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Evolutionary ecology and behaviour

This section considers studies in the areas of evolutionary behaviour and ecology including sexual conflict and selection.

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  1. Content type: Research article

    Studying variation in life-history traits and correlated behaviours, such as boldness and foraging (i.e., pace-of-life syndrome), allows us to better understand how these traits evolve in a changing environmen...

    Authors: Beatriz Diaz Pauli, Sarah Garric, Charlotte Evangelista, L. Asbjørn Vøllestad and Eric Edeline

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:127

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  2. Content type: Research article

    Several genetic lineages of obligate parthenogenetic Daphnia pulex, a common zooplankton species, have invaded Japan from North America. Among these, a lineage named JPN1 is thought to have started colonization a...

    Authors: Xiaofei Tian, Hajime Ohtsuki and Jotaro Urabe

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:122

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  4. Content type: Research article

    Host genotype - parasite genotype co-evolutionary dynamics are influenced by local biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. This results in spatially heterogeneous selection among host populations. How suc...

    Authors: Agnes Piecyk, Olivia Roth and Martin Kalbe

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:80

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    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:101

  5. Content type: Research article

    Medullary bone (MB) is an estrogen-dependent, sex-specific tissue produced by female birds during lay and inferred to be present in extinct avemetatarsalians (bird-line archosaurs). Although preliminary studie...

    Authors: Aurore Canoville, Mary H. Schweitzer and Lindsay E. Zanno

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:71

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  6. Content type: Research Article

    Sex-determining systems may profoundly influence the ecology, behaviour and demography of animals, yet these relationships are poorly understood. Here we investigate whether species with temperature-dependent ...

    Authors: Veronika Bókony, Gregory Milne, Ivett Pipoly, Tamás Székely and András Liker

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:57

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  7. Content type: Research article

    DNA barcoding utilises a standardised region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene to identify specimens to the species level. It has proven to be an effective tool for identification of avian samples. The uni...

    Authors: Jacqueline Tizard, Selina Patel, John Waugh, Erika Tavares, Tjard Bergmann, Brian Gill, Janette Norman, Les Christidis, Paul Scofield, Oliver Haddrath, Allan Baker, David Lambert and Craig Millar

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:52

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  8. Content type: Research article

    Phenotypic plasticity is a pervasive property of all organisms and considered to be of key importance for dealing with environmental variation. Plastic responses to temperature, which is one of the most import...

    Authors: Kristin Franke, Isabell Karl, Tonatiuh Pena Centeno, Barbara Feldmeyer, Christian Lassek, Vicencio Oostra, Katharina Riedel, Mario Stanke, Christopher W. Wheat and Klaus Fischer

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:32

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  9. Content type: Research article

    Horizontal gene transfer and gene duplication are two major mechanisms contributing to the evolutionary adaptation of organisms. Previously, polygalacturonase genes (PGs) were independently horizontally transf...

    Authors: Pengjun Xu, Bin Lu, Jinyan Liu, Jiangtao Chao, Philip Donkersley, Robert Holdbrook and Yanhui Lu

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:12

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  10. Content type: Research article

    Adaptive radiations are triggered by ecological opportunity – the access to novel niche domains with abundant available resources that facilitate the formation of new ecologically divergent species. Therefore,...

    Authors: Joshua W. Lambert, Martin Reichard and Daniel Pincheira-Donoso

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2019 19:10

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  11. Content type: Research article

    Social insects are among the most serious invasive pests in the world, particularly successful at monopolizing environmental resources to outcompete native species and achieve ecological dominance. The invasiv...

    Authors: Pierre-André Eyer, Bryant McDowell, Laura N. L. Johnson, Luis A. Calcaterra, Maria Belen Fernandez, DeWayne Shoemaker, Robert T. Puckett and Edward L. Vargo

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:209

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  13. Content type: Research article

    Obligate pollination mutualisms (OPMs) are specialized interactions in which female pollinators transport pollen between the male and female flowers of a single plant species and then lay eggs into those same ...

    Authors: J. T. D. Finch, S. A. Power, J. A. Welbergen and J. M. Cook

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:193

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  15. Content type: Research article

    Adaptive evolution is one of the crucial mechanisms for organisms to survive and thrive in new environments. Recent studies suggest that adaptive evolution could rapidly occur in species to respond to novel en...

    Authors: Yiyong Chen, Noa Shenkar, Ping Ni, Yaping Lin, Shiguo Li and Aibin Zhan

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:187

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  16. Content type: Research article

    Comparing sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in the light of the phylogenetic hypothesis may help to understand the phenotypic evolution associated with sexual selection (size of whole body and of reproduction-relat...

