Coevolutionary Relationship Research Articles

Plant ecotype affects interacting organisms across multiple trophic levels

In plant conservation and ecosystem restoration, plants are often translocated to ensure or enhance plant survival and performance. While the effects of ecotype origin on the performance of translocated plants are increasingly acknowledged among researchers and practitioners, ecotype effects on associated communities and ecosystems have hardly been studied. This is critical because plants also constitute the habitat for a large number of interacting organisms, and many of them might be influenced by plant ecotype characteristics. Here, we studied different ecotypes of Centaurea jacea L., a plant species commonly used in grassland restoration, and their effects on seed herbivores and their parasitoids. We grew eight C. jacea ecotypes originating from different regions in Germany in a common garden and found that the ecotypes differed up to three-fold in the frequencies of seed herbivores. These differences appeared to be mainly driven by ecotype differences in flowering phenology. We also found that there were up to four-fold differences in the frequencies of parasitoids, and even up to nine-fold differences in the abundances of parasitoids among ecotypes. In summary, plants from different origins substantially differed in their effects on interacting organisms, potentially reflecting coevolutionary relationships across trophic levels. The introduction of foreign ecotypes in restoration projects may thus not only affect the plants themselves, but it may also disrupt the balance of their biotic interactions.

Relationship between eco-innovations and the impact on business performance: an empirical survey research on the Brazilian textile industry

This study draws from the resource-based theory and investigates the interrelationships between three types of eco-innovation (process, product, organizational) and their impact on business performance. Using a structural equation design with 70 samples collected from textile industry, research results show that business performance is affected by product and organizational eco-innovations. The process and product eco-innovations significantly influence the effects of organizational eco-innovation, and there are connections between process and product eco-innovations. Research reveals that each type of eco-innovation has its own attributes, determinants, and contributions to business performance. Study on the textile sector broadens the discussion of interdependence and co-evolutionary relationships among different types of eco-innovation and demonstrates that the development of efficient innovation programs requires a holistic view and organizational and technological capabilities.

Phylogenetic and promoter analysis of islet amyloid polypeptide gene causing type 2 diabetes in mammalian species

Mutation in islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) gene results into its protein misfolding and fibril formation. Isolation of various mammalian species shows its conservation from 89- to 93-amino acid sequence sharing homology with cats, rats, mice, and guinea pigs. For the present study, detailed phylogenetic analysis is carried out for the upstream promoter region of IAPP gene, IAPP messenger RNA (mRNA), and proIAPP protein of nine mammalian species. Sequence analysis has shown partial conservation among the rodent species and the canidae group; however, the primate group species has shown maximum conservation of all sequences under considerations with respect to the human IAPP sequences. Our novel approach of analyzing mRNA and protein sequence conservation of proIAPP delineates the importance for developing IAPP models in closely related species sharing a common ancestor with the time divergence. Further, transcription factor binding sites were critically analyzed for the upstream promoter region of the IAPP gene. These probable binding sites were predicted for DNA motifs recognized by transcription factors, which may prove to be helpful in predicting the regulatory mechanism in understanding the regulation of IAPP gene under in vitro or in vivo conditions. Therefore, confirming the co-evolutionary relationship of IAPP among different species will help us guide in studying transcription factor binding site for poorly studied IAPP gene and targeting disease mutation initiating pancreatic amyloidosis in clinical applications. The phylogenetic and gene promoter analysis presented in the paper reveals regulatory elements for beta cell death caused by pancreatic amyloidosis and resulting in type 2 diabetes (T2D) onset.

Small ruminant lentiviral Vif proteins commonly utilize cyclophilin A, an evolutionarily and structurally conserved protein, to degrade ovine and caprine APOBEC3 proteins.

