Neuroendocrine correlates of juvenile amphibian behaviors across a latitudinal cline.

We assessed the macrogeographic and neuroendocrine correlates of behavioral variation exhibited by juveniles, an important life stage for dispersal, across the expansive range of the wood frog. By rearing animals from eggs in a common garden then using a novel environment test, we uniquely demonstrated differential expression of juvenile behaviors among 16 populations spanning 8° latitude. On the individual level, cluster analysis indicated three major behavior profiles and principal component analysis resolved four unique axes of behavior, including escape, foraging, food intake, feeding efficiency. We found that increased escape behavior was associated with lower adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-induced circulating corticosterone (CORT) levels, however, foraging and food intake behaviors were not associated with either resting or ACTH-induced CORT. At the population level, the expression of foraging behaviors increased with latitude while food intake behaviors declined with latitude, which raised several hypotheses of eco-evolutionary processes likely driving this variation. Given that these behaviors covary along the same ecological gradient as locally adapted developmental traits, genomic studies in this species could provide deep insights into how HPA/I activity is associated with the eco-evolutionary processes that structure intraspecific variation in morphology and behavior.

Ecological adaptation drives wood frog population divergence in life history traits.

Phenotypic variation among populations is thought to be generated from spatial heterogeneity in environments that exert selection pressures that overcome the effects of gene flow and genetic drift. Here, we tested for evidence of isolation by distance or by ecology (i.e., ecological adaptation) to generate variation in early life history traits and phenotypic plasticity among 13 wood frog populations spanning 1200 km and 7° latitude. We conducted a common garden experiment and related trait variation to an ecological gradient derived from an ecological niche model (ENM) validated to account for population density variation. Shorter larval periods, smaller body weight, and relative leg lengths were exhibited by populations with colder mean annual temperatures, greater precipitation, and less seasonality in precipitation and higher population density (high-suitability ENM values). After accounting for neutral genetic variation, the QST-FST analysis supported ecological selection as the key process generating population divergence. Further, the relationship between ecology and traits was dependent upon larval density. Specifically, high-suitability/high-density populations in the northern part of the range were better at coping with greater conspecific competition, evidenced by greater postmetamorphic survival and no difference in body weight when reared under stressful conditions of high larval density. Our results support that both climate and competition selection pressures drive clinal variation in larval and metamorphic traits in this species. Range-wide studies like this one are essential for accurate predictions of population's responses to ongoing ecological change.

Corrigendum: Gender Differences in Grant Submissions across Science and Engineering Fields at the NSF.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa072.].

Gender Differences in Grant Submissions across Science and Engineering Fields at the NSF.

There has been great growth in women's participation in the US academic doctoral workforce, but underrepresentation remains in all science and engineering fields, especially at high academic ranks. We obtained estimates of the numbers of professorial women and men in fields likely to seek funding from the National Science Foundation and aligned those numbers with each of six research directorates to investigate temporal trends in submission patterns. We found that women are as likely to be funded as men, but the percentage of women submitting proposals was less than expected in every field but engineering. Women are as likely as men to be employed at the most research active institutions, but women are less likely than men to self-report research as their primary work activity in almost all fields but engineering. This work imbalance ultimately limits the diversity of basic science research ideas in science and engineering.

Distribution modelling of an introduced species: do adaptive genetic markers affect potential range?

Biological invasions have increased in the last few decades mostly due to anthropogenic causes such as globalization of trade. Because invaders sometimes cause large economic losses and ecological disturbances, estimating their origin and potential geographical ranges is useful. Drosophila subobscura is native to the Old World but was introduced in the New World in the late 1970s and spread widely. We incorporate information on adaptive genetic markers into ecological niche modelling and then estimate the most probable geographical source of colonizers; evaluate whether the genetic bottleneck experienced by founders affects their potential distribution; and finally test whether this species has spread to all its potential suitable habitats worldwide. We find the environmental space occupied by this species in its native and introduced distributions are notably the same, although the introduced niche has shifted slightly towards higher temperature and lower precipitation. The genetic bottleneck of founding individuals was a key factor limiting the spread of this introduced species. We also find that regions in the Mediterranean and north-central Portugal show the highest probability of being the origin of the colonizers. Using genetically informed environmental niche modelling can enhance our understanding of the initial colonization and spread of invasive species, and also elucidate potential areas of future expansions worldwide.

