More Like this

1. Ancient crested penguin constrains timing of recruitment into seabird hotspot

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1497  

   Thomas, Daniel B. ; Tennyson, Alan J. ; Scofield, R. Paul ; Heath, Tracy A. ; Pett, Walker ; Ksepka, Daniel T. ( August 2020 , Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   New Zealand is a globally significant hotspot for seabird diversity, but the sparse fossil record for most seabird lineages has impeded our understanding of how and when this hotspot developed. Here, we describe multiple exceptionally well-preserved specimens of a new species of penguin from tightly dated (3.36–3.06 Ma) Pliocene deposits in New Zealand. Bayesian and parsimony analyses place Eudyptes atatu sp. nov. as the sister species to all extant and recently extinct members of the crested penguin genus Eudyptes . The new species has a markedly more slender upper beak and mandible compared with other Eudyptes penguins. Our combined evidence approach reveals that deep bills evolved in both crested and stiff-tailed penguins ( Pygoscelis ) during the Pliocene. That deep bills arose so late in the greater than 60 million year evolutionary history of penguins suggests that dietary shifts may have occurred as wind-driven Pliocene upwelling radically restructured southern ocean ecosystems. Ancestral area reconstructions using BioGeoBEARS identify New Zealand as the most likely ancestral area for total-group penguins, crown penguins and crested penguins. Our analyses provide a timeframe for recruitment of crown penguins into the New Zealand avifauna, indicating this process began in the late Neogene and was completed viamore »multiple waves of colonizing lineages.« less
2. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts

   Bertrand, O.C. ; Brusatte, S. L. ; Shelley, S. L. ; Wible, J. R. ; Williamson, T. E. ; Chester, S. G. ; Holbrook, L. T. ; Lyson, T. R. ; Smith, T. ; Meng, J. ( October 2020 , Society of Vertebrate paleontology)

   The end-Cretaceous mass extinction, 66 million years ago, profoundly reshaped the biodiversity of our planet. After likely originating in the Cretaceous, placental mammals (species giving live birth to well-developed young) survived the extinction and quickly diversified in the ensuing Paleocene. Compared to Mesozoic species, extant placentals have advanced neurosensory abilities, enabled by a proportionally large brain with an expanded neocortex. This brain construction was acquired by the Eocene, but its origins, and how its evolution relates to extinction survivorship and recovery, are unclear, because little is known about the neurosensory systems of Paleocene species. We used high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning to build digital brain models in 29 extinct placentals (including 23 from the Paleocene). We added these to data from the literature to construct a database of 98 taxa, from the Jurassic to the Eocene, which we assessed in a phylogenetic context. We find that the Phylogenetic Encephalization Quotient (PEQ), a measure of relative brain size, increased in the Cretaceous along branches leading to Placentalia, but then decreased in Paleocene clades (taeniodonts,phenacodontids, pantodonts, periptychids, and arctocyonids). Later, during the Eocene, the PEQ increased independently in all crown groups (e.g., euarchontoglirans and laurasiatherians). The Paleocene decline in PEQ was drivenmore »by body mass increasing much more rapidly after the extinction than brain volume. The neocortex remained small, relative to the rest of the brain, in Paleocene taxa and expanded independently in Eocene crown groups. The relative size of the olfactory bulbs, however, remained relatively stable over time, except for a major decrease in Euarchontoglires and some Eocene artiodactyls, while the petrosal lobules (associated with eye movement coordination) decreased in size in Laurasiatheria but increased in Euarchontoglires. Our results indicate that an enlarged, modern-style brain was not instrumental to the survival of placental mammal ancestors at the end-Cretaceous, nor to their radiation in the Paleocene. Instead, opening of new ecological niches post-extinction promoted the diversification of larger body sizes, while brain and neocortex sizes lagged behind. The independent increase in PEQ in Eocene crown groups is related to the expansion of the neocortex, possibly a response to ecological specialization as environments changed, long after the extinction.« less
3. Landscape Genomics Provides Evidence of Ecotypic Adaptation and a Barrier to Gene Flow at Treeline for the Arctic Foundation Species Eriophorum vaginatum

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.860439  

   Stunz, Elizabeth ; Fetcher, Ned ; Lavretsky, Philip ; Mohl, Jonathon E. ; Tang, Jianwu ; Moody, Michael L. ( March 2022 , Frontiers in Plant Science)

   Global climate change has resulted in geographic range shifts of flora and fauna at a global scale. Extreme environments, like the Arctic, are seeing some of the most pronounced changes. This region covers 14% of the Earth’s land area, and while many arctic species are widespread, understanding ecotypic variation at the genomic level will be important for elucidating how range shifts will affect ecological processes. Tussock cottongrass ( Eriophorum vaginatum L.) is a foundation species of the moist acidic tundra, whose potential decline due to competition from shrubs may affect ecosystem stability in the Arctic. We used double-digest Restriction Site-Associated DNA sequencing to identify genomic variation in 273 individuals of E. vaginatum from 17 sites along a latitudinal gradient in north central Alaska. These sites have been part of 30 + years of ecological research and are inclusive of a region that was part of the Beringian refugium. The data analyses included genomic population structure, demographic models, and genotype by environment association. Genome-wide SNP investigation revealed environmentally associated variation and population structure across the sampled range of E. vaginatum , including a genetic break between populations north and south of treeline. This structure is likely the result of subrefugial isolation,more »contemporary isolation by resistance, and adaptation. Forty-five candidate loci were identified with genotype-environment association (GEA) analyses, with most identified genes related to abiotic stress. Our results support a hypothesis of limited gene flow based on spatial and environmental factors for E. vaginatum , which in combination with life history traits could limit range expansion of southern ecotypes northward as the tundra warms. This has implications for lower competitive attributes of northern plants of this foundation species likely resulting in changes in ecosystem productivity.« less
4. Introducing IPOACHED: A conservation criminology-based framework to understand wildlife species targeted by poachers in protected areas

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2022.992621  

   Kahler, Jessica S. ; Rivera, Christian J. ; Gore, Meredith L. ( December 2022 , Frontiers in Conservation Science)

   The criminogenic dimensions of conservation are highly relevant to contemporary protected area management. Research on crime target suitability in the field of criminology has built new understanding regarding how the characteristics of the crime targets affect their suitability for being targeted by offenders. In the last decade, criminologists have sought to apply and adapt target suitability frameworks to explain wildlife related crimes. This study seeks to build upon the extant knowledge base and advance adaptation and application of target suitability research. First, we drew on research, fieldwork, and empirical evidence from conservation science to develop a poaching-stage model with a focus on live specimens or wild animals - rather than a market stage and wildlife product -focused target suitability model. Second, we collected data in the Intensive Protection Zone of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP), Sumatra, Indonesia through surveys with local community members (n=400), and a three-day focus group with conservation practitioners (n= 25). Our target suitability model, IPOACHED, predicts that species that are in-demand , passive , obtainable , all-purpose , conflict-prone , hideable , extractable , and disposable are more suitable species for poaching and therefore more vulnerable. When applying our IPOACHED model, we find that themore »most common response to species characteristics that drive poaching in BBSNP was that they are in-demand , with support for cultural or symbolic value (n=101 of respondents, 25%), ecological value (n=164, 35%), and economic value (n=234, 59%). There was moderate support for the conflict-prone dimension of the IPOACHED model (n=70, 18%). Other factors, such as a species lack of passiveness , obtainability and extractability , hamper poaching regardless of value. Our model serves as an explanatory or predictive tool for understanding poaching within a conservation-based management unit (e.g., a protected area) rather than for a specific use market (e.g., pets). Conservation researchers and practitioners can use and adapt our model and survey instruments to help explain and predict poaching of species through the integration of knowledge and opinions from local communities and conservation professionals, with the ultimate goal of preventing wildlife poaching.« less
5. Biogeographic parallels in thermal tolerance and gene expression variation under temperature stress in a widespread bumble bee

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73391-8  

   Pimsler, Meaghan L. ; Oyen, Kennan J. ; Herndon, James D. ; Jackson, Jason M. ; Strange, James P. ; Dillon, Michael E. ; Lozier, Jeffrey D. ( October 2020 , Scientific Reports)

   Global temperature changes have emphasized the need to understand how species adapt to thermal stress across their ranges. Genetic mechanisms may contribute to variation in thermal tolerance, providing evidence for how organisms adapt to local environments. We determine physiological thermal limits and characterize genome-wide transcriptional changes at these limits in bumble bees using laboratory-rearedBombus vosnesenskiiworkers. We analyze bees reared from latitudinal (35.7–45.7°N) and altitudinal (7–2154 m) extremes of the species’ range to correlate thermal tolerance and gene expression among populations from different climates. We find that critical thermal minima (CT_MIN) exhibit strong associations with local minimums at the location of queen origin, while critical thermal maximum (CT_MAX) was invariant among populations. Concordant patterns are apparent in gene expression data, with regional differentiation following cold exposure, and expression shifts invariant among populations under high temperatures. Furthermore, we identify several modules of co-expressed genes that tightly correlate with critical thermal limits and temperature at the region of origin. Our results reveal that local adaptation in thermal limits and gene expression may facilitate cold tolerance across a species range, whereas high temperature responses are likely constrained, both of which may have implications for climate change responses of bumble bees.