Mammals have co-evolved with retroviruses, including lentiviruses, over a long period. Evidence supporting this contention is that viral infectivity factor (Vif) encoded by lentiviruses antagonizes the anti-viral action of cellular apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3 (APOBEC3) of the host. To orchestrate E3 ubiquitin ligase complex for APOBEC3 degradation, Vifs utilize mammalian proteins such as core-binding factor beta (CBFB; for primate lentiviruses) or cyclophilin A (CYPA; for Maedi-Visna virus [MVV]). However, the co-evolutionary relationship between lentiviral Vif and the mammalian proteins associated with Vif-mediated APOBEC3 degradation is poorly understood. Moreover, it is unclear whether Vif proteins of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), including MVV and caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV), commonly utilize CYPA to degrade the APOBEC3 of their hosts. In this study, molecular phylogenetic and protein homology modeling revealed that Vif co-factors are evolutionarily and structurally conserved. It was also found that not only MVV but also CAEV Vifs degrade APOBEC3 of both sheep and goats and that CAEV Vifs interact with CYPA. These findings suggest that lentiviral Vifs chose evolutionarily and structurally stable proteins as their partners (e.g., CBFB or CYPA) for APOBEC3 degradation and, particularly, that SRLV Vifs evolved to utilize CYPA as their co-factor in degradation of ovine and caprine APOBEC3.

A Bird's Eye View of Influenza A Virus Transmission: Challenges with Characterizing Both Sides of a Co-Evolutionary Dynamic.

In nature, wild birds and influenza A viruses (IAV) are continually co-evolving, locked into a back-and-forth of resistance and conquest that has approached a stable equilibrium over time. This co-evolutionary relationship between bird host and IAV may appear stable at the organismal level, but is highly dynamic at the molecular level manifesting in a constant trade-off between transmissibility and virulence of the virus. Characterizing both sides of the host-virus dynamic has presented a challenge for ecologists and virologists alike, despite the potential for this approach to provide insights into which conditions destabilize the equilibrium state resulting in outbreaks or mortality of hosts in extreme cases. The use of different methods that are either host-centric or virus-centric has made it difficult to reconcile the disparate fields of host ecology and virology for investigating and ultimately predicting wild bird-mediated transmission of IAV. This review distills some of the key lessons learned from virological and ecological studies and explores the promises and pitfalls of both approaches. Ultimately, reconciling ecological and virological approaches hinges on integrating scales for measuring host-virus interactions. We argue that prospects for finding common scales for measuring wild bird-influenza dynamics are improving due to advances in genomic sequencing, host-tracking technology and remote sensing data, with the unit of time (months, year, or seasons) providing a starting point for crossover.

A Role for the Anti-Viral Host Defense Mechanism in the Phylogenetic Divergence in Baculovirus Evolution.

Although phylogenic analysis often suggests co-evolutionary relationships between viruses and host organisms, few examples have been reported at the microevolutionary level. Here, we show a possible example in which a species-specific anti-viral response may drive phylogenic divergence in insect virus evolution. Two baculoviruses, Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), have a high degree of DNA sequence similarity, but exhibit non-overlapping host specificity. In our study of their host-range determination, we found that BmNPV replication in B. mori cells was prevented by AcMNPV-P143 (AcP143), but not BmNPV-P143 (BmP143) or a hybrid P143 protein from a host-range expanded phenotype. This suggests that AcMNPV resistance in B. mori cells depends on AcP143 recognition and that BmNPV uses BmP143 to escapes this recognition. Based on these data, we propose an insect-baculovirus co-evolution scenario in which an ancestor of silkworms exploited an AcMNPV-resistant mechanism; AcMNPV counteracted this resistance via P143 mutations, resulting in the birth of BmNPV.

What is Sustainable Theory? A Luhmannian Perspective on the Science of Conceptual Systems

Sustainability is an important topic for understanding and developing our society (including business, government, and NGOs). For scholars who want their academic contributions to have an impact, sustainability is important for our conceptual systems (including theories, models, and policies). Because our conceptual systems share similarities with our social systems, we may investigate their characteristics to gain insight into how both may be achieved or at least understood. Theories of the humanities as well as the social/behavioral sciences are changing very rapidly. They are fragile and few seem to have any longevity. At the same time, the theoretical base does not seem to be “advancing.” They are not supporting highly effective results in the real world, so we continue to have seemingly insolvable problems such as crime, war, and poverty. This may be because academia has become inward-focused or, in Luhmann’s terminology, autonomous from the outside world. In seeking to understand how to develop more sustainable theories we found that the concept of sustainability is contested. And, in the process of comparing the sustainability of social systems to the sustainability of theories, we came to realize that neither perspective is viable. Drawing on Luhmann’s insights on the interdependence of theories and society, we came to realize that the two exist in a coevolutionary relationship. Importantly, we present an approach for measuring that evolution and suggest directions for accelerating the coevolutionary advance of society and science.

