skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Patterns in the genetic structure of 49 lowland rain forest tree species co‐distributed on opposite sides of the northern Andes
Title: Patterns in the genetic structure of 49 lowland rain forest tree species co‐distributed on opposite sides of the northern Andes
Abstract The Andes are a major dispersal barrier for lowland rain forest plants and animals, yet hundreds of lowland tree species are distributed on both sides of the northern Andes, raising questions about how the Andes influenced their biogeographic histories and population genetic structure. To explore these questions, we generated standardized datasets of thousands of SNPs from paired populations of 49 tree species co‐distributed in rain forest tree communities located in Panama and Amazonian Ecuador and calculated genetic diversity (π) and absolute genetic divergence (dXY) within and between populations, respectively. We predicted (1) higher genetic diversity in the ancestral source region (east or west of the Andes) for each taxon and (2) correlation of genetic statistics with species attributes, including elevational range and life‐history strategy. We found that genetic diversity was higher in putative ancestral source regions, possibly reflecting founder events during colonization. We found little support for a relationship between genetic divergence and species attributes except that species with higher elevational range limits exhibited higherdXY, implying older divergence times. One possible explanation for this pattern is that dispersal through mountain passes declined in importance relative to dispersal via alternative lowland routes as the Andes experienced uplift. We found no difference in mean genetic diversity between populations in Central America and the Amazon. Overall, our results suggest that dispersal across the Andes has left enduring signatures in the genetic structure of widespread rain forest trees. We outline additional hypotheses to be tested with species‐specific case studies.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2020424
PAR ID:
10567630
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Biotropica
Volume:
56
Issue:
2
ISSN:
0006-3606
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; (, PLOS Biology)
    Barton, Nick H. (Ed.)
    In the formation of species, adaptation by natural selection generates distinct combinations of traits that function well together. The maintenance of adaptive trait combinations in the face of gene flow depends on the strength and nature of selection acting on the underlying genetic loci. Floral pollination syndromes exemplify the evolution of trait combinations adaptive for particular pollinators. The North American wildflower genusPenstemondisplays remarkable floral syndrome convergence, with at least 20 separate lineages that have evolved from ancestral bee pollination syndrome (wide blue-purple flowers that present a landing platform for bees and small amounts of nectar) to hummingbird pollination syndrome (bright red narrowly tubular flowers offering copious nectar). Related taxa that differ in floral syndrome offer an attractive opportunity to examine the genomic basis of complex trait divergence. In this study, we characterized genomic divergence among 229 individuals from aPenstemonspecies complex that includes both bee and hummingbird floral syndromes. Field plants are easily classified into species based on phenotypic differences and hybrids displaying intermediate floral syndromes are rare. Despite unambiguous phenotypic differences, genome-wide differentiation between species is minimal. Hummingbird-adapted populations are more genetically similar to nearby bee-adapted populations than to geographically distant hummingbird-adapted populations, in terms of genome-widedXY. However, a small number of genetic loci are strongly differentiated between species. These approximately 20 “species-diagnostic loci,” which appear to have nearly fixed differences between pollination syndromes, are sprinkled throughout the genome in high recombination regions. Several map closely to previously established floral trait quantitative trait loci (QTLs). The striking difference between the diagnostic loci and the genome as whole suggests strong selection to maintain distinct combinations of traits, but with sufficient gene flow to homogenize the genomic background. A surprisingly small number of alleles confer phenotypic differences that form the basis of species identity in this species complex. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; (, Molecular Ecology)
    ABSTRACT Disentangling the drivers of genomic divergence during speciation is essential to our broader understanding of the generation of biological diversity. Genetic changes accumulate at variable rates across the genome as populations diverge, leading to heterogenous landscapes of genetic differentiation. The ‘islands of differentiation’ that characterise these landscapes harbour genetic signatures of the evolutionary processes that led to their formation, providing insight into the roles of these processes in adaptation and speciation. Here, we study swallows in the genusHirundoto investigate genomic landscapes of differentiation between species spanning a continuum of evolutionary divergence. Genomic differentiation spans a wide range of values (FST= 0.01–0.8) between species, with substantial heterogeneity in genome‐wide patterns. Genomic landscapes are strongly correlated among species (ρ= 0.46–0.99), both at shallow and deep evolutionary timescales, with broad evidence for the role of linked selection together with recombination rate in shaping genomic differentiation. Further dissection of genomic islands reveals patterns consistent with a model of ‘recurrent selection’, wherein differentiation increases due to selection in the same genomic regions in ancestral and descendant populations. Finally, we use measures of the site frequency spectrum to differentiate between alternative forms of selection, providing evidence that genetic hitchhiking due to positive selection has contributed substantially to genomic divergence. Our results demonstrate the pervasive role of recurrent linked selection in shaping genomic divergence despite a history of gene flow and underscore the importance of non‐neutral evolutionary processes in predictive frameworks for genomic divergence in speciation genomics studies. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, Molecular Ecology)
    Theoretically, species' characteristics should allow estimation of dispersal potential and, in turn, explain levels of population genetic differentiation. However, a mismatch between traits and genetic patterns is often reported for marine species, and interpreted as evidence that life-history traits do not influence dispersal. Here, we couple ecological and genomic methods to test the hypothesis that species with attributes favouring greater dispersal potential—e.g., longer pelagic duration, higher fecundity and larger population size—have greater realized dispersal overall. We used a natural experiment created by a large-scale and multispecies mortality event which created a “clean slate” on which to study recruitment dynamics, thus simplifying a usually complex problem. We surveyed four species of differing dispersal potential to quantify the abundance and distribution of recruits and to genetically assign these recruits to probable parental sources. Species with higher dispersal potential recolonized a broader extent of the impacted range, did so more quickly and recovered more genetic diversity than species with lower dispersal potential. Moreover, populations of taxa with higher dispersal potential exhibited more immigration (71%–92% of recruits) than taxa with lower dispersal potential (17%–44% of recruits). By linking ecological with genomic perspectives, we demonstrate that a suite of interacting life-history and demographic attributes do influence species' realized dispersal and genetic neighbourhoods. To better understand species' resilience and recovery in this time of global change, integrative eco-evolutionary approaches are needed to more rigorously evaluate the effect of dispersal-linked attributes on realized dispersal and population genetic differentiation. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; (, Marine Ecology Progress Series)
    The increase in genetic distance between marine individuals or populations with increasing distance has often been assumed to be influenced by dispersal distance. In turn, dispersal distance has often been assumed to correlate strongly with pelagic larval duration (PLD). We examined the consistency of these assumptions in species with long planktonic durations. Reviewing multiple marine species, Selkoe & Toonen (2011; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 436:291-305) demonstrated significant fit of a species’ PLD with metrics of genetic distance between sampling sites. However, for long dispersers (PLD >10 d) whose dispersal is more influenced by ocean currents, the fit of PLD and genetic connectivity metrics was not significant. We tested if using realistic ocean currents to determine simulated dispersal distances would produce an improved proxy for larval dispersal that correlates more strongly with genetic connectivity metrics. We estimated the dispersal distance of propagules for locations in the genetic studies compiled by Selkoe and Toonen with a global ocean model (Mercator, 1/12° resolution). The model-derived estimates of dispersal distance did not correlate better than PLD against the genetic diversity metrics globalFSTkm-1and isolation-by-distance (IBD) slope. We explored 2 explanations: (1) our ocean circulation-based dispersal distance estimates are too simple to produce biologically meaningful improvement over PLD, and (2) IBD slope is not a powerful predictor of variation in dispersal distance between species with long PLD. Exploring these explanations suggests directions for future research which will enable better quantitative understanding of genetic diversity and its spatial distribution in coastal marine organisms. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Plants)
    Patterns of species diversity have been associated with changes in climate across latitude and elevation. However, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these relationships are still actively debated. Here, we present a complementary view of the well-known tropical niche conservatism (TNC) hypothesis, termed the multiple zones of origin (MZO) hypothesis, to explore mechanisms underlying latitudinal and elevational gradients of phylogenetic diversity in tree communities. The TNC hypothesis posits that most lineages originate in warmer, wetter, and less seasonal environments in the tropics and rarely colonize colder, drier, and more seasonal environments outside of the tropical lowlands, leading to higher phylogenetic diversity at lower latitudes and elevations. In contrast, the MZO hypothesis posits that lineages also originate in temperate environments and readily colonize similar environments in the tropical highlands, leading to lower phylogenetic diversity at lower latitudes and elevations. We tested these phylogenetic predictions using a combination of computer simulations and empirical analyses of tree communities in 245 forest plots located in six countries across the tropical and subtropical Andes. We estimated the phylogenetic diversity for each plot and regressed it against elevation and latitude. Our simulated and empirical results provide strong support for the MZO hypothesis. Phylogenetic diversity among co-occurring tree species increased with both latitude and elevation, suggesting an important influence on the historical dispersal of lineages with temperate origins into the tropical highlands. The mixing of different floras was likely favored by the formation of climatically suitable corridors for plant migration due to the Andean uplift. Accounting for the evolutionary history of plant communities helps to advance our knowledge of the drivers of tree community assembly along complex climatic gradients, and thus their likely responses to modern anthropogenic climate change. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Text Encoded Conversion
  • XML
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email