7 posts · 6,782 views
Making sense of life as we know it, in the light of evolution.
Jeremy Yoder
3 posts
devindrown
0 posts
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- April 3, 2012
- 07:36 AM
- 772 views
Multidimensional coevolution, no oscillation overthruster required
by devindrown in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
Conventional wisdom suggests that pathogens and parasites are more rapidly evolving because of various reasons such as short generation time or stronger selection. Yet somehow, they have not completely won the battle against the host. Recently, a theoretical paper on coevolution in Nature caught my eye (Gilman et al., 2012). Here the authors address this [...]... Read more »
Gilman, R., Nuismer, S., & Jhