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Species interacting in varied ecological conditions often evolve in different directions in different local populations. The butterflies of the cryptic Leptidea complex are sympatrically distributed in different combinations across their Eurasian range. Interestingly, the same species is a habitat generalist in some regions and a habitat specialist in others, where a sibling species has the habitat generalist role. Previous studies suggest that this geographically variable niche divergence is generated by local processes in different contact zones. By varying the absolute and relative densities of Leptidea sinapis and Leptidea juvernica in large outdoor cages, we show that female mating success is unaffected by conspecific density, but strongly negatively affected by the density of the other species. Whereas 80% of the females mated when a conspecific couple was alone in a cage, less than 10% mated when the single couple shared the cage with five pairs of the other species. The heterospecific courtships can thus affect the population fitness, and for the species in the local minority, the suitability of a habitat is likely to depend on the presence or absence of the locally interacting species. If the local relative abundance of the different species depends on the colonization order, priority effects might determine the ecological roles of interacting species in this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For structured populations in equilibrium with everybody born equal, ln(R0) is a useful fitness proxy for evolutionarily steady strategy (ESS) and most adaptive dynamics calculations, with R0 the average lifetime number of offspring in the clonal and haploid cases, and half the average lifetime number of offspring fathered or mothered for Mendelian diploids. When individuals have variable birth states, as is, for example, the case in spatial models, R0 is itself an eigenvalue, which usually cannot be expressed explicitly in the trait vectors under consideration. In that case, Q(Y| X):=-det (I-L(Y| X)) can often be used as fitness proxy, with L the next-generation matrix for a potential mutant characterized by the trait vector Y in the (constant) environment engendered by a resident characterized by X. If the trait space is connected, global uninvadability can be determined from it. Moreover, it can be used in all the usual local calculations like the determination of evolutionarily singular trait vectors and their local invadability and attractivity. We conclude with three extended case studies demonstrating the usefulness of Q: the calculation of ESSs under haplo-diploid genetics (I), of evolutionarily steady genetic dimorphisms (ESDs) with a priori proportionality of macro- and micro-gametic outputs (an assumption that is generally made but the fulfilment of which is a priori highly exceptional) (II), and of ESDs without such proportionality (III). These case studies should also have some interest in their own right for the spelled out calculation recipes and their underlying modelling methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the suitable habitat for a population is fragmented into relatively isolated patches, an individual's probability of success in interpatch migration may become low. If, in addition, the local demes inhabiting the patches experience random extinctions, the persistence ofthe entire metapopulation can be threatened. A reduction in migration success results in natural selection, and given genetic variation in dispersal-related traits, fragmentation may be followed by a changein dispersal behaviour and capacity, which in turn can influence thepersistence of the metapopulation. Using computer simulation, we investigate the consequences of genetic variation in dispersal-related traits for the probability of extinction following fragmentation. We find that within-deme selection against dispersal can set off a critical phase, during which the patch occupancy is low and the risk of extinction high. In this manner, genetic variation can pose a threat to persistence. However, if a metapopulation recovers from the critical phase, through recolonization of empty patches by efficient dispersers, the ensuing persistence tends to be higher than would have been the case without genetic variation. The severity of a critical phase depends on factors like the rapidity of the fragmentation process and the magnitude of the drop in survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the scope of direct fitness benefits in cooperation. An overview on a number of analytical concepts needed for studying the selective forces relating to these benefits is offered. He claims that the origin of chromosomes serves as an essential step towards cooperation as the basis of life. The author stresses that a strong emphasis on recognizing evolutionary conflicts has blinded individuals on the importance of cooperation.

The article reflects on the changes of ideas concerning the evolution of human cooperation. The author stresses the role of innovative observation and interaction between theory and observation on the matter. He asserts that the work on indirect reciprocity through image scoring plays a significant function in catalyzing the developments. He emphasizes the role of altruism on human social behavior.

For social foragers, movement as a group could increase foraging efficiency through collective discovery of high-quality food sources. This would require an efficient mechanism for transferring information about food quality between individuals. Conversely, the constraints of foraging as a cohesive group could decrease efficiency; grouping may persist to serve other functions such as protection from predators. To test what drives cohesion in herbivores, we manipulated patch shape and within-patch pattern of food quality and quantified the effects on group level diet selection by a social herbivore, the fallow deer, Dama dama . We arranged feeders containing fodder in lines or blocks, and manipulated the pattern of food quality within patches by adding tannin, a plant secondary compound that decreases palatability. We quantified the relative consumption of low- and high-tannin food to compare diet selectivity at the group level between patch treatments. If group foraging evolved to increase foraging efficiency, altering the spatial arrangement of food should not affect diet selectivity because information about food location and quality is shared. We found, however, that the herd expressed different levels of selectivity between both patch shapes and food quality patterns. Deer selected better diets in blocks than lines. In lines, the herd selected better diets when quality varied between alternate feeders rather than between the two halves of the patch, suggesting a reliance on personal rather than group information. Deer consumed the most at patch centres in all treatments except in blocks with high-tannin centres, but diet selection was poorer in the latter compared to blocks with low-tannin centres. Aggregation at the centre of patches appears to have restricted exploitation of the best food. Predation pressure and/or resource variability may have favoured the evolution of a foraging strategy that prioritizes social cohesion over effective diet selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal aspects of life cycle characteristics, such as diapause development, are under strong selection in seasonal environments. Fine-tuning of the life cycle may be particularly important to match the phenology of potential mates and resources as well as for optimizing abiotic conditions at eclosion. Here, we experimentally study the spring phenology of the orange tip butterfly, Anthocharis cardamines, by analysing post-winter pupal development in three populations along a latitudinal cline in each of Sweden and the United Kingdom. These countries differ substantially in their seasonal temperature profile. By repeatedly recording pupal weights, we established that post-winter development has two separate phases, with a more rapid weight loss in the second phase than in the first, likely corresponding to a ramping up of the rate of development. Variation in the duration of the first phase contributed more strongly than the second phase to the differences in phenology between the localities and sexes. We found that insects from Sweden had a faster overall rate of development than those from the United Kingdom, which is consistent with countergradient variation, as Sweden is colder during the spring than the United Kingdom. Similar trends were not observed at the within-country scale, however. A cogradient pattern was found within Sweden, with populations from the north developing more slowly, and there was no clear latitudinal trend within the United Kingdom. In all localities, males developed faster than females. Our results point to the importance of variation in the progression of post-winter development for spring phenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]