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Complexity, defined as the number of parts and their degree of differentiation, is a poorly explored aspect of macroevolutionary dynamics. The maximum anatomical complexity of organisms has undoubtedly increased through evolutionary time. However, it is unclear whether this increase is a purely diffusive process or whether it is at least partly driven, occurring in parallel in most or many lineages and with increases in the minima as well as the means. Highly differentiated and serially repeated structures, such as vertebrae, are useful systems with which to investigate these patterns. We focus on the serial differentiation of the vertebral column in 1,136 extant mammal species, using two indices that quantify complexity as the numerical richness and proportional distribution of vertebrae across presacral regions and a third expressing the ratio between thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. We address three questions. First, we ask whether the distribution of complexity values in major mammal groups is similar or whether clades have specific signatures associated with their ecology. Second, we ask whether changes in complexity throughout the phylogeny are biased towards increases and whether there is evidence of driven trends. Third, we ask whether evolutionary shifts in complexity depart from a uniform Brownian motion model. Vertebral counts, but not complexity indices, differ significantly between major groups and exhibit greater within-group variation than recognized hitherto. We find strong evidence of a trend towards increasing complexity, where higher values propagate further increases in descendant lineages. Several increases are inferred to have coincided with major ecological or environmental shifts. We find support for multiple-rate models of evolution for all complexity metrics, suggesting that increases in complexity occurred in stepwise shifts, with evidence for widespread episodes of recent rapid divergence. Different subclades evolve more complex vertebral columns in different configurations and probably under different selective pressures and constraints, with widespread convergence on the same formulae. Further work should therefore focus on the ecological relevance of differences in complexity and a more detailed understanding of historical patterns.

This study focuses on the genus Dioncomena and its acoustics, particularly the unique songs produced by male Dioncomena that consist of several distinct elements in a fixed sequence, culminating in a coda that typically elicits a response from a receptive female. We also examine the inflated pronotal lobes, which we term prebullae, that are prominently developed in some Dioncomena species but not in others. We discuss the role of prebullae in the context of acoustic communication in Dioncomena and other related Phaneropterini genera that have similar lateral pronotal lobes. We found that prebullae size is correlated with habitat distribution, with larger prebullae occurring in isolated species while aggregation-prone species have smaller or less pronounced prebullae. Using micro-computer tomography we show sexual dimorphism in the 3D geometry of the acoustic tracheae, being larger in the male. Interestingly, the tracheae are coupled by a septum, like in field crickets, which suggests potential cross talk. We define three groups of Dioncomena based on altitude preferences, ecology, color patterns, and songs: the jagoi-, tanneri-, and ornata-groups. We describe the songs of several species, including newly identified species such as D. flavoviridis sp. nov., D. magombera sp. nov., D. ngurumontana sp. nov., D. sanje sp. nov., D. tanneri, D. versicolor sp. nov., and D. zernyi. We also provide information on the nymphs, development time, and mating behavior of various species reared in the laboratory, shedding light on their phenology and adaptations to their habitats.

Accelerating rates of biodiversity loss underscore the need to understand how species achieve resilience—the ability to resist and recover from a/biotic disturbances. Yet, the factors determining the resilience of species remain poorly understood, due to disagreements on its definition and the lack of large-scale analyses. Here, we investigate how the life history of 910 natural populations of animals and plants predicts their intrinsic ability to be resilient. We show that demographic resilience can be achieved through different combinations of compensation, resistance and recovery after a disturbance. We demonstrate that these resilience components are highly correlated with life history traits related to the species’ pace of life and reproductive strategy. Species with longer generation times require longer recovery times post-disturbance, whilst those with greater reproductive capacity have greater resistance and compensation. Our findings highlight the key role of life history traits to understand species resilience, improving our ability to predict how natural populations cope with disturbance regimes.

Frogs exhibit complex anatomical features of the pelvis, limbs and spine, long assumed to represent specialisations for jumping. Yet frogs employ a wide range of locomotor modes, with several taxa featuring primary locomotor modes other than jumping. Using a combination of techniques (CT imaging and 3D visualization, morphometrics, phylogenetic mapping), this study aims to determine the link between skeletal anatomy and locomotor style, habitat type and phylogenetic history, shedding new light on how functional demands impact morphology. Body and limb measurements for 164 taxa from all the recognised anuran families are extracted from digitally segmented CT scans of whole frog skeletons and analysed using various statistical techniques. We find that the expansion of the sacral diapophyses is the most important variable for predicting locomotor mode, which was more closely correlated with frog morphology than either habitat type or phylogenetic relationships. Predictive analyses suggest that skeletal morphology is a useful indicator of jumping but less so for other locomotor modes, suggesting that there is a wide range of anatomical solutions to performing locomotor styles such as swimming, burrowing or walking.

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is known to have significant effects on the development and performance of plants, including flowers. In multiple species, UV-absorbing floral patterns are associated with environmental conditions such as the solar UV exposure they typically receive. However, it is not known whether plants can increase the UV-absorbing areas found on petals plastically when in a high-UV environment. We grew Brassica rapa at three different UV radiation intensities (control, low, and high) and under two exposure duration regimes. We removed petals from flowers periodically during the flowering period and measured the proportion of the petal that absorbed UV. UV-absorbing areas increased when plants were exposed to longer periods of UV radiation, and at high UV radiation intensities. UV-absorbing area of petals of the UV intensity treatments decreased over time in long exposure plants. This study demonstrates that flowers can potentially acclimate to different UV radiation intensities and duration of exposure through an increase in UV-absorbing areas even after a relatively short exposure time to UV. Such a rapid plastic response may be especially beneficial for dynamically changing UV conditions and in response to climate change.

I present a Bayesian phylogenetic predictive modelling (PPM) framework that allows the prediction of muscle parameters (physiological cross-sectional area, APhys) in extinct archosaurs from skull width (WSk) and phylogeny. This approach is robust to phylogenetic uncertainty and highly versatile given its ability to base predictions on simple, readily available predictor variables. The PPM presented here has high prediction accuracy (up to 95%), with downstream biomechanical modelling yielding bite force estimates that are in line with previous estimates based on muscle parameters from reconstructed muscles. This approach does not replace muscle reconstructions but one that provides a powerful means to predict APhys from skull geometry and phylogeny to the same level of accuracy as that measured from reconstructed muscles in species for which soft tissue data are unavailable or difficult to obtain.

Bite force is an ecologically important biomechanical performance measure that is informative in inferring the ecology of extinct taxa. However, biomechanical modelling to estimate bite force is associated with some level of uncertainty. Here, I assess the accuracy of bite force estimates in extinct taxa using a Bayesian phylogenetic prediction model. I first fitted a phylogenetic regression model on a training set comprising extant data. The model predicts bite force from body mass and skull width while accounting for differences owing to biting position. The posterior predictive model has a 93% prediction accuracy as evaluated using leave-one-out cross-validation. I then predicted bite force in 37 species of extinct mammals and archosaurs from the posterior distribution of predictive models, generating posterior predictive distributions of null expectations given body mass, skull width and phylogenetic position. Biomechanically estimated bite forces from the literature fall within the posterior predictive distributions for all except four species of extinct taxa and are thus as accurate as predicted from body size and skull width, given the variation inherent in extant taxa and the amount of time available for variance to accrue. Biomechanical modelling remains a valuable means to estimate bite force in extinct taxa and should be reliably informative of functional performances and serve to provide insights into past ecologies.

