Nutrient scarcity as a selective pressure for mast seeding

Mast seeding is one of the most intriguing reproductive traits in nature. Despite its potential drawbacks in terms of fitness, the widespread existence of this phenomenon suggests that it should have evolutionary advantages under certain circumstances. Using a global dataset of seed production time series for 219 plant species from all the continents, we tested whether masting behaviour appears predominantly in species with low foliar N and P concentrations, when controlling for local climate and productivity. Here we show that masting intensity is higher in species with low foliar N and P concentrations and especially imbalanced N:P ratios, and that the evolutionary history of masting behaviour has been linked to that of nutrient economy. Our results support the hypothesis that masting is stronger in species growing under limiting conditions and suggest that this reproductive behaviour might have evolved as an adaptation to nutrient limitations and imbalances

Genetic and oceanographic tools reveal high population connectivity and diversity in the endangered pen shell Pinna nobilis

For marine meta-populations with source-sink dynamics knowledge about genetic connectivity is important to conserve biodiversity and design marine protected areas (MPAs). We evaluate connectivity of a Mediterranean sessile species, Pinna nobilis. To address a large geographical scale, partial sequences of cytochrome oxidase I (COI, 590 bp) were used to evaluate phylogeographical patterns in the Western Mediterranean, and in the whole basin using overlapping sequences from the literature (243 bp). Additionally, we combined (1) larval trajectories based on oceanographic currents and early life-history traits and (2) 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci collected in the Western Mediterranean. COI results provided evidence for high diversity and low inter-population differentiation. Microsatellite genotypes showed increasing genetic differentiation with oceanographic transport time (isolation by oceanographic distance (IBD) set by marine currents). Genetic differentiation was detected between Banyuls and Murcia and between Murcia and Mallorca. However, no genetic break was detected between the Balearic populations and the mainland. Migration rates together with numerical Lagrangian simulations showed that (i) the Ebro Delta is a larval source for the Balearic populations (ii) Alicante is a sink population, accumulating allelic diversity from nearby populations. The inferred connectivity can be applied in the development of MPA networks in the Western Mediterranean.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [CTM2009-07013]; Ramon y Cajal Fellowship [RYC2014-14970]; Conselleria d'Innovacio, Recerca i Turisme of the Balearic Government; Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness IFCT [IF/00998/2014]; FCT [SFRH/BPD/63703/2009, SFRH/BPD/107878/2015, EXCL/AAG-GLO/0661/2012]; National Science Foundation [OCE-1419450]; Albert II of Monaco Foundationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cognitive performance is linked to group size and affects fitness in Australian magpies

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordThe social intelligence hypothesis states that the demands of social life drive cognitive evolution. This idea receives support from comparative studies that link variation in group size or mating systems with cognitive and neuroanatomical differences across species, but findings are contradictory and contentious. To understand the cognitive consequences of sociality, it is also important to investigate social variation within species. Here we show that in wild, cooperatively breeding Australian magpies, individuals that live in large groups show increased cognitive performance, which is linked to increased reproductive success. Individual performance was highly correlated across four cognitive tasks, indicating a 'general intelligence factor' that underlies cognitive performance. Repeated cognitive testing of juveniles at different ages showed that the correlation between group size and cognition emerged in early life, suggesting that living in larger groups promotes cognitive development. Furthermore, we found a positive association between the task performance of females and three indicators of reproductive success, thus identifying a selective benefit of greater cognitive performance. Together, these results provide intraspecific evidence that sociality can shape cognitive development and evolution.This work was funded by an ARC Discovery grant awarded to A.R.R., A.T. and M. B. V. Bell, and a University of Western Australia International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Endeavour Research Fellowship awarded to B.J.A. A.T. received additional support from a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship (BB/H021817/1)

High resolution altimeter gridded fields for coastal and regional studies: applications in the Western Mediterranean

International audiencePrevious studies have shown that the merging of multiple altimeter missions provide improved description of the mesoscale variability but they have also pointed out that the present configuration still lacks of enough resolution for correctly sampling regional and coastal features. In this context, we develop and test alternative methods to generate high resolution altimeter maps by using a two step method in which smaller scales are added close to the altimeter tracks. In a first step, the large scale signals (~100 km) are removed by subtracting the standard gridded Sea Level Anomaly maps (AVISO) to along track data (unfiltered and unsubsampled). In a second step, the residuals are submitted to an objective analysis scheme with correlation scales adjusted to smaller mesoscale dynamics. A method including bathymetric constraint has been tested to provide a pseudo-dynamical boundary condition and to increase reliability in the coastal region. SST data information from satellite sensors are also integrated in the covariance function to gain resolution. The methods are applied over the 2002-2010 period in the NW Mediterranean, a challenging area due to the low signal to noise ratio but where expertise and independent in situ data are available. As expected, the new fields display smaller 58 features not present in the AVISO product with higher levels of Eddy Kinetic Energy close to the tracks. The mean power spectra (averaging all tracks and passes) also presents an increase in energy for wavelengths smaller than 200 km. Additionally, several tests were performed changing the correlation scales and altimeter, and the results did not present important sensitivity for small changes in the parameters. A correlation scale of 20 km and measurement noise variance of 9 cm2 were finally selected. The dataset is then compared to independent data such as drifters launched in the area, several campaigns with in-situ data and glider information, revealing an improvement in the resolution of some small scale features. However, the method does not improve significantly the accuracy when statistical comparisons with drifters are performed in all the area. A crossvalidation with independent along track altimeter data shows a modest reduction of the differences between interpolated maps and along track measurements when the statistics are computed for interpolation errors smaller than 20% of the total variance. Finally we explore the potential of combining altimeter data with tide gauges located along the Mallorca coast in order to improve coastal features. Some illustrations of preliminary results will be presente

Reply to: Nutrient scarcity cannot cause mast seeding

REPLYING TO D. Kelly Nature Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0702-7 (2020)