Field Of Evolutionary Ecology Research Articles

Thinking small: miniaturization might have facilitated adaptation to new niches in tarantulas

Abstract The interplay between ecology and morphology holds significant importance in the field of evolutionary ecology. Miniaturization, a prevalent trend across diverse branches of the tree of life, often emerges as a consequence of adaptation to specific ecological niches. However, the causes and outcomes of miniaturization can vary significantly among different taxa. In our study, we utilized tarantulas as a model system to explore whether microhabitat choices are linked to morphological characteristics. Specifically, we examined whether the transition to a non-burrowing, ground-dwelling lifestyle is associated with miniaturization. Our findings indicate that the evolution of morphological traits in tarantulas has primarily been influenced by stabilizing selection, with no discernible difference in morphotypes associated with fossorial or arboreal habits. Nevertheless, we observed that whenever tarantulas opportunistically transitioned to a non-burrowing, ground-dwelling lifestyle—such as living under rocks, logs, or within crevices—they seem to have undergone body-form miniaturization and a reduction in the ratio of forelimb to hindlimb length. This study underscores the potential for repeated shifts to unique ecological niches to disrupt the conventional trajectory of morphological evolution, resulting in the emergence of novel phenotypes.

Exploring the complex pre-adaptations of invasive plants to anthropogenic disturbance: a call for integration of archaeobotanical approaches.

Pre-adaptation to anthropogenic disturbance is broadly considered key for plant invasion success. Nevertheless, empirical evidence remains scarce and fragmentary, given the multifaceted nature of anthropogenic disturbance itself and the complexity of other evolutionary forces shaping the (epi)-genomes of recent native and invasive plant populations. Here, we review and critically revisit the existing theory and empirical evidence in the field of evolutionary ecology and highlight novel integrative research avenues that work at the interface with archaeology to solve open questions. The approaches suggested so far focus on contemporary plant populations, although their genomes have rapidly changed since their initial introduction in response to numerous selective and stochastic forces. We elaborate that a role of pre-adaptation to anthropogenic disturbance in plant invasion success should thus additionally be validated based on the analyses of archaeobotanical remains. Such materials, in the light of detailed knowledge on past human societies could highlight fine-scale differences in the type and timing of past disturbances. We propose a combination of archaeobotanical, ancient DNA and morphometric analyses of plant macro- and microremains to assess past community composition, and species' functional traits to unravel the timing of adaptation processes, their drivers and their long-term consequences for invasive species. Although such methodologies have proven to be feasible for numerous crop plants, they have not been yet applied to wild invasive species, which opens a wide array of insights into their evolution.

Self-Recognition and Allorecognition Mechanisms Exert a Significant Influence on the Sex Allocation Patterns of the Pea Aphid.

The mechanism controlling sex allocation in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), remains a crucial yet unresolved issue in the field of evolutionary ecology. This study aims to assess the influence of the presence of both self and non-self clones, along with juvenile hormone III (JH III) titer, on the sex allocation of aphid offspring. To this end, red and green clones were utilized as experimental subjects, and the agar method was employed. Initially, three distinct experimental treatments were established using sexuparae, and the daily offspring count and sex allocation in each treatment zone were recorded. Subsequently, an additional experimental condition involving mixed-clone treatments was introduced. This procedure entailed the transfer of a single sexupara and 20 oviparous females from either the red (1G + 20Rov) or green clone (1G + 20Gov) onto a leaf on agar medium. Simultaneously, a control setup with a new sexupara (1G) was established. Three days following sexupara production, a dose of 0, 25, or 50 ng of JH III was applied to the aphids' abdomens. Subsequently, the titers of JH III in the sexuparae across each treatment group were quantified, and the extent of sex allocation was tallied. The findings demonstrated pronounced disparities in sex allocation among the various treatments and, notably, a substantial increase in the total offspring and oviparous number in the mixed-clone treatment group. The effects of mixed-clone treatment on the sex allocation patterns of the sexupara progeny could be determined by the application of exogenous JH III, indicating that JH may mediate the effects of mixed-clone treatment on sex allocation. Consequently, it can be concluded that A. pisum sexuparae possess the capability to modulate their sex allocation in response to the nature of adjacent competitor clones, thereby demonstrating a variety of sex allocation patterns. Throughout this process, JH III plays a pivotal role.

