Habitat heterogeneity favors asexual reproduction in natural populations of grassthrips

Abstract

Explaining the overwhelming success of sex among eukaryotes is difficult given the obvious costs of sex relative to asexuality. Different studies have shown that sex can provide benefits in spatially heterogeneous environments under specific conditions, but whether spatial heterogeneity commonly contributes to the maintenance of sex in natural populations remains unknown. We experimentally manipulated habitat heterogeneity for sexual and asexual thrips lineages in natural populations and under seminatural mesocosm conditions by varying the number of hostplants available to these herbivorous insects. Asexual lineages rapidly replaced the sexual ones, independently of the level of habitat heterogeneity in mesocosms. In natural populations, the success of sexual thrips decreased with increasing habitat heterogeneity, with sexual thrips apparently only persisting in certain types of hostplant communities. Our results illustrate how genetic diversity‐based mechanisms can favor asexuality instead of sex when sexual lineages co‐occur with genetically variable asexual lineages.

Sex in the wild: How and why field-based studies contribute to solving the problem of sex*

“…Especially insightful results with respect to the latter could be obtained from field experiments where sexuals and asexuals are transferred to (1) relatively harsh and/or unpredictable habitats, and (2) a relatively stable habitat, and where adaptation to the environment is tracked over multiple generations (see Lavanchy et al. for an example). Other useful tests could come from creative leveraging of unpredictable events (e.g., floods, fire, or even climate change) that might be expected to enable the detection of rapid adaption.…”

“…This challenge is exemplified by a recent example of a case where field and laboratory studies addressing the same mechanisms for sex generated opposite results (Lavanchy et al. ).…”

Niche differentiation among clones in asexual grass thrips

“…The facts that asexual Aptinothrips populations exhibit a higher genetic diversity than sexuals (Fontcuberta García‐Cuenca et al., ; van der Kooi & Schwander, ) and that this genetic diversity translates to ecological divergence (this study) may explain why asexuals outcompete sexuals in mesocosm experiments (Lavanchy et al., ). Our findings further suggest that locations with different grass species would select for different sets of clonal lineages.…”

Hubungan Keteraturan Kunjungan Anc (Antenatal Care) Dan Kepatuhan Konsumsi Tablet Fe Dengan Kejadian Anemia Pada Ibu Hamil Trimester Iii Di Kecamatan Maron Probolinggo

“…Hal inilah yang menjadikan kesehatan ibu dan janin sebagai prioritas di bidang kesehatan yang harus dicegah 2 . Jawa Timur merupakan satu dari enam provinsi yang menyumbang AKI sebanyak >50% di Indonesia 3,4 . Jawa Timur memiliki beberapa daerah dengan Angka Kematian Ibu (AKI) tinggi, salah satunya adalah Kabupaten Probolinggo.…”