Balancing growth amidst salt stress - lifestyle perspectives from the extremophyte model Schrenkiella parvula.

Schrenkiella parvula, a leading extremophyte model in Brassicaceae, can grow and complete its lifecycle under multiple environmental stresses, including high salinity. Yet, the key physiological and structural traits underlying its stress-adapted lifestyle are unknown along with trade-offs when surviving salt stress at the expense of growth and reproduction. We aimed to identify the influential adaptive trait responses that lead to stress-resilient and uncompromised growth across developmental stages when treated with salt at levels known to inhibit growth in Arabidopsis and most crops. Its resilient growth was promoted by traits that synergistically allowed primary root growth in seedlings, the expansion of xylem vessels across the root-shoot continuum, and a high capacity to maintain tissue water levels by developing thicker succulent leaves while enabling photosynthesis during salt stress. A successful transition from vegetative to reproductive phase was initiated by salt-induced early flowering, resulting in viable seeds. Self-fertilization in salt-induced early flowering was dependent upon filament elongation in flowers otherwise aborted in the absence of salt during comparable plant ages. The maintenance of leaf water status promoting growth, and early flowering to ensure reproductive success in a changing environment, were among the most influential traits that contributed to the extremophytic lifestyle of S. parvula.

Living fast, dying young: Anthropogenic habitat modification influences the fitness and life history traits of a cooperative breeder.

Anthropogenic habitat modification can indirectly effect reproduction and survival in social species by changing the group structure and social interactions. We assessed the impact of habitat modification on the fitness and life history traits of a cooperative breeder, the Arabian babbler (Argya squamiceps). We collected spatial, reproductive and social data on 572 individuals belonging to 21 social groups over 6 years and combined it with remote sensing to characterize group territories in an arid landscape. In modified resource-rich habitats, groups bred more and had greater productivity, but individuals lived shorter lives than in natural habitats. Habitat modification favoured a faster pace-of-life with lower dispersal and dominance acquisition ages, which might be driven by higher mortality providing opportunities for the dominant breeding positions. Thus, habitat modification might indirectly impact fitness through changes in social structures. This study shows that trade-offs in novel anthropogenic opportunities might offset survival costs by increased productivity.

Flower-bee versus pollen-bee metanetworks in fragmented landscapes.

Understanding the organization of mutualistic networks at multiple spatial scales is key to ensure biological conservation and functionality in human-modified ecosystems. Yet, how changing habitat and landscape features affect pollen-bee interaction networks is still poorly understood. Here, we analysed how bee-flower visitation and bee-pollen-transport interactions respond to habitat fragmentation at the local network and regional metanetwork scales, combining data from 29 fragments of calcareous grasslands, an endangered biodiversity hotspot in central Europe. We found that only 37% of the total unique pairwise species interactions occurred in both pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, whereas 28% and 35% were exclusive to pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, respectively. At local level, network specialization was higher in pollen-transport networks, and was negatively related to the diversity of land cover types in both network types. At metanetwork level, pollen transport data revealed that the proportion of single-fragment interactions increased with landscape diversity. Our results show that the specialization of calcareous grasslands' plant-pollinator networks decreases with landscape diversity, but network specialization is underestimated when only based on flower visitation information. Pollen transport data, more than flower visitation, and multi-scale analyses of metanetworks are fundamental for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in human-dominated landscapes.

Population trends are more strongly linked to environmental change and species traits in birds than mammals.

Changes in land use and climate directly impact species populations. Species with divergent characteristics may respond differently to these changes. Therefore, understanding species' responses to environmental changes is fundamental for alleviating biodiversity loss. However, the relationships between land use changes, climate changes, species' intrinsic traits and population changes at different spatial scales have not been tested. In this study, we analysed the effects of land use and climate changes from different time periods and species traits on the population change rates of 2195 bird and mammal populations in 577 species recorded in the Living Planet Database at global, tropical and temperate scales. We hypothesized that both bird and mammal populations will decline owing to climate and land use changes, especially phylogenetically young and small-bodied species. We found that bird population trends were more closely related to environmental changes and phylogenetic age than those of mammals at global and temperate scales. Mammal population trends were not significantly correlated with land use or climate changes but were with longevity at global and temperate scales. Given the divergent responses of bird and mammal populations to these explanatory variables, different conservation strategies should be considered for these taxa and for different regions.