Species-specific model to predict amphibian metamorphosis

Exploring the timing of life-history transitions has been a pivotal focus in the field of evolutionary ecology. Studies on amphibian metamorphosis are well suited to investigate this aspect. We propose a species-specific model to predict the optimal metamorphosis point for frog individuals with different larval growth trajectories. Because overall fitness will be determined throughout both aquatic and terrestrial stages, we included growth and survival rates of aquatic and terrestrial stages in the fitness equation. Then we conducted a rearing experiment on a brown frog, Rana ornativentris, as an example to obtain the size at metamorphosis, larval period, and larval growth trajectory. Based on these results, we determined the model's parameters to fit the actual metamorphosis patterns. Because the parameters are supposed to be evolutionarily maintained, our data-driven approach enabled obtaining fundamental ecological information (evolutionally-based life-history parameters) of the target species. Comparing the parameters among species will allow us to understand the mechanisms in determining life-history transition more deeply.

Multidimensional plasticity in the Glanville fritillary butterfly: larval performance is temperature, host and family specific.

Variation in environmental conditions during development can lead to changes in life-history traits with long-lasting effects. Here, we study how variation in temperature and host plant (i.e. the consequences of potential maternal oviposition choices) affects a suite of life-history traits in pre-diapause larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly. We focus on offspring survival, larval growth rates and relative fat reserves, and pay specific attention to intraspecific variation in the responses (G × E × E). Globally, thermal performance and survival curves varied between diets of two host plants, suggesting that host modifies the temperature impact, or vice versa. Additionally, we show that the relative fat content has a host-dependent, discontinuous response to developmental temperature. This implies that a potential switch in resource allocation, from more investment in growth at lower temperatures to storage at higher temperatures, is dependent on the larval diet. Interestingly, a large proportion of the variance in larval performance is explained by differences among families, or interactions with this variable. Finally, we demonstrate that these family-specific responses to the host plant remain largely consistent across thermal environments. Together, the results of our study underscore the importance of paying attention to intraspecific trait variation in the field of evolutionary ecology.

CeutaOPEN, individual-based field observations of breeding snowy plovers Charadrius nivosus

Shorebirds (part of the order Charadriiformes) have a global distribution and exhibit remarkable variation in ecological and behavioural traits that are pertinent to many core questions in the fields of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology. Shorebirds are also relatively convenient to study in the wild as they are ground nesting and often occupy open habitats that are tractable to monitor. Here we present a database documenting the reproductive ecology of 1,647 individually marked snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus) monitored between 2006 and 2016 at Bahía de Ceuta (23°54N, 106°57W) – an important breeding site in north-western Mexico. The database encompasses various morphological, behavioural, and fitness-related traits of males and females along with spatial and temporal population dynamics. This open resource will serve as an important data repository for addressing overarching questions in avian ecology and wetland conservation during an era of big data and global collaborative science.

Economic and social resilience accounts for the recovery of Ibiza’s tourism sector

Islands tend to offer almost everything needed to become a tourist destination, such as good weather, beaches and landscapes, but it also requires the provision of competitively priced transport services, lodging and entertainment. This supply is not possible without a competent business community and a social consensus able to cope with the downsides of tourism development for the local population. Both of these two elements were present in Ibiza in the nineteen-thirties, when the island became a key tourist destination. The growth of Ibiza’s tourism sector was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, followed by the Second World War and subsequently by several years of total isolation. The island’s tourism began a robust revival in 1950 and rose to become one of the leading destinations for mass tourism in the nineteen-sixties. This extraordinary resilience was built on the recovery of previously accumulated physical, human and social capital and on the capacity of the local business community to reinvent their product and adapt it to new circumstances. Ascertaining the foundations of this resilience is the central aim of this study. Consequently, the following methodology and tools of economic history are used: demand analysis, identification of capital sources and professional skills, and origins of applied innovations. The study also employs the concept of attractors, which is borrowed from the field of evolutionary ecology.

Insights from intralocus tactical conflict: adaptive states, interactions with ecology and population divergence

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) have improved our understanding of the evolution of adaptive variation; for instance, their study has led us to understand that the best phenotype (e.g. large and flashy) for a tactic that uses one mating behavior (e.g. court females) is often not the best phenotype (e.g. small and inconspicuous) for a tactic that uses a different mating behavior (e.g. chase and force‐copulate females). However, genetic correlations of shared traits across ARTs can constrain ARTs from reaching their optimal states, resulting in intralocus tactical conflict (IATC). While constraints on evolution in general have been well‐established and studied, there are some important implications of constraints due to intralocus tactical conflict on ARTs that have not been incorporated into the field of evolutionary ecology. Here we describe how an appreciation of IATC, including how to detect it and when to expect it, can change our perspectives in three areas: 1) adaptive states for traits associated with ARTs (e.g. growth rates, behavioural plasticity); 2) how selection due to ecological variation across populations can produce patterns of divergence between ARTS; 3) and the evolutionary stability of polymorphisms (e.g. how IATC can explain losses of one ART, and why this can lead to rapid speciation).

