Mclaughlinrocha4086

Cod DNA was observed in dogfish stomachs year round in January (1 of 1 trip), February (1 of 1), May (1 of 3), June (0 of 1), July (3 of 4), August (1 of 2), and October (3 of 3). Although these data suggest higher interaction rates between dogfish and cod than previously observed, addressing the population consequences of this predator-prey relationship requires a robust sampling design, estimates of digestion rates by dogfish to account for complete degradation of DNA sequences, and consideration for dogfish scavenging during fishing operations.Discovered in the 1960s, Meloidogyne graminicola is a root-knot nematode species considered as a major threat to rice production. Yet, its origin, genomic structure, and intraspecific diversity are poorly understood. So far, such studies have been limited by the unavailability of a sufficiently complete and well-assembled genome. In this study, using a combination of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Illumina sequencing data, we generated a highly contiguous reference genome (283 scaffolds with an N50 length of 294 kb, totaling 41.5 Mb). The completeness scores of our assembly are among the highest currently published for Meloidogyne genomes. CP 43 mw We predicted 10,284 protein-coding genes spanning 75.5% of the genome. Among them, 67 are identified as possibly originating from horizontal gene transfers (mostly from bacteria), which supposedly contribute to nematode infection, nutrient processing, and plant defense manipulation. Besides, we detected 575 canonical transposable elements (TEs) belonging to seven orders and spanning 2.61% of the genome. These TEs might promote genomic plasticity putatively related to the evolution of M. graminicola parasitism. This high-quality genome assembly constitutes a major improvement regarding previously available versions and represents a valuable molecular resource for future phylogenomic studies of Meloidogyne species. In particular, this will foster comparative genomic studies to trace back the evolutionary history of M. graminicola and its closest relatives.Explaining the evolutionary origin and maintenance of color polymorphisms is a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Such polymorphisms are commonly thought to reflect the existence of alternative behavioral or life-history strategies under negative frequency-dependent selection. The European common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibits a striking ventral color polymorphism that has been intensely studied and is often assumed to reflect alternative reproductive strategies, similar to the iconic "rock-paper-scissors" system described in the North American lizard Uta stansburiana. However, available studies so far have ignored central aspects in the behavioral ecology of this species that are crucial to assess the existence of alternative reproductive strategies. Here, we try to fill this gap by studying the social behavior, space use, and reproductive performance of lizards showing different color morphs, both in a free-ranging population from the eastern Pyrenees and in ten experimental mesocosm enclosures. In the natural population, we found no differences between morphs in site fidelity, space use, or male-female spatial overlap. Likewise, color morph was irrelevant to sociosexual behavior, space use, and reproductive success within experimental enclosures. Our results contradict the commonly held hypothesis that P. muralis morphs reflect alternative behavioral strategies, and suggest that we should instead turn our attention to alternative functional explanations.Plant adaptation to high altitudes has long been a substantial focus of ecological and evolutionary research. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying such adaptation remain poorly understood. Here, we address this issue by sampling, genotyping, and comparing populations of Tibetan poplar, Populus szechuanica var. tibetica, distributed from low (~2,000 m) to high altitudes (~3,000 m) of Sejila Mountain on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Population structure analyses allow clear classification of two groups according to their altitudinal distributions. However, in contrast to the genetic variation within each population, differences between the two populations only explain a small portion of the total genetic variation (3.64%). We identified asymmetrical gene flow from high- to low-altitude populations. Integrating population genomic and landscape genomic analyses, we detected two hotspot regions, one containing four genes associated with altitudinal variation, and the other containing ten genes associated with response to solar radiation. These genes participate in abiotic stress resistance and regulation of reproductive processes. Our results provide insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying high-altitude adaptation in Tibetan poplar.Causally consistent evenness measures can only be changed when the populations they refer to change. This novel property is deeply important for making causal inferences, and yet every prominent evenness measure is not causally consistent. This paper proposes a family of causally consistent evenness measures, and while any evenness measure can be made to be causally consistent, the family I introduce has the added benefit of a straightforward interpretation as a percentage evenness. I go on to illustrate the performance of these measures, and demonstrate the importance of causal consistency not only for causal inference but also for correctly reflecting the evenness of ecological communities. I also present several alternative transformations of my preferred measures, which work to address potential critiques in advance, communicate evenness to nontechnical audiences, and connect my work to more familiar ecological indicators.Vertebrate predation by invertebrates has been classically underexplored and thus underestimated, despite the fact that many arthropods consume vertebrates. To shed some light on the relevance that spider predation may have upon lizards in the Neotropical and Andean regions, we compiled the available information in the literature on this trophic interaction. We found 50 reports of spiders consuming lizards in these regions, and the 88% of these were from the Neotropical region. Spiders belong to eight families, but Ctenidae and Theraphosidae were the most frequently reported predators. Lizards belong to 12 families, and the most commonly consumed species corresponded to the families Dactyloidae (all Anolis lizards), Gymnophthalmidae, and Sphaerodactylidae. Data suggest trophic spider-lizard associations between Ctenidae and Dactyloidae, followed by Theraphosidae and Liolaemidae. The body sizes of the spiders and lizards showed a positive relationship, and spiders were smaller than their prey. We conclude that various spider taxa can be considered lizard predators and they may be ecologically important in the Neotropical and Andean regions.