Turning trash into treasure: Hermetia illucens microbiome and biodegradation of industrial side streams.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have attracted attention due to their ability to upcycle various biological side streams into valuable biomass, such as proteins, lipids, and chitin. In this study, we investigated the impact of high-fiber diets on larval growth performance and the shift of microbes in the gut. We tested empty fruit bunches (EFB), potato pulp (PP), and cottonseed press cake (CPC), with chicken feed (CF) used as a control diet. We found that larvae reared on the EFB, PP, and CPC were smaller than control larvae at the end of development due to the low nutritional value of the diets. However, survival rates of more than 90% were observed regardless of the diet. We used a cultivation-dependent approach to analyze the microbial community in the gut of BSFL, isolated, and identified a total of 329 bacterial strains. Bacillaceae were most frequently isolated from larvae reared on the high-fiber EFB diet. These isolates were predicted to degrade cellulose in silico and this was subsequently confirmed in vitro using the Congo Red assay. Whereas the members of Enterobacteriaceae and Morganellaceae were mostly found in guts of larvae reared on the high-protein diets CPC and CF. We conclude that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the digestion of fiber-rich plant organic material, thereby enabling the BSFL to successfully complete their life cycle also on substrates with low nutritional value. As a result, BSFL convert industrial side streams into valuable biomass, reducing waste and promoting sustainability. IMPORTANCE: Organic side streams from various industries pose a challenge to the environment. They are often present in huge amounts and are mostly discarded, incinerated, used for biogas production, or as feed for ruminant animals. Many plant-based side streams contain difficult-to-digest fiber as well as anti-nutritional or even insecticidal compounds that could harm the animals. These challenges can be addressed using black soldier fly larvae, which are known to degrade various organic substrates and convert them into valuable biomass. This will help mitigate agro-industrial side streams via efficient waste management and will contribute to the more economical and sustainable farming of insects.

Exact confidence intervals for population growth rate, longevity and generation time.

By quantifying key life history parameters in populations, such as growth rate, longevity, and generation time, researchers and administrators can obtain valuable insights into its dynamics. Although point estimates of demographic parameters have been available since the inception of demography as a scientific discipline, the construction of confidence intervals has typically relied on approximations through series expansions or computationally intensive techniques. This study introduces the first mathematical expression for calculating confidence intervals for the aforementioned life history traits when individuals are unidentifiable and data are presented as a life table. The key finding is the accurate estimation of the confidence interval for r, the instantaneous growth rate, which is tested using Monte Carlo simulations with four arbitrary discrete distributions. In comparison to the bootstrap method, the proposed interval construction method proves more efficient, particularly for experiments with a total offspring size below 400. We discuss handling cases where data are organized in extended life tables or as a matrix of vital rates. We have developed and provided accompanying code to facilitate these computations.

Temperature variability regulates the interactive effects of warming and pharmaceutical on aquatic ecosystem dynamics.

Climate warming and pharmaceutical contaminants have profound impacts on population dynamics and ecological community structure, yet the consequences of their interactive effects remain poorly understood. Here, we explore how climate warming interacts with pharmaceutical-induced boldness change to affect aquatic ecosystems, built on an empirically well-informed food-chain model, consisting of a size-structured fish consumer, a zooplankton prey, and a fish predator. Climate warming is characterized by both daily mean temperature (DMT) and diurnal temperature range (DTR) in our model. Results show that DMT and high levels of species' boldness are the primary drivers of community instability. However, their interactive effects can lead to diverse outcomes: from predator collapse to coexistence with seasonality-driven cycles and coexistence with population interaction-driven cycles. The interactive effects are significantly modulated by daily temperature variability, where moderate DTR counteracts the destabilizing interactive effects by increasing consumer reproduction, while large temperature variability considerably reduces consumer biomass, destabilizing the community at high mean temperatures. Our analyses disentangle the respective roles of DMT, DTR and boldness in mediating the response of aquatic ecosystems to the impacts from pharmaceutical contaminants in the context of climate warming. The interactive effects of the environmental stressors reported here underscore the pressing need for studies aimed at quantifying the cumulative impacts of multiple environmental stressors on aquatic ecosystems.