Эволюционная экология водных животных: концепция, предмет, опыт применения в анализе систем размножения

Излагаются основные понятия эволюционной экологии, приводится краткая историография вопроса и предпосылок возникновения данного раздела биологии; даются определения предмета исследования рассматриваемой дисциплины, краткие характеристики объектов изучения, основные концепции и методологические подходы. Указывается, что эволюционная экология ― это раздел эволюционного учения, посвящённый анализу адаптации и эволюции сообществ видов, фаун и биогеоценозов. Подчёркивается, что предметами изучения эволюционной экологии являются виды и популяции, а также сообщества, ценозы и экосистема. Основная идея данной работы сводится к попытке осуществления гносеологического синтеза двух базовых методологических подходов — экосистемного и популяционного. Постулируются два предпочтительных методических подхода в эволюционной экологии: во-первых, генетический, а именно популяционно-генетический, основанный на динамике частот полиморфных генов, молекулярно-генетический, анализирующий динамику частот пар нуклеотидов, и эволюционно-генетический, рассматривающий филогеографию и молекулярную филогению; во-вторых, эпигенетический, позволяющий, в частности, анализировать траектории развития морфологических структур. Постулированы принципиальные характеристики особенностей эволюционной экологии именно водных животных. Предпринята попытка обосновать тот факт, что эволюционная экология водных организмов в целом представляет больший интерес для изучения процессов адаптации и эволюции, нежели таковая наземных. В водной среде все абиотические факторы, тип репродукции и характер изоляции приобретают несколько бо́льшую значимость для эволюции. По основным позициям предмета предоставлены материалы исследований, которые и послужили основой для разработки собственных представлений об эволюционной экологии. Значительное место в работе уделено проблемам эволюционной и экологической значимости межвидовой гибридизации, в частности эффективной коадаптации геномов скрещивающихся видов. Сочетание у отдалённых гибридов разнородных геномов может сообщать эволюции геномов дополнительную и многополярную направленность, что позволяет рассматривать гибриды в качестве живой модели для изучения проблемы согласования работы разных геномов в онтогенезе, особенно в таком его критическом периоде, как раннее развитие. Предполагается, что успешность гибридизации обеспечивается путём формирования генетической программы системного отклика в ответ на структурные преобразования генома. Основным итогом наших изысканий в этой области стало не только обнаружение принципиально новой системы размножения позвоночных животных, но и определение эволюционно-экологических последствий естественной отдалённой гибридизации.

Honorary Lifetime Membership Award: Johanna Schmitt.