    Authors: Guadalupe López Juri, Margarita Chiaraviglio and Gabriela Cardozo

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:186

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  17. Content type: Research article

    Algal isomorphic biphasic life cycles alternate between free-living diploid (tetrasporophytes) and haploid (dioicious gametophytes) phases and the hypotheses explaining their maintenance are still debated. Cla...

    Authors: Vasco M. N. C. S. Vieira, Aschwin H. Engelen, Oscar R. Huanel and Marie-Laure Guillemin

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:183

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  18. Content type: Research article

    Breeding site choice constitutes an important part of the species niche. Nest predation affects breeding site choice, and has been suggested to drive niche segregation and local coexistence of species. Intersp...

    Authors: Jere Tolvanen, Janne-Tuomas Seppänen, Mikko Mönkkönen, Robert L. Thomson, Hannu Ylönen and Jukka T. Forsman

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:181

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  20. Content type: Research article

    The distinction between lineages of neotropical bats from the Pteronotus parnellii species complex has been previously made according to mitochondrial DNA, and especially morphology and acoustics, in order to sep...

    Authors: Ondine Filippi-Codaccioni, Marie-Pauline Beugin, Damien M. de Vienne, Elodie Portanier, David Fouchet, Cecile Kaerle, Lina Muselet, Guillaume Queney, Eric J. Petit, Corinne Regis, Jean-Baptiste Pons and Dominique Pontier

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:175

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  21. Content type: Research article

    Conditional differentiation is one of the most fundamental drivers of biodiversity. Competitive entities (usually species) differ in environmental or ecological niche enabling them to co-exist. Conditional dif...

    Authors: Vasco M. N. C. S. Vieira, Aschwin H. Engelen, Oscar R. Huanel and Marie-Laure Guillemin

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:174

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  22. Content type: Research article

    Tamquammys has been considered one of the basal ctenodactyloid rodents, which has been documented in the earliest to middle Eocene (~ 56.0–48.5 Ma) in China. It was the most abundant and widespread rodent genus i...

    Authors: Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik, Qian Li and Xijun Ni

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:150

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  23. Content type: Research article

    Adaptation to new hosts in phytophagous insects often involves mechanisms of host recognition by genes of sensory pathways. Most often the molecular evolution of sensory genes has been explained in the context...

    Authors: Fernando Diaz, Carson W. Allan and Luciano M. Matzkin

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:144

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  24. Content type: Research article

    Sexual selection continues after copulation via either sperm competition or cryptic female choice, and favors sperm traits that maximize sperm competitiveness. Both sperm swimming velocity and longevity are im...

    Authors: Alfonso Rojas Mora, Magali Meniri, Sabrina Ciprietti and Fabrice Helfenstein

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:142

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  25. Content type: Research article

    While the communities constituted by phytophageous insects and their parasites may represent half of all terrestrial animal species, understanding their diversification remains a major challenge. A neglected i...

    Authors: Hui Yu, Dan Liang, Enwei Tian, Linna Zheng and Finn Kjellberg

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:134

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  26. Content type: Research article

    The zooplanktonic cladocerans Daphnia, present in a wide range of water bodies, are an important component of freshwater ecosystems. In contrast to their high dispersal capacity through diapausing eggs carried by...

    Authors: Mingbo Yin, Xiaoyu Wang, Xiaolin Ma, Sabine Gießler, Adam Petrusek, Johanna Griebel, Wei Hu and Justyna Wolinska

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:130

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  27. Content type: Research article

    Spatial isolation, diverging environmental conditions and social structures may lead to the differentiation of various traits, e.g. molecules, morphology and behaviour. Bird calls may provide important informa...

    Authors: Jan Christian Habel, Martin Husemann and Werner Ulrich

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:112

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  29. Content type: Research article

    The maintenance of considerable genetic variation in sexually selected traits (SSTs) is puzzling given directional selection expected to act on these traits. A possible explanation is the existence of a genoty...

    Authors: Agata Plesnar-Bielak, Anna Maria Skwierzyńska, Kasper Hlebowicz and Jacek Radwan

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:109

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  30. Content type: Research article

    Symbiosis is a major source of evolutionary innovation and, by allowing species to exploit new ecological niches, underpins the functioning of ecosystems. The transition from free-living to obligate symbiosis ...

    Authors: Ewan J. A. Minter, Chris D. Lowe, Megan E. S. Sørensen, A. Jamie Wood, Duncan D. Cameron and Michael A. Brockhurst

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:108

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  31. Content type: Research article

    Along with sperm, in many taxa ejaculates also contain large numbers of seminal fluid proteins (SFPs). SFPs and sperm are transferred to the mating partner, where they are thought to play key roles in mediatin...

    Authors: Michael Weber, Julia Wunderer, Birgit Lengerer, Robert Pjeta, Marcelo Rodrigues, Lukas Schärer, Peter Ladurner and Steven A. Ramm

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:81

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  32. Content type: Research article

    Understanding genomic and phenotypic diversity among cryptic pest taxa has important implications for the management of pests and diseases. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L., has been intensively studi...

