Recentering evolution for sustainability science

Evolution, the change in gene frequencies within populations, is a process of genetically based modification by descent, providing the raw material essential for adaptation to environmental change. Therefore, it is crucial that we understand evolutionary processes if we aim for a sustainable planet. We here contribute to this development by describing examples of contemporary, rapid evolutionary changes of concern for sustainability, specifically highlighting the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and how the evolutionary toolbox allowed tracking the origins and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in real time and predicting potential future outbreaks. We also consider how urban development accelerates evolutionary processes such as altered phenotypic and physiological changes and the spread of infectious and zoonotic diseases. We show the importance of evolutionary concepts and techniques for public-health decision making. Many examples of the potential of evolutionary insights contributing to crucial sustainability challenges exist, including infectious and zoonotic diseases, ecosystem and human health, and conservation of natural resources. We thus join recent calls advocating for a stronger collaboration between evolutionary biologists and the sustainability community, increasing interdisciplinarity and the awareness about the knowledge of evolutionary processes for decision making and policies

Do the Historical Biogeography and Evolutionary History of the Digenean Margotrema spp. across Central Mexico Mirror Those of Their Freshwater Fish Hosts (Goodeinae)?

Host-parasite systems provide an ideal platform to study evolution at different levels, including codivergence in a historical biogeography context. In this study we aim to describe biogeographic and codivergent patterns and associated processes of the Goodeinae freshwater fish and their digenean parasite (Margotrema spp.) over the last 6.5 Ma (million years), identifying the main factors (host and/or hydrogeomorphology) that influenced the evolution of Margotrema. We obtained a species tree for Margotrema spp. using DNA sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers (COI and ITS1, respectively) and performed molecular dating to discern divergence events within the genus. The dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis (DEC) model was used to describe the historical biogeography of digeneans and applied to cophylogenetic analyses of Margotrema and their goodeine hosts. Our results showed that the evolutionary history of Margotrema has been shaped in close association with its geographic context, especially with the geological history of central Mexico during the Pleistocene. Host-specificity has been established at three levels of historical association: a) Species-Species, represented by Xenotaenia resolanae -M. resolanae exclusively found in the Cuzalapa River Basin; b) Species-Lineage, represented by Characodon audax-M. bravoae Lineage II, exclusive to the Upper and Middle Mezquital River Basin, and c) Tribe-Lineage, including two instances of historical associations among parasites and hosts at the taxonomical level of tribe, one represented by Ilyodontini-M. bravoae Lineage I (distributed across the Ayuquila and Balsas River Basins), and another comprised of Girardinichthyini/Chapalichthyini-M. bravoae Lineage III, found only in the Lerma River Basin. We show that the evolutionary history of the parasites is, on several occasions, in agreement with the phylogenetic and biogeographic history of their hosts. A series of biogeographic and host-parasite events explain the codivergence patterns observed, in which cospeciation and colonisation via host-switching and vicariant plus dispersal events are appreciated, at different times during the diversification history of both associates, particularly during the Pleistocene.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Aves de la Tierra de las Golondrinas: Isla de Cozumel

Non peer reviewe

Landscape features influencing gene flow and connectivity ofan endangered passerine

Dispersal of individuals and gene flow are crucial aspects to maintain genetic diversity and viability of populations, especially in the case of threatened species. Landscape composition and structure may facilitate or limit individual movement within and among populations. We used a landscape genetics approach to assess the connectivity patterns of the threatened Dupont's lark (Chersophilus duponti subsp. duponti), considering their genetic patterns and the landscape features associated with its gene flow in Spain. We analysed the genetic relatedness based on 11 species-specific polymorphic microsatellites on 416 Dupont's lark individuals sampled across peninsular Spain between 2017 and 2019, covering most of the European distribution of the species. To assess the relationship between the landscape composition and the species gene flow, we estimated genetic distance at the individual level (Dps). Next, we built a set of environmental surfaces from two time periods (years 1990 and 2018), based on factors such as land use and topography, influencing individuals' movement. We then obtained resistance surfaces from an optimization process on landscape variables. Landscape genetics analyses were done for single and composite surface models for each year separately. Our findings from both time points show that scatter or mosaic-structured vegetation composed by low agricultural and tree cover and high presence of sclerophyllous shrubs favoured Dupont's lark dispersal, while dense and continuous tree cover, as well as areas of intensive agriculture, were limiting factors. Our results suggest the importance of steppe habitat patches for the species' establishment and dispersal. In addition, our results provide key information to develop conservation measures, including conserving and restoring steppe habitats as scattered and/or mosaic-structured vegetation that could warrant the connectivity and persistence of Dupont's lark populationsWe thank Julia G\u00F3mez-Catas\u00FAs, Margarita Reverter, Julia Zurdo, Israel Herv\u00E1s and all LIFE projects staff for their support in field and logistics work. We thank C. P\u00E9rez-Granados and G.M. L\u00F3pez-Iborra for sharing of Dupont's lark samples. We also thank the Instituto de Investigaci\u00F3n en Recursos Cineg\u00E9ticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), who provided the laboratory facilities for DNA analysis. This work was approved by the Local Ethical Committee for Animal Experiments of the Universidad Aut\u00F3noma de Madrid (CEI80-1468-A229). All participants accepted to be part of the study. This study was supported by the European Commission (LIFE Ricot\u00ED project LIFE15-NAT-ES-000802 and LIFE Connect Ricot\u00ED project LIFE20-NAT-ES-000133) and the FPI-UAM fellowship from the Universidad Aut\u00F3noma de Madrid that supported D. Bustillo-de la Rosa. This paper contributes to project REMEDINAL TE-CM (P2018/EMT4338