Telomeres and telomerase: active but complex players in life-history decisions.

Studies on human telomeres have established that telomeres exert a significant influence on lifespan and health of organisms. However, recent research has indicated that the original idea that telomeres affect lifespan in a universal and central manner across all eukaryotic species is an oversimplification. Indeed, findings from a variety of animal species revealed that the role of telomere biology in aging is more subtle and intricate than previously recognized. Here, we show how telomere biology varies depending on the taxon. We also show how telomere biology corresponds to basic life history traits and affects the life table of a species and investments in growth, body size, reproduction, and lifespan; telomeres are hypothesized to shape evolutionary perspectives for species in an active but complex manner. Our evaluation is based on telomere biology data from many examples from throughout the animal kingdom that vary according to the degree of organismal complexity and life history strategies.

Temperature-dependent dispersal and ectotherm species' distributions in a warming world.

Dispersal is a crucial component of species' responses to climate warming. Warming-induced changes in species' distributions are the outcome of how temperature affects dispersal at the individual level. Yet, there is little or no theory that considers the temperature dependence of dispersal when investigating the impacts of warming on species' distributions. Here I take a first step towards filling this key gap in our knowledge. I focus on ectotherms, species whose body temperature depends on the environmental temperature, not least because they constitute the majority of biodiversity on the planet. I develop a mathematical model of spatial population dynamics that explicitly incorporates mechanistic descriptions of ectotherm life history trait responses to temperature. A novel feature of this framework is the explicit temperature dependence of all phases of dispersal: emigration, transfer and settlement. I report three key findings. First, dispersal, regardless of whether it is random or temperature-dependent, allows both tropical and temperate ectotherms to track warming-induced changes in their thermal environments and to expand their distributions beyond the lower and upper thermal limits of their respective climate envelopes. In the absence of dispersal mortality, warming does not alter these new distributional limits. Second, an analysis based solely on trait response data predicts that tropical ectotherms should be able to expand their distributions polewards to a greater degree than temperate ectotherms. Analysis of the dynamical model confirms this prediction. Tropical ectotherms have an advantage when moving to cooler climates because they experience lower within-patch and dispersal mortality, and their higher thermal optima and maximal birth rates allow them to take advantage of the warmer parts of the year. Previous theory has shown that tropical ectotherms are more successful in invading and adapting the temperate climates than vice versa. This study provides the key missing piece, by showing how temperature-dependent dispersal could facilitate both invasion and adaptation. Third, dispersal mortality does not affect the poleward expansion of ectotherm distributions. But, it prevents both tropical and temperate ectotherms from maintaining sink populations in localities that are too warm to be viable in the absence of dispersal. Dispersal mortality also affects species' abundance patterns, causing a larger decline in abundance throughout the range when species disperse randomly rather than in response to thermal habitat suitability. In this way, dispersal mortality can facilitate the evolution of dispersal modes that maximize fitness in warmer thermal environments.

A test of trade-offs in dispersal and reproduction within and between a sister species pair of specialist insect herbivores.