A demographic approach to understanding the effects of climate on population growth.

Amphibian life history traits are affected by temperature and precipitation. Yet, connecting these relationships to population growth, especially for multiple populations within a species, is lacking and precludes our understanding of amphibian population dynamics and distributions. Therefore, we constructed integral projection models for five populations along an elevational gradient to determine how climate and season affect population growth of a terrestrial salamander Plethodon montanus and the importance of demographic vital rates to population growth under varying climate scenarios. We found that population growth was typically higher at the highest elevation compared to the lower elevations, whereas varying inactive season conditions, represented by the late fall, winter and early spring, produced a greater variation in population growth than varying active season conditions (late spring, summer, and early fall). Furthermore, survival and growth were consistently more important, as measured by elasticity, compared to fecundity, and large females had the greatest elasticity compared to all other body sizes. Our results suggest that changing inactive season conditions, especially those that would affect the survival of large individuals, may have the greatest impact on population growth. We recommend future experimental studies focus on the inactive season to better elucidate the mechanisms by which these conditions can affect survival.

Formation of a recent hybrid zone offers insight into the geographic puzzle and maintenance of species boundaries in musk turtles.

Speciation is the result of an accumulation of reproductive barriers between populations, but pinpointing the factors involved is often difficult. However, hybrid zones can form when these barriers are not complete, especially when lineages come into contact in intermediate or modified habitats. We examine a hybrid zone between two closely related riverine turtle species, Sternotherus depressus and S. peltifer, and use dual-digest RAD sequencing to understand how this hybrid zone formed and elucidate genomic patterns of reproductive isolation. First, the geographical extent and timing of formation of the hybrid zone is established to provide context for understanding the role of extrinsic and intrinsic reproductive isolating mechanisms in this system. The strength of selection on taxon-specific contributions to maintenance of the hybrid zone is then inferred using a Bayesian genomic cline model. These analyses identify a role for selection inhibiting introgression in some genomic regions at one end of the hybrid zone and promoting introgression in many loci at the other. When selective pressures necessary to generate outliers to the genomic cline are considered with the geographical and temporal context of this hybrid zone, we conclude that habitat-specific selection probably limits introgression from S. depressus to S. peltifer in the direction of river flow. However, selection is mediating rapid, unidirectional introgression from S. peltifer to S. depressus, which is probably facilitated by anthropogenic habitat alteration. These findings indicate a potentially imminent threat of population-level genomic extinction for an already imperiled species due to ongoing human-caused habitat alteration.

Shifts in frog size and phenology: Testing predictions of climate change on a widespread anuran using data from prior to rapid climate warming.

Changes in body size and breeding phenology have been identified as two major ecological consequences of climate change, yet it remains unclear whether climate acts directly or indirectly on these variables. To better understand the relationship between climate and ecological changes, it is necessary to determine environmental predictors of both size and phenology using data from prior to the onset of rapid climate warming, and then to examine spatially explicit changes in climate, size, and phenology, not just general spatial and temporal trends. We used 100 years of natural history collection data for the wood frog, Lithobates sylvaticus with a range >9 million km2, and spatially explicit environmental data to determine the best predictors of size and phenology prior to rapid climate warming (1901-1960). We then tested how closely size and phenology changes predicted by those environmental variables reflected actual changes from 1961 to 2000. Size, phenology, and climate all changed as expected (smaller, earlier, and warmer, respectively) at broad spatial scales across the entire study range. However, while spatially explicit changes in climate variables accurately predicted changes in phenology, they did not accurately predict size changes during recent climate change (1961-2000), contrary to expectations from numerous recent studies. Our results suggest that changes in climate are directly linked to observed phenological shifts. However, the mechanisms driving observed body size changes are yet to be determined, given the less straightforward relationship between size and climate factors examined in this study. We recommend that caution be used in "space-for-time" studies where measures of a species' traits at lower latitudes or elevations are considered representative of those under future projected climate conditions. Future studies should aim to determine mechanisms driving trends in phenology and body size, as well as the impact of climate on population density, which may influence body size.