The role of Central American barriers in shaping the evolutionary history of the northernmost glassfrog, Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni (Anura: Centrolenidae)

The complex geological history of Central America has been useful for understanding the processes influencing the distribution and diversity of multiple groups of organisms. Anurans are an excellent choice for such studies because they typically exhibit site fidelity and reduced movement. The objective of this work was to identify the impact of recognized geographic barriers on the genetic structure, phylogeographic patterns and divergence times of a wide-ranging amphibian species, Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni. We amplified three mitochondrial regions, two coding (COI and ND1) and one ribosomal (16S), in samples collected from the coasts of Veracruz and Guerrero in Mexico to the humid forests of Chocó in Ecuador. We examined the biogeographic history of the species through spatial clustering analyses (Geneland and sPCA), Bayesian and maximum likelihood reconstructions, and spatiotemporal diffusion analysis. Our data suggest a Central American origin of H. fleischmanni and two posterior independent dispersals towards North and South American regions. The first clade comprises individuals from Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and the sister species Hyalinobatrachium tatayoi; this clade shows little structure, despite the presence of the Andes mountain range and the long distances between sampling sites. The second clade consists of individuals from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and eastern Honduras with no apparent structure. The third clade includes individuals from western Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico and displays deep population structure. Herein, we synthesize the impact of known geographic areas that act as barriers to glassfrog dispersal and demonstrated their effect of differentiating H. fleischmanni into three markedly isolated clades. The observed genetic structure is associated with an initial dispersal event from Central America followed by vicariance that likely occurred during the Pliocene. The southern samples are characterized by a very recent population expansion, likely related to sea-level and climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene, whereas the structure of the northern clade has probably been driven by dispersal through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and isolation by the Motagua–Polochic–Jocotán fault system and the Mexican highlands

Do the Historical Biogeography and Evolutionary History of the Digenean Margotrema spp. across Central Mexico Mirror Those of Their Freshwater Fish Hosts (Goodeinae)?

Host-parasite systems provide an ideal platform to study evolution at different levels, including codivergence in a historical biogeography context. In this study we aim to describe biogeographic and codivergent patterns and associated processes of the Goodeinae freshwater fish and their digenean parasite (Margotrema spp.) over the last 6.5 Ma (million years), identifying the main factors (host and/or hydrogeomorphology) that influenced the evolution of Margotrema. We obtained a species tree for Margotrema spp. using DNA sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers (COI and ITS1, respectively) and performed molecular dating to discern divergence events within the genus. The dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis (DEC) model was used to describe the historical biogeography of digeneans and applied to cophylogenetic analyses of Margotrema and their goodeine hosts. Our results showed that the evolutionary history of Margotrema has been shaped in close association with its geographic context, especially with the geological history of central Mexico during the Pleistocene. Host-specificity has been established at three levels of historical association: a) Species-Species, represented by Xenotaenia resolanae -M. resolanae exclusively found in the Cuzalapa River Basin; b) Species-Lineage, represented by Characodon audax-M. bravoae Lineage II, exclusive to the Upper and Middle Mezquital River Basin, and c) Tribe-Lineage, including two instances of historical associations among parasites and hosts at the taxonomical level of tribe, one represented by Ilyodontini-M. bravoae Lineage I (distributed across the Ayuquila and Balsas River Basins), and another comprised of Girardinichthyini/Chapalichthyini-M. bravoae Lineage III, found only in the Lerma River Basin. We show that the evolutionary history of the parasites is, on several occasions, in agreement with the phylogenetic and biogeographic history of their hosts. A series of biogeographic and host-parasite events explain the codivergence patterns observed, in which cospeciation and colonisation via host-switching and vicariant plus dispersal events are appreciated, at different times during the diversification history of both associates, particularly during the Pleistocene.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Population genomics applications for conservation: the case of the tropical dry forest dweller Peromyscus melanophrys

