Evolution of morphological crypsis in the  Tetramorium caespitum  ant species complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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Abstract

Cryptic species are morphologically very similar to each other. To what extent stasis or convergence causes crypsis and whether ecology influences the evolution of crypsis has remained unclear. The Tetramorium caespitum complex is one of the most intricate examples of cryptic species in ants. Here, we test three hypotheses concerning the evolution of its crypsis: H1: The complex is monophyletic. H2: Morphology resulted from evolutionary stasis. H3: Ecology and morphology evolved concertedly. We confirmed (H1) monophyly of the complex; (H2) a positive relation between morphological and phylogenetic distances, which indicates a very slow loss of similarity over time and thus stasis; and (H3) a positive relation between only one morphological character and a proxy of the ecological niche, which indicates concerted evolution of these two characters, as well as a negative relation between p-values of correct species identification and altitude, which suggests that species occurring in higher altitudes are more cryptic. Our data suggest that species-specific morphological adaptations to the ecological niche are exceptions in the complex, and we consider the worker morphology in this complex as an adaptive solution for various environments.

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Cryptic species as a window on diversity and conservation.

David P. Bickford, David Lohman, Navjot Sodhi … (2007)

The taxonomic challenge posed by cryptic species (two or more distinct species classified as a single species) has been recognized for nearly 300 years, but the advent of relatively inexpensive and rapid DNA sequencing has given biologists a new tool for detecting and differentiating morphologically similar species. Here, we synthesize the literature on cryptic and sibling species and discuss trends in their discovery. However, a lack of systematic studies leaves many questions open, such as whether cryptic species are more common in particular habitats, latitudes or taxonomic groups. The discovery of cryptic species is likely to be non-random with regard to taxon and biome and, hence, could have profound implications for evolutionary theory, biogeography and conservation planning.

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AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting.

P. Vos, R Hogers, M. Bleeker … (1995)

A novel DNA fingerprinting technique called AFLP is described. The AFLP technique is based on the selective PCR amplification of restriction fragments from a total digest of genomic DNA. The technique involves three steps: (i) restriction of the DNA and ligation of oligonucleotide adapters, (ii) selective amplification of sets of restriction fragments, and (iii) gel analysis of the amplified fragments. PCR amplification of restriction fragments is achieved by using the adapter and restriction site sequence as target sites for primer annealing. The selective amplification is achieved by the use of primers that extend into the restriction fragments, amplifying only those fragments in which the primer extensions match the nucleotides flanking the restriction sites. Using this method, sets of restriction fragments may be visualized by PCR without knowledge of nucleotide sequence. The method allows the specific co-amplification of high numbers of restriction fragments. The number of fragments that can be analyzed simultaneously, however, is dependent on the resolution of the detection system. Typically 50-100 restriction fragments are amplified and detected on denaturing polyacrylamide gels. The AFLP technique provides a novel and very powerful DNA fingerprinting technique for DNAs of any origin or complexity.

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Is Open Access

SoilGrids1km — Global Soil Information Based on Automated Mapping

Tomislav Hengl, Jorge de Jesus, Robert MacMillan … (2014)

Background Soils are widely recognized as a non-renewable natural resource and as biophysical carbon sinks. As such, there is a growing requirement for global soil information. Although several global soil information systems already exist, these tend to suffer from inconsistencies and limited spatial detail. Methodology/Principal Findings We present SoilGrids1km — a global 3D soil information system at 1 km resolution — containing spatial predictions for a selection of soil properties (at six standard depths): soil organic carbon (g kg−1), soil pH, sand, silt and clay fractions (%), bulk density (kg m−3), cation-exchange capacity (cmol+/kg), coarse fragments (%), soil organic carbon stock (t ha−1), depth to bedrock (cm), World Reference Base soil groups, and USDA Soil Taxonomy suborders. Our predictions are based on global spatial prediction models which we fitted, per soil variable, using a compilation of major international soil profile databases (ca. 110,000 soil profiles), and a selection of ca. 75 global environmental covariates representing soil forming factors. Results of regression modeling indicate that the most useful covariates for modeling soils at the global scale are climatic and biomass indices (based on MODIS images), lithology, and taxonomic mapping units derived from conventional soil survey (Harmonized World Soil Database). Prediction accuracies assessed using 5–fold cross-validation were between 23–51%. Conclusions/Significance SoilGrids1km provide an initial set of examples of soil spatial data for input into global models at a resolution and consistency not previously available. Some of the main limitations of the current version of SoilGrids1km are: (1) weak relationships between soil properties/classes and explanatory variables due to scale mismatches, (2) difficulty to obtain covariates that capture soil forming factors, (3) low sampling density and spatial clustering of soil profile locations. However, as the SoilGrids system is highly automated and flexible, increasingly accurate predictions can be generated as new input data become available. SoilGrids1km are available for download via http://soilgrids.org under a Creative Commons Non Commercial license.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Herbert C. Wagner: heriwagner@yahoo.de

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Sci Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Sci Rep

Title: Scientific Reports

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 2045-2322

Publication date (Electronic): 22 August 2018

Publication date PMC-release: 22 August 2018

Publication date Collection: 2018

Volume: 8

Electronic Location Identifier: 12547

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 0000 0001 2151 8122, GRID grid.5771.4, Department of Ecology, , University of Innsbruck, ; Technikerstraße 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

[2 ]ISNI 0000000110156330, GRID grid.7039.d, Department of Biosciences, , University of Salzburg, ; Hellbrunnerstraße 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

[3 ]ISNI 0000 0001 2298 5320, GRID grid.5173.0, Institute for Applied Statistics and Computing, Department of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Sciences, , Boku, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, ; Peter-Jordan-Straße 82/I, 1190 Vienna, Austria

Article

Publisher ID: 30890

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30890-z

PMC ID: 6105586

PubMed ID: 30135509

SO-VID: 810a0d25-63a4-4aa7-866a-762d6aa4c5f4

License:

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 4 January 2018

Date accepted : 7 August 2018

Funding

Funded by: FundRef https://doi.org/10.13039/501100002428, Austrian Science Fund (FWF Der Wissenschaftsfonds);

Award ID: P23409

Award Recipient : Herbert C. Wagner

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Evolution of morphological crypsis in the Tetramorium caespitum ant species complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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Abstract

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Hymenoptera

Most cited references 62

Cryptic species as a window on diversity and conservation.

AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting.

SoilGrids1km — Global Soil Information Based on Automated Mapping

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