Evolutionary adaptation to climate change.

When the notion of climate change emerged over 200 years ago, few speculated as to the impact of rising atmospheric temperatures on biological life. Tens of decades later, research clearly demonstrates that the impact of climate change on life on Earth is enormous, ongoing, and with foreseen effects lasting well into the next century. Responses to climate change have been widely documented. However, the breadth of phenotypic traits involved with evolutionary adaptation to climate change remains unclear. In addition, it is difficult to identify the genetic and/or epigenetic bases of phenotypes adaptive to climate change, in part because it often is not clear whether this change is plastic, genetic, or some combination of the two. Adaptive responses to climate-driven selection also interact with other processes driving genetic changes in general, including demography as well as selection driven by other factors. In this Special Issue, we explore the factors that will impact the overall outcome of climate change adaptation. Our contributions explain that traits involved in climate change adaptation include not only classic phenomena, such as range shifts and environmentally dependent sex determination, but also often overlooked phenomena such as social and sexual conflicts and the expression of stress hormones. We learn how climate-driven selection can be mediated via both natural and sexual selection, effectively influencing key fitness-related traits such as offspring growth and fertility as well as evolutionary potential. Finally, we explore the limits and opportunities for predicting adaptive responses to climate change. This contribution forms the basis of 10 actions that we believe will improve predictions of when and how organisms may adapt genetically to climate change. We anticipate that this Special Issue will inform novel investigations into how the effects of climate change unfold from phenotypes to genotypes, particularly as methodologies increasingly allow researchers to study selection in field experiments.

INdigenous Systems and Policies Improved and Reimagined for Ear and hearing care (INSPIRE): a multi-method study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Otitis media (middle ear disease) severity and chronicity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as gaps in socioeconomic outcomes related to hearing loss, indicates a breakdown in the current ear and hearing care system. The ear and hearing care system spans multiple sectors due to long-term impacts of otitis media and hearing loss in health, education and employment, necessitating a multi-disciplinary cross-sectorial approach to ear and hearing care. Public policies shape the current ear and hearing care system and here it is argued that a critical public policy analysis across different sectors is needed, with strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and guidance. The current study aims to establish consensus-based ear and hearing care policy solutions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This multi-method study will be guided by a Brains Trust with strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership. Public policies in hearing health, social services, and education will be scoped to identify policy gaps, using the World Health Organization framework. Qualitative data will be collected through a culturally specific process of yarning circles to identify policy challenges and/or limitations in enabling accessible ear and hearing care programs/services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, using dimensions of Morestin's public policy appraisal tool as an interview guide for stakeholders. Themes from the yarning circles will be used to inform an expert Delphi process to establish consensus-based policy solutions for optimising the ear and hearing care system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has approval from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Ethics Committee. Study findings will be disseminated to community through Brains Trust members and study participants, as well as through publications in peer-reviewed journals and research forum presentations.

Ear and hearing care programs for First Nations children: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Ear and hearing care programs are critical to early detection and management of otitis media (or middle ear disease). Otitis media and associated hearing loss disproportionately impacts First Nations children. This affects speech and language development, social and cognitive development and, in turn, education and life outcomes. This scoping review aimed to better understand how ear and hearing care programs for First Nations children in high-income colonial-settler countries aimed to reduce the burden of otitis media and increase equitable access to care. Specifically, the review aimed to chart program strategies, map the focus of each program against 4 parts of a care pathway (prevention, detection, diagnosis/management, rehabilitation), and to identify the factors that indicated the longer-term sustainability and success of programs. METHOD: A database search was conducted in March 2021 using Medline, Embase, Global Health, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and Academic Search Premier. Programs were eligible or inclusion if they had either been developed or run at any time between January 2010 to March 2021. Search terms encompassed terms such as First Nations children, ear and hearing care, and health programs, initiatives, campaigns, and services. RESULTS: Twenty-seven articles met the criteria to be included in the review and described a total of twenty-one ear and hearing care programs. Programs employed strategies to: (i) connect patients to specialist services, (ii) improve cultural safety of services, and (iii) increase access to ear and hearing care services. However, program evaluation measures were limited to outputs or the evaluation of service-level outcome, rather than patient-based outcomes. Factors which contributed to program sustainability included funding and community involvement although these were limited in many cases. CONCLUSION: The result of this study highlighted that programs primarily operate at two points along the care pathway-detection and diagnosis/management, presumably where the greatest need lies. Targeted strategies were used to address these, some which were limited in their approach. The success of many programs are evaluated as outputs, and many programs rely on funding sources which can potentially limit longer-term sustainability. Finally, the involvement of First Nations people and communities typically only occurred during implementation rather than across the development of the program. Future programs should be embedded within a connected system of care and tied to existing policies and funding streams to ensure long term viability. Programs should be governed and evaluated by First Nations communities to further ensure programs are sustainable and are designed to meet community needs.