Recent advances in genomic sequencing have opened new horizons in the study of population genetics and evolution in non-model organisms. However, very few population genomic studies have been performed on wild mammals to understand how the landscape affects the genetic structure of populations, useful information for the conservation of biodiversity. Here, we applied a genomic approach to evaluate the relationship between habitat features and genetic patterns at spatial and temporal scales in an endangered ecosystem, the Tropical Dry Forest (TDF). We studied populations of the Plateau deer mouse Peromyscus melanophrys to analyse its genomic diversity and structure in a TDF protected area in the Huautla Mountain Range (HMR), Mexico based on 8,209 SNPs obtained through Genotyping-by-Sequencing. At a spatial scale, we found a significant signature of isolation-by-distance, few significant differences in genetic diversity indices among study sites, and no significant differences between habitats with different levels of human perturbation. At a temporal scale, while genetic diversity levels fluctuated significantly over time, neither seasonality nor disturbance levels had a significant effect. Also, outlier analysis revealed loci potentially under selection. Our results suggest that the population genetics of P. melanophrys may be little impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, or by natural spatial and temporal habitat heterogeneity in our study area. The genome-wide approach adopted here provides data of value for conservation planning, and a baseline to be used as a reference for future studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation and seasonality in the HMR and in TDF

How many bird and mammal extinctions has recent conservation action prevented?

Aichi Target 12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims to ‘prevent extinctions of known threatened species’. To measure its success, we used a Delphi expert elicitation method to estimate the number of bird and mammal species whose extinctions were prevented by conservation action in 1993 - 2020 (the lifetime of the CBD) and 2010 - 2020 (the timing of Aichi Target 12). We found that conservation prevented 21–32 bird and 7–16 mammal extinctions since 1993, and 9–18 bird and 2–7 mammal extinctions since 2010. Many remain highly threatened, and may still become extinct in the near future. Nonetheless, given that ten bird and five mammal species did go extinct (or are strongly suspected to) since 1993, extinction rates would have been 2.9–4.2 times greater without conservation action. While policy commitments have fostered significant conservation achievements, future biodiversity action needs to be scaled up to avert additional extinctions

Diversidad y distribución de crustáceos y equinodermos y su relación con niveles de sedimentación en arrecifes coralinos

Se estimó la riqueza, diversidad, abundancia y distribución espacial de crustáceos y equinodermos en formaciones arrecifales de South Caicos, y se evaluó la relación entre las características de sedimentación en los arrecifes y dichos parámetros poblacionales. Estos arrecifes presentaron un gradiente de perturbación que va desde con un alto grado de sedimentación, cubiertos casi en su totalidad por comunidades de algas, hasta sin partículas de sedimentos depositados sobre los corales. Los sitios se clasificaron como de alta, baja o nula sedimentación y se estimó la riqueza, abundancia, diversidad, la distribución espacial de las especies y la similitud entre sitios. No se encontró un patrón único: tanto para crustáceos como equinodermos, el sitio con mayor diversidad y alta equitabilidad, presumiblemente asociada a la heterogeneidad ambiental que presenta esta formación arrecifal, también mostró nula sedimentación. Los dos sitios con menor diversidad para ambos grupos, aunque con baja sedimentación uno y alta el otro, presentaron el valor más bajo de equitabilidad y fueron los únicos con un patrón de distribución agregado. Para los crustáceos, los siguientes sitios en valor de diversidad fueron los de sedimentación alta, probablemente debido a que la mayoría de las especies presentes habitan comúnmente en huecos en el sedimento, conchas vacías o pastos marinos. Para los equinodermos, por el contrario, los siguientes sitios fueron los de sedimentación baja. Los requerimientos de hábitat de estas especies (dentro de esponjas, sobre corales o entre rocas), pudieron determinar este resultado. Los sitios con la diversidad más baja presentaron niveles altos de sedimentación. En estos sitios se encontró el valor más bajo de equitabilidad y una distribución espacial agregada para los crustáceos, mientras que la comunidad de equinodermos estaba dominada por una sola especie. Aunque los resultados observados sólo nos permiten hacer descripciones generales, el conocer las características poblacionales y de historia natural de estas comunidades arrecifales, aunado al conocimiento de las perturbaciones asociadas con las actividades humanas, provee información útil para la planeación de actividades de restauración y conservación de este ecosistemaseven reef formations were studied in South Caicos, Turks & Caicos, to determine the species richness, patterns of diversity and patterns of distribution of crustaceans and echinoderms, and to evaluate the relationship between these parameters and the degree of sedimentation of the different sites. The reefs showed a gradient from a high sedimentation level, almost totally covered by algae, to places with no sediment particles deposited over the corals. Sites were classified as with high, low or null sedimentation, and species richness, abundance, diversity, spatial distribution of species and similarity among sites were estimated. No unique pattern was found: for crustaceans as well as for echinoderms, the site with the highest diversity value and high equitability, presumably associated to the environmental heterogeneity of this reef formation, showed null sedimentation and an uniform and random pattern of distribution, crustaceans and echinoderms respectively. The two sites with the lowest diversity for both animal groups, although with different sedimentation levels, showed the lowest equitability value and were the only sites with an aggregated pattern of distribution. The next sites in diversity for crustaceans were those with high sedimentation, probably because most species present inhabit empty conchs, in the sediment, or among seagrasses. For the echinoderms, on the contrary, the intermediate sites in diversity had low sedimentation; the habitat requirements for these species (inside sponges, over the corals or among rocks) may have determined this result. The sites with lowest diversity had high sedimentation levels. In these, crustaceans showed the lowest equitability values and an aggregated spatial distribution, while the community of echinoderms was dominated by one single species. Although only general descriptions can be elucidated with the present results, knowledge about the basic population characteristics and natural history of these reef communities, combined with that of the perturbations related to human activities, provides useful base information for appropriate planning for the restoration and conservation of this ecosyste