BIOGENESIS FACTOR REQUIRED FOR ATP SYNTHASE 3 Facilitates Assembly of the Chloroplast ATP Synthase Complex.

Thylakoid membrane-localized chloroplast ATP synthases use the proton motive force generated by photosynthetic electron transport to produce ATP from ADP. Although it is well known that the chloroplast ATP synthase is composed of more than 20 proteins with α3β3γ1ε1δ1I1II1III14IV1 stoichiometry, its biogenesis process is currently unclear. To unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the biogenesis of chloroplast ATP synthase, we performed extensive screening for isolating ATP synthase mutants in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). In the recently identified bfa3 (biogenesis factors required for ATP synthase 3) mutant, the levels of chloroplast ATP synthase subunits were reduced to approximately 25% of wild-type levels. In vivo labeling analysis showed that assembly of the CF1 component of chloroplast ATP synthase was less efficient in bfa3 than in the wild type, indicating that BFA3 is required for CF1 assembly. BFA3 encodes a chloroplast stromal protein that is conserved in higher plants, green algae, and a few species of other eukaryotic algae, and specifically interacts with the CF1β subunit. The BFA3 binding site was mapped to a region in the catalytic site of CF1β. Several residues highly conserved in eukaryotic CF1β are crucial for the BFA3-CF1β interaction, suggesting a coevolutionary relationship between BFA3 and CF1β. BFA3 appears to function as a molecular chaperone that transiently associates with unassembled CF1β at its catalytic site and facilitates subsequent association with CF1α during assembly of the CF1 subcomplex of chloroplast ATP synthase.

Species-specific differences in the ability of feline lentiviral Vif to degrade feline APOBEC3 proteins.

ABSTRACTHow host–virus co‐evolutionary relationships manifest is one of the most intriguing issues in virology. To address this topic, the mammal–lentivirus relationship can be considered as an interplay of cellular and viral proteins, particularly apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide‐like 3 (APOBEC3) and viral infectivity factor (Vif). APOBEC3s enzymatically restrict lentivirus replication, whereas Vif antagonizes the host anti‐viral action mediated by APOBEC3. In this study, the focus was on the interplay between feline APOBEC3 proteins and two feline immunodeficiency viruses in cats and pumas. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence of non‐primate lentiviral Vif being incapable of counteracting a natural host's anti‐viral activity mediated via APOBEC3 protein.

Toxicity and population structure of the Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) outside the range of an arms race with resistant predators.

Species interactions, and their fitness consequences, vary across the geographic range of a coevolutionary relationship. This spatial heterogeneity in reciprocal selection is predicted to generate a geographic mosaic of local adaptation, wherein coevolutionary traits are phenotypically variable from one location to the next. Under this framework, allopatric populations should lack variation in coevolutionary traits due to the absence of reciprocal selection. We examine phenotypic variation in tetrodotoxin (TTX) toxicity of the Rough‐Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) in regions of allopatry with its TTX‐resistant predator, the Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). In sympatry, geographic patterns of phenotypic exaggeration in toxicity and toxin‐resistance are closely correlated in prey and predator, implying that reciprocal selection drives phenotypic variation in coevolutionary traits. Therefore, in allopatry with TTX‐resistant predators, we expect to find uniformly low levels of newt toxicity. We characterized TTX toxicity in northwestern North America, including the Alaskan panhandle where Ta. granulosa occur in allopatry with Th. sirtalis. First, we used microsatellite markers to estimate population genetic structure and determine if any phenotypic variation in toxicity might be explained by historical divergence. We found northern populations of Ta. granulosa generally lacked population structure in a pattern consistent with northern range expansion after the Pleistocene. Next, we chose a cluster of sites in Alaska, which uniformly lacked genetic divergence, to test for phenotypic divergence in toxicity. As predicted, overall levels of newt toxicity were low; however, we also detected unexpected among‐ and within‐population variation in toxicity. Most notably, a small number of individuals contained large doses of TTX that rival means of toxic populations in sympatry with Th. sirtalis. Phenotypic variation in toxicity, despite limited neutral genetic divergence, suggests that factors other than reciprocal selection with Th. sirtalis likely contribute to geographic patterns of toxicity in Ta. granulosa.

