Combining niche-shift and population genetic analyses predicts rapid phenotypic evolution during invasion

Rapid evolution of non-native species can facilitate invasion success, but recent reviews indicate that such microevolution rarely yields expansion of the climatic niche in the introduced habitats. However, because some invasions originate from a geographically restricted portion of the native species range and its climatic niche, it is possible that the frequency, direction and magnitude of phenotypic evolution during invasion has been underestimated. We explored the utility of niche-shift analyses in the red seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla, which expanded its range from the northeastern coastline of Japan to North America, Europe and northwestern Africa within the last 100 years. A genetically-informed climatic niche shift analysis indicates that native source populations occur in colder and highly seasonal habitats, while most non-native populations typically occur in warmer, less seasonal habitats. This climatic niche expansion predicts that non-native populations evolved greater tolerance for elevated heat conditions relative to native source populations. We assayed 935 field-collected and 325 common-garden thalli from 40 locations and as predicted, non-native populations had greater tolerance for ecologically-relevant extreme heat (40°C) than did Japanese source populations. Non-native populations also had greater tolerance for cold and low-salinity stresses relative to source populations. The importance of local adaptation to warm temperatures during invasion was reinforced by evolution of parallel clines: populations from warmer, lower-latitude estuaries had greater heat tolerance than did populations from colder, higher-latitude estuaries in both Japan and eastern North America. We conclude that rapid evolution plays an important role in facilitating the invasion success of this and perhaps other non-native marine species. Genetically-informed ecological niche analyses readily generate clear predictions of phenotypic shifts during invasions, and may help to resolve debate over the frequency of niche conservatism versus rapid adaptation during invasion

Comprehensive phylogenomic time tree of bryophytes reveals deep relationships and uncovers gene incongruences in the last 500 million years of diversification

Premise: Bryophytes form a major component of terrestrial plant biomass, structuring ecological communities in all biomes. Our understanding of the evolutionary history of hornworts, liverworts, and mosses has been significantly reshaped by inferences from molecular data, which have highlighted extensive homoplasy in various traits and repeated bursts of diversification. However, the timing of key events in the phylogeny, patterns, and processes of diversification across bryophytes remain unclear. Methods: Using the GoFlag probe set, we sequenced 405 exons representing 228 nuclear genes for 531 species from 52 of the 54 orders of bryophytes. We inferred the species phylogeny from gene tree analyses using concatenated and coalescence approaches, assessed gene conflict, and estimated the timing of divergences based on 29 fossil calibrations. Results: The phylogeny resolves many relationships across the bryophytes, enabling us to resurrect five liverwort orders and recognize three more and propose 10 new orders of mosses. Most orders originated in the Jurassic and diversified in the Cretaceous or later. The phylogenomic data also highlight topological conflict in parts of the tree, suggesting complex processes of diversification that cannot be adequately captured in a single gene-tree topology. Conclusions: We sampled hundreds of loci across a broad phylogenetic spectrum spanning at least 450 Ma of evolution; these data resolved many of the critical nodes of the diversification of bryophytes. The data also highlight the need to explore the mechanisms underlying the phylogenetic ambiguity at specific nodes. The phylogenomic data provide an expandable framework toward reconstructing a comprehensive phylogeny of this important group of plantsFunding was provided by the NSF collaborative project “Building a Comprehensive Evolutionary History of Flagellate Plants” (DEB #1541506 to J.G. Burleigh, E.C. Davis, S.F. McDaniel, and E.B. Sessa, and #1541545 to M von Konrat). B.G. acknowledges DEB‐1753811. J.C.V.A. acknowledges the Canada Research Chair (950‐232698); the CRNSG‐RGPIN 05967–2016 and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (projects 36781, 39135). The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for their constructive comments on previous versions of the manuscrip

Bridging the Gap

Bridging The Gap discusses necessities and methods of a transdisciplinary approach at the intersection of art, science and technology, including human computer interaction (HCI) and its various subjects. Research work that combines artistic and scientific approaches benefits substantially from artistic perception and the sensibility to questions beyond their regular environment beyond the work’s associated environment. The transfer of knowledge, methods and communication strategies foster a transdisciplinary debate, discussing impacts of existing and emerging technology driven phenomenons. The paper provides a depiction of methods and communication of each discipline to carve out the coherence of transdisciplinarity in praxis. F-A-S-T is introduced as a cooperative project of scientific and artistic institutions where a student’s existing profession is amplified by complementary knowledge, methods and collaborative project oriented work. It explores new roles and formats within the interaction between art, science and technology. The aim of the paper is to encourage further research regarding transdisciplinarity and the establishment of corresponding educational programs

Grimmiaceae in the Early Cretaceous: Tricarinella crassiphylla gen. et sp. nov. and the value of anatomically preserved bryophytes

Background and Aims Widespread and diverse in modern ecosystems, mosses are rare in the fossil record, especially in pre-Cenozoic rocks. Furthermore, most pre-Cenozoic mosses are known from compression fossils, which lack detailed anatomical information. When preserved, anatomy significantly improves resolution in the systematic placement of fossils. Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian) deposits on Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) contain a diverse anatomically preserved flora including numerous bryophytes, many of which have yet to be characterized. Among them is the grimmiaceous moss described here. Methods One fossil moss gametophyte preserved in a carbonate concretion was studied in serial sections prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique. Key Results Tricarinella crassiphylla gen. et sp. nov. is a moss with tristichous phyllotaxis and strongly keeled leaves. The combination of an acrocarpous condition (inferred based on a series of morphological features), a central conducting strand, a homogeneous leaf costa and a lamina with bistratose portions and sinuous cells, and multicellular gemmae, supports placement of Tricarinella in family Grimmiaceae. Tricarinella is similar to Grimmia, a genus that exhibits broad morphological variability. However, tristichous phyllotaxis and especially the lamina, bistratose at the base but not in distal portions of the leaf, set Tricarinella apart as a distinct genus. Conclusions Tricarinella crassiphylla marks the oldest record for both family Grimmiaceae and sub-class Dicranidae, providing a hard minimum age (136 million years) for these groups. The fact that this fossil could be placed in an extant family, despite a diminutive size, emphasizes the considerable resolving power of anatomically preserved bryophyte fossils, even when recovered from allochthonous assemblages of marine sediments, such as the Apple Bay flora. Discovery of Tricarinella re-emphasizes the importance of paleobotanical studies as the only approach allowing access to a significant segment of biodiversity, the extinct biodiversity, which is unattainable by other means of investigation.Fil: Savoretti, María Adolfina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Bippus, Alexander C.. Humboldt State University; Estados UnidosFil: Stockey, Ruth A.. State University of Oregon; Estados UnidosFil: Rothwell, Gar W.. State University of Oregon; Estados UnidosFil: Tomescu, Alexandru M. F.. State University of Oregon; Estados Unido