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Abstract: Mammals are mainly exposed to trace metals (TMs) via consuming contaminated food. Several studies have demonstrated relationships between metal concentrations in food and in animal tissues. However, potential effects of TMs on feeding behaviour of wildlife have been poorly documented under field conditions, despite experimental evidence showing that food selection is impacted by resource contamination. Here, we test the hypothesis that the diet of a generalist rodent, the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), is altered by soil TM contamination in the field. Wood mice were sampled in spring and in autumn along a gradient of soil contamination in the surroundings of a former smelter located in northern France. Available resources in the field were inventoried, and the diet of the animals was analysed using DNA “metabarcoding.” We demonstrated that (a) relationship between the resource richness in the diet and their richness in the field was altered by soil metal contamination. Wood mice specialized their diet along the gradient of soil metal contamination for both plant and invertebrate resources in spring. We also showed that (b) preference for Salicaceae, a plant family accumulating metals, decreased when soil contamination increased. These results suggest that environmental TM pollution could act as a force modulating trophic interactions in terrestrial food webs, thereby affecting wildlife exposure to contaminants by trophic route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the deep sea being the largest habitat on Earth, there are just 77 population genetic studies of invertebrates (115 species) inhabiting non-chemosynthetic ecosystems on the deep-sea floor (below 200 m depth). We review and synthesize the results of these papers. Studies reveal levels of genetic diversity comparable to shallow-water species. Generally, populations at similar depths were well connected over 100s-1,000s km, but studies that sampled across depth ranges reveal population structure at much smaller scales (100s-1,000s m) consistent with isolation by adaptation across environmental gradients, or the existence of physical barriers to connectivity with depth. Few studies were ocean-wide (under 4%), and 48% were Atlantic-focused. There is strong emphasis on megafauna and commercial species with research into meiofauna, 'ecosystem engineers' and other ecologically important species lacking. Only nine papers account for ~50% of the planet's surface (depths below 3,500 m). Just two species were studied below 5,000 m, a quarter of Earth's seafloor. Most studies used single-locus mitochondrial genes revealing a common pattern of non-neutrality, consistent with demographic instability or selective sweeps; similar to deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna. The absence of a clear difference between vent and non-vent could signify that demographic instability is common in the deep sea, or that selective sweeps render single-locus mitochondrial studies demographically uninformative. The number of population genetics studies to date is miniscule in relation to the size of the deep sea. The paucity of studies constrains meta-analyses where broad inferences about deep-sea ecology could be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foundation species such as redwoods, seagrasses and corals are often long-lived and clonal. Genets may consist of hundreds of members (ramets) and originated hundreds to thousands of years ago. As climate change and other stressors exert selection pressure on species, the demography of populations changes. Yet, because size does not indicate age in clonal organisms, demographic models are missing data necessary to predict the resilience of many foundation species. Here, we correlate somatic mutations with genet age of corals and provide the first, preliminary estimates of genet age in a colonial animal. We observed somatic mutations at five microsatellite loci in rangewide samples of the endangered coral, Acropora palmata ( n = 3352). Colonies harboured 342 unique mutations in 147 genets. Genet age ranged from 30 to 838 years assuming a mutation rate of 1.195−04 per locus per year based on colony growth rates and 236 to 6500 years assuming a mutation rate of 1.542−05 per locus per year based on sea level changes to habitat availability. Long-lived A. palmata genets imply a large capacity to tolerate past environmental change, and yet recent mass mortality events in A. palmata suggest that capacity is now being frequently exceeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and consequences of genetic introgression between species have been intensively debated. I used Hercules beetles as examples to test for conditions that may be associated with the occurrence of introgression. RADseq data were used to reconstruct the species tree and history of introgression between Hercules beetles. Image data from museum specimens were used to investigate the phenotypic similarity of two adaptive traits between species from two distinct climatic realms (Nearctic vs. Neotropical). Genetic introgression was identified between Hercules beetles living in geographic proximity (parapatric). Phylogenetic relatedness and phenotypic similarity did not predict nor preclude genetic introgression between species. Phenotypic assimilation in body coloration was evident