The Effects of Two Organic Soil Amendments, Biochar and Insect Frass Fertilizer, on Shoot Growth of Cereal Seedlings.

To mitigate the environmental harm associated with high-input agriculture, arable farmers are increasingly required to maintain productivity while reducing inputs of synthetic fertilizers. Thus, a diverse range of organic products are now being investigated in terms of their value as alternative fertilizers and soil amendments. This study used a series of glasshouse trials to investigate the effects of an insect frass-based fertilizer derived from black soldier fly waste [HexaFrass™, Meath, Ireland] and biochar on four cereals grown in Ireland (barley, oats, triticale, spelt) as animal feed and for human consumption. In general, the application of low quantities of HexaFrass™ resulted in significant increases in shoot growth in all four cereal species, along with increased foliage concentrations of NPK and SPAD levels (a measure of chlorophyll density). These positive effects of HexaFrass™ on shoot growth were observed, however, only when a potting mix with low basal nutrients was used. Additionally, excessive application of HexaFrass™ resulted in reduced shoot growth and, in some cases, seedling mortality. The application of finely ground or crushed biochar produced from four different feedstocks (Ulex, Juncus, woodchip, olive stone) had no consistent positive or negative effects on cereal shoot growth. Overall, our results indicate that insect frass-based fertilizers have good potential in low-input, organic, or regenerative cereal production systems. Based on our results, biochar appears to have less potential as a plant growth promoting product, but could be used as a tool for lowering whole-farm carbon budgets by providing a simplistic means of storing carbon in farm soils.

Environmental influences on for-mediated oviposition decisions in Drosophila melanogaster.

Deciding whether or not to lay an egg on a given substrate is an important task undertaken by females of many arthropods. It involves perceiving the environment (e.g. quality of the substrate, temperature, and humidity), formulating a decision, and then conducting the appropriate behaviours to oviposit. This oviposition site selection (OSS) provides a useful system for studying simple decision-making. OSS in fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, is influenced by both genetic and environmental variation. Naturally occurring allelic variation in the foraging gene (for) is known to affect OSS. Given a choice of high- and low-nutrient oviposition substrates, groups of rovers (forR) are known to lay significantly more of their eggs on low-nutrient sites than sitters (fors) and sitter mutants (fors2). Here we ask three questions: (1) Is the role of for in OSS affected by the availability of alternate oviposition sites? (2) Is the role of for in OSS sensitive to the density of ovipositing females? and (3) Does the gustatory sensation of yeast play a role in for-mediated variation in OSS? We find a role of choice and female density in rover/sitter differences in OSS, as well as a role of for in response to glycerol, an indicator of yeast. The role of for in OSS decision-making is complex and multi-faceted and should prove fertile ground for further research into the factors affecting decision-making behaviours.

Habitat connectivity is determined by the scale of habitat loss and dispersal strategy.

Understanding factors that ameliorate the impact of habitat loss is a major focus of conservation research. One key factor influencing species persistence and evolution is the ability to disperse across increasingly patchy landscapes. Here we ask whether interpatch distance (a proxy for habitat loss) and dispersal strategy can interact to form thresholds where connectivity breaks down. We assayed dispersal across a range of interpatch distances in fruit flies carrying allelic variants of a gene known to underlie differences in dispersal strategy. Dispersal-limited flies experienced a distinct negative threshold in connectivity at greater interpatch distances, and this was not observed in more dispersive flies. Consequently, this differential response of dispersal-limited and more dispersive flies to decreasing connectivity suggests that habitat loss could have important implications on the evolution and maintenance of genetic variation underlying dispersal strategy.

'Foraging' for a place to lay eggs: A genetic link between foraging behaviour and oviposition preferences.

Gravid female arthropods in search of egg-laying substrates embark on foraging-like forays: they survey the environment assessing multiple patches, tasting each with their tarsi and proboscis, and then, if interested, they deposit an egg (or eggs). In fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, allelic variation in the foraging gene (for) underlies the rover/sitter foraging behaviour polymorphism. Rover flies (forR) are more active foragers (both within and between food patches) compared to sitters (fors). In nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans, a mutation in egl-4, the ortholog of for, leads to aberrations in egg laying. Given this and the notion that females may 'forage' for a place to oviposit, we hypothesized that for may underlie egg-laying decisions in the fruit fly. Indeed, when given a choice between patches of low- and high-nutrient availability, rovers lay significantly more eggs on the low-nutrient patches than sitters and also a sitter mutant (fors2). We confirm the role of for by inducing rover-like oviposition preferences in a sitter fly using the transgenic overexpression of for-mRNA in the nervous system.

