Early events in speciation: Cryptic species of Drosophila aldrichi.

Understanding the earliest events in speciation remains a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Thus identifying species whose populations are beginning to diverge can provide useful systems to study the process of speciation. Drosophila aldrichi, a cactophilic fruit fly species with a broad distribution in North America, has long been assumed to be a single species owing to its morphological uniformity. While previous reports either of genetic divergence or reproductive isolation among different D. aldrichi strains have hinted at the existence of cryptic species, the evolutionary relationships of this species across its range have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we show that D. aldrichi actually is paraphyletic with respect to its closest relative, Drosophila wheeleri, and that divergent D. aldrichi lineages show complete hybrid male sterility when crossed. Our data support the interpretation that there are at least two species of D. aldrichi, making these flies particularly attractive for studies of speciation in an ecological and geographical context.

The role of aedeagus size and shape in failed mating interactions among recently diverged taxa in the Drosophila mojavensis species cluster.

BACKGROUND: Investigating the evolution of species-specific insect genitalia is central to understanding how morphological diversification contributes to reproductive isolation and lineage divergence. While many studies evoke some form of sexual selection to explain genitalia diversity, the basis of selection and the mechanism of heterospecific mate exclusion remains vague. I conducted reciprocal mate pair trials in the Drosophila mojavensis species cluster to quantify the frequency of failed insemination attempts, historically referred to as pseudocopulation, between lineages with discrete size and shape differences of the male aedeagus. RESULTS: In cross-taxon matings aedeagus size had a significant effect on pseudocopulation frequencies, while aedeagus shape and genetic distance did not. The direction of the size difference was an important factor for successful mating. When females were mated to a cross-taxon male with a larger aedeagus than males from her own species, the pair could not establish a successful mating interaction. Females mated to cross-taxon males with a smaller aedeagus than conspecific males were able to establish the mating interaction but had issues disengaging at the end of the interaction. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support a role for aedeagus size in the male-female mating interaction, with a secondary role for aedeagus shape. In natural populations, mating failure based on aedeagus size could serve as an important reproductive isolating mechanism resulting in failed insemination attempts after both the male and female show a willingness to mate.

Population genetics and phylogenetic relationships of beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae and Staphylinidae) from the Sonoran Desert associated with rotting columnar cacti.

Dozens of arthropod species are known to feed and breed in the necrotic tissues (rots) of columnar cacti in the Sonoran Desert. Because the necrotic patches are ephemeral, the associated arthropods must continually disperse to new cacti and therefore the populations of any given species are expected to show very little local genetic differentiation. While this has been found to be true for the cactophilic Drosophila, the evolutionary histories and characteristics of other arthropods inhabiting the same necrotic patches, especially the beetles, have yet to be examined. Here we used nucleotide sequence data from segments of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) genes to examine population structure and demographic history of three sympatric beetle species (Coleoptera: Histeridae and Staphylinidae) collected on senita cactus (Lophocereus schottii) from six widely-separated localities on the Baja California peninsula of northwestern Mexico. Two histerids, Iliotona beyeri and Carcinops gilensis, and an unidentified staphylinid, Belonuchus sp., showed little or no population structure over a broad geographic area on the peninsula, consistent with the prediction that these beetles should show high dispersal ability. Demographic tests revealed varying levels of historical population expansion among the beetle species analyzed, which are discussed in light of their ecologies and concurrent biogeographic events. Additionally, phylogenetic analyses of COI sequences in Carcinops collected on a variety of columnar cacti from both peninsular and mainland Mexico localities revealed several species-level partitions, including a putative undescribed peninsular species that occurred sympatrically with C. gilensis on senita.

Evolution of reproductive morphology among recently diverged taxa in the Drosophila mojavensis species cluster.

The morphological evolution of sexual traits informs studies of speciation due to the potential role of these characters in reproductive isolation. In the current study, we quantified and compared genitalic variation within the Drosophila mojavensis species cluster to infer the mode of evolution of the male aedeagus. This system is ideal for such studies due to the opportunity to test and compare levels of variation along a divergence continuum at various taxonomic levels within the group. Shape variation was quantified using elliptic Fourier descriptors and compared among the four D. mojavensis host races, and between D. mojavensis and its sister species Drosophila arizonae. Aedeagus shape was diagnostic for D. arizonae, and among three of the four D. mojavensis subspecies. In each of these cases, there was less variation within subspecies than among subspecies, which is consistent with the pattern predicted if genitalia are evolving according to a punctuated change model, and are involved with mate recognition. However, aedeagus shape in Drosophila mojavensis sonorensis was highly variable and broadly overlapping with the other three subspecies, suggesting aedeagus evolution in this subspecies is more complex and subject to additional evolutionary factors. These results are interpreted and discussed in the context of selection on mate recognition systems and the potential for failed copulation.