Resolving taxonomic turbulence and uncovering cryptic diversity in the musk turtles (Sternotherus) using robust demographic modeling.

Accurate and consistent delimitation of species and their relationships provides a necessary framework for comparative studies, understanding evolutionary relationships, and informing conservation management. Despite the ever-increasing availability of genomic data, evolutionary dynamics can still render some relationships exceedingly difficult to resolve, including underlying speciation events that are rapid, recent, or confounded by post-speciation introgression. Here we present an empirical study of musk turtles (Sternotherus), which illustrates approaches to resolve difficult nodes in the Tree of Life that robust species-tree methods fail to resolve. We sequence 4430 RAD-loci from 205 individuals. Independent coalescent-based analyses, corroborated with morphology and geography, strongly support the recognition of cryptic species within Sternotherus, but with conflicting or weak support for some intraspecific relationships. To resolve species-tree conflict, we use a likelihood-based approach to test support for alternative demographic models behind alternative speciation scenarios and argue that demographic model testing has an important role for resolving systematic relationships in recent, rapid radiations. Species-tree and demographic modeling strongly support the elevation of two nominal subspecies in Sternotherus to species and the recognition of a previously cryptic species (S. intermedius sp. nov.) described within. The evolutionary and taxonomic history of Sternotherus is discussed in the context of these new species and novel and well-supported systematic hypotheses.

Union of phylogeography and landscape genetics.

Phylogeography and landscape genetics have arisen within the past 30 y. Phylogeography is said to be the bridge between population genetics and systematics, and landscape genetics the bridge between landscape ecology and population genetics. Both fields can be considered as simply the amalgamation of classic biogeography with genetics and genomics; however, they differ in the temporal, spatial, and organismal scales addressed and the methodology used. I begin by briefly summarizing the history and purview of each field and suggest that, even though landscape genetics is a younger field (coined in 2003) than phylogeography (coined in 1987), early studies by Dobzhansky on the "microgeographic races" of Linanthus parryae in the Mojave Desert of California and Drosophila pseudoobscura across the western United States presaged the fields by over 40 y. Recent advances in theory, models, and methods have allowed researchers to better synthesize ecological and evolutionary processes in their quest to answer some of the most basic questions in biology. I highlight a few of these novel studies and emphasize three major areas ripe for investigation using spatially explicit genomic-scale data: the biogeography of speciation, lineage divergence and species delimitation, and understanding adaptation through time and space. Examples of areas in need of study are highlighted, and I end by advocating a union of phylogeography and landscape genetics under the more general field: biogeography.

Geophysiology of Wood Frogs: Landscape Patterns of Prevalence of Disease and Circulating Hormone Concentrations across the Eastern Range.