Experimental evidence for the effect of habitat loss on the dynamics of migratory networks.

Migratory animals present a unique challenge for understanding the consequences of habitat loss on population dynamics because individuals are typically distributed over a series of interconnected breeding and non-breeding sites (termed migratory network). Using replicated breeding and non-breeding populations of Drosophila melanogaster and a mathematical model, we investigated three hypotheses to explain how habitat loss influenced the dynamics of populations in networks with different degrees of connectivity between breeding and non-breeding seasons. We found that habitat loss increased the degree of connectivity in the network and influenced population size at sites that were not directly connected to the site where habitat loss occurred. However, connected networks only buffered global population declines at high levels of habitat loss. Our results demonstrate why knowledge of the patterns of connectivity across a species range is critical for predicting the effects of environmental change and provide empirical evidence for why connected migratory networks are commonly found in nature.

Alleles underlying larval foraging behaviour influence adult dispersal in nature.

The dispersal and migration of organisms have resulted in the colonisation of nearly every possible habitat and ultimately the extraordinary diversity of life. Animal dispersal tendencies are commonly heterogeneous (e.g. long vs. short) and non-random suggesting that phenotypic and genotypic variability between individuals can contribute to population-level heterogeneity in dispersal. Using laboratory and field experiments, we demonstrate that natural allelic variation in a gene underlying a foraging polymorphism in larval fruit flies (for), also influences their dispersal tendencies as adults. Rover flies (for(R) ; higher foraging activity) have consistently greater dispersal tendencies and are more likely to disperse longer distances than sitter flies (for(s) ; lower foraging activity). Increasing for expression in the brain and nervous system increases dispersal in sitter flies. Our study supports the notion that variation in dispersal can be driven by intrinsic variation in food-dependent search behaviours and confirms that single gene pleiotropic effects can contribute to population-level heterogeneity in dispersal.

Adult adjustment of survivors of institutional child abuse in Ireland.

OBJECTIVE: To document the adult adjustment of survivors of childhood institutional abuse. METHOD: Two hundred and forty-seven adult survivors of institutional abuse with a mean age of 60 were interviewed with a protocol that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, modules from the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorders of DSM IV and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV Personality Disorders, the Trauma Symptom Inventory, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychological disorders among adult survivors of institutional abuse was over 80% and far higher than in the normal population, with anxiety, mood and substance use disorders being the most prevalent diagnoses. Survivors also had high rates of trauma symptoms and insecure adult attachment styles, and these were higher for those who had experienced both institutional and intrafamilial abuse. CONCLUSIONS: There was an association between the experience of institutional abuse in childhood and the prevalence of adult mental health problems, particularly anxiety, mood and substance use disorders. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Policies, practices and procedures should be regularly reviewed and revised to maximize protection of young people in institutional care. Evidence-based psychological treatment should be made available to adult survivors of institutional abuse.

Development and initial validation of the institutional child abuse processes and coping inventory among a sample of Irish adult survivors of institutional abuse.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a psychometric instrument to evaluate psychological processes associated with institutional abuse and coping strategies used to deal with such abuse. METHODS: As part of a comprehensive assessment protocol, an inventory containing theoretically derived multi-item rational scales which assessed institutional abuse-related psychological processes and coping strategies were administered to 247 Irish adult survivors of institutional child abuse. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to derive 6-factor scales, the reliability and validity of which were assessed. RESULTS: Factor scales to assess the following constructs were developed (1) traumatization, (2) re-enactment, (3) spiritual disengagement, (4) positive coping, (5) coping by complying, and (6) avoidant coping. There were varying degrees of support for the validity of the scales with most support for the traumatization and re-enactment scales. CONCLUSIONS: The Institutional Child Abuse Processes and Coping Inventory (ICAPCI), particularly its traumatization and re-enactment scales, may be used in future research on adult survivors of institutional child abuse because they are currently the only scales that have been developed with this population to provide reliable and valid assessments of these constructs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The ICAPCI may be used, cautiously, to assess adult survivors of institutional child abuse.

Profiles of Irish survivors of institutional abuse with different adult attachment styles.

Two hundred and forty seven survivors of institutional abuse in Ireland were classified with the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory as having fearful (44%), preoccupied (13%), dismissive (27%), or secure (17%) adult attachment styles. The group with the secure adult attachment style had the most positive profile, while the most negative profile occurred for the fearful group in terms of DSM IV diagnoses and scores on the Trauma Symptom Inventory, the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 scale, and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. The profile of the preoccupied group was more similar to that of the fearful group. The profile of the dismissive group was more similar to that of the secure group.

