| 1. |
- Bretman, Amanda, et al.
(författare)
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Systematic approaches to assessing high-temperature limits to fertility in animals
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. - 1010-061X .- 1420-9101.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Critical thermal limits (CTLs) gauge the physiological impact of temperature on survival or critical biological function, aiding predictions of species range shifts and climatic resilience. Two recent Drosophila species studies, using similar approaches to determine temperatures that induce sterility (thermal fertility limits [TFLs]), reveal that TFLs are often lower than CTLs and that TFLs better predict both current species distributions and extinction probability. Moreover, many studies show fertility is more sensitive at less extreme temperatures than survival (thermal sensitivity of fertility [TSF]). These results present a more pessimistic outlook on the consequences of climate change. However, unlike CTLs, TFL data are limited to Drosophila, and variability in TSF methods poses challenges in predicting species responses to increasing temperature. To address these data and methodological gaps, we propose 3 standardized approaches for assessing thermal impacts on fertility. We focus on adult obligate sexual terrestrial invertebrates but also provide modifications for other animal groups and life-history stages. We first outline a gold-standard protocol for determining TFLs, focussing on the effects of short-term heat shocks and simulating more frequent extreme heat events predicted by climate models. As this approach may be difficult to apply to some organisms, we then provide a standardized TSF protocol. Finally, we provide a framework to quantify fertility loss in response to extreme heat events in nature, given the limitations in laboratory approaches. Applying these standardized approaches across many taxa, similar to CTLs, will allow robust tests of the impact of fertility loss on species responses to increasing temperatures. Graphical AbstractOverview of the systematic methods (A, C, and D) to simultaneously assay lethal limits and thermal fertility limits or (B and E) thermal sensitivity of fertility. These are most easily applied to laboratory settings but can be used for assessing the fertility of wild-caught animals that have been exposed to natural temperatures.
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| 2. |
- Cramer, Emily R. A., et al.
(författare)
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Morphology-Function Relationships and Repeatability in the Sperm of Passer Sparrows
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Morphology. - : Wiley. - 1097-4687 .- 0362-2525. ; 276:4, s. 370-377
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sperm performance is likely to be an important determinant of male reproductive success, especially when females copulate with multiple males. Understanding sperm performance is therefore crucial to fully understand the evolution of male reproductive strategies. In this study, we examined the repeatability of sperm morphology and motility measures over three breeding seasons, and we studied relationships between sperm morphology and function. We conducted this study in wild-derived captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Spanish sparrows (P. hispaniolensis). Results for the two species were similar. As predicted from results in other passerine species, total sperm length was highly repeatable across ejaculates, and repeatability for the length of other components was moderate. The repeatability of sperm swimming speed across ejaculates was lower, but statistically significant, suggesting that sperm velocity may be a relatively dynamic trait. Surprisingly, swimming speed did not correlate with the relative length of the midpiece, and it correlated negatively with the relative length of the flagellum and with total sperm length. This pattern is the opposite of what theory predicts and differs from what has been found in house sparrows before. Also contrary to previous work, we found no evidence that total sperm length correlates with sperm longevity. These results therefore highlight the need for a better understanding of relationships between sperm morphology and function in passerine birds. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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| 3. |
- Cramer, Emily R. A., et al.
(författare)
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Testing a post-copulatory pre-zygotic reproductive barrier in a passerine species pair
- 2014
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-0762 .- 0340-5443. ; 68:7, s. 1133-1144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sexual selection may drive speciation, but most research focuses on pre-copulatory sexual selection, overlooking post-copulatory processes. Post-copulatory sexual selection in allopatric populations could drive divergence in post-copulatory pre-zygotic (PCPZ) phenotypes, limiting gene flow upon secondary contact. Here, we performed in vitro experiments examining one potential PCPZ barrier between two closely related passerine species, house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Spanish sparrows (Passer hispaniolensis). In birds, crossing in the vagina may be particularly challenging for sperm, so we tested the effect of female reproductive tract fluids on sperm swimming speed and motility. If a PCPZ barrier exists at this stage of the fertilization process, heterospecific female fluids are predicted to reduce sperm swimming speed or motility relative to conspecific female fluid. We found that house sparrow female fluids affected the two species' sperm asymmetrically, depending on the control sperm velocity and male species. Overall, however, sperm performed equally in conspecific and heterospecific female fluids, and the species had similar sperm morphology and sperm swimming performance. Low divergence in PCPZ phenotypes between species, perhaps because post-copulatory sexual selection is stabilizing or only moderately strong in these taxa, may be insufficient to cause an overall PCPZ barrier. Reinforcement may be unlikely to drive PCPZ barriers for this species pair, because relatively effective pre-copulatory barriers exist between the species, and because hybrids can be quite successful. Testing the role of PCPZ barriers in birds with more divergent PCPZ phenotypes will improve our understanding of speciation in passerines.
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| 4. |
- Dougherty, Liam R., et al.