One of the major challenges for conservation physiologists is to determine how current or future environmental conditions relate to the health of animals at the population level. In this study, we measured prevalence of disease, mean condition of the body, and mean resting levels of corticosterone and testosterone in a total of 28 populations across the years 2011 and 2012, and correlated these measures of health to climatic suitability of habitat, using estimates from a model of the ecological niche of the wood frog's geographic range. Using the core-periphery hypothesis as a theoretical framework, we predicted a higher prevalence and intensity of infection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranaviruses, two major amphibian pathogens causing disease, and higher resting levels of circulating corticosterone, an indicator of allostatic load incurred from living in marginal habitats. We found that Bd infections were rare (2% of individuals tested), while infections with ranavirus were much more common: ranavirus-infected individuals were found in 92% of ponds tested over the 2 years. Contrary to our predictions, rates of infection with ranaviruses were positively correlated with quality of the habitat with the highest prevalence at the core of the range, and plasma corticosterone concentrations measured when frogs were at rest were not correlated with quality of the habitat, the prevalence of ranavirus, or the intensity of infection. Prevalence and mean viral titers of ranavirus infection were higher in 2012 than in 2011, which coincided with lower levels of circulating corticosterone and testosterone and an extremely early time of breeding due to relatively higher temperatures during the winter. In addition, the odds of having a ranavirus infection increased with decreased body condition, and if animals had an infection, viral titers were positively correlated to levels of circulating testosterone concentration. By resolving these patterns, experiments can be designed to test hypotheses about the mechanisms that produce them, such as whether transmission of the ranavirus and tolerance of the host are greater or whether virulence is lower in populations within core habitats. While there is debate about which metrics serve as the best bioindicators of population health, the findings of this study demonstrate the importance of long-term monitoring of multiple physiological parameters to better understand the dynamic relationship between the environment and the health of wildlife populations over space and time.

History matters more when explaining genetic diversity within the context of the core-periphery hypothesis.

The core-periphery hypothesis (CPH) predicts that populations located at the periphery of a species' range should have lower levels of genetic variation than those at the centre of the range. However, most of the research on the CPH focuses on geographic distance and not on ecological distance, or uses categorical definitions of core and periphery to explain the distribution of genetic diversity. We use current climate data and historical climate data from the last glacial maxima to develop quantitative estimates of contemporary and historical ecological suitability using ecological niche models. We analysed genetic diversity using 12 polymorphic microsatellites to estimate changes in heterozygosity, allelic richness and population differentiation in 31 populations of the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) spanning the species' entire eastern clade (33(o) to 45(o) latitude) from Alabama, USA, to Nova Scotia, Canada. Our data support predictions based on the CPH. Populations showed significant differences in genetic diversity across the range, with lower levels of genetic variation at the geographic range edge and in areas with lower levels of historical and contemporary ecological suitability. However, history and geography (not current ecological suitability) best explain the patterns. This study highlights the importance of examining more than just geography when assessing the CPH, and the importance of historical ecological suitability in the maintenance of genetic diversity and population differentiation.

A new species of leopard frog (Anura: Ranidae) from the urban northeastern US.

Past confusion about leopard frog (genus Rana) species composition in the Tri-State area of the US that includes New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), and Connecticut (CT) has hindered conservation and management efforts, especially where populations are declining or imperiled. We use nuclear and mitochondrial genetic data to clarify the identification and distribution of leopard frog species in this region. We focus on four problematic frog populations of uncertain species affiliation in northern NJ, southeastern mainland NY, and Staten Island to test the following hypotheses: (1) they are conspecific with Rana sphenocephala or R. pipiens, (2) they are hybrids between R. sphenocephala and R. pipiens, or (3) they represent one or more previously undescribed cryptic taxa. Bayesian phylogenetic and cluster analyses revealed that the four unknown populations collectively form a novel genetic lineage, which represents a previously undescribed cryptic leopard frog species, Rana sp. nov. Statistical support for R. sp. nov. was strong in both the Bayesian (pp=1.0) and maximum-likelihood (bootstrap=99) phylogenetic analyses as well as the Structure cluster analyses. While our data support recognition of R. sp. nov. as a novel species, we recommend further study including fine-scaled sampling and ecological, behavioral, call, and morphological analyses before it is formally described.

Phylogeographic analyses of the southern leopard frog: the impact of geography and climate on the distribution of genetic lineages vs. subspecies.