between distantly related Hercules beetles codistributed in Central America, where directional introgression was also statistically supported from the putative donor to receiver lineages. The number of introgressed loci was significantly higher between species with than without phenotypic similarity. I discuss the implications of recent studies on adaptive genetic introgression by providing supporting evidence from the Hercules beetle system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pleistocene climatic fluctuations had a huge impact on all life forms, and various hypotheses regarding the survival of organisms during glacial periods have been postulated. In the European Alps, evidence has been found in support of refugia outside the ice shield (massifs de refuge) acting as sources for postglacial recolonization of inner-Alpine areas. In contrast, evidence for survival on nunataks , ice-free areas above the glacier, remains scarce. Here, we combine multivariate genetic analyses with ecological niche models ( ENMs) through multiple timescales to elucidate the history of Alpine Megabunus harvestmen throughout the ice ages, a genus that comprises eight high-altitude endemics. ENMs suggest two types of refugia throughout the last glacial maximum, inner-Alpine survival on nunataks for four species and peripheral refugia for further four species. In some geographic regions, the patterns of genetic variation are consistent with long-distance dispersal out of massifs de refuge, repeatedly coupled with geographic parthenogenesis. In other regions, long-term persistence in nunataks may dominate the patterns of genetic divergence. Overall, our results suggest that glacial cycles contributed to allopatric diversification in Alpine Megabunus, both within and at the margins of the ice shield. These findings exemplify the power of ENM projections coupled with genetic analyses to identify hypotheses about the position and the number of glacial refugia and thus to evaluate the role of Pleistocene glaciations in driving species-specific responses of recolonization or persistence that may have contributed to observed patterns of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parallel speciation occurs when selection drives repeated, independent adaptive divergence that reduces gene flow between ecotypes. Classical examples show parallel speciation originating from shared genomic variation, but this does not seem to be the case in the rough periwinkle (Littorina saxatilis) that has evolved considerable pheno-typic diversity across Europe, including several distinct ecotypes. Small 'wave' ecotype snails inhabit exposed rocks and experience strong wave action, while thick-shelled, 'crab' ecotype snails are larger and experience crab predation on less exposed shores. Crab and wave ecotypes appear to have arisen in parallel, and recent evidence suggests only marginal sharing of molecular variation linked to evolution of similar ecotypes in different parts of Europe. However, the extent of genomic sharing is expected to increase with gene flow and more recent common ancestry. To test this, we used de novo RAD-sequencing to quantify the extent of shared genomic divergence associated with phenotypic similarities amongst ecotype pairs on three close islands (<10 km distance) connected by weak gene flow (Nm ~ 0.03) and with recent common ancestry (<10 000 years). After accounting for technical issues, including a large proportion of null alleles due to a large effective population size, we found ~8-28% of positive outliers were shared between two islands and ~2-9% were shared amongst all three islands. This low level of sharing suggests that parallel phenotypic divergence in this system is not matched by shared genomic divergence despite a high probability of gene flow and standing genetic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a few colonial marine invertebrates have shown intracolonial genetic variability, a previously unreported phenomenon. Intracolonial genetic variability describes the occurrence of more than a single genotype within an individual colony. This variability can be traced back to two underlying processes: chimerism and mosaicism. Chimerism is the fusion of two or more individuals, whereas mosaicism mostly derives from somatic cell mutations. Until now, it remained unclear to what degree the ecologically important group of hermatypic (reef building) corals might be affected. We investigate the occurrence of intracolonial genetic variability in five scleractinian corals: Acropora florida, Acropora hyacinthus, Acropora sarmentosa, Pocillopora species complex and Porites australiensis. The main focus was to test different genera for the phenomenon via microsatellite markers and to distinguish which underlying process caused the genetic heterogeneity. Our results show that intracolonial genetic variability was common (between 46.6% for A. sarmentosa and 23.8% for P. species complex) in all tested corals. The main process was mosaicism (69 cases of 222 tested colonies), but at least one chimera existed in every species. This suggests that intracolonial genetic variability is widespread in scleractinian corals and could challenge the view of a coral colony as an individual and therefore a unit of selection. However, it might also hold potential for colony survival under rapidly changing environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]