(författare)
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A systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction
- 2024
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Ingår i: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2688-8319. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exposure to extreme temperatures can negatively affect animal reproduction, by disrupting the ability of individuals to produce any offspring (fertility), or the number of offspring produced by fertile individuals (fecundity). This has important ecological consequences, because reproduction is the ultimate measure of population fitness: a reduction in reproductive output lowers the population growth rate and increases the extinction risk. Despite this importance, there have been no large-scale summaries of the evidence for effect of temperature on reproduction.We provide a systematic map of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction. We systematically searched for published studies that statistically test for a direct link between temperature and animal reproduction, in terms of fertility, fecundity or indirect measures of reproductive potential (gamete and gonad traits).Overall, we collated a large and rich evidence base, with 1654 papers that met our inclusion criteria, encompassing 1191 species.The map revealed several important research gaps. Insects made up almost half of the dataset, but reptiles and amphibians were uncommon, as were non-arthropod invertebrates. Fecundity was the most common reproductive trait examined, and relatively few studies measured fertility. It was uncommon for experimental studies to test exposure of different life stages, exposure to short-term heat or cold shock, exposure to temperature fluctuations, or to independently assess male and female effects. Studies were most often published in journals focusing on entomology and pest control, ecology and evolution, aquaculture and fisheries science, and marine biology. Finally, while individuals were sampled from every continent, there was a strong sampling bias towards mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, such that the tropics and polar regions are less well sampled.This map reveals a rich literature of studies testing the relationship between temperature and animal reproduction, but also uncovers substantial missing treatment of taxa, traits, and thermal regimes. This database will provide a valuable resource for future quantitative meta-analyses, and direct future studies aiming to fill identified gaps.
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| 5. |
- Eroukhmanoff, Fabrice, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental evidence for ovarian hypofunction in sparrow hybrids
- 2016
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Ingår i: Avian Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 2053-7166. ; 7:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPostzygotic isolation in the form of reduced viability and/or fertility of hybrids may help maintain species boundaries in the face of interspecific gene flow. Past hybridization events between house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Spanish sparrows (P. hispaniolensis) have given rise to a homoploid hybrid species, the Italian sparrow (P. italiae). Although genetic incompatibilities are known to isolate these three species, the biological consequences of these incompatibilities are still unknown in early generation hybrids.MethodsWe investigated whether F1 hybrids between house and Spanish sparrows experience reduced viability or fertility. More specifically, we generated hybrids through controlled crosses in aviaries, and compared ovaries of female hybrids with female of pure-species sparrows.ResultsWe found that overall, hybrid ovaries were underdeveloped and that half of all female hybrids exhibited symptoms of ovarian hypofunction (ovarian atrophy and complete absence of developed follicles).ConclusionsFertility in hybrids is a common consequence or post-zygotic barriers between species. We discuss these results in light of previous findings on genetic incompatibilities between the parent species and the potential role of incompatibilities in hybrid speciation, a rare evolutionary process in birds.
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| 6. |
- McDiarmid, Callum S., et al.
(författare)
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Sperm Sizer : a program to semi-automate the measurement of sperm length
- 2021
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5443 .- 1432-0762. ; 75:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on sperm is incorporated into many areas of ecology and evolution including including sexual selection, reproductive physiology and ecotoxicology, as well as comparative studies in evolution and phylogenetics. Currently, producing data on sperm morphology involves several time-consuming steps, particularly photographing sperm and measuring their length (e.g. head, midpiece, tail and total sperm length). Here, we present Sperm Sizer, a freely available Java program that semi-automates the process of measuring sperm length along the centre of the sperm (including head, midpiece, tail and total length). We compare sperm measurements made with Sperm Sizer to those made with the widely used non-automated software ImageJ, for sperm from a single bird species (the long-tailed finch Poephila acuticauda), eight species of passerine bird and eight species of lizard, and provide examples demonstrating that the program can measure at least some mammalian, fish and mollusc sperm. Sperm length measurements from Sperm Sizer are highly correlated to those made using ImageJ, demonstrating that Sperm Sizer produces high quality sperm length data while taking drastically less time. Our data suggests that Sperm Sizer measurements could possibly be incorporated into existing large datasets with a small correction, although this will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. We suggest that generally, sperm image quality (high contrast, minimal overlap of sperm, etc.) will be more important than the shape of the sperm for whether or not Sperm Sizer is for whether or not Sperm Sizer can be employed for a given project.
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| 7. |
- Papoli Yazdi, Homa, et al.
(författare)
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Extensive transgressive gene expression in testis but not ovary in the homoploid hybrid Italian sparrow
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 31:15, s. 4067-4077
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hybridization can result in novel allelic combinations which can impact the hybrid phenotype through changes in gene expression. While misexpression in F1 hybrids is well documented, how gene expression evolves in stabilized hybrid taxa remains an open question. As gene expression evolves in a stabilizing manner, break-up of co-evolved cis- and trans-regulatory elements could lead to transgressive patterns of gene expression in hybrids. Here, we address to what extent gonad gene expression has evolved in an established and stable homoploid hybrid, the Italian sparrow (Passer italiae). Through comparison of gene expression in gonads from individuals of the two parental species (i.e., house and Spanish sparrow) to that of Italian sparrows, we find evidence for strongly transgressive expression in male Italian sparrows—2530 genes (22% of testis genes tested for inheritance) exhibit expression patterns outside the range of both parent species. In contrast, Italian sparrow ovary expression was similar to that of one of the parent species, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Moreover, the Italian sparrow testis transcriptome is 26 times as diverged from those of the parent species as the parental transcriptomes are from each other, despite being genetically intermediate. This highlights the potential for regulation of gene expression to produce novel variation following hybridization. Genes involved in mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes and protein synthesis are enriched in the subset that is over-dominantly expressed in Italian sparrow testis, suggesting that selection on key functions has moulded the hybrid Italian sparrow transcriptome.
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