Behavioural genetics: worms seek that old beetle smell.

Some nematodes eavesdrop on pheromonal signals to sniff out their elderly beetle hosts. This turns out to be yet another behaviour regulated by cGMP/PKG signalling.

Maintaining a behaviour polymorphism by frequency-dependent selection on a single gene.

Accounting for the abundance of genetic variation in the face of natural selection remains a central problem of evolutionary biology. Genetic polymorphisms are constantly arising through mutation, and although most are promptly eliminated, polymorphisms in functionally important traits are common. One mechanism that can maintain polymorphisms is negative frequency-dependent selection on alternative alleles, whereby the fitness of each decreases as its frequency increases. Examples of frequency-dependent selection are rare, especially when attempting to describe the genetic basis of the phenotype under selection. Here we show frequency-dependent selection in a well-known natural genetic polymorphism affecting fruitfly foraging behaviour. When raised in low nutrient conditions, both of the naturally occurring alleles of the foraging gene (for(s) and for(R)) have their highest fitness when rare-the hallmark of negative frequency-dependent selection. This effect disappears at higher resources levels, demonstrating the role of larval competition. We are able to confirm the involvement of the foraging gene by showing that a sitter-like mutant allele on a rover background has similar frequency-dependent fitness as the natural sitter allele. Our study represents a clear demonstration of frequency-dependent selection, and we are able to attribute this effect to a single, naturally polymorphic gene known to affect behaviour.

Candidate genes for behavioural ecology.

In spite of millions of years of evolutionary divergence, the conservation of gene function is common across distant lineages. As such, genes that are known to influence behaviour in one organism are likely to influence similar behaviours in other organisms. Recent studies of the evolution of behaviour and morphological adaptation support this notion. Thus, the candidate gene approach offers great potential to expand our understanding of behavioural ecology. Changes in the expression of candidate genes can reveal their contribution to behavioural variation and/or phenotypic plasticity. Knowledge of gene function also enables experimental manipulation of behaviour in the lab and in the field. The candidate gene approach provides an accessible and useful tool for generating insights about animals that are not typically associated with genetic experimentation.

Pleiotropy and the genomic location of sexually selected genes.

Sexual selection drives the evolution of traits involved in the competition for mates. Although considerable research has focused on the evolution of sexually selected traits, their underlying genetic architecture is poorly resolved. Here I address the pleiotropic effects and genomic locations of sexually selected genes. These two important characteristics can impose considerable constraints on evolvability and may influence our understanding of the process of sexual selection. Theoretical models are inconsistent regarding the genomic location of sexually selected genes. Models that do not incorporate pleiotropic effects often predict sex linkage. Conversely, sex linkage is not explicitly predicted by the condition-dependent model (which considers pleiotropic effects). Evidence largely based on reciprocal crosses supports the notion of sex linkage. However, although they infer genetic contribution, reciprocal crosses cannot identify the genes or their pleiotropic effects. By surveying the genome of Drosophila melanogaster, I provide evidence for the genomic location and pleiotropic effects of 63 putatively sexually selected genes. Interestingly, most are pleiotropic (73%), and they are not preferentially sex linked. Their pleiotropic effects include fertility, development, life span, and viability, which may contribute to condition and/or fitness. My findings may also provide evidence for the capture of genetic variation in condition via the pleiotropic effects of sexually selected genes.

In Search of Food: Exploring the Evolutionary Link Between cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase (PKG) and Behaviour.

Despite an immense amount of variation in organisms throughout the animal kingdom many of their genes show substantial conservation in DNA sequence and protein function. Here we explore the potential for a conserved evolutionary relationship between genes and their behavioural phenotypes. We investigate the evolutionary history of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) and its possible conserved function in food-related behaviours. First identified for its role in the foraging behaviour of fruit flies, the PKG encoded by the foraging gene has since been associated with the maturation of behaviour (from nurse to forager) in honey bees and the roaming and dwelling food-related locomotion in nematodes. These parallels encouraged us to construct protein phylogenies using 32 PKG sequences that include 19 species. Our analyses suggest five possible evolutionary histories that can explain the apparent conserved link between PKG and behaviour in fruit flies, honey bees and nematodes. Three of these raise the hypothesis that PKG influences the food-related behaviours of a wide variety of animals including vertebrates. Moreover, it appears that the PKG gene was duplicated some time between the evolution of nematodes and a common ancestor of vertebrates and insects whereby current evidence suggests only the for-like PKG might be associated with food-related behaviour.