Selection on an antagonistic behavioral trait can drive rapid genital coevolution in the burying beetle, <i>Nicrophorus vespilloides</i>

Hopwood, Paul; Head, Megan L.; Jordan, Eleanor J.; Carter, Mauricio J.; Davey, Emma; Moore, Allen J.; Royle, Nick J.

doi:10.1111/evo.12938

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Sexual selection has generally been considered to be a positive diversifying force driving the evolution of genitalia and increases in the rate of speciation (Darwin 1871;Panhuis et al 2001;Hosken & Stockley 2004). Recent studies have contributed to our understanding of divergence and coevolution in animal genitalia (Eberhard 2010;Masly 2012;Hopwood et al 2016), but most of those works have lacked data on female genitalia (Eberhard 1985(Eberhard , 2004. However, the exact mechanisms that have promoted the rapid genital divergence in many groups (including the freshwater crabs) remain debatable and are still mostly unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid divergent coevolution of Sinopotamon freshwater crab genitalia facilitates a burst of species diversification

Yao

Shi

Wang

et al. 2020

Integrative Zoology

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One of the most striking radiations in brachyuran evolution is the considerable morphological diversification of the external reproductive structures of primary freshwater crabs: the male first gonopod (G1) and the female vulva (FV). However, the lack of quantitative studies, especially the lack of data on female genitalia, has seriously limited our understanding of genital evolution in these lineages. Here we examined 69 species of the large Chinese potamid freshwater crab genus Sinopotamon Bott, 1967 (more than 80% of the described species). We used a landmark-based geometric morphometric approach to analyze variation in the shape of the G1 and FV, and to compare the relative degree of variability of the genitalia with non-reproductive structures (the third maxillipeds). We found rapid divergent evolution of the genitalia among species of Sinopotamon when compared to non-reproductive traits. In addition, the reconstruction of ancestral groundplans, together with plotting analyses, indicated that the FV show the most rapid divergence, and that changes in FV traits correlate with changes in G1 traits. Here we provide new evidence for coevolution between the male and female external genitalia of Sinopotamon that has likely contributed to rapid divergent evolution and an associated burst of speciation in this lineage.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid divergent coevolution of Sinopotamon freshwater crab genitalia facilitates a burst of species diversification

Yao

Shi

Wang

et al. 2020

Integrative Zoology

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“…Most studies that have reported on female genital shape variation have utilized two‐dimensional (2D) geometric morphometric techniques (Evans, van Lieshout, & Gasparini, ; Hopwood et al., ; Orbach et al., ; Polihronakis, ; Simmons & García‐González, ). However, with the increase in the accessibility of three‐dimensional (3D) scanning technologies and analysis software, more studies are beginning to utilize 3D techniques to capture a level of variation that is not possible with 2D methods (Semple, Peakall, & Tatarnic, ; Tatsuta, Takahashi, & Sakamaki, ).…”

Section: Where To Next For the Study Of Female Genitalia?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using artificial selection lines on the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides , Hopwood et al. () selected for high or low mating rate finding that after only 10 generations, the genital morphology of beetles in the lines selected for high and low mating rates had diverged relative to control lines. Furthermore, male and female genitalia were found to coevolve within selection lines.…”

Section: Where To Next For the Study Of Female Genitalia?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of female genitalia

Sloan

Simmons

2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Female genitalia have been largely neglected in studies of genital evolution, perhaps due to the long‐standing belief that they are relatively invariable and therefore taxonomically and evolutionarily uninformative in comparison with male genitalia. Contemporary studies of genital evolution have begun to dispute this view, and to demonstrate that female genitalia can be highly diverse and covary with the genitalia of males. Here, we examine evidence for three mechanisms of genital evolution in females: species isolating ‘lock‐and‐key’ evolution, cryptic female choice and sexual conflict. Lock‐and‐key genital evolution has been thought to be relatively unimportant; however, we present cases that show how species isolation may well play a role in the evolution of female genitalia. Much support for female genital evolution via sexual conflict comes from studies of both invertebrate and vertebrate species; however, the effects of sexual conflict can be difficult to distinguish from models of cryptic female choice that focus on putative benefits of choice for females. We offer potential solutions to alleviate this issue. Finally, we offer directions for future studies in order to expand and refine our knowledge surrounding female genital evolution.

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“…Genital shape, rather than size, is often used by taxonomists as a means of distinguishing between closely related species [58,59], implying greater divergence in genitalic shape than size [22]. Indeed, numerous experimental evolution studies have found direct evidence for sexual selection acting on genital shape across a range of taxa [23,60,61].…”

Section: Genital Shape Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is therefore considerable interest in developing automated methods capable of quantifying shape across such complex and diverse structures as animal genitalia. In some instances, traditional landmark-based GMM techniques have been applied [60,[62][63][64][65]. Such studies frequently consider genital shape variation intraspecifically, or between morphologically similar sister taxa [66,67].…”

Section: Genital Shape Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpha shapes: Determining 3D shape complexity across morphologically diverse structures

Gardiner

Brassey

2018

Preprint

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Background. Following recent advances in bioimaging, high-resolution 3D models of biological structures are now generated rapidly and at low-cost. To utilise this data to address evolutionary and ecological questions, an array of tools has been developed to conduct 3D shape analysis and quantify topographic complexity. Here we focus particularly on shape techniques applied to irregular-shaped objects lacking clear homologous landmarks, and propose the new ‘alpha-shapes’ method for quantifying 3D shape complexity. Methods. We apply alpha-shapes to quantify shape complexity in the mammalian baculum as an example of a morphologically disparate structure. Micro- computed-tomography (μCT) scans of bacula were conducted. Bacula were binarised and converted into point clouds. Following application of a scaling factor to account for absolute differences in size, a suite of alpha-shapes was fitted to each specimen. An alpha shape is a formed from a subcomplex of the Delaunay triangulation of a given set of points, and ranges in refinement from a very coarse mesh (approximating convex hulls) to a very fine fit. ‘Optimal’ alpha was defined as the degree of refinement necessary in order for alpha-shape volume to equal CT voxel volume, and was taken as a metric of overall shape ‘complexity’. Results Our results show that alpha-shapes can be used to quantify interspecific variation in shape ‘complexity’ within biological structures of disparate geometry. The ‘stepped’ nature of alpha curves is informative with regards to the contribution of specific morphological features to overall shape ‘complexity’. Alpha-shapes agrees with other measures of topographic complexity (dissection index, Dirichlet normal energy) in identifying ursid bacula as having low shape complexity. However, alpha-shapes estimates mustelid bacula as possessing the highest topographic complexity, contrasting with other shape metrics. 3D fractal dimension is found to be an inappropriate metric of complexity when applied to bacula. Conclusions. The alpha-shapes methodology can be used to calculate ‘optimal’ alpha refinement as a proxy for shape ‘complexity’ without identifying landmarks. The implementation of alpha-shapes is straightforward, and is automated to process large datasets quickly. Beyond genital shape, we consider the alpha-shapes technique to hold considerable promise for new applications across evolutionary, ecological and palaeoecological disciplines.

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Selection on an antagonistic behavioral trait can drive rapid genital coevolution in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides

Cited by 12 publications

References 49 publications

Rapid divergent coevolution of Sinopotamon freshwater crab genitalia facilitates a burst of species diversification

Rapid divergent coevolution of Sinopotamon freshwater crab genitalia facilitates a burst of species diversification

The evolution of female genitalia

Alpha shapes: Determining 3D shape complexity across morphologically diverse structures

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