Genomics-based, longitudinal comparisons between ex situ and in situ agrobiodiversity conservation strategies can contribute to a better understanding of their underlying effects. However, landrace designations, ambiguous common names, and gaps in sampling information complicate the identification of matching ex situ and in situ seed lots. Here we report a 50-year longitudinal comparison of the genetic diversity of a set of 13 accessions from the state of Morelos, Mexico, conserved ex situ since 1967 and retrieved in situ from the same donor families in 2017. We interviewed farmer families who donated in situ landraces to understand their germplasm selection criteria. Samples were genotyped by sequencing, producing 74,739 SNPs. Comparing the two sample groups, we show that ex situ and in situ genome-wide diversity was similar. In situ samples had 3.1% fewer SNPs and lower pairwise genetic distances (Fst 0.008–0.113) than ex situ samples (Fst 0.031–0.128), but displayed the same heterozygosity. Despite genome-wide similarities across samples, we could identify several loci under selection when comparing in situ and ex situ seed lots, suggesting ongoing evolution in farmer fields. Eight loci in chromosomes 3, 5, 6, and 10 showed evidence of selection in situ that could be related with farmers’ selection criteria surveyed with focus groups and interviews at the sampling site in 2017, including wider kernels and larger ear size. Our results have implications for ex situ collection resampling strategies and the in situ conservation of threatened landraces.

Ensiferan orthopterans offer a key study system for acoustic communication and the process of insect hearing. Cyphoderris monstrosa (Hagloidea) belongs to a relict ensiferan family and is often used for evolutionary comparisons between bushcrickets (Tettigoniidae) and their ancestors. Understanding how this species processes sound is therefore vital to reconstructing the evolutionary history of ensiferan hearing. Previous investigations have found a mismatch in the ear of this species, whereby neurophysiological and tympanal tuning does not match the conspecific communication frequency. However, the role of the whole tympanum in signal reception remains unknown. Using laser Doppler vibrometry, we show that the tympana are tonotopic, with higher frequencies being received more distally. The tympana use two key modalities to mechanically separate sounds into two auditory receptor populations. Frequencies below approximately 8 kHz generate a basic resonant mode in the proximal end of the tympanum, whereas frequencies above approximately 8 kHz generate travelling waves in the distal region. Micro-CT imaging of the ear and the presented data suggest that this tonotopy of the tympana drive the tonotopic mechanotransduction of the crista acustica (CA). This mechanism represents a functional intermediate between simple tuned tympana and the complex tonotopy of the bushcricket CA.

The taxonomically diverse terrestrial tetrapod fauna from the late Mississippian East Kirkton Limestone includes the earliest known members of stem Amphibia and stem Amniota. Here we name and describe a new East Kirkton tetrapod with an unusual hindlimb morphology reminiscent of that of several stem- and primitive crown amniotes. It displays a unique ilium with two slender and elongate processes and a 5-digit pes with a long, stout metatarsal IV and a greatly elongate digit IV. The new taxon broadens our knowledge of East Kirkton tetrapods, adding to the remarkable diversity of their hindlimb constructions, functional specializations, locomotory modes, and adaptations to a wide variety of substrates. An unweighted character parsimony analysis places the new taxon in a polytomy alongside some other Carboniferous groups. Conversely, weighted parsimony and Bayesian analyses retrieve it among the earliest diverging stem amniotes, either as the basalmost anthracosaur or within a clade that includes alsoEldeceeonandSilvanerpeton, crownward of an array of chroniosaurs plus anthracosaurs.

Aim: Body size explains most variation in fitness within animal populations and is therefore under constant selection from ecological and reproductive pressures which often promote its evolution in sex-specific directions, leading to sexual size dimorphism (SSD). Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the vast diversity of SSD across species. These hypotheses emphasise (i) the mate competition benefits to larger male size (sexual selection), (ii) the benefits of larger female size for fecundity (fecundity selection), (iii) the simultaneous benefits of niche divergence for males and females to reduce inter-sexual competition for ecological resources (natural selection), and (iv) the underlying impact of geographic variation in climatic pressures expected to shape large-scale patterns of SSD in synergy with the above selection pressures (e.g., intensification of fecundity selection as breeding seasons shorten). Based on a novel, global-scale amphibian dataset, we address the shortage of large-scale, integrative tests of these four hypotheses. Location: Global. Time period: Extant. Major taxa studied: Class Amphibia. Methods: Using a >3,500 species dataset spanning body size, ecological, life history, geographic and climatic data, we performed phylogenetic linear models to address the sexual, fecundity, ecological and climatic hypotheses of SSD. Results: SSD evolution is discordant between anurans and salamanders. Anuran SSD is shaped by climate – male-biased SSD increases with temperature seasonality – and by nesting site. In salamanders, SSD converges across species that occupy the same microhabitat types (‘ecodimorphs’), while reproductive or climatic pressures have no effects on their SSD. These contrasts are associated with latitudinal gradients of SSD in anurans, but not in salamanders. Main conclusions: Amphibian SSD is driven by ecological and climatic pressures, while no roles for sexual or fecundity selection were detected. We show that macroevolutionary processes determined by different forms of selection lead to latitudinal patterns of trait diversity, and the lack of them.

Carotenoid-based traits commonly act as condition-dependent signals of quality to both males and females. Such colors are typically quantified using summary metrics (e.g., redness) derived by partitioning measured reflectance spectra into blocks. However, perceived coloration is a product of the whole spectrum. Recently, new methods have quantified a range of environmental factors and their impact on reflection data at narrow wavebands across the whole spectrum. Using this approach, we modeled the reflectance of red integumentary eye combs displayed by male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) as a function of ornament size and variables related to male quality. We investigated the strength and direction of effect sizes of variables at each waveband. The strongest effect on the spectra came from eye comb size, with a negative effect in the red part of the spectrum and a positive effect in ultraviolet reflectance. Plasma carotenoid concentration and body mass were also related to reflectance variance in differing directions across the entire spectra. Comparisons of yearlings and adults showed that the effects were similar but stronger on adult reflectance spectra. These findings suggest that reflectance in different parts of the spectrum is indicative of differing components of quality. This method also allows a more accurate understanding of how biologically relevant variables may interact to produce perceived coloration and multicomponent signals and where the strongest biological effects are found.

1. Insect egg micropyles are openings through the chorion allowing sperm entry for fertilisation. Micropyles are diverse structures showing remarkable variation in number, spatial arrangement and physical structure across extant insect orders. Despite being almost ubiquitous across insects, they have received little attention. As key morphological features of an immobile life stage, it is plausible that part of the diversity exhibited by micropyles is adaptive, supporting other egg structures during embryo development. So, whilst egg fertilization is the primary function of micropyles, they could aid embryo development and be shaped by natural, as well as sexual selection. 2. Here I first used ancestral reconstruction to investigate micropyle presence, number and variation in primitive insects. Then, I used phylogenetic comparative analyses to explore the ecological function of micropyle number. 3. I hypothesised that micropyle number correlated with: (i) aeropyle presence facilitating oxygen exchange; (ii) aquatic oviposition supporting development in water; and is influenced by (iii) critical bioclimatic variables. 4. Across 24 hexapod orders the most likely ancestral state was one or two micropyles, interspecific variation was high and intraspecific variation low. Mean micropyle number ranged from zero in Entognatha, Strepsiptera and Thysanoptera to 120 in Panstrongylus geniculatus, Hemiptera, and over 100 on average for Apidae, Hymenoptera. Micropyle number was strongly positively related to: i) egg size, with larger eggs having more micropyles; ii) the presence of aeropyles; iii) annual precipitation, with eggs developing in habitats with low annual precipitation exhibiting fewer micropyles; and iv) negatively related to micropyle width, insect eggs having fewer larger micropyles or numerous smaller ones. However, aquatic oviposition did not affect micropyle number. 5. Overall these findings point to an adaptive ecological function of egg micropyles in addition to their primary fertilisation function. This is consistent with the hypothesis that micropyles aid embryo survival, and so this almost-ubiquitous trait across insects is shaped by sexual and natural selection pressures during this critical life stage.