Understanding the drivers of trade-offs among traits is vital for comprehending the evolution and maintenance of trait variation. Theoretical frameworks propose that evolutionary mechanisms governing trade-offs frequently exhibit a scale-dependent nature. However, empirical tests of whether trade-offs exhibited across various biological scales (i.e. individuals, populations, species, genera, etc.) remains scarce. In this study, we explore trade-off between dispersal and reproductive effort among sympatric sister species of wasps in the genus Belonocnema (Hymenoptera: Cynipini: Cynipidae) that form galls on live oaks: B. fossoria, which specializes on Quercus geminata, and B. treatae, which specializes on Q. virginiana. Specifically, our results suggest that B. fossoria has evolved reduced flight capability and smaller wings, but a larger abdomen and greater total reproductive effort than B. treatae, which has larger wings and is a stronger flier, but has a smaller abdomen and reduced total reproductive effort. These traits and the relationships among them remain unchanged when B. fossoria and B. treatae are transplanted and reared onto the alternative host plant, suggesting that trait divergence is genetically based as opposed to being a plastic response to the different rearing environments. However, when looking within species, we found no evidence of intraspecific trade-offs between wing length and reproductive traits within either B. fossoria or B. treatae. Overall, our results indicate that observed trade-offs in life history traits between the two gall former species are likely a result of independent adaptations in response to different environments as opposed to the amplified expression of within species intrinsic tradeoffs.

Deleterious effects of Wolbachia on life history and physiological traits of common pill woodlice.

Most of eukaryotic organisms live in close interaction with micro-organisms called symbionts. Symbiotic interactions underpin the evolution of biological complexity, the health of organisms and, ultimately, the proper functioning of ecosystems. While some symbionts confer adaptive benefits on their host (mutualistic symbionts) and others clearly induce costs (parasitic symbionts), a number of micro-organisms are difficult to classify because they have been described as conferring both benefits and costs on their host. This is particularly true of the most widespread animal endosymbiont, Wolbachia pipientis. In this study, we investigated the influence of Wolbachia infection on a broad spectrum of ecological and physiological parameters of one of its native hosts, Armadillidium vulgare. The aim was to gain as complete a picture as possible of the influence of this endosymbiont on its host. Our results showed that the presence of Wolbachia resulted in a decrease in individual reproductive success and survival. Host immune cells density decreased and ß-galactosidase activity (ageing biomarker) increased with the presence of Wolbachia, suggesting a negative impact of this endosymbiont on woodlice health. While previous studies have shown that Wolbachia can have a positive impact on the immunocompetence of A. vulgare, here we shed more light on the costs of infection. Our results illustrate the complex dynamics that exist between Wolbachia and its arthropod host and therefore offer valuable insights into the intricate interplay of symbiotic relationships in ecological systems.

Effects of warming at embryonic and larval stages on tadpole fitness in high-altitude Rana kukunoris.

Global warming may affect the early developmental stages of high-altitude amphibians, thereby influencing their later fitness. Yet, this has been largely unexplored. To investigate whether and how the temperatures experienced by embryonic and larval stages affect their fitness at later developmental stages, we designed two experiments in which the embryos and larvae were treated with three temperatures (24, 18 and 12 °C), respectively. Then, the life history traits of the tadpoles during the metamorphotic climax in all treatments were evaluated, including growth rate, survival rate, morphology, thermal physiology, swimming performance, standard metabolic rate (SMR), oxidative and antioxidative system, and metabolic enzyme activities. The results revealed that elevated temperature accelerated metamorphosis but decreased body size at metamorphosis. Additionally, warming during the embryonic and larval stages decreased the thermal tolerance range and induced increased oxidative stress. Furthermore, high embryonic temperature significantly decreased the hatching success, but had no significant effect on swimming performance and SMR. Warming during larval periods was harmful to the survival and swimming performance of tadpoles. The effect size analysis revealed that the negative impacts of embryonic temperature on certain physiological traits, such as growth and development, survival and swimming performance, were more pronounced than those of larval temperature. Our results highlight the necessity for particular attention to be paid to the early stages of amphibians, notably the embryonic stages when evaluating the impact of global warming on their survival.

Reduction in size-at-maturity in unprecedentedly strong cohorts of redfish (Sebastes mentella and S. fasciatus) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian Channel.