The southeastern United States is a major phylogeographic break hotspot for amphibians, but the processes underlying this hotspot remain to be explicitly tested. We test the correlation of genetic lineages with subspecies breaks in the southeastern United States and the association of such breaks with climate, using Rana sphenocephala as a case study, and place our results in the broader context of the Alabama-Appalachian suture zone (AL-Appalachian SZ). We use genetic and ecological methods to (i) determine whether genetic lineages are coincident with the AL-Appalachian SZ or the subspecies and (ii) test the correlation of major climatic breaks with genetic structure and morphological variation in R. sphenocephala. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the ND1 mtDNA gene and microsatellite cluster analyses revealed two distinct lineages with over 4% sequence divergence. The geographic distributions of the two lineages are concordant with the AL-Appalachian SZ but do not correspond to the ranges of the subspecies based on morphology. Mantel tests revealed that isolation by distance and historical barriers to gene flow, rather than climate, are the major drivers of genetic divergence at neutral loci. Examination of climate breaks across the Southeast revealed a pattern incongruent with suture zone hotspots, suggesting that phylogenetic structure has been driven primarily by historical factors, such as isolation, the Appalachian Mountains and the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint River Basin. However, climate breaks are consistent with the geographic distribution of the subspecies of R. sphenocephala, suggesting that environmental pressures may be driving divergence in morphological traits that outpaces molecular evolution.

Do species' traits predict recent shifts at expanding range edges?

Although some organisms have moved to higher elevations and latitudes in response to recent climate change, there is little consensus regarding the capacity of different species to track rapid climate change via range shifts. Understanding species' abilities to shift ranges has important implications for assessing extinction risk and predicting future community structure. At an expanding front, colonization rates are determined jointly by rates of reproduction and dispersal. In addition, establishment of viable populations requires that individuals find suitable resources in novel habitats. Thus, species with greater dispersal ability, reproductive rate and ecological generalization should be more likely to expand into new regions under climate change. Here, we assess current evidence for the relationship between leading-edge range shifts and species' traits. We found expected relationships for several datasets, including diet breadth in North American Passeriformes and egg-laying habitat in British Odonata. However, models generally had low explanatory power. Thus, even statistically and biologically meaningful relationships are unlikely to be of predictive utility for conservation and management. Trait-based range shift forecasts face several challenges, including quantifying relevant natural history variation across large numbers of species and coupling these data with extrinsic factors such as habitat fragmentation and availability.

Mapping amphibian contact zones and phylogeographical break hotspots across the United States.

Identifying congruence in the geographical position of lineage breaks and species range limits across multiple taxa is a focus of the field of comparative phylogeography. These regions are biogeographical hotspots for investigations into the processes driving divergence at multiple phylogenetic levels. We used spatially explicit statistical methods to identify these regions for amphibians across the United States. Significant clustering occurred in the Appalachian Mountains and in the general area of Alabama - a region underappreciated as an important amphibian hotspot. When the orders Caudata and Anura were examined separately, spatial clustering was still found in Alabama for both. However, in Caudata the Appalachians and California were also important, and for Anura, the Great Lakes region was highlighted. When species richness was statistically controlled, cluster hotspots shifted out of Alabama and the Appalachians and moved to broader swaths of the Great Lakes region, southwestern United States and California. The exact location of particular suture zones is probably a result of complex interactions between historical and ecological factors including physiography, climate and distance from glacial refugia. These contact zone and phylogeographical break hotspots are ideal arenas in which to test alternative speciation hypotheses and examine the extent of reproductive isolation using novel, integrative approaches combining modern methods in statistical phylogeography, ecological niche modelling and genomics.

Can mechanism inform species' distribution models?

Two major approaches address the need to predict species distributions in response to environmental changes. Correlative models estimate parameters phenomenologically by relating current distributions to environmental conditions. By contrast, mechanistic models incorporate explicit relationships between environmental conditions and organismal performance, estimated independently of current distributions. Mechanistic approaches include models that translate environmental conditions into biologically relevant metrics (e.g. potential duration of activity), models that capture environmental sensitivities of survivorship and fecundity, and models that use energetics to link environmental conditions and demography. We compared how two correlative and three mechanistic models predicted the ranges of two species: a skipper butterfly (Atalopedes campestris) and a fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus). Correlative and mechanistic models performed similarly in predicting current distributions, but mechanistic models predicted larger range shifts in response to climate change. Although mechanistic models theoretically should provide more accurate distribution predictions, there is much potential for improving their flexibility and performance.

