Illuminating Endocrine Evolution: The Power and Potential of Large-Scale Comparative Analyses

Vitousek, Maren N.; Johnson, Michele A.; Husak, Jerry F.

doi:10.1093/icb/icy098

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Generalized linear mixed models included species (the matrix of phylogenetic relatedness) and population identity as random effects. Because measured hormone levels can differ among labs (Fanson et al 2017), we also included hormone lab identity (as described in Vitousek et al 2018b) as a random effect. In addition, all models included the fixed effects of sex and GC type (corticosterone or cortisol).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Disentangling the extent to which hormonefitness relationships represent adaptive plasticity or are indicative of natural selection is a key challenge in evolutionary endocrinology (Bonier and Martin 2016). Large-scale comparative analyses such as this can be particularly fruitful for identifying and comparing putative selective pressures operating on endocrine traits, which can then be probed through an array of other approaches (Bonier and Martin 2016;Vitousek et al 2018b).…”

Section: Comparing Specific Hypotheses Of Gc Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Macroevolutionary Patterning in Glucocorticoids Suggests Different Selective Pressures Shape Baseline and Stress-Induced Levels

Vitousek

Johnson

Downs

et al. 2019

The American Naturalist

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Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are important phenotypic mediators across vertebrates, but their circulating concentrations can vary markedly. Here we investigate macroevolutionary patterning in GC levels across tetrapods by testing seven specific hypotheses about GC variation and evaluating whether the supported hypotheses reveal consistent patterns in GC evolution. If selection generally favors the "supportive" role of GCs in responding effectively to challenges, then baseline and/or stress-induced GCs may be higher in challenging contexts. Alternatively, if selection generally favors "protection" from GCinduced costs, GCs may be lower in environments where challenges are more common or severe. The predictors of baseline GCs were all consistent with supportive effects: levels were higher in smaller organisms and in those inhabiting more energetically demanding environments. During breeding, baseline GCs were also higher in populations and species with fewer lifetime opportunities to reproduce. The predictors of stress-induced GCs were instead more consistent with the protection hypothesis: during breeding, levels were lower in organisms with fewer lifetime reproductive opportunities. Overall, these patterns indicate a surprising degree of consistency in how some selective pressures shape GCs across broad taxonomic scales; at the same time, in challenging environments selection appears to operate on baseline and stress-induced GCs in distinct ways.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparing Specific Hypotheses Of Gc Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroevolutionary Patterning in Glucocorticoids Suggests Different Selective Pressures Shape Baseline and Stress-Induced Levels

Vitousek

Johnson

Downs

et al. 2019

The American Naturalist

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“…By linking valuable new comparative databases like HormoneBase [79] and the Wildlife Endocrinology Information Network [80] to environmental and life-history data across species (e.g. [5]), can we test predictions of evolutionary models of the stress response at the macroevolutionary scale?…”

Section: Outstanding Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an Evolutionary Theory of Stress Responses

Taborsky

English

Fawcett

et al. 2021

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

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“…Finally, qualitative comparative reviews of a research question provide synthesis of a topic and data, but do not present analyses of data (e.g. Vitousek et al, 2018a, Bodensteiner et al, 2021. The approach used influences whether the most relevant data are observational or experimental, and whether databases must be compiled de novo from primary studies or involve extracting data from taxonomic compendia or other accessible databases (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Best practices for building and curating databases for comparative analyses

Schwanz

Gunderson

Iglesias‐Carrasco

et al. 2022

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Comparative analyses have a long history of macro-ecological and -evolutionary approaches to understand structure, function, mechanism and constraint. As the pace of science accelerates, there is ever-increasing access to diverse types of data and open access databases that are enabling and inspiring new research. Whether conducting a species-level trait-based analysis or a formal meta-analysis of study effect sizes, comparative approaches share a common reliance on reliable, carefully curated databases. Unlike many scientific endeavors, building a database is a process that many researchers undertake infrequently and in which we are not formally trained. This Commentary provides an introduction to building databases for comparative analyses and highlights challenges and solutions that the authors of this Commentary have faced in their own experiences. We focus on four major tips: (1) carefully strategizing the literature search; (2) structuring databases for multiple use; (3) establishing version control within (and beyond) your study; and (4) the importance of making databases accessible. We highlight how one's approach to these tasks often depends on the goal of the study and the nature of the data. Finally, we assert that the curation of single-question databases has several disadvantages: it limits the possibility of using databases for multiple purposes and decreases efficiency due to independent researchers repeatedly sifting through large volumes of raw information. We argue that curating databases that are broader than one research question can provide a large return on investment, and that research fields could increase efficiency if community curation of databases was established.

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Illuminating Endocrine Evolution: The Power and Potential of Large-Scale Comparative Analyses

Cited by 12 publications

References 79 publications

Macroevolutionary Patterning in Glucocorticoids Suggests Different Selective Pressures Shape Baseline and Stress-Induced Levels

Macroevolutionary Patterning in Glucocorticoids Suggests Different Selective Pressures Shape Baseline and Stress-Induced Levels

Towards an Evolutionary Theory of Stress Responses

Best practices for building and curating databases for comparative analyses

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