assess this, we critically examine the literature on ants and their interactions with fungal parasites from the past 114years (1900-2014). We discuss how current evolutionary ecology approaches emerged from studies focused on the biological control of pest ants. We also analyzed the ecological relevance of the laboratory protocols used in evolutionary ecology studies employing generalist parasites, as well as the rare natural occurrence of these parasites on ants. After a detailed consideration of all the publications, we suggest that using generalist pathogens such as Beauveria and Metarhizium is not an optimal approach if the goal is to study the evolutionary ecology of disease in ants. We conclude by advocating for approaches that incorporate greater realism.