Previous articleNext article FreeHonorary Lifetime Membership Award: Johanna SchmittPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreThe American Society of Naturalists is pleased to announce that Johanna Schmitt—Annie to all of us who know her—has been named an Honorary Lifetime Member of the society. Annie received her doctorate from Stanford University, conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University, and then joined the faculty of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Brown University. She is now a professor at the University of California, Davis, and is a past president of both the Society for the Study of Evolution and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN). Annie has received numerous awards, including election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Annie’s research focuses on adaptation in heterogeneous and complex environments, with a strong focus on the genetic, physiological, and ecological mechanisms underlying plant adaptation. Her areas of research inquiry include the adaptive significance of maternal effects and the shade-avoidance syndrome, phenotypic plasticity and reaction norm evolution, genetic controls on flowering time in seasonally variable settings, and most recently, the potential for adaptation under a changing climate. Her groundbreaking work in these areas provided empirical demonstrations of adaptive plasticity, shaped subsequent research on the evolution of adaptive strategies, and demonstrated the explanatory power of integrating genetic and genomic information and approaches into ecologically relevant field studies.Among many seminal studies, she performed a series of experiments providing support for functional and ecological hypotheses related to the adaptive significance of shade-avoidance responses. The shade-avoidance network enables plants to perceive light-quality cues of neighbor proximity and elicits a suite of integrated phenotypic responses, such as increased stem elongation and accelerated flowering. Based on known controls of shade-avoidance phenotypes, Annie’s studies used either genetic or environmental “engineering” to elicit diverse shade-avoidance phenotypes. She used genetic manipulations of photoreceptors in tobacco and Brassica rapa (which effectively expressed canalized elongation phenotypes) to test the functional hypothesis that elongation enhances performance under high-density settings but reduces fitness under low plant density (Schmitt et al. 1995, American Naturalist 146:937–953). This study provided rare empirical evidence that plasticity is adaptive, that is, that the expression of alternative phenotypes across divergent microsites improves fitness. Subsequent studies in her lab used elegant manipulations of light quality to either enhance or suppress stem elongation to test adaptive hypotheses within open and understory populations of Impatiens capensis. These studies showed that experimentally suppressed plants with short stature had lower fitness than elongated plants when growing at high density, but they had higher fitness at low density (Dudley and Schmitt 1996, American Naturalist 147:445–465). A related study also showed adaptive differentiation among populations in plasticity to light cues of neighbor proximity (Dudley and Schmitt 1995, Functional Ecology 9:655–666).Annie’s group has been at the forefront of recent attempts to integrate genomic information and the power of model systems such as Arabidopsis into ecological field studies. Her work spans quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, studies of natural variation, association mapping and genome-wide association study (GWAS), and, recently, mechanistic modeling of the environmental and genetic influences on the transition to flowering. Among other findings, her ambitious field studies in Arabidopsis’s native range have shown that alleles associated with high fitness in a common garden are at higher frequencies in those regions (Fournier-Level et al. 2011, Science 334:86–89) and upheld predictions of life-history theory on the association between mortality and selection on reproductive timing (Fournier-Level et al. 2013, Molecular Ecology 22:3552–3566).Through groundbreaking integration of mechanistic information into ecologically relevant field studies, Annie’s research will have enduring and significant impact on the field of evolutionary ecology. Her personal enthusiasm for field research and organismal biology has also inspired a generation of biologists. Finally, her focus on mechanisms ranging from genetic to whole-plant phenotypes embodies the American Society of Naturalists’ goal of enhancing the conceptual unification of the biological sciences.Cynthia Weinig and John Stinchcombe, on behalf of the ASN Executive Committee Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 189, Number 4April 2017 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/691001 HistoryPublished online March 01, 2017 © 2017 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Beneficial effects of group size on oxidative balance in a wild cooperative breeder

Social factors have important effects on individuals’ fitness, yet the proximate mechanisms remain virtually unknown. Oxidative stress, which results from the imbalance between the systemic effect of reactive oxygen species on molecules and an organism’s capacity to restore oxidative balance, is one potential mechanism mediating such effects. Although individuals’ oxidative balance seems to be affected by their social status, the effects of social environment, and particularly group size and composition, on oxidative balance have seldom been determined in wild populations. Here, we investigated the influence of group size and composition on the oxida- tive balance of wild dominant Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota). We simultaneously measured an index of circulating oxidative damage to lipids (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and specific activity of the main enzymatic antioxidant defense (superoxide dismutase). Our results showed a marked decrease in both oxidative damage and antioxidant activity in individuals from larger groups, highlighting a beneficial effect of group size on individuals’ oxidative balance. We discussed the possibility that these physiological benefits originate from social thermoregulation alleviating the cost of hibernation. This study extends our understanding of the proxi- mate factors underpinning the evolution of sociality and opens up novel perspectives within the field of evolutionary ecology.

Approaches to plant evolutionary ecology

An ecologically-oriented text that incorporates many modern studies that employ molecular genetics methods to investigate evolutionary questions in wild plants. A significant contribution to undergraduate and graduate training in the field of evolutionary ecology

The evolution of parental care, aposematism and color diversity in Neotropical poison frogs

This Special Issue demonstrates the breadth of evolutionary ecology research occurring on Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae). It also draws attention to the incredible diversity of the poison frogs themselves (phenotypic, behavioral and taxonomic diversity) and this group's potential for research programs focusing on speciation, the evolution of toxicity, color pattern diversity, Mullerian and Batesian mimicry, sexual selection, mating systems and parental care. This Special Issue focused on two key research foci in the field of evolutionary ecology: (1) Understanding the interplay between ecology and the evolution of parental care and (2) Elucidating the ecological factors contributing to the evolution of toxicity, aposematism and color pattern diversity. In this paper, I summarize the major findings of studies presented in this Special Issue. Understanding the interplay between ecology and the evolution of parental care Parent poison frogs transport and subsequently deposit their tadpoles in pools of water. The evolutionary transition from terrestrial to smaller arboreal phytotelmata for tadpole deposition is thought to be driven by a reduction in competition and predation associated with smaller tadpole nurseries. This transition is considered a key evolutionary innovation, allowing access to relatively unexploited resources and facilitating the evolution of many novel breeding strategies. To date, there are only a few empirical examples in dendrobatids to support this hypothesis (Weygoldt 1980; Caldwell 1997; Brown et al. 2010). Field experimentation by McKeon and Summers (2013) present a more complete picture of the interactions between the natural history of Allobates femoralis and the tadpole predators present. Their results suggest that pool size, the presence of predatory insects and inter- actions between predators (and indirect effects on tadpoles) influence larval deposition in A. femoralis. Previous research on Ranitomeya species, a genus distantly related to Allobates, has demonstrated that adults also assess multiple aspects of reproductive resources to