Domestication as a model system for niche construction theory

Niche Construction Theory (NCT) provides a powerful conceptual framework for understanding how and why humans and target species entered into domesticatory relationships that have transformed Earth's biota, landforms, and atmosphere, and shaped the trajectory of human cultural development. NCT provides fresh perspective on how niche-constructing behaviors of humans and plants and animals promote co-evolutionary interactions that alter selection pressures and foster genetic responses in domesticates. It illuminates the role of niche-altering activities in bequeathing an ecological inheritance that perpetuates the co-evolutionary relationships leading to domestication, especially as it pertains to traditional ecological knowledge and the transmission of learned behaviors aimed at enhancing returns from local environments. NCT also provides insights into the contexts and mechanisms that promote cooperative interactions in both humans and target species needed to sustain niche-constructing activities, ensuring that these activities pro- duce an ecological inheritance in which domesticates play an increasing role. A NCT perspective contributes to on-going debates in the social sciences over explanatory frameworks for domestication, in particular as they pertain to issues of reciprocal causa- tion, co-evolution, and the role of human intentionality. Reciprocally, domestication provides a model system for evaluating on-going debates in evolutionary biology con- cerning the impact of niche construction, phenotypic plasticity, extra-genetic inheritance, and developmental bias in shaping the direction and tempo of evolutionary change.

Phylogenetic Diversity, Distribution, and Cophylogeny of Giant Bacteria (Epulopiscium) with their Surgeonfish Hosts in the Red Sea.

Epulopiscium is a group of giant bacteria found in high abundance in intestinal tracts of herbivorous surgeonfish. Despite their peculiarly large cell size (can be up to 600 μm), extreme polyploidy (some with over 100,000 genome copies per cell) and viviparity (whereby mother cells produce live offspring), details about their diversity, distribution or their role in the host gut are lacking. Previous studies have highlighted the existence of morphologically distinct Epulopiscium cell types (defined as morphotypes A to J) in some surgeonfish genera, but the corresponding genetic diversity and distribution among other surgeonfishes remain mostly unknown. Therefore, we investigated the phylogenetic diversity of Epulopiscium, distribution and co-occurrence in multiple hosts. Here, we identified eleven new phylogenetic clades, six of which were also morphologically characterized. Three of these novel clades were phylogenetically and morphologically similar to cigar-shaped type A1 cells, found in a wide range of surgeonfishes including Acanthurus nigrofuscus, while three were similar to smaller, rod-shaped type E that has not been phylogenetically classified thus far. Our results also confirmed that biogeography appears to have relatively little influence on Epulopiscium diversity, as clades found in the Great Barrier Reef and Hawaii were also recovered from the Red Sea. Although multiple symbiont clades inhabited a given species of host surgeonfish and multiple host species possessed a given symbiont clade, statistical analysis of host and symbiont phylogenies indicated significant cophylogeny, which in turn suggests co-evolutionary relationships. A cluster analysis of Epulopiscium sequences from previously published amplicon sequencing dataset revealed a similar pattern, where specific clades were consistently found in high abundance amongst closely related surgeonfishes. Differences in abundance may indicate specialization of clades to certain gut environments reflected by inferred differences in the host diets. Overall, our analysis identified a large phylogenetic diversity of Epulopiscium (up to 10% sequence divergence of 16S rRNA genes), which lets us hypothesize that there are multiple species that are spread across guts of different host species.

Quorum Sensing Is a Language of Chemical Signals and Plays an Ecological Role in Algal-Bacterial Interactions