Phylogeographic analysis and environmental niche modeling of the plain-bellied watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster) reveals low levels of genetic and ecological differentiation.

Species that exhibit geographically defined phenotypic variation traditionally have been divided into subspecies. Subspecies based on phenotypic features may not comprise monophyletic groups due to selection, gene flow, and/or convergent evolution. In many taxonomic groups the number of species once designated as widespread is dwindling rapidly, and many workers reject the concept of subspecies altogether. We tested whether currently recognized subspecies in the plain-bellied watersnake Nerodia erythrogaster are concordant with relationships based on mitochondrial markers, and whether it represents a single widespread species. The range of this taxon spans multiple potential biogeographic barriers (especially the Mississippi and Apalachicola Rivers) that correspond with lineage breaks in many species, including other snakes. We sequenced three mitochondrial genes (NADH-II, Cyt-b, Cox-I) from 156 geo-referenced specimens and developed ecological niche models using Maxent and spatially explicit climate data to examine historical and ecological factors affecting variation in N. erythrogaster across its range. Overall, we found little support for the recognized subspecies as either independent evolutionary lineages or geographically circumscribed units and conclude that although some genetic and niche differentiation has occurred, most populations assigned to N. erythrogaster appear to represent a single, widespread species. However, additional sampling and application of nuclear markers are necessary to clarify the status of the easternmost populations.

Competition at the range boundary in the slimy salamander: using reciprocal transplants for studies on the role of biotic interactions in spatial distributions.

1. Determining the factors that influence the distribution of species has been a longstanding goal in the field of ecology. New techniques such as ecological niche modelling have the potential to aid in addressing many broad questions in ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavioural ecology. 2. This study combines broad-scale ecological niche models with fine-scaled studies of biotic interactions to examine how abiotic and biotic interactions affect the spatial distribution of the terrestrial salamander species Plethodon glutinosus (northern slimy salamander), in a potential contact zone shared with Plethodon mississippi (Mississippi slimy salamander). 3. The core habitat in the interior portion of the range of P. glutinosus and the contact zone are distributed in unique environmental niche space. 4. The form of competition, inter- or intraspecific, significantly affected mass loss of adult salamanders. Salamanders lost more mass when interacting with a heterospecific. 5. Abiotic conditions strongly influenced the impact of competition on salamanders. Under stressful environmental conditions at the field site located in the contact zone, salamanders lost more mass than at the field site located in the interior of the range. 6. Furthermore, adult salamanders from range-edge populations and core populations (from the interior of the range) differed in their respective abilities to compete under the abiotic conditions in the contact zone.

A striking lack of genetic diversity across the wide-ranging amphibian Gastrophryne carolinensis (Anura: Microhylidae).

We examine phylogeographic structure across a wide-ranging microhylid frog (Gastrophryne carolinensis) using both mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear (AFLP) data. Species with similar ecological characteristics such as large range size, low vagility, or existence across known biogeographic barriers, often are comprised of multiple, cryptic lineages. Surprisingly, our analyses of both portions of the genome show very little phylogeographic or population genetic structure. The family Microhylidae is one of the largest families of anurans with over 60 genera and around 400 species distributed across much of the world (Americas, Asia, Africa, and Madagascar), but very few phylogeographic studies have assessed intraspecific genetic diversity across the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Our results suggest that G. carolinensis, one of only three species of microhylid native to the US, has experienced a severe population bottleneck with subsequent range expansion. Comparable molecular data from closely related microhylids, in addition to demographic and ecological analyses, will provide valuable insight into patterns of genetic diversity and the processes driving phylogeographic diversity in these wide-ranging frogs.