This special issue covers various topics of acoustic communication (sound production and hearing) in animals from invertebrates to mammals primarily focusing on airborne sound but including one article on substrate-borne vibrations in webs (Miller and Mortimer). Each of the articles in this issue examines the biomechanics of the various forms of mechanisms that animals use for airborne sound production and detection (mechano-sensation). Therefore, articles are not centred on one specific topic but instead cover a range of systems that highlight recent advancements in animal bioacoustics.

When dating, women seek men slightly older than themselves while men typically prefer younger women. Such patterns reflect differences in parental investment and age-related fertility, which are both concerned with maximizing reproductive outcomes. Using large samples of online daters, we considered whether having or wanting children was associated with the perceived importance of age as a matching criterion when dating (Study 1; N = 119,361), as well as how these two factors related to the preferred age of a match (Study 2; N = 486,382). Men without children (or those who wanted children) rated age as more important than those with children (or those who did not want children), and also selected a preferred age range that incorporated younger women. In contrast, women’s preferences showed little association with having or wanting children. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that age preferences may depend on factors in addition to those previously investigated, and that the relationships with the number of current children and the desire to have children are consistent with evolutionary predictions.

Through phylogenetic modelling, we previously presented strong support for diversification decline in the three major subclades of dinosaurs (Sakamoto et al . 2016 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113 , 5036–5040. ( doi:10.1073/pnas.1521478113 )). Recently, our support for this model has been criticized (Bonsor et al . 2020 R. Soc. Open Sci. 7 , 201195. ( doi:10.1098/rsos.201195 )). Here, we highlight that these criticisms seem to largely stem from a misunderstanding of our study: contrary to Bonsor et al .'s claims, our model accounts for heterogeneity in diversification dynamics, was selected based on deviance information criterion (DIC) scores (not parameter significance), and intercepts were estimated to account for uncertainties in the root age of the phylogenetic tree. We also demonstrate that their new analyses are not comparable to our models: they fit simple, Dinosauria-wide models as a direct comparison to our group-wise models, and their additional trees are subclades that are limited in taxonomic coverage and temporal span, i.e. severely affected by incomplete sampling. We further present results of new analyses on larger, better-sampled trees ( N = 961) of dinosaurs, showing support for the time-quadratic model. Disagreements in how we interpret modelled diversification dynamics are to be expected, but criticisms should be based on sound logic and understanding of the model under discussion.

The braincase anatomy of the Pennsylvanian diadectomorphLimnoscelis dynatisis described in detail, based upon high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography. Both supraoccipitals and most of the prootics and opisthotics are preserved. The known portions of the left prootic, opisthotic, and supraoccipital enclose complete sections of the endosseous labyrinth, including the anterior, posterior, and lateral semicircular canals, the vestibule, the cochlear recess, and the canal for the endolymphatic duct. The fossa subarcuata is visible anteromedial to the anterior semicircular canal. The presumed endolymphatic fossae occur in the dorsal wall of the posteromedial portion of the supraoccipital. Both the fossa subarcuata and the fossa endolymphatica lie in the cerebellar portion of the cranial cavity. In order to investigate the phylogenetic position ofL. dynatiswe used a recently published data matrix, including characters of the braincase, and subjected it to maximum parsimony analyses under a variety of character weighting schemes and to a Bayesian analysis.Limnoscelis dynatisemerges as sister taxon toL. paludis, and both species form the sister group to remaining diadectomorphs. Synapsids and diadectomorphs are resolved as sister clades in ∼90% of all the most parsimonious trees from the unweighted analysis, in the single trees from both the reweighted and the implied weights analyses, as well in the Bayesian tree.

Over the last 50 years, sperm competition has become increasingly recognised as a potent evolutionary force shaping male ejaculate traits. One such trait is sperm swimming speed, with faster sperm associated with increased fertilisation success in some species. Consequently, sperm are often thought to have evolved to be longer in order to facilitate faster movement. However, despite the intrinsic appeal of this argument, sperm operate in a different biophysical environment than we are used to, and instead increasing length may not necessarily be associated with higher velocity. Here, we test four predictive models (ConstantPower Density, Constant Speed, Constant Power Transfer, Constant Force) of the relationship between sperm length and speed. We collated published data on sperm morphology and velocity from 141 animal species, tested for structural clustering of sperm morphology and then compared the model predictions across all morphologically similar sperm clusters. Within four of five morphological clusters of sperm, we did not find a significant positive relationship between total sperm length and velocity. Instead, in four morphological sperm clusters we found evidence for the Constant Speed model, which predicts that power output is determined by the flagellum and so is proportional to flagellum length. Our results show the relationship between sperm morphology (size, width) and swimming speed is complex and that traditional models do not capture the biophysical interactions involved. Future work therefore needs to incorporate not only a better understanding of how sperm operate in the microfluid environment, but also the importance of fertilising environment, i.e., internal and external fertilisers. The microenvironment in which sperm operate is of critical importance in shaping the relationship between sperm length and form and sperm swimming speed.

Despite the increasing importance of molecular sequence data, morphology still makes an important contribution to resolving the phylogeny of many groups, and is the only source of data for most fossils. Most systematists sample morphological characters as broadly as possible on the principle of total evidence. However, it is not uncommon for sampling to be focused on particular aspects of anatomy, either because characters therein are believed to be more informative, or because preservation biases restrict what is available. Empirically, the optimal trees from partitions of morphological data sets often represent significantly different hypotheses of relationships. Previous work on hard-part versus soft-part characters across animal phyla revealed significant differences in about a half of sampled studies. Similarly, studies of the craniodental versus postcranial characters of vertebrates revealed significantly different trees in about one-third of cases, with the highest rates observed in non-avian dinosaurs. We test whether this is a generality here with a much larger sample of 81 published data matrices across all major dinosaur groups. Using the incongruence length difference test and two variants of the incongruence relationship difference test, we found significant incongruence in about 50% of cases. Incongruence is not uniformly distributed across major dinosaur clades, being highest (63%) in Theropoda and lowest (25%) in Thyreophora. As in previous studies, our partition tests show some sensitivity to matrix dimensions and the amount and distribution of missing entries. Levels of homoplasy and retained synapomorphy are similar between partitions, such that incongruence must partly reflect differences in patterns of homoplasy between partitions, which may itself be a function of modularity and mosaic evolution. Finally, we implement new tests to determine which partition yields trees most similar to those from the entire matrix. Despite no bias across dinosaurs overall, there are striking differences between major groups. The craniodental characters of Ornithischia and the postcranial characters of Saurischia yield trees most similar to the “total evidence” trees derived from the entire matrix. Trees from these same character partitions also tend to be most stratigraphically congruent: a mutual consilience suggesting that those partitions yield more accurate trees. [Dinosauria; homoplasy; partition homogeneity.]