ABSTRACTAlgae are ubiquitous in the marine environment, and the ways in which they interact with bacteria are of particular interest in the field of marine ecology. The interactions between primary producers and bacteria impact the physiology of both partners, alter the chemistry of their environment, and shape microbial diversity. Although algal-bacterial interactions are well known and studied, information regarding the chemical-ecological role of this relationship remains limited, particularly with respect to quorum sensing (QS), which is a system of stimuli and response correlated to population density. In the microbial biosphere, QS is pivotal in driving community structure and regulating behavioral ecology, including biofilm formation, virulence, antibiotic resistance, swarming motility, and secondary metabolite production. Many marine habitats, such as the phycosphere, harbor diverse populations of microorganisms and various signal languages (such as QS-based autoinducers). QS-mediated interactions widely influence algal-bacterial symbiotic relationships, which in turn determine community organization, population structure, and ecosystem functioning. Understanding infochemicals-mediated ecological processes may shed light on the symbiotic interactions between algae host and associated microbes. In this review, we summarize current achievements about how QS modulates microbial behavior, affects symbiotic relationships, and regulates phytoplankton chemical-ecological processes. Additionally, we present an overview of QS-modulated co-evolutionary relationships between algae and bacterioplankton, and consider the potential applications and future perspectives of QS.

Unsupervised Band Selection Based on Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization for Hyperspectral Images

Band selection is an important preprocessing step for hyperspectral image processing. Many valid criteria have been proposed for band selection, and these criteria model band selection as a single-objective optimization problem. In this paper, a novel multiobjective model is first built for band selection. In this model, two objective functions with a conflicting relationship are designed. One objective function is set as information entropy to represent the information contained in the selected band subsets, and the other one is set as the number of selected bands. Then, based on this model, a new unsupervised band selection method called multiobjective optimization band selection (MOBS) is proposed. In the MOBS method, these two objective functions are optimized simultaneously by a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm to find the best tradeoff solutions. The proposed method shows two unique characters. It can obtain a series of band subsets with different numbers of bands in a single run to offer more options for decision makers. Moreover, these band subsets with different numbers of bands can communicate with each other and have a coevolutionary relationship, which means that they can be optimized in a cooperative way. Since it is unsupervised, the proposed algorithm is compared with some related and recent unsupervised methods for hyperspectral image band selection to evaluate the quality of the obtained band subsets. Experimental results show that the proposed method can generate a set of band subsets with different numbers of bands in a single run and that these band subsets have a stable good performance on classification for different data sets.

Phylogeny and biogeography of species of Syphacia Seurat, 1916 (Nemata : Oxyurida : Oxyuridae) from the Australian Bioregion

Pinworm nematodes of the genus Syphacia (Nemata : Oxyurida : Oxyuridae) have a global distribution, and infect the caecum of rodents. Within the Australian Bioregion, 17 species of Syphacia infect a range of rodent hosts. Pinworms are traditionally thought to have coevolutionary relationships with their hosts, but the evolution and dispersal of Australian rodents and their helminths remains unclear. This combination of factors allowed us to investigate the likely relationships of Australian Syphacia species based on phylogenetic analysis, overlaid with the ecology and relationships of host species. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis using morphological characters of the species of Syphacia from the Australian Bioregion in order to examine the relationships between species, and to investigate how host evolution and phylogeny could inform (or be informed) by parasite phylogeny. Application of the taxon pulse theory of parasite speciation by matching host species to parasites shed some light on the timing of speciation of rodent hosts. We found that species of Syphacia had reasonably close host–parasite relationships, with additional evidence for ecological fitting or host switching occurring. Evidence provided here suggests strongly that most elements of the Stockholm Paradigm are at play in structuring the relationships we observe in this pinworm–mammal system.

Citizens of a hydropower nation: Territory and agency at the frontiers of hydropower development in Nepal

This article interrogates Nepal's ongoing and intensifying attempt to become a “hydropower nation” by focusing ethnographic attention on new kinds of subjectivity, identity, and agency emerging at the frontiers of hydropower development in the Upper Trishuli and Upper Tamakoshi watersheds of central Nepal. Drawing on 13 months of field study and ethnographic observation, this article makes a series of arguments about the coevolutionary relationship between the production of an imagined hydropower future and the diverse positions of Nepali citizens living and working along this expanding hydropower frontier. Thematically, my analysis focuses on (a) the scale and velocity of hydropower development in Nepal, (b) the polyvalent role of the hydropower sector within Nepal's recent history of political volatility and vacuums of local governance, (c) an increasingly complex politics of recognition based on “project‐affected” identities, and (d) emerging trends of financialization and mobilization sparked by the proliferation of shareholder‐based models of benefit sharing that affect the discourse on risk sharing and stakeholder rights in crucial ways. Building on other critical scholarship on Himalayan hydropower development, this article seeks to disaggregate the technical and discursive abstractions of the Nepalese hydroscape by providing an ethnographic account of the micropolitics and praxis that shape the lived experience of hydropower development in Nepal.