Diversidad y distribución de crustáceos y equinodermos y su relación con niveles de sedimentación en arrecifes coralinos

Se estimó la riqueza, diversidad, abundancia y distribución espacial de crustáceos y equinodermos en formaciones arrecifales de South Caicos, y se evaluó la relación entre las características de sedimentación en los arrecifes y dichos parámetros poblacionales. Estos arrecifes presentaron un gradiente de perturbación que va desde con un alto grado de sedimentación, cubiertos casi en su totalidad por comunidades de algas, hasta sin partículas de sedimentos depositados sobre los corales. Los sitios se clasificaron como de alta, baja o nula sedimentación y se estimó la riqueza, abundancia, diversidad, la distribución espacial de las especies y la similitud entre sitios. No se encontró un patrón único: tanto para crustáceos como equinodermos, el sitio con mayor diversidad y alta equitabilidad, presumiblemente asociada a la heterogeneidad ambiental que presenta esta formación arrecifal, también mostró nula sedimentación. Los dos sitios con menor diversidad para ambos grupos, aunque con baja sedimentación uno y alta el otro, presentaron el valor más bajo de equitabilidad y fueron los únicos con un patrón de distribución agregado. Para los crustáceos, los siguientes sitios en valor de diversidad fueron los de sedimentación alta, probablemente debido a que la mayoría de las especies presentes habitan comúnmente en huecos en el sedimento, conchas vacías o pastos marinos. Para los equinodermos, por el contrario, los siguientes sitios fueron los de sedimentación baja. Los requerimientos de hábitat de estas especies (dentro de esponjas, sobre corales o entre rocas), pudieron determinar este resultado. Los sitios con la diversidad más baja presentaron niveles altos de sedimentación. En estos sitios se encontró el valor más bajo de equitabilidad y una distribución espacial agregada para los crustáceos, mientras que la comunidad de equinodermos estaba dominada por una sola especie. Aunque los resultados observados sólo nos permiten hacer descripciones generales, el conocer las características poblacionales y de historia natural de estas comunidades arrecifales, aunado al conocimiento de las perturbaciones asociadas con las actividades humanas, provee información útil para la planeación de actividades de restauración y conservación de este ecosistema.<br>Seven reef formations were studied in South Caicos, Turks & Caicos, to determine the species richness, patterns of diversity and patterns of distribution of crustaceans and echinoderms, and to evaluate the relationship between these parameters and the degree of sedimentation of the different sites. The reefs showed a gradient from a high sedimentation level, almost totally covered by algae, to places with no sediment particles deposited over the corals. Sites were classified as with high, low or null sedimentation, and species richness, abundance, diversity, spatial distribution of species and similarity among sites were estimated. No unique pattern was found: for crustaceans as well as for echinoderms, the site with the highest diversity value and high equitability, presumably associated to the environmental heterogeneity of this reef formation, showed null sedimentation and an uniform and random pattern of distribution, crustaceans and echinoderms respectively. The two sites with the lowest diversity for both animal groups, although with different sedimentation levels, showed the lowest equitability value and were the only sites with an aggregated pattern of distribution. The next sites in diversity for crustaceans were those with high sedimentation, probably because most species present inhabit empty conchs, in the sediment, or among seagrasses. For the echinoderms, on the contrary, the intermediate sites in diversity had low sedimentation; the habitat requirements for these species (inside sponges, over the corals or among rocks) may have determined this result. The sites with lowest diversity had high sedimentation levels. In these, crustaceans showed the lowest equitability values and an aggregated spatial distribution, while the community of echinoderms was dominated by one single species. Although only general descriptions can be elucidated with the present results, knowledge about the basic population characteristics and natural history of these reef communities, combined with that of the perturbations related to human activities, provides useful base information for appropriate planning for the restoration and conservation of this ecosystem