BMC ecology and evolution最新文献

This study examined the ecological impact of the invasive shrub Amorpha fruticosa in marsh meadows and assessed the effectiveness of combined conservation management practices, i.e., mowing and cattle grazing, in on restoring native vegetation. Conducted in the Mártély Landscape Protection Area (Hungary), the research used a multiscale approach to compare treated non-invaded and treated invaded wetland vegetation. Information theory-based diversity metrics were employed to evaluate the impact of A. fruticosa on structural complexity and species composition. Results revealed that although A. fruticosa can significantly altered plant community structure, the implemented management strategies effectively reduced its impact. The treated invaded vegetation exhibited diversity levels compareable to native marshland communities, suggesting that mowing and grazing contributed to decreasing A. fruticose dominance. However, in the absence of untreated control stands, this pattern must be interpreted cautiously, as the observed similarity could be conclusively attributed to the applied management alone. A slight, but non-significant shift in structural diversity was also observed, implying a residual effect of invasion. This study underscores the value of active, combined conservation strategies in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience in wetland habitats. The results contribute to broader discussions on invasive species control, emphasizing the role of traditional land-use practices in mitigating the ecological effects of biological invasions.

Background: Evolutionary fitness is determined by the match between an organism's phenotype and its local environment. When mismatched, individuals may disperse to more suitable habitats. For flightless insects, however, the range of dispersal is typically limited. Numerous flightless species have, therefore, evolved a dispersal dimorphism, that is, some individuals in otherwise short-winged populations develop long wings. Wing development may be genetically or environmentally determined, but these two drivers have rarely been analysed together.

Results: We studied the inheritance and density-dependent plasticity in the dispersal dimorphism of the meadow grasshopper Pseudochorthippus parallelus. Using a full-sib half-sib breeding design, we found that the development of long wings strongly depends on rearing density, with tactile stimulation being the most likely proximate cause. Additionally, we found heritable variation in the development of long wings, both in the propensity to produce long wings and in response to density (genotype-by-environment interactions). While at high and low densities, the environmental effect dominates, genetic variation is most consequential at intermediate densities.

Conclusions: Our results have implications for the phenotype-environment match and ultimately the evolution of individualised niches. Induced dimorphisms represent a form of adaptive phenotypic plasticity by offering a much greater potential for active niche choice and both genetic and induced dispersal dimorphisms facilitate niche choice in allowing individuals to sample a greater range of environments. Our study shows that niche-related polymorphisms can evolve via selection on the sensitivity threshold.

Accurate three-dimensional localisation of ultrasonic bat calls is essential for advancing behavioural and ecological research. I present a comprehensive, open-source simulation framework-Array WAH-for designing, evaluating, and optimising microphone arrays tailored to bioacoustic tracking. The tool incorporates biologically realistic signal generation, frequency-dependent propagation, and advanced Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) localisation algorithms, enabling precise quantification of both positional and angular accuracy. The framework supports both frequency-modulated (FM) and constant-frequency (CF) call types, the latter characteristic of Hipposiderid and Rhinolophid bats, which are particularly prone to localisation errors due to their long-duration emissions. A key innovation is the integration of source motion modelling during call emission, which introduces Doppler-based time warping and phase shifts across microphones-an important and often overlooked source of error in source localisation. I systematically compare four array geometries-a planar square, a pyramid, a tetrahedron, and an octahedron-across a volumetric spatial grid. The tetrahedral and octahedral configurations demonstrate superior localisation robustness, while planar arrays exhibit limited angular resolution. My simulations reveal that spatial resolution is fundamentally constrained by array geometry and the signal structure, with typical localisation error ranging between 5-10 cm at 0.5 m arm lengths. By providing a flexible, extensible, and user-friendly simulation environment, Array WAH supports task-specific design and deployment of compact, field-deployable localisation systems. It is especially valuable for investigating the acoustic behaviour of free-flying bats under naturalistic conditions, and complements emerging low-power multichannel ultrasonic recorders for field deployment and method validation.

Background: Heteroplasmy, the presence of more than one type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) within an individual, is an exception to the maternal transmission of mtDNA and has been observed in several animal species. A central question is whether heteroplasmy among individuals and across generations is mainly influenced by genetic drift or by selection.

Results: We quantified heteroplasmy in eight males, eight females and eight unfertilized eggs per female from a natural population of the hybrid frog species Pelophylax esculentus (between P. ridibundus and P. lessonae). After excluding sequencing error and potential sources of contamination, we found that all individuals and most of the eggs were heteroplasmic, containing 2-5 different haplotypes, from which one was very common and the rest appeared at very low frequencies (at maximum 2%). We observed a single lessonae haplotype, which was present in females and in their eggs but absent from all males. On the other hand, we observed four different ridibundus haplotypes that were present in males, females and eggs. Eggs had significantly lower heteroplasmy levels than their mothers.

Conclusions: The distribution of haplotypes between males and females, the difference of heteroplasmy levels between mothers and their eggs, and results from simulations suggest that drift alone is not sufficient to explain the observed patterns of heteroplasmy.

Deforestation in the Atlantic Forest has reached critical levels, threatening multiple levels of biodiversity. In these deforested landscapes, conservation strategies could benefit from preserving agroforestry systems known as Cabruca, a traditional method of cultivating cocoa under a canopy of native trees. In this context, Cariniana legalis (Jequitibá-rosa), an endemic tree species of the Atlantic Forest listed as endangered, was selected to evaluate the role of cocoa agroforests (Cabrucas) and forest remnants in the genetic conservation of this species. The study assessed the genetic diversity, inbreeding levels, and genetic structure of five populations of C. legalis located in forest remnants protected by law and in Cabrucas in southern Bahia, Brazil. Using 11 microsatellite loci, 294 individuals were genotyped for adult and juvenile ontogenetic stages. Despite forest fragmentation, some populations, especially those located in Cabrucas, retained high levels of genetic diversity in both stages. In contrast, a protected area exhibited lower genetic diversity and elevated inbreeding levels (f > 0.43) in both adults and juveniles. Analyses of genetic differentiation (F_ST) and migration rate (Nm) indicated reduced historical gene flow in certain populations, while network analysis and Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) identified Cabrucas as central genetic hubs promoting connectivity across the landscape in both ontogenetic stages. Our results highlight the conservation value of cocoa agroforests for maintaining the genetic diversity and connectivity of this endangered tree species. We therefore recommend the inclusion of Cabrucas in integrated genetic conservation strategies for C. legalis in anthropogenically modified Atlantic Forest landscapes.