Temperature-related phenotypic plasticity in the green microalga Micrasterias rotata

Neustupa, Jiří; Šťastný, J.; Hodač, Ladislav

doi:10.3354/ame01184

Cited by 34 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…), it is also possible that traits involved in interspecific competitive interactions evolve rapidly. Phenotypic plasticity in algae could also lead to rapid trait evolution [64][65][66][67], further obscuring phylogenetic signal of such traits. Different abiotic variables across lakes could lead to local adaptation, driving rapid evolution at a local scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary relatedness does not predict competition and co-occurrence in natural or experimental communities of green algae

et al. 2015

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The competition-relatedness hypothesis (CRH) predicts that the strength of competition is the strongest among closely related species and decreases as species become less related. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that common ancestry causes close relatives to share biological traits that lead to greater ecological similarity. Although intuitively appealing, the extent to which phylogeny can predict competition and co-occurrence among species has only recently been rigorously tested, with mixed results. When studies have failed to support the CRH, critics have pointed out at least three limitations: (i) the use of data poor phylogenies that provide inaccurate estimates of species relatedness, (ii) the use of inappropriate statistical models that fail to detect relationships between relatedness and species interactions amidst nonlinearities and heteroskedastic variances, and (iii) overly simplified laboratory conditions that fail to allow eco-evolutionary relationships to emerge. Here, we address these limitations and find they do not explain why evolutionary relatedness fails to predict the strength of species interactions or probabilities of coexistence among freshwater green algae. First, we construct a new datarich, transcriptome-based phylogeny of common freshwater green algae that are commonly cultured and used for laboratory experiments. Using this new phylogeny, we re-analyse ecological data from three previously published laboratory experiments. After accounting for the possibility of nonlinearities and heterogeneity of variances across levels of relatedness, we find no relationship between phylogenetic distance and ecological traits. In addition, we show that communities of North American green algae are randomly composed with respect to their evolutionary relationships in 99% of 1077 lakes spanning the continental United States. Together, these analyses result in one of the most comprehensive case studies of how evolutionary history influences species interactions and community assembly in both natural and experimental systems. Our results challenge the generality of the CRH and suggest it may be time to re-evaluate the validity and assumptions of this hypothesis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary relatedness does not predict competition and co-occurrence in natural or experimental communities of green algae

et al. 2015

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“…Even the traditional names of desmids in several languages reflect the shape complexity or ornamentation of their cells ('krásivky' in Czech is little beauties, 'Zieralgen' in German is beautiful algae). The quantitative shape information of desmid cells has recently been used in several geometric morphometric studies that concentrated on taxonomy (Neustupa & Š t'astný, 2006;Neustupa & Š kaloud, 2007), and the temperature-related plasticity of the genus Micrasterias (Neustupa et al, 2008). At the same time, the morphological variation of desmids was also studied by means of traditional morphometric methods utilizing measurements of distances and angles of cells (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pappas et al, 2001;Beszteri et al, 2005, Potapova & Hamilton, 2007, including studies of desmids (Neustupa & Škaloud, 2007;Neustupa et al, 2008). This methodological advancement now allows one to investigate the morphospace structure of natural desmid assemblages in phytobenthos.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and morphological disparity of desmid assemblages in Central European peatlands

2009

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Morphological disparity has increasingly been used as an alternative measure of biological diversity based on the shape features of organisms. In this study, we investigated the species diversity and morphological disparity of benthic Desmidiales in Central European peatland pools. The shape features of cells were determined using the 3-D elliptical Fourier analysis of their frontal and lateral views. The resulting morphospace was used to calculate the contributions of localities and species to the morphological variation. In addition, the disparity of samples and their average cell complexity (indicating intricacy of cell shapes) was evaluated. These data were related to species diversity data and to the abiotic factors. Species diversity was positively correlated with pH and conductivity. The low-pH localities generally supported a more variable species composition than did slightly acidic to neutral localities.Conversely, the total nitrogen concentrations of these areas negatively correlated with species diversity. Interestingly, partial morphological disparity (measuring the contribution of a sample to the overall morphological variation) did not correlate with species diversity. On the contrary, several mountain peat bog localities had high disparity values, irrespective of their rather low species diversity. In addition, several samples from minerotrophic fens with high diversity had average or low values of partial morphological disparity. These results indicate the relative importance of mountain peat bogs for the total morphological diversity of Desmidiales within the region that could not be ascertained solely from species diversity data. The inner morphological disparity of samples was highly correlated with their species diversity. Species of the genus Micrasterias, Hyalotheca dissiliens and Desmidium species had the highest partial morphological disparity, thus indicating their marginal position within the morphospace. Micrasterias and Euastrum species had the highest complexity values. The average cell complexity of individual samples did not correlate with their diversity or disparity; however, it was positively correlated with the levels of total nitrogen and phosphorus, and illustrates a pattern different from that arrived at by species diversity data.

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“…Multivariate regression of shape on centroid size explained 2.3% and 6.2% of variance in Mallomonas striata and Synura echinulata, respectively. Among photosynthetic protists, shape changes associated with cell size were described in Micrasterias semicells (NeuStuPa et al 2008; 37.5% of shape variation was explained by size), cenobial cells of Pediastrum duplex (NeuStuPa & hodač 2005; size accounted for 13.9% of total shape variation) and in frustules of a pennate diatom Achnanthidium (PotaPova & hamiLtoN 2007). In these organisms allometric effect was obviously associated with cellular growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the greatest scale shape plasticity was revealed at higher pH treatments, where growth of populations was optimal. Increased phenotypic plasticity has been correlated to environmental stress (kriSteNSeN et al 2003;NeuStuPa et al 2008), generally characterized by reduced growth. We propose that increased scale shape plasticity of synurales in environments approaching pH 9 is not associated with stress, but to a decreased availability of dissolved reactive silicon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shape dynamics of silica scales (Chrysophyceae, Stramenopiles) associated with pH.

Němcová¹,

Pichrtová²

2012

Fottea

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Abstract:We investigated the shape dynamics of silica scales in relation to environmental pH in two freshwater algal flagellates, Mallomonas striata and Synura echinulata, using landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics. pH has been implicated as a primary factor controlling the occurrence and distribution of these protists. Moreover, scales are preserved in sediments and provide important proxy data of past and recent environmental changes. We concluded that the pH of the cultivation medium significantly affected scale biogenesis and influenced the final shape of produced silica scales. In addition, we asked how size of the scales was related to their shape (allometric effect). Scales produced under various levels of pH treatment were significantly different in shape in both investigated species, even though we eliminated the effect of size. We also investigated phenotypic plasticity (defined as the extent of scale shape variation) within the investigated pH treatments. Increased phenotypic plasticity is generally accepted to be induced by environmental stress. The impact of pH on M. striata and S. echinulata population growth was used to evaluate optimal/suboptimal conditions. We revealed increased scale shape plasticity in either suboptimal conditions (both species) or in high level pH treatments (pH 8.2 and 8.7, in M. striata). The inability of cells to compose a perfectly fitting, functional scale case, when the shape of individual scales varied considerably, may cause absence of Synurales in highly alkaline natural environments.

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Temperature-related phenotypic plasticity in the green microalga Micrasterias rotata

Cited by 34 publications

References 24 publications

Evolutionary relatedness does not predict competition and co-occurrence in natural or experimental communities of green algae

Evolutionary relatedness does not predict competition and co-occurrence in natural or experimental communities of green algae

Diversity and morphological disparity of desmid assemblages in Central European peatlands

Shape dynamics of silica scales (Chrysophyceae, Stramenopiles) associated with pH.

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