Life-history traits, such as size-at-maturity, are key parameters to model population dynamics used to inform fisheries management. Fishery-induced evolution, density-dependent effects, and global warming have been shown to affect size- and age-at-maturity, and resulting spawning stock biomass (SSB) in a wide range of commercial fish stocks. Marked changes in redfish biomass and environmental conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian Channel over the past decade called for a review and update of size-at-maturity for commercially important deepwater redfish Sebastes mentella and Acadian redfish Sebastes fasciatus stocks. Following a 25-year moratorium, local redfish biomass has recently reached unprecedented levels, co-occurring with an overall warming of bottom water temperatures. Our objectives were (1) to perform a histological assessment of redfish reproduction stages, including the validation and fine-tuning of a robust visual chart to facilitate monitoring of size-at-maturity and SSB in a transforming environment, and (2) to evaluate changes in size-at-maturity in unprecedentedly strong cohorts of redfish, and consequences for stock status assessment and fisheries management. Each specimen was genetically identified to species, and gonad reproduction stages were determined by histology and macroscopic appearances. The present study enabled a robust visual chart for continued and cost-effective monitoring of redfish reproduction stages to be refined and validated, and has shown a large decrease in redfish length when 50% of the individuals are considered mature that led to an increase in estimates of SSB during the 2011-2021 period for S. mentella and S. fasciatus. These changes modified the perception of stock status, thus having significant implications for fisheries management. Given that fishery-induced evolution and community structure changes along with global warming are affecting numerous stocks worldwide, the present study outlines a major and global challenge for scientists and resources managers. As shown by our results, the monitoring and frequent updates of life-history traits in transforming environments are needed to provide reliable science advice for sustainable fisheries.

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) survival modeling based on a 22-year capture-mark-recapture survey of a Mediterranean subpopulation.

Since the 1980s, the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) has declined by over 90% in recruitment across its European and North African distribution area. This diadromous fish spawns at sea and migrates into continental waters, where it grows for three to more than 30 years, depending on habitat conditions and location. During their growth, different habitat use tactics can locally influence the life-history traits of eels, including their survival rates. Thus, the spatio-temporal dimension of this species is crucial for management. Based on a rare Mediterranean long-term survey of more than 20 years (2001-2022) in an artificial drainage canal connected to a vast brackish lagoon (the Vaccarès lagoon), we aimed to study the dynamics of one subpopulation's life-history traits. We used Bayesian multistate capture-mark-recapture (CMR) models to assess the temporal variability in survival and abundance at both seasonal and inter-annual scales, considering life-stage structure. High survival rates and low detection probabilities were found for the undifferentiated and female yellow stages. In contrast, female silver eels exhibited lower survival rates and higher capture probabilities. Estimating detection probabilities and survival rates enabled accurate assessment of relative abundance across different life stages and time periods. Our findings indicated a substantial decrease in the abundance of undifferentiated and female yellow eels in the early 2000s, whereas the abundance of female silver eels remained consistently low yet stable throughout the study period. Considering the life stage seemed essential to study the dynamics of the eel during its continental growing period. The present results will provide key elements to propose and implement suitable sustainable environmental management strategies for eel conservation.

A multi-population approach supports common patterns in marine growth and maturation decision in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) from southern Europe.

This study provides a regional picture of long-term changes in Atlantic salmon growth at the southern edge of their distribution, using a multi-population approach spanning 49 years and five populations. We provide empirical evidence of salmon life history being influenced by a combination of common signals in the marine environment and population-specific signals. We identified an abrupt decline in growth from 1976 and a more recent decline after 2005. As these declines have also been recorded in northern European populations, our study significantly expands a pattern of declining marine growth to include southern European populations, thereby revealing a large-scale synchrony in marine growth patterns for almost five decades. Growth increments during their sea sojourn were characterized by distinct temporal dynamics. At a coarse temporal resolution, growth during the first winter at sea seemed to gradually improve over the study period. However, the analysis of finer seasonal growth patterns revealed ecological bottlenecks of salmon life histories at sea in time and space. Our study reinforces existing evidence of an impact of early marine growth on maturation decision, with small-sized individuals at the end of the first summer at sea being more likely to delay maturation. However, each population was characterized by a specific probabilistic maturation reaction norm, and a local component of growth at sea in which some populations have better growth in some years might further amplify differences in maturation rate. Differences between populations were smaller than those between sexes, suggesting that the sex-specific growth threshold for maturation is a well-conserved evolutionary phenomenon in salmon. Finally, our results illustrate that although most of the gain in length occurs during the first summer at sea, the temporal variability in body length at return is buffered against the decrease in post-smolt growth conditions. The intricate combination of growth over successive seasons, and its interplay with the maturation decision, could be regulating body length by maintaining diversity in early growth trajectories, life histories, and the composition of salmon populations.