    Authors: Kym D. Perry, Gregory J. Baker, Kevin J. Powis, Joanne K. Kent, Christopher M. Ward and Simon W. Baxter

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:77

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  33. Content type: Research article

    If a parasite is able to transmit horizontally or vertically, which transmission mode will it choose? We investigated how the growth conditions and the genotype of the mosquito Aedes aegypti affect the transmissi...

    Authors: Giacomo Zilio, Kevin Thiévent and Jacob C. Koella

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:59

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  34. Content type: Research article

    Energy (resources) acquired by animals should be allocated towards competing demands, maintenance, growth, reproduction and fat storage. Reproduction has the second lowest priority in energy allocation and onl...

    Authors: Lin Zhang, Kun Guo, Guang-Zheng Zhang, Long-Hui Lin and Xiang Ji

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:45

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  35. Content type: Research article

    Understanding the genetic and environmental mechanisms governing variation in morphology or phenology in wild populations is currently an important challenge. While there is a general consensus that selection ...

    Authors: E. Quéméré, J. M. Gaillard, M. Galan, C. Vanpé, I. David, M. Pellerin, P. Kjellander, A. J. M. Hewison and J. M. Pemberton

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:39

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  36. Content type: Research article

    The maternally inherited endosymbiont Wolbachia is widespread in arthropods and nematodes and can play an important role in the ecology and evolution of its host through reproductive manipulation. Here, we survey...

    Authors: Hannes Schuler, Scott P. Egan, Glen R. Hood, Robert W. Busbee, Amanda L. Driscoe and James R. Ott

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:37

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  39. Content type: Research article

    Species recognition, i.e., the ability to distinguish conspecifics from heterospecifics, plays an essential role in reproduction. The role of facial cues for species recognition has been investigated in severa...

    Authors: Hanitriniaina Rakotonirina, Peter M. Kappeler and Claudia Fichtel

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:19

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  40. Content type: Research article

    The breeding consequences of virus infections have rarely been studied in avian natural breeding populations. In this paper we investigated the links between humoral immunity following a natural flavivirus inf...

    Authors: Tanja M. Strand, Åke Lundkvist, Björn Olsen and Lars Gustafsson

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:13

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  41. Content type: Research article

    Tracking newly emergent virulent populations in agroecosystems provides an opportunity to increase our understanding of the co-evolution dynamics of pathogens and their hosts. On the one hand host plants exert...

    Authors: Monika Michalecka, Sylwester Masny, Thibault Leroy and Joanna Puławska

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2018 18:5

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  42. Content type: Research article

    Parental care, while increasing parental fitness through offspring survival, also bears cost to the care-giving parent. Consequentially, trade offs between parental care and other vitally important traits, suc...

    Authors: Isabel S. Keller, Walter Salzburger and Olivia Roth

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:264

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  43. Content type: Research article

    Although most extant animals have separate sexes, simultaneous hermaphrodites can be found in lineages throughout the animal kingdom. However, the sexual modes of key ancestral nodes including the last common ...

    Authors: Daniel A. Sasson and Joseph F. Ryan

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:242

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  44. Content type: Research article

    The oviparity-viviparity transition is a major evolutionary event, likely altering the reproductive process of the organisms involved. Residual yolk, a portion of yolk remaining unutilized at hatching or birth...

    Authors: Yan-Qing Wu, Yan-Fu Qu, Xue-Ji Wang, Jian-Fang Gao and Xiang Ji

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:235

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  46. Content type: Research article

    Diet composition (yeast:carbohydrate ratio) is an important determinant of growth, development, and reproduction. Recent studies have shown that decreased yeast intake elicits numerous transcriptomic changes a...

    Authors: Er-Hu Chen, Qiu-Li Hou, Dan-Dan Wei, Hong-Bo Jiang and Jin-Jun Wang

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:194

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  48. Content type: Research article

    The performance and fitness of social societies mainly depends on the efficiency of interactions between reproductive individuals and helpers. Helpers need to react to the group’s requirements and to adjust th...

    Authors: Julia Giehr, Jürgen Heinze and Alexandra Schrempf

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:173

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  49. Content type: Research article

    Predation is ubiquitous in nature. One form of predation is cannibalism, which is affected by many factors such as size structure and resource density. However, cannibalism may also be influenced by abiotic fa...

    Authors: Szymon Sniegula, Maria J. Golab and Frank Johansson

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:167

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  50. Content type: Research article

    Quantifying morphological diversity across taxa can provide valuable insight into evolutionary processes, yet its complexities can make it difficult to identify appropriate units for evaluation. One of the cha...

    Authors: Marta Vidal-García and J. Scott Keogh

    Citation: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2017 17:165

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