The importance of warfare for human evolution is hotly debated in anthropology. Some authors hypothesize that warfare emerged at least 200,000-100,000 years BP, was frequent, and significantly shaped human social evolution. Other authors claim that warfare is a recent phenomenon, linked to the emergence of agriculture, and mostly explained by cultural rather than evolutionary forces. Here I highlight and critically evaluate six controversial points on the evolutionary bases of warfare. I argue that cultural and evolutionary explanations on the emergence of warfare are not alternative but analyze biological diversity at two distinct levels. An evolved propensity to act aggressively towards outgroup individuals may emerge irrespective of whether warfare appeared early/late during human evolution. Finally, I argue that lethal violence and aggression towards outgroup individuals are two linked but distinct phenomena, and that war and peace are complementary and should not always be treated as two mutually-exclusive behavioral responses.

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are classic research model organisms that are also associated in nature, at least around vineyards. Sharing the same ephemeral fruit niche, winged Drosophila feed on immotile yeasts. That a yeast diet is essential for larvae development, and that saprophagous fruit flies are attracted to a suite of yeast volatiles, has been well established over the last century. Recently, research has focussed on the potential mutual benefit of this interaction hypothesising yeasts also benefit via dispersal from ephemeral fruits. It now appears that the concept of a co-evolved mutualism between yeasts and Drosophila has permeated the literature. However, until robust evidence regarding the evolution and maintenance of this yeast-fly association has been provided, we suggest there is no compelling evidence to reject the more simplistic null hypothesis that these interactions are due to exaptation, and not a mutualism driven by natural selection.

Determining the acoustic ecology of extinct or rare species is challenging due to the inability to record their acoustic signals or hearing thresholds. Katydids and their relatives (Orthoptera: Ensifera) offer a model for inferring acoustic ecology of extinct and rare species, due to allometric parameters of their sound production organs. Here, the bioacoustics of the orthopteran Prophalangopsis obscura are investigated. This species is one of only eight remaining members of an ancient family with over 90 extinct species that dominated the acoustic landscape of the Jurassic. The species is known from only a single confirmed specimen–the 150-year-old holotype material housed at the London Natural History Museum. Using Laser-Doppler Vibrometry, 3D surface scanning microscopy, and known scaling relationships, it is shown that P. obscura produces a pure-tone song at a frequency of ~4.7 kHz. This frequency range is distinct but comparable to the calls of Jurassic relatives, suggesting a limitation of early acoustic signals in insects to sonic frequencies (

Aim. The diversity of brood size across animal species exceeds the diversity of most other life history traits. In some environments, reproductive success increases with brood size, while in others it increases with smaller broods. The dominant hypothesis explaining such diversity predicts that selection on brood size varies along climatic gradients, creating latitudinal fecundity patterns. Another hypothesis predicts that diversity in fecundity arises among species adapted to different microhabitats within assemblages. A more recent hypothesis concerned with the consequences of these evolutionary processes in the era of anthropogenic environmental change predicts that low-fecundity species may fail to recover from demographic collapses caused by rapid environmental alterations, making them more susceptible to extinctions. These hypotheses have predominantly been addressed in endotherms, and only rarely in other taxa. Here, we address all three hypotheses in amphibians globally.Location. Global.Time period. Present.Major taxa studied. Class Amphibia.Methods. Using a dataset spanning 2,045 species from all three amphibian orders, we employ multiple phylogenetic approaches to investigate the association between brood size and climatic, ecological, and phenotypic predictors, and against species conservation status.Results. Brood size increases with latitude. This tendency is much stronger in frogs, where temperature seasonality is the dominant driver, whereas salamander fecundity increases towards regions with more constant rainfall. These relationships vary across continents, but confirm seasonality as the key driver of fecundity. Ecologically, nesting sites predict brood size in frogs, but not in salamanders. Finally, we show that extinction risk consistently increases with decreasing fecundity across amphibians, whereas body size is a ‘by-product’ correlate of extinction given its relationship with fecundity.Main conclusions. Climatic seasonality and microhabitats are primary drivers of fecundity evolution. Our findings that low fecundity increases extinction risk reinforces the need to re-focus extinction hypotheses based on a suggested role for body size.

In gynodioecious systems, female plants must counteract the selective disadvantage of not passing genes via pollen production, as hermaphrodites can. Theory predicts that females must produce more or better-quality seeds than hermaphrodites in order to be maintained within the same population. This female advantage has been widely measured and reported for seed number, but whether female advantage is gained through the production of better seeds remains relatively under-studied. Here, a meta-analysis approach was used to investigate whether females in gynodioecious species produce seeds of better quality than hermaphrodites (measured as seed mass, seed nutrient content, seed germinability and seedling survival and performance) in addition to achieving a larger seed production. In total, 50 studies were included, reporting traits for 34 gynodioecious species in 17 different families. Female advantage was significant for seed number and seed germination, but was not detected for seed mass, seed nutrient content or seedling performance. A female advantage in seed number was corroborated in this meta-analysis, which together with better seed germination, may explain maintenance of female plants within gynodioecious populations.

To resolve the hard problem of consciousness, we propose a systems-level theory of syner- gistic processes to account for sentience, consciousness, and mind. Subjectivity arises from interactive network processes within and between nature’s entangled, relational, and iter- ative elements. Searches for the physical cause or locus of consciousness and subjectivity are misguided given that consciousness emerges from processes with no single source. To account for the evolution and phenomenology of mind, our synergistic network account of consciousness (SNAC) dispenses with mind–body dualism, it weakens boundaries between the material and the non-material, between the internal and the external, and emphasises synergistic processes and functionalities over outcome. The theory challenges psychology to abandon its cause–effect categorisations and implied mind–body dualism in favour of functional systems-level analyses to better account for relational processes and functions which unfold synergistically within and sustain nature’s complex networks of entangled elements.

In the last few decades, research on lateralization has expanded our knowledge about the manifestation, development, and mechanisms of this fascinating feature of nervous systems. This has been possible not only thanks to human studies, but to the use of animal models and the introduction of ground-breaking techniques within this research field. However, recent studies have also demonstrated how complex this phenomenon is and highlighted that we still lack a complete understanding of brain and behavioural asymmetries. Here, I comment on two of the challenges presented by Ocklenburg and colleagues that research on lateralization has to face in the next future. I argue that, in order to improve our understanding of lateralization, we have to consider it as a dynamic and plastic characteristic, which is strongly influenced by both internal factors, such as an animal’s motivation and emotional states, and external factors, including the physical environment and the social context.

Bacterial pathogens are rapidly evolving resistance to all clinically available antibiotics. One part of the solution to this complex issue is to better understand the resistance mechanisms to new and existing antibiotics. Here, we focus on two antibiotics. Teixobactin is a recently discovered promising antibiotic that is claimed to “kill pathogens without detectable resistance” (L. L. Ling, T. Schneider, A. J. Peoples, A. L. Spoering, et al., Nature 517:455– 459, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14098). Moenomycin A has been extensively used in animal husbandry for over 50 years with no meaningful antibiotic resistance arising. However, the nature, mechanisms, and consequences of the evolution of resistance to these “resistance-proof” compounds have not been investigated. Through a fusion of experimental evolution, whole-genome sequencing, and structural biology, we show that Staphylococcus aureus can develop significant resistance to both antibiotics in clinically meaningful timescales. The magnitude of evolved resistance to Arg10-teixobactin is 300-fold less than to moenomycin A over 45 days, these are 2,500-fold and 8-fold less than evolved resistance to rifampicin (control), respectively. We have identified a core suite of key mutations, which correlate with the evolution of resistance, that are in genes involved in cell wall modulation, lipid synthesis, and energy metabolism. We show the evolution of resistance to these antimicrobials translates into significant cross-resistance against other clinically relevant antibiotics for moenomycin A but not Arg10-teixobactin. Lastly, we show that resistance is rapidly lost in the absence of antibiotic selection, especially for Arg10-teixobactin. These findings indicate that teixobactin is worth pursuing for clinical applications and provide evidence to inform strategies for future compound development and clinical management

The long-term accumulation of biodiversity has been punctuated by remarkable evolutionary transitions that allowed organisms to exploit new ecological opportunities. Mesozoic flying reptiles (the pterosaurs), which dominated the skies for more than 150 million years, were the product of one such transition. The ancestors of pterosaurs were small and probably bipedal early archosaurs1, which were certainly well-adapted to terrestrial locomotion. Pterosaurs diverged from dinosaur ancestors in the Early Triassic epoch (around 245 million years ago); however, the first fossils of pterosaurs are dated to 25 million years later, in the Late Triassic epoch. Therefore, in the absence of proto-pterosaur fossils, it is difficult to study how flight first evolved in this group. Here we describe the evolutionary dynamics of the adaptation of pterosaurs to a new method of locomotion. The earliest known pterosaurs took flight and subsequently appear to have become capable and efficient flyers. However, it seems clear that transitioning between forms of locomotion2,3—from terrestrial to volant—challenged early pterosaurs by imposing a high energetic burden, thus requiring flight to provide some offsetting fitness benefits. Using phylogenetic statistical methods and biophysical models combined with information from the fossil record, we detect an evolutionary signal of natural selection that acted to increase flight efficiency over millions of years. Our results show that there was still considerable room for improvement in terms of efficiency after the appearance of flight. However, in the Azhdarchoidea4, a clade that exhibits gigantism, we test the hypothesis that there was a decreased reliance on flight5–7 and find evidence for reduced selection on flight efficiency in this clade. Our approach offers a blueprint to objectively study functional and energetic changes through geological time at a more nuanced level than has previously been possible. Phylogenetic statistical analyses, biophysical models and information from the fossil record show that an evolutionary signal of natural selection acted to increase the flight efficiency of pterosaurs over millions of years.

The following paper will map the memetic lineage of the football chant that evolved from The White Stripes song ‘Seven Nation Army’ (2003) and analyse the various adaptations and composite readings it has accrued since its release. In The Selfish Gene (1976), Richard Dawkins proposed that the spread of cultural phenomena follows a comparable process to genetic reproduction. The term Dawkins uses to describe these cultural ‘genes’ is ‘memes’ and one of the examples he gives are melodies (1976, 192). The simple and memorable seven note progression which forms the central riff of ‘Seven Nation Army’ has proved to be extraordinarily successful in terms of memetic transmission. It first appeared as a terrace chant in Europe, but spread to the UK as football supporters adapted it to match their team colours and players’ names. The guitar riff was also remixed, looped and used as the official goal song for the UEFA European Cup in 2016. In the summer of 2017 the chant took on a political dimension. Following a speech by Jeremy Corbyn at the Wirral Music festival, the crowd sang the labour leader’s name to the tune. This then spread to other music festivals, most notably Glastonbury where the chanting crowds received extensive media coverage. This paper will explore the propagation and adaptation of this musical meme. It will align the meme’s lineage with an exploration of the sociological and performative factors that inform terrace chants, and identify how these traditions and conventions influenced the various manifestations that permeated through popular culture. From a musicological perspective it will consider what it is about these seven notes that gives the meme such versatility and identify how changes to the content and context of the chant alter its function and meaning.

Larger testes produce more sperm and therefore improve reproductive success in the face of sperm competition. Adaptation to social mating systems with relatively high and low sperm competition are therefore likely to have driven changes in relative testes size in opposing directions. Here, we combine the largest vertebrate testes mass dataset ever collected with phylogenetic approaches for measuring rates of morphological evolution to provide the first quantitative evidence for how relative testes mass has changed over time. We detect explosive radiations of testes mass diversity distributed throughout the vertebrate tree of life: bursts of rapid change have been frequent during vertebrate evolutionary history. In socially monogamous birds, there have been repeated rapid reductions in relative testes mass. We see no such pattern in other monogamous vertebrates; the prevalence of monogamy in birds may have increased opportunities for investment in alternative behaviours and physiologies allowing reduced investment in expensive testes., Explosive radiations of testes mass diversity have punctuated the vertebrate tree of life: bursts of rapid testes mass change have been frequent during vertebrate evolutionary history. In socially monogamous birds, there have been repeated rapid reductions in relative testes mass.

Herbivores and omnivores, faced with a nutritionally complex diet, have evolved the capacity to balance the intake of specific nutrients. Recent studies have found that carnivores also have this capacity, despite their more nutritionally homogeneous diet. However, unlike herbivores and omnivores who prioritize protein intake when restricted to imbalanced foods, carnivores instead show much stricter regulation of fat intake. These choices to over- or under-consume nutrients when the intake target cannot be achieved are known as rules of compromise. To date, studies examining these rules have all been carried out at a single life stage, and it is unclear if these rules regarding the prioritization of nutrients are fixed or labile. We address this question with a carnivorous beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. We use a combination of dietary restriction and choice tests to determine the intake target and rules of compromise in reproductively mature beetles and in newly emerged adults undergoing a period of maturation feeding. We show that, despite having very similar intake targets, the rules of compromise differ between the 2 life stages. Although mature adults follow the typical carnivore rule of fat prioritization, immature adults behave more like omnivores, showing strict regulation of protein intake, resulting in obesity when restricted to protein-poor diets. These alternate rules suggest different mechanisms or capacities to cope with excess protein across these life stages. Examining how intake targets and rules of compromise change across life stages could be a valuable approach for our understanding of how animals will fare under rapidly changing environmental conditions.

Critical thermal limits (CTLs) are established viability thresholds when studying the impact of climate change on natural populations. Novel thermal fertility limits (TFLs) of species have been proposed alongside CTLs, to better assess the sublethal effects of rising temperatures on species persistence. However, sex-specific sensitivity of fertility to temperature also needs consideration.