沙丘稀有种准噶尔无叶豆花部综合特征与传粉适应性

The only way to get the objective and comprehensive cognition of floral syndrome is to do research on pollination ecology together. The evolution of floral characteristics and pollination adaptation is always one of the core problems in the field of evolutionary ecology. The significance and protection work of rare species under special ecosystem have raised an increasingly concern. Eremosparton songoricum( Litv.) Vass. is a rare species and only distributes on mobile and semimobile sand dunes,which also contributes to desert stabilization. The previous investigation data showed that the fruit set and seed set were both less than 16%,and the rate of germination and seedling establishment was less than 3% and0. 1%,respectively,which indicated that some weakness probably existed in the reproductive cycle. The goals of our study are to analyze the obstacle of sexual reproduction and to understand the adaptive reproductive strategies and,eventually to propose protective plans through a series of field investigation and laboratory analysis on floral traits and pollination characteristics. We did our research in wild population in the north edge of Gurbantunggut Desert,Xinjiang,China. Results showed that the flowering span of the population,infloresence and single flowering were approximately 21 d,7—12 d and 3d,respectively. The life span of single flower would prolong 2 d when overcast and rain occurred. The keel kept closed during whole flowering period. This floral trait is an adaptive exhibition to desert environment. The flowers finished anther dehiscence before standard pedal opened. E. songoricum relied on nectar secretion,fresh color of pedals and the yellow radiate veins at the basal of standard pedal to attract pollinators. There are four effective pollinators and all are bees without exception. The average visiting frequency of effective pollinators was 7. 75 ± 0. 57 times · flower-1· d-1. The visiting frequency showed triple-climax: 13: 00—14: 00,16: 00—17: 00 and 19: 00—20: 00. Colletes popovi Nosk. was the most frequent pollinators of E. songoricum,which accounted for 79. 2% of the whole visiting behavior. Most of the visiting behavior( 65. 8 ± 1. 1) % of C. popovi occurred among inflorescence within the same individual,which indicated that geitonogamy was the main mating pattern in the wild. E. songoricum exhibited a mixed mating system. It was self-compatible with autonomous selfing rarely happening,and reproductive success relied on pollinators. Inbreeding depression played a role during the period from fertilization to fruit maturation. Stigmatic cuticle and pollen brush showed that E. songoricum inclined to outcrossing,because both structures decreased self-pollination at a certain extent. Holding the existing habitat area,artificial apiculture or artificial pollination may be an effective way to improve the sexual reproductive ability of E.songoricum.

Digit ratio, color polymorphism and egg testosterone in the Australian painted dragon.

Variation in exposure to sex hormones during early development contributes to phenotypic plasticity in vertebrate offspring. As a proposed marker for prenatal sex hormone exposure and because of their association with various physiological and behavioral characteristics, digit ratio and/or digit length have received notable interest within the field of evolutionary ecology. However, the validity of digit measures as a proxy of prenatal sex hormone exposure is controversial and only few studies have provided direct evidence for the link between digit development and prenatal sex hormones. Here, we report morph- and sex-specific variation in digit ratio in wild painted dragon lizards (Ctenophorus pictus). Lizards expressing a yellow bib have significantly larger third-to-fourth toe ratios (3D:4D) than lizards without a bib. Males have significantly smaller 3D:4D than females. Furthermore, we show that experimental elevation of yolk testosterone significantly increases 3D:4D in hatchling painted dragon lizards, but has no influence on hatchling size. Our results provide direct and indirect evidence for the involvement of prenatal sex steroids in digit development and it is suggested that digit ratio may be used as a biomarker for prenatal steroid exposure in this reptilian species. As such, digit ratio may provide a useful tool to study temporal or spatial differences in the proximate hormonal mechanisms modulating physiological and behavioural phenotypes.

Reference genes for QRT-PCR tested under various stress conditions in Folsomia candida and Orchesella cincta (Insecta, Collembola)

BackgroundGenomic studies measuring transcriptional responses to changing environments and stress currently make their way into the field of evolutionary ecology and ecotoxicology. To investigate a small to medium number of genes or to confirm large scale microarray studies, Quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR (QRT-PCR) can achieve high accuracy of quantification when key standards, such as normalization, are carefully set. In this study, we validated potential reference genes for their use as endogenous controls under different chemical and physical stresses in two species of soil-living Collembola, Folsomia candida and Orchesella cincta. Treatments for F. candida were cadmium exposure, phenanthrene exposure, desiccation, heat shock and pH stress, and for O. cincta cadmium, desiccation, heat shock and starvation.ResultsEight potential reference genes for F. candida and seven for O. cincta were ranked by their stability per stress factor using the programs geNorm and Normfinder. For F. candida the succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA) and eukaryotic transcription initiation factor 1A (ETIF) genes were found the most stable over the different treatments, while for O. cincta, the beta actin (ACTb) and tyrosine 3-monooxygenase (YWHAZ) genes were the most stable.ConclusionWe present a panel of reference genes for two emerging ecological genomic model species tested under a variety of treatments. Within each species, different treatments resulted in differences in the top stable reference genes. Moreover, the two species differed in suitable reference genes even when exposed to similar stresses. This might be attributed to dissimilarity of physiology. It is vital to rigorously test a panel of reference genes for each species and treatment, in advance of relative quantification of QRT-PCR gene expression measurements.

The origin of modern ornithology in Europe

During the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, ornithology was deeply subdivided into systematic ornithology and field ornithology (natural history of birds). In the early 1920s, Erwin Stresemann (1889–1972) in Berlin, Germany, initiated the integration of both branches into a unified New Avian Biology through a change of the editorial policy of Journal für Ornithologie and through the publication of his large volume Aves (1927–1934) in Handbuch der Zoologie which became the founding document of modern ornithology in central Europe (“Stresemann revolution”). It was quickly recognized that birds are well suited for studies into the problems of functional morphology, physiology, ecology, behaviour, and orientation of animals. The “Stresemann revolution” went unnoticed in Great Britain, where the established editorial policy of the leading ornithological journal, The Ibis, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s was to publish articles based on a traditional definition of science, fact-gathering rather than answering open questions. Several authors who had published biological studies since 1900 remained on the fringes of British ornithology. One of these was David Lack (1910–1973) who, during the mid-1940s, was able to introduce the New Avian Biology to the United Kingdom against the resistance of the majority of conservatively minded older British ornithologists. As his own contributions to the New Avian Biology, Lack added the broad fields of evolutionary ecology and population biology of birds which, under his leadership, became the major research topics of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford.

2007 American Society of Naturalists Awards

2007 American Society of Naturalists Awards

The Evolution of Resistance and Tolerance to Herbivores

Tolerance and resistance are two different plant defense strategies against herbivores. Empirical evidence in natural populations reveals that individual plants allocate resources simultaneously to both strategies, thus plants exhibit a mixed pattern of defense. In this review we examine the conditions that promote the evolutionary stability of mixed defense strategies in the light of available empirical and theoretical evidence. Given that plant tolerance and resistance are heritable and subject to environmentally dependent selection and genetic constraints, the joint evolution of tolerance and resistance is analyzed, with consideration of multiple species interactions and the plant mating system. The existence of mixed defense strategies in plants makes it necessary to re-explore the coevolutionary process between plants and herbivores, which centered historically on resistance as the only defensive mechanism. In addition, we recognize briefly the potential use of plant tolerance for pest management. Finally, we highlight unresolved issues for future development in this field of evolutionary ecology.

Hur görs djur? Könsstereotyper och androcentrism i studier av andra arter än Homo sapiens

The field of evolutionary ecology in general and behavioural ecology in particular is often regarded as an androcentric science where sexual stereotypes pervade. In this article the authors review some of the evidence for this notion and suggest that behavioural ecology still is suffering from such gender bias. The criticism so far has mainly been centred on howthese problems affect the understanding of humans. Here the authors focus on how it can produce misconceptions of animals and animal behaviour. In particular the authors discuss why gender perspectives are relevant to theory production, experiment design and the choice of study species. It is suggested that sexual stereotypes and androcentrism are not a necessary part of behavioural ecology, and that the field has the potential of producing knowledge that could revolutionize some of the thinking around sex and gender.