Senescence and the stress axis: a constraint or a trade-off of reproduction in mammals with fast and slow life histories.

A critical time in the life of a male occurs at reproduction, when his behaviour, physiology and resources must be brought to bear for the central purpose of his life-propagating his genes. We ask whether reproduction results in dysfunction of the stress axis, is linked to life history, and causes senescence. We assessed if deterioration in the axis underlies variation in reproductive lifespan in males of five species of North American ground squirrels whose life history varies from near semelparity to iteroparity. The most stressful and energy-demanding time occurs in spring during the intense 2-3 week breeding competition just after arousal from hibernation. We compared their stress axis functioning before and after the mating period using a hormonal challenge protocol. We found no evidence of stress axis dysfunction after reproduction in any species nor was there a relationship between reproductive lifespan and stress axis functional deterioration. Moreover, there was no consistent relationship between free cortisol levels and downstream measures (energy mobilization, haematology, immunity and body indices of condition). Thus, stress axis function was not traded off to promote reproduction irrespective of life history and lifespan, and we conclude that it is a prerequisite for life. Hence, it functions as a constraint and does not undergo senescence.

The effect of placentation type, litter size, lactation and gestation length on cancer risk in mammals.

Reproduction is a central activity for all living organisms but is also associated with a diversity of costs that are detrimental for survival. Until recently, the cost of cancer as a selective force has been poorly considered. Considering 191 mammal species, we found cancer mortality was more likely to be detected in species having large, rather than low, litter sizes and long lactation lengths regardless of the placentation types. However, increasing litter size and gestation length are not per se associated with an enhanced cancer mortality risk. Contrary to basic theoretical expectations, the species with the highest cancer mortality were not those with the most invasive (i.e. haemochorial) placentation, but those with a moderately invasive (i.e. endotheliochorial) one. Overall, these results suggest that (i) high reproductive efforts favour oncogenic processes' dynamics, presumably because of trade-offs between allocation in reproduction effort and anti-cancer defences, (ii) cancer defence mechanisms in animals are most often adjusted to align reproductive lifespan, and (iii) malignant cells co-opt existing molecular and physiological pathways for placentation, but species with the most invasive placentation have also selected for potent barriers against lethal cancers. This work suggests that the logic of Peto's paradox seems to be applicable to other traits that promote tumorigenesis.

Mapping the nutritional landscape in the yellow mealworm: testing the nutrient-mediated life-history trade-offs.

Animals must acquire an ideal amount and balance of macronutrients to optimize their performance, health and fitness. The nutritional landscape provides an integrative framework for analysing how animal phenotypes are associated with multiple nutritional components. Here, we applied this powerful approach to examine how the intake of protein and carbohydrate affects nutrient acquisition and performance in the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) reared on one of 42 synthetic foods varying in protein and carbohydrate content. Tenebrio molitor larvae increased their food consumption rate in response to nutrient dilution, but this increase was not sufficient to fully compensate for the dilution. Diluting the food nutrient content with cellulose reduced the efficiency of post-ingestive nutrient utilization, further restricting macronutrient acquisition. Tenebrio molitor larvae utilized macronutrients most efficiently at a protein to carbohydrate (P:C) ratio of 1.77:1, but became less efficient at imbalanced P:C ratios. Survivorship was high at high protein intake and fell with decreasing protein intake. Pupal mass and growth rate exhibited a bell-shaped landscape, with the nutritional optima being located around protein-biased P:C ratios of 1.99:1 to 2.03:1 and 1.66:1 to 2.86:1, respectively. The nutritional optimum for development time was also identified at high P:C ratios (1.66:1  to 5.86:1). Unlike these performance traits, lipid content was maximized at carbohydrate-biased P:C ratios of 1:3.88 to 1:3.06. When given a food choice, T. molitor larvae self-composed a slightly carbohydrate-biased P:C ratio of 1:1.24, which lies between the P:C ratios that maximize performance and lipid content. Our findings indicate the occurrence of a nutrient-mediated trade-off between performance and energy storage in this insect.