1. Tolerance and resistance are the two ways in which hosts can lessen the effects of infection. Tolerance aims to minimise the fitness effects resulting from incumbent pathogen populations, whereas resistance aims to reduce the pathogen population size within the host. While environmental impacts on resistance have been extensively recorded their impacts on variation in tolerance are virtually unexplored. 2. Here we ask how the environment, namely the host diet, influences the capacity of an organism to tolerate and resist infection, using a model host-parasite system, the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides and the entomopathogenic bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescens. 3. We first considered dose-responses and pathogen dynamics within the host, and compared our findings to responses known from other host species. We then investigated how investment in tolerance and resistance changed under different nutritional regimes. Beetles were maintained on one of five diets that varied in their ratio of protein to fat for 48 hours and then injected with P. luminescens. Survival was monitored and the phenoloxidase (PO) response and bacterial load at 24 hours post infection were ascertained. 4. The dose required to kill 50% of individuals in this species was several magnitudes higher than in other species and the bacteria were shown to display massive decreases in population size, in contrast to patterns of proliferation found in other host species. Diet strongly modified host survival after infection, with those on the high fat/low protein diet showing 30% survival at 8 days, versus almost 0% survival on the low fat/high protein diet. However, this was independent of bacterial load or variation in PO, providing evidence for diet-mediated tolerance mechanisms rather than immune-driven resistance. 5. Evolutionary ecology has long focussed on immune resistance when investigating how organisms avoid succumbing to infection. Tolerance of infection has recently become a much more prominent concept and is suggested to be influential in disease dynamics. This is one of the first studies to find diet-mediated tolerance.

[Aim]: The evolution of key innovations promotes adaptive radiations by opening access to new ecological opportunity. The acquisition of viviparity (live-bearing reproduction) has emerged as one such innovation explaining reptile proliferations into extreme climates. By evolving viviparity, females provide embryos with internally stable environments to complete development. The classical hypothesis suggests that natural selection for viviparity arises from low temperatures in cold climates, which promote prolonged egg retention in the mother's body. An alternative hypothesis proposes that declines in atmospheric oxygen at high elevations create natural selection for embryo retention to provide them with optimal oxygen levels during development. However, although experimental studies support the negative effects of low oxygen on egg development, this ‘hypoxia’ hypothesis has never been tested quantitatively. Here, we compete the hypoxia hypothesis against the ‘cold-climate’ hypothesis, using a highly diverse lizard genus., [Location]: South America., [Major taxa]: Liolaemus lizards., [Methods]: We use a multivariate dataset covering 121 species varying extensively in geographical and climatic distribution (including extreme thermal and oxygen gradients) and parity mode. Based on a new molecular phylogeny for the genus, we use phylogenetic logistic regressions to generate a range of models ranking environmental factors as a function of their effects on parity mode transitions., [Results]: Elevation and oxygen declines were almost perfectly correlated, and both were identified as the dominant predictors of oviparity-to-viviparity transitions, whereas the role for temperature (dominated by the coldest winter temperatures and daily fluctuations) was significant but secondary. Overall, we showed that oxygen deprivation and low temperatures both play a role in the evolution of viviparity., [Main conclusions]: Our findings support the role for selection from declines in oxygen concentrations as the primary driver behind viviparity. However, selection arising from cold temperatures and from reduced fluctuations in daily temperatures contributes to the evolution of these transitions by creating multivariate selection on parity mode., M.J. is indebted to the University of Lincoln for a full PhD scholarship. D.P.‐D. thanks the University of Lincoln for full financial support provided through a Research Investment Fund (RIF) Grant. D.J.H. is supported by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grants NE/N006798/1 and NE/L007770/1.

Day-camouflaged leaf-mimic katydids Typophyllum spp. have a remarkable way of evading predators as male and female forewings appear as bite-damaged leaves complete with necrotic spots. As in all other katydids, males produce sound signals to attract females by rubbing their forewings together. The biophysical properties of these special leaf-like forewings remain obscure. Here we study the wing mechanics and resonances of Typophyllum spurioculis, a new species of leaf-mimic katydid with a broad distribution in the Andes from Western Ecuador to the middle Central Cordillera in Colombia. This species performs an unusual laterally directed aposematic display, showing orange spots that simulate eyes at the leg base. At night, males are conspicuous by their loud, audible calling songs, which exhibit two spectral peaks at ca. 7 and 12 kHz. Using micro-scanning laser Doppler vibrometry we find the effective sound radiators of the wings (speculae) vibrate with three modes of vibration, two of which include the frequencies observed in the calling song. Remarkably, this resonance is preserved in the parts of the wings mimicking necrotic leaves, which are in theory not specialised for sound production. The eyespot function is discussed.

Skeletal remains of a new early Miocene (Ottnangian, MN 4 mammal zone) monitor lizard, Varanus mokrensis sp. nov., are described from two karst fissures in the Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint), Czech Republic, providing the first documented example of a European varanid for which osteological data permit a well-supported assignment to the genus Varanus. The new species is morphologically similar to the Recent Indo-Asiatic varanids of the Varanus bengalensis group. It differs from all other Varanus species on the basis of a single autapomorphy and a combination of 11 characters. As a distinguishing feature of V. mokrensis, the parietal and squamosal processes of the postorbitofrontal form a narrowly acute angle. The teeth show distinct, smooth cutting edges along the mesial and distal margins of the apical portion of their crowns. This feature is not observed in most extant Asiatic Varanus species and may represent a plesiomorphic condition. The results of parsimony phylogenetic analyses, with and without character reweighting, reveal poor resolution within Varanus. A Bayesian analysis shows V. mokrensis to be closely related to extant representatives of the Indo-Asiatic Varanus clade, with close affinities to the V. bengalensis species group. The topology of the Bayesian tree supports the hypothesis that Miocene monitors from Mokrá are representatives of a lineage that is ancestral to the well-defined clade of extant African varanids, including the early Miocene V. rusingensis. In addition, our results support a Eurasian origin for the varanid clade. The extant African Varanus species probably originated in the late Oligocene. The radiation of African varanids probably occurred during the late Oligocene to early Miocene time interval. The occurrence of Varanus in the early Miocene of Mokrá-Western Quarry corresponds to the warm phase of the Miocene Climatic Optimum. Remains of a diverse aquatic and heliophobe amphibian fauna at the 2/2003 Reptile Joint site indicate more humid conditions than those at the 1/2001 Turtle Joint site.

Important part of the multivariate selection shaping social and interspecific interactions among and within animal species emerges from communication. Therefore, understanding the diversification of signals for animal communication is a central endeavor in evolutionary biology. Over the last decade, the rapid development of phylogenetic approaches has promoted a stream of studies investigating evolution of communication signals. However, comparative research has primarily focused on visual and acoustic signals, while the evolution of chemical signals remains largely unstudied. An increasing interest in understanding the evolution of chemical communication has been inspired by the realization that chemical signals underlie some of the major interaction channels in a wide range of organisms. In lizards, in particular, chemosignals play paramount roles in female choice and male–male competition, and during community assembly and speciation. Here, using phylogenetic macro-evolutionary modeling, we show for the very first time that multiple compounds of scents for communication in lizards have diversified following highly different evolutionary speeds and trajectories. Our results suggest that cholesterol, α-tocopherol, and cholesta-5,7-dien-3-ol have been subject to stabilizing selection (Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model), whereas the remaining compounds are better described by Brownian motion modes of evolution. Additionally, the diversification of the individual compounds has accumulated substantial relative disparity over time. Thus, our study reveals that the chemical components of lizard chemosignals have proliferated across different species following compound-specific directions., Spanish’s Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Grant/Award Number: CGL2011-24150/BOS, MINECO CGL2014-53523-P and BES-2012-054387

The known diversity of tetrapods of the Devonian period has increased markedly in recent decades, but their fossil record consists mostly of tantalizing fragments1–15. The framework for interpreting the morphology and palaeobiology of Devonian tetrapods is dominated by the near complete fossils of Ichthyostega and Acanthostega; the less complete, but partly reconstructable, Ventastega and Tulerpeton have supporting roles2,4,16–34. All four of these genera date to the late Famennian age (about 365–359 million years ago)—they are 10 million years younger than the earliest known tetrapod fragments5,10, and nearly 30 million years younger than the oldest known tetrapod footprints35. Here we describe Parmastega aelidae gen. et sp. nov., a tetrapod from Russia dated to the earliest Famennian age (about 372 million years ago), represented by three-dimensional material that enables the reconstruction of the skull and shoulder girdle. The raised orbits, lateral line canals and weakly ossified postcranial skeleton of P. aelidae suggest a largely aquatic, surface-cruising animal. In Bayesian and parsimony-based phylogenetic analyses, the majority of trees place Parmastega as a sister group to all other tetrapods. Three-dimensionally preserved fossils of Parmastega aelidae, a newly described tetrapod from the earliest Famennian (Late Devonian) of Russia, provide detailed insights into the morphology and palaeobiology of the earliest tetrapods.

The aim of this study is to investigate the colouration of parrots in an evolutionary context utilising novel metrics for the quantification of colour pattern. Previously, the study of animal colouration has been limited by its inability to produce statistically robust and objective measures of pattern. We propose the use of image correlograms, a method adapted from the field of computer science where it is used in the indexing and retrieval of images for search engines, in order to evaluate the whole colour pattern of parrot species as taken from field guides. This is the largest study of parrot colouration in terms of number of species included in the study (403) and includes the ancestral reconstruction of the original parrot’s colouration as well as how colouration has changed over time. Finally, the information gained on the parrots’ colouration is applied to an issue of pressing concern for those studying the conservation of parrots, how differences in colour pattern relates to conservation status.

Behavioural and cognitive processes play important roles in mediating an individual's interactions with its environment. Yet, while there is a vast literature on repeatable individual differences in behaviour, relatively little is known about the repeatability of cognitive performance. To further our understanding of the evolution of cognition, we gathered 44 studies on individual performance of 25 species across six animal classes and used meta-analysis to assess whether cognitive performance is repeatable. We compared repeatability ( R ) in performance (1) on the same task presented at different times (temporal repeatability), and (2) on different tasks that measured the same putative cognitive ability (contextual repeatability). We also addressed whether R estimates were influenced by seven extrinsic factors (moderators): type of cognitive performance measurement, type of cognitive task, delay between tests, origin of the subjects, experimental context, taxonomic class and publication status. We found support for both temporal and contextual repeatability of cognitive performance, with mean R estimates ranging between 0.15 and 0.28. Repeatability estimates were mostly influenced by the type of cognitive performance measures and publication status. Our findings highlight the widespread occurrence of consistent inter-individual variation in cognition across a range of taxa which, like behaviour, may be associated with fitness outcomes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities’.

Funding: UK Natural Environment Research Council Grants NE/I027800/1, NE/G014906/1, and NE/L011255/1 (to N.W.B.) and Leverhulme Trust Grant RPG-2014-284 (to F.M.-Z.) The mechanisms underlying rapid macroevolution are controversial. One largely untested hypothesis that could inform this debate is that evolutionary reversals might release variation in vestigial traits, which then facilitates subsequent diversification. We evaluated this idea by testing key predictions about vestigial traits arising from sexual trait reversal in wild field crickets. In Hawaiian Teleogryllus oceanicus, the recent genetic loss of sound-producing and -amplifying structures on male wings eliminates their acoustic signals. Silence protects these “flatwing” males from an acoustically orienting parasitoid and appears to have evolved independently more than once. Here, we report that flatwing males show enhanced variation in vestigial resonator morphology under varied genetic backgrounds. Using laser Doppler vibrometry, we found that these vestigial sound-producing wing features resonate at highly variable acoustic frequencies well outside the normal range for this species. These results satisfy two important criteria for a mechanism driving rapid evolutionary diversification: Sexual signal loss was accompanied by a release of vestigial morphological variants, and these could facilitate the rapid evolution of novel signal values. Widespread secondary trait losses have been inferred from fossil and phylogenetic evidence across numerous taxa, and our results suggest that such reversals could play a role in shaping historical patterns of diversification. Postprint

The present study explores the macroevolutionary dynamics of shape changes in the humeri of all major grades and clades of early tetrapods and their fish-like forerunners. Coordinate point eigenshape analysis applied to humeral outlines in extensor view reveals that fish humeri are more disparate than those of most early tetrapod groups and significantly separate from the latter. Our findings indicate sustained changes in humeral shape in the deepest portions of the tetrapod stem group and certain portions of the crown. In the first half of sampled tetrapod history, subclades show larger than expected humeral disparity, suggesting rapid diffusion into morphospace. Later in tetrapod evolution, subclades occupy smaller and non-overlapping morphospace regions. This pattern may reflect in part increasing specialisations in later tetrapod lineages. Bayesian shifts in rates of evolutionary change are distributed discontinuously across the phylogeny, and most of them occur within rather than between major groups. Most shifts with the highest Bayesian posterior probabilities are observed in lepospondyls. Similarly, maximum likelihood analyses of shifts support marked rate accelerations in lepospondyls and in various subclades within that group. In other tetrapod groups, rates either tend to slow down or experience only small increases. Somewhat surprisingly, no shifts are concurrent with structural, functional, or ecological innovations in tetrapod evolution, including the origin of digits, the water–land transition and increasing terrestrialisation. Although counterintuitive, these results are consistent with a model of continual phenotypic innovation that, although decoupled from key evolutionary changes, is possibly triggered by niche segregation in divergent clades and grades of early tetrapods.

Anthropogenic hybridization is widely perceived as a threat to the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, to date, relevant policy and management interventions are unresolved and highly convoluted. While this is due to the inherent complexity of the issue, we hereby hypothesize that a lack of agreement concerning management goals and approaches, within the scientific community, may explain the lack of social awareness on this phenomenon, and the absence of effective pressure on decision-makers. By focusing on wolf x dog hybridization in Europe, we hereby (a) assess the state of the art of issues on wolf x dog hybridization within the scientific community, (b) assess the conceptual bases for different viewpoints, and (c) provide a conceptual framework aiming at reducing the disagreements. We adopted the Delphi technique, involving a three-round iterative survey addressed to a selected sample of experts who published at Web of Science listed journals, in the last 10 years on wolf x dog hybridization and related topics. Consensus was reached that admixed individuals should always be defined according to their genetic profile, and that a reference threshold for admixture (i.e., q-value in assignment tests) should be formally adopted for their identification. To mitigate hybridization, experts agreed on adopting preventive, proactive and, when concerning small and recovering wolf populations, reactive interventions. Overall, experts' consensus waned as the issues addressed became increasingly practical, including the adoption of lethal removal. We suggest three non-mutually exclusive explanations for this trend: (i) value-laden viewpoints increasingly emerge when addressing practical issues, and are particularly diverging between experts with different disciplinary backgrounds (e.g., ecologists, geneticists); (ii) some experts prefer avoiding the risk of potentially giving carte blanche to wolf opponents to (illegally) remove wolves, based on the wolf x dog hybridization issue; (iii) room for subjective interpretation and opinions result from the paucity of data on the effectiveness of different management interventions. These results have management implications and reveal gaps in the knowledge on a wide spectrum of issues related not only to the management of anthropogenic hybridization, but also to the role of ethical values and real-world management concerns in the scientific debate.

Comparing the genetic composition of wild animals between geographic regions with distinct environments is common in evolutionary studies. However, genetic composition can also change through time in response to environmental changes but studies examining this are carried out less often. In this study, we characterise striped dolphin genetic composition in the Mediterranean Sea across both geography and time. We provide genotype data for 15 microsatellite loci and 919 bp of mtDNA control region, collected over 21 years across all main Mediterranean Sea basins. We investigated spatial genetic structure using both classical and Bayesian population structure methods, and compared it with temporal patterns of genetic change using time series statistics. We integrated the temporal datasets with known environmental pressures and data on social structure, to infer potential drivers of observed changes. Geographic analyses suggest weak differentiation for striped dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea, with evidence for a recent expansion. Temporal analyses show significant cyclical fluctuations in genetic composition over 21 years, which correspond well with recurrent morbillivirus epizootics. Similarly, social group composition shows changes in the relative number of juveniles and adults per group, and an overall increase in the number of adults per group relative to juveniles over the time period. We suggest that the observed changes in genetic and group composition could relate to specific dynamics of morbillivirus resistance. Overall, our study highlights the importance of tracking long term genetic variation, and the potential for this species as a model in studying genetic adaptation to environmental stress.

There is growing evidence that achromatic plumage can act as honest indicators of male quality. In some species with areas of white plumage, black melanin spots can be found on parts of the feathers. The functional significance of these spots and the relationship with male quality is yet poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between black melanin spots in an otherwise totally white ornament, the undertail covert, in relation to age, fitness and covariance with past and present expression of sexual traits, in the lekking black grouse Lyrurus tetrix. We found that spots at tips of feathers (tip spots) were negatively related to survival and reproductive success, and covaried negatively with current fighting rate. They also covaried positively with past fighting rate, suggesting high investment in fighting leads to carryover effects on male condition. In contrast, spots found further down the feather (vane spots) were unrelated to fitness and morphological and behavioural trait expression. Our results show that melanin spots can indicate some relationship with male quality and that the location of the spots has some importance in this relationship. However, the exact drivers of melanin spot expression and how these link to male quality, are currently unknown.

In the cloud forests of the central range of the Colombian Andes, we discovered a species of katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) that imitates mosses to an uncanny degree and is exceedingly difficult to detect. The camouflage exhibited by this particular katydid seems quite specific. We discuss the evolutionary consequences of this sort of specialization. Selection to maintain effective disguises can result in reproductive isolation between populations specialized for different microhabitats, which makes it reasonable to speculate that camouflage may increasing diversification rates. Camouflage could also come at the price of elevated extinction risk. This possibility must be considered because although antipredator defenses are often thought of as leading to “escape-and-radiate” dynamics where diversification follows innovation that allows expansion into new niches, recent work has shown unexpected extinction risk associated with some antipredator adaptations. Highly specialized camouflage would seem an ambiguous case because of its obvious benefits, but also potential costs such as inhabiting habitats with low carrying capacities, vulnerability to predators at high densities if predators form search images, or metabolic trade-offs with thermoregulation. Groups such as the Tettigoniidae provide a tantalizing opportunity for their exceptional diversity, wide geographic distribution, and striking array of disguises suggest that many independent evolutionary experiments have already taken place.

In both plants and animals, male gametogenesis is particularly sensitive to heat stress, to the extent that a single hot or cold day can compromise crop productivity or population persistence. In animals, heat stress during development can impact a male’s ability to secure copulations and/or his post-copulatory fertility. Despite such observations, relatively few studies have examined the consequences of developmental temperature on the reproductive behaviour and physiology of males and females. Here we report for the first time the effects of developmental temperature on the phenotypic expression of both apyrene and eupyrene sperm and the copulatory behaviour of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella. We show that the length of both apyrene and eupyrene sperm decrease with increasing developmental temperature and that males are less likely to engage in copulation when reared at the highest and lowest temperatures. Where copulation occurred, the duration of copula decreased as male developmental temperature increased. We argue that identification of the mechanisms and consequences of reproductive failure in animals facing heat stress will help understand how wild and domesticated populations will respond to global climate change. We also contend that such studies will help elucidate long-standing evolutionary questions around the maintenance of genetic variation in traits highly relevant to fitness and the role of phenotypic plasticity in driving the evolution of novel traits.

Hybridisation between a domesticated species and its wild ancestor is an important conservation problem, especially if it results in the introgression of domestic gene variants into wild species. Nevertheless, the legal status of hybrids remains unregulated, partially because of the limited understanding of the hybridisation process and its consequences. The occurrence of hybridisation between grey wolves and domestic dogs is well documented from different parts of the wolf geographic range, but little is known about the frequency of hybridisation events, their causes and the genetic impact on wolf populations. We analysed 61K SNPs spanning the canid genome in wolves from across Eurasia and North America and compared that data to similar data from dogs to identify signatures of admixture. The haplotype block analysis, which included 38 autosomes and the X chromosome, indicated the presence of individuals of mixed wolf–dog ancestry in most Eurasian wolf populations, but less admixture was present in North American populations. We found evidence for male‐biased introgression of dog alleles into wolf populations, but also identified a first‐generation hybrid resulting from mating between a female dog and a male wolf. We found small blocks of dog ancestry in the genomes of 62% Eurasian wolves studied and melanistic individuals with no signs of recent admixed ancestry, but with a dog‐derived allele at a locus linked to melanism. Consequently, these results suggest that hybridisation has been occurring in different parts of Eurasia on multiple timescales and is not solely a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, wolf populations have maintained genetic differentiation from dogs, suggesting that hybridisation at a low frequency does not diminish distinctiveness of the wolf gene pool. However, increased hybridisation frequency may be detrimental for wolf populations, stressing the need for genetic monitoring to assess the frequency and distribution of individuals resulting from recent admixture.

Adaptation is the fundamental driver of functional and biomechanical evolution and can be linked to rates of phenotypic trait evolution. Significant shifts in evolutionary rates are seen as instances of exceptional adaptation. However, whether or not signatures of exceptional adaptations (elevated rates) can be distinguished from general adaptations (background rate) in biomechanical traits remains to be tested in a robust statistical framework. Here, we apply a recently developed phylogenetic statistical approach for detecting exceptional adaptations in bite force, in a large group of terrestrial vertebrates, the amniotes. Our results show that bite force in amniotes evolved through multiple bursts of exceptional changes, whereby whole groups – including Darwin′;s finches, maniraptoran dinosaurs (group of non-avian dinosaurs including birds), anthropoids and hominins (the group of species including modern humans) – experienced significant rate increases compared to the background rate. However, in most parts of the amniote tree of life we find no exceptional rate increases, indicating that coevolution with body size was primarily responsible for the patterns observed in bite force. Our approach represents a template for future studies in functional morphology and biomechanics, where exceptional functional adaptations can be quantified and potentially linked to specific ecological factors underpinning major evolutionary radiations.