Local ecological divergence of two closely related stag beetles based on genetic, morphological, and environmental analyses

Zhang, Sheng‐Nan; Kubota, Kôhei

doi:10.1002/ece3.8837

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This isolation led to the appearance of postzygotic isolation by genetic drift (rather than selection), followed by the post‐glacial expansion of ranges resulting in a secondary contact, as has been assumed to have taken place in other similar cases (Tahami et al., 2021). As body size is closely associated with the mating behaviour, the size difference between parapatric taxa could potentially result from character displacements in secondary contact periods (Zhang & Kubota, 2023). The possibility that the two Saturnia species evolved body size difference through this process can therefore not be ruled out.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture

Khan,

Joshi,

Espeland

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology

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The focus of this study has been to understand the evolutionary relationships and taxonomy of a widely distributed parapatric species pair of wild silk moths in Europe: Saturnia pavonia and Saturnia pavoniella (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). To address species delimitation in these parapatric taxa, target enrichment and mtDNA sequencing was employed alongside phylogenetic, admixture, introgression, and species delimitation analyses. The dataset included individuals from both species close to and farther away from the contact zone as well as two hybrids generated in the lab. Nuclear markers strongly supported both S. pavonia and S. pavoniella as two distinct species, with hybrids forming a sister group to S. pavoniella. However, the Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree generated from mtDNA sequencing data presented a different picture, showing both taxa to be phylogenetically intermixed. This inconsistency is likely attributable to mitonuclear discordance, which can arise from biological factors (e.g., introgressive hybridization and/or incomplete lineage sorting). Our analyses indicate that past introgressions have taken place, but that there is no evidence to suggest an ongoing admixture between the two species, demonstrating that the taxa have reached full postzygotic reproductive isolation and hence represent two distinct biological species. Finally, we discuss our results from an evolutionary point of view taking into consideration the past climatic oscillations that have likely shaped the present dynamics between the two species. Overall, our study demonstrates the effectiveness of the target enrichment approach in resolving shallow phylogenetic relationships under complex evolutionary circumstances and that this approach is useful in establishing robust and well‐informed taxonomic delimitations involving parapatric taxa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture

Khan,

Joshi,

Espeland

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology

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Local ecological divergence of two closely related stag beetles based on genetic, morphological, and environmental analyses

Zhang

Kubota

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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The process of phenotypic adaptation to the environments is widely recognized.However, comprehensive studies integrating phylogenetic, phenotypic, and ecological approaches to assess this process are scarce. Our study aims to assess whether local adaptation may explain intraspecific differentiation by quantifying multidimensional differences among populations in closely related lucanid species, Platycerus delicatulus and Platycerus kawadai, which are endemic saproxylic beetles in Japan.First, we determined intraspecific analysis units based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analyses of Platycerus delicatulus and Platycerus kawadai under sympatric and allopatric conditions. Then, we compared differences in morphology and environmental niche between populations (analysis units) within species. We examined the relationship between morphology and environmental niche via geographic distance.P. kawadai was subdivided into the "No introgression" and "Introgression" populations based on mitochondrial COI gene -nuclear ITS region discordance. P. delicatulus was subdivided into "Allopatric" and "Sympatric" populations. Body length differed significantly among the populations of each species. For P. delicatulus, character displacement was suggested. For P. kawadai, the morphological difference was likely caused by geographic distance or genetic divergence rather than environmental differences. The finding showed that the observed mitochondrial-nuclear discordance is likely due to historical mitochondrial introgression following a range of expansion.Our results show that morphological variation among populations of P. delicatulus and P. kawadai reflects an ecological adaptation process based on interspecific interactions, geographic distance, or genetic divergence. Our results will deepen understanding of ecological specialization processes across the distribution and adaptation of species in natural systems.

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Strongly exclusive distribution with putative character displacement in two flying stag beetles

Zhang

Kubota

2022

Evolution

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Character displacement is considered a key driver of evolutionary divergence and adaptation. Few examples of reproductive character displacement with a narrow contact zone have been identified. We examined the genetic structure, body length variation, and genital morphology in the contact and allopatric areas of Platycerus takakuwai and P. viridicuprus to investigate character displacement and gene flow. In the contact area, the species identifications based on endophallic morphology and nuclear genes were identical, whereas mitochondrial gene did not exhibit a perfect match. This incongruence suggests that interspecific hybridization followed by the mitochondrial introgression has likely occurred during historical secondary contact. The species are essentially parapatric in contact area, co-occurring at only one of 28 adjacent sampling sites despite being flying species, and no hybrids based on morphology have been found, which indicates a strongly exclusive distribution. The results showed that the body length variation was consistent with character displacement after controlling for variation along geographic and environmental gradients. Interspecific body size differentiation may have evolved to reduce incorrect mating between the species. Moreover, selective pressure caused by reproductive interference between the two species may act on body size that have likely resulted in strongly exclusive distribution at the edge of their ranges.

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Local ecological divergence of two closely related stag beetles based on genetic, morphological, and environmental analyses

Cited by 3 publications

References 95 publications

Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture

Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture

Local ecological divergence of two closely related stag beetles based on genetic, morphological, and environmental analyses

Strongly exclusive distribution with putative character displacement in two flying stag beetles

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