Life span, growth, senescence and island syndrome: Accounting for imperfect detection and continuous growth.

Small vertebrates on islands are expected to attain a larger body size, and a greater survival than their mainland counterparts. Comparative studies have questioned whether lizards exhibit this set of adaptations, referred to as the 'island syndrome'. We collected data on 730 individuals the endemic Lilford's lizard Podarcis lilfordi throughout a 10-year period on a small island of the Balearic archipelago (Spain). We coupled a growth function with a capture-mark-recapture model to simultaneously estimate size- and sex-dependent growth rate and survival. To put our results into a wider context, we conducted a systematic review of growth, life span and age at maturity in different Podarcis species comparing insular and mainland populations. We found a low average growth coefficient (0.56 and 0.41 year-1 for males and females to reach an asymptotic size of 72.3 and 65.6 mm respectively), a high annual survival probability of 0.81 and 0.79 in males and females, and a large variability between individuals in growth parameters. Survival probability decreased with body size in both sexes, indicating a senescence pattern typical of long-lived species or in populations with a low extrinsic mortality. Assuming a constant survival after sexual maturity, at about 2 years old, the average life span was 6.18 years in males and 8.99 in females. The oldest animal was a male last captured at an estimated age of ≥13 years and still alive at the end of the study. Our results agree with the predictions of the 'island syndrome' for survival, life span and growth parameters. A comparative analysis of these values across 29 populations of 16 different species of Podarcis indicated that insular lizards grow slower and live longer than their mainland counterparts. However, our data differed from other island populations of the same species, suggesting that island-specific characteristics play an additional role to isolation. Within this study we developed an analytical approach to study the body size-dependent survival of small reptiles. We discuss its applicability to contrast hypotheses on senescence in different sexes of this species, and provide the code used to integrate the growth and capture-mark-recapture models.

Fewer chromosomes, more co-occurring species within plant lineages: A likely effect of local survival and colonization.

PREMISE: Plant lineages differ markedly in species richness globally, regionally, and locally. Differences in whole-genome characteristics (WGCs) such as monoploid chromosome number, genome size, and ploidy level may explain differences in global species richness through speciation or global extinction. However, it is unknown whether WGCs drive species richness within lineages also in a recent, postglacial regional flora or in local plant communities through local extinction or colonization and regional species turnover. METHODS: We tested for relationships between WGCs and richness of angiosperm families across the Netherlands/Germany/Czechia as a region, and within 193,449 local vegetation plots. RESULTS: Families that are species-rich across the region have lower ploidy levels and small monoploid chromosomes numbers or both (interaction terms), but the relationships disappear after accounting for continental and local richness of families. Families that are species-rich within occupied localities have small numbers of polyploidy and monoploid chromosome numbers or both, independent of their own regional richness and the local richness of all other locally co-occurring species in the plots. Relationships between WGCs and family species-richness persisted after accounting for niche characteristics and life histories. CONCLUSIONS: Families that have few chromosomes, either monoploid or holoploid, succeed in maintaining many species in local communities and across a continent and, as indirect consequence of both, across a region. We suggest evolutionary mechanisms to explain how small chromosome numbers and ploidy levels might decrease rates of local extinction and increase rates of colonization. The genome of a macroevolutionary lineage may ultimately control whether its species can ecologically coexist.