Patrimonio biocultural y participación comunitaria en Yucatán: una propuesta para la evaluación de políticas públicas

Through traditional productive practices, local knowledge, a belief system (praxis-corpus-cosmos), and language, components of their biocultural heritage, the Mayan-Yucatecan communities preserve a close co-evolutionary relationship with their territories. However, frequently socio-productive public policy programs provoke interruptions in the traditional management of the productive systems in rural communities. Despite having overall importance, these programs do not contemplate the impact on the biocultural heritage as an integral part of their implementation. Likewise, to strengthen community participation, it is necessary to promote and facilitate the establishment of times and spaces for dialogue that favor communication, dialogue, consensus and collective action among the main social and political actors. From a literature review, field observations, and in-depth interviews, the present work designs a proposal for a simultaneous evaluation instrument of the Family Backyard Production Program (PPSFT in Spanish), an approach that allows for the understanding of the effects of external programs on the traditional management of the communities’ productive systems, as well as the degree of community participation in the Program.

Seed Removal Increased by Scramble Competition with an Invasive Species.

Competition for seeds has a major influence on the evolution of granivores and the plants on which they rely. The complexity of interactions and coevolutionary relationships vary across forest types. The introduction of non-native granivores has considerable potential to alter seed dispersal dynamics. Non-native species are a major cause of endangerment for native species, but the mechanisms are often unclear. As biological invasions continue to rise, it is important to understand mechanisms to build up strategies to mitigate the threat. Our field experiment quantified the impact of introduced Abert’s squirrels (Sciurus aberti) on rates of seed removal within the range of critically endangered Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), which consumes similar foods. In the presence of invasive Abert’s squirrels, the time cones were removed was faster than when the invasive was excluded, accounting for a median removal time of cones available to red and Abert’s squirrels that is 32.8% less than that of cones available only to the rare native red squirrels. Moreover, in the presence of Abert’s squirrels, removal rates are higher at great distance from a territorial red squirrel larderhoard and in more open portions of the forest, which suggests differential patterns of seed dispersal. The impact on food availability as a result of cone removal by Abert’s squirrels suggests the potential of food competition as a mechanism of endangerment for the Mount Graham red squirrel. Furthermore, the magnitude and differential spatial patterns of seed removal suggest that non-native granivores may have impacts on forest regeneration and structure.

The Pastoral Effect

Niche construction theory provides a framework to analyze the environmental effects of changing pastoral practices. In Europe, domesticated herd animals facilitated the expansion of farming by extending the spatial framework of early farming communities, produced milk for caloric security of pioneering farmers, and were partners in coevolutionary relationships that resulted in changes in the human genome and the spread of diseases. Domestic herd animal management practices, however, were not uniform during the Neolithic, and variations in livestock management, use, and environment affected the degree of extensive and intensive human niche construction among early farmers. This paper explores the biological and cultural effects of pastoralism for the establishment of new agricultural niches by examining biological and ecological underpinnings of both domesticated animals and their management strategies. It is suggested that strategies varied in their niche outcomes and ecological legacies, highlighting the...

Tell me where you come from, I will tell you who you are: A genealogy of biodiversity offsetting mechanisms in historical context

Biodiversity offsetting (BO) is now a well-established mechanism worldwide. In several countries, it stands as a regulatory requirement and can be achieved via commercial transactions of biodiversity “credits”. Little is known however among ecologists and BO practitioners about the genealogy of BO instruments and the historical factors that shaped them. It is only quite recently that the use of market-based instruments to protect the environment has gone from being politically anathema to politically correct. How can we account for this shift? To shed light on the rise of BO market mechanisms, we build upon historical records and historical research. This research documents a link between the emergence of BO market mechanism and the 1973–1990 rollback of environmental regulations. These results help contextualize the rise of market-based instruments in conservation science and policies within the ascent of a new “liberal environmentalism” policy paradigm. They therefore shed light on the co-evolutionary relationship linking conservation to societal and ideological dynamics.