Deviations of genotypic frequencies from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) expectations could reveal important aspects of the biology of populations. Deviations from HWE due to heterozygote deficits have been recorded for three plant-parasitic nematode species. However, it has never been determined whether the observed deficits were due (i) to the presence of null alleles, (ii) to a high level of consanguinity and/or (iii) to a Wahlund effect. The aim of the present work was, while taking into the possible confounding effect of null alleles, to disentangle consanguinity and Wahlund effect in natural populations of those three economically important cyst nematodes using microsatellite markers: Globodera pallida, G. tabacum and Heterodera schachtii, pests of potato, tobacco and sugar beet, respectively. The results show a consistent pattern of heterozygote deficiency in the three nematode species sampled at the spatial scale of the host plant. We demonstrate that the prevalence of null alleles is weak and that heterozygote deficits do not have a single origin. Our results suggested that it is restricted dispersal that leads to heterozygote deficits through both consanguinity and substructure, which effects can be linked to soil movement, cyst density, and the number of generations per year. We discuss potential implications for the durability of plant resistances that are used to protect crops against parasites in which mating between relatives occur. While consanguineous mating leads to homozygosity at all loci, including loci governing avirulence/virulence, which favours the expression of virulence when recessive, the Wahlund effect is expected to have no particular effect on the adaptation of nematodes to resistances.

Monitoring wild populations is crucial for their effective management. Noninvasive genetic methods provide robust data from individual free-ranging animals, which can be used in capture-mark-recapture (CMR) models to estimate demographic parameters without capturing or disturbing them. However, sex- and status-specific behaviour, which may lead to differences in detection probabilities, is rarely considered in monitoring. Here, we investigated population size, sex ratio, sex- and status-related behaviour in 19 Rhinolophus hipposideros maternity colonies (Northern France) with a noninvasive genetic CMR approach (using faeces) combined with parentage assignments. The use of the DDX3X/Y-Mam sexual marker designed in this study, which shows inter- and intrachromosomal length polymorphism across placental mammals, together with eight polymorphic microsatellite markers, produced high-quality genetic data with limited genotyping errors and allowed us to reliably distinguish different categories of individuals (males, reproductive and nonreproductive females) and to estimate population sizes. We showed that visual counts represent well-adult female numbers and that population composition in maternity colonies changes dynamically during the summer. Before parturition, colonies mainly harbour pregnant and nonpregnant females with a few visiting males, whereas after parturition, colonies are mainly composed of mothers and their offspring with a few visiting nonmothers and males. Our approach gives deeper insight into sex- and status-specific behaviour, a prerequisite for understanding population dynamics and developing effective monitoring and management strategies. Provided sufficient samples can be obtained, this approach can be readily applied to a wide range of species.

The sustainability of modern agriculture relies on strategies that can control the ability of pathogens to overcome chemicals or genetic resistances through natural selection. This evolutionary potential, which depends partly on effective population size (N e), is greatly influenced by human activities. In this context, wild pathogen populations can provide valuable information for assessing the long‐term risk associated with crop pests. In this study, we estimated the effective population size of the beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii, by sampling 34 populations infecting the sea beet Beta vulgaris spp. maritima twice within a one‐year period. Only 20 populations produced enough generations to analyze the variation in allele frequencies, with the remaining populations showing a high mortality rate of the host plant after only 1 year. The 20 analyzed populations showed surprisingly low effective population sizes, with most having N e close to 85 individuals. We attribute these low values to the variation in population size through time, systematic inbreeding, and unbalanced sex‐ratios. Our results suggest that H. schachtii has low evolutionary potential in natural environments. Pest control strategies in which populations on crops mimic wild populations may help prevent parasite adaptation to host resistance.

Climatic variables are often considered when studying environmental impacts on population dynamics of terrestrial species. However, the temporal resolution considered varies depending on studies, even among studies of the same taxa. Most studies interested in climatic impacts on populations tend to average climatic data across timeframes covering life cycle periods of the organism in question or longer, even though most climatic databases provide at least a monthly resolution. We explored the impact of climatic variables on lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) demography based on count data collected at 94 maternity colonies from 2000 to 2014 in Britanny, France. Meteorological data were considered using different time resolutions (month, life cycle period and year) to investigate their adequacy. Model averaging was used to detect significant predictors for each temporal resolution. Our results show that the finest temporal resolution, e.g. month, was more informative than coarser ones. Precipitation predictors were particularly decisive, with a negative impact on colony sizes when rainfall occurred in October, and a positive impact for June precipitations. Fecundity was influenced by April weather. This highlights the strong impact of climatic conditions during crucial but short time periods on the population dynamics of bats. We demonstrate the importance of choosing an appropriate time resolution and suggest that analogous studies should consider fine-scale temporal resolution (e.g. month) to better grasp the relationship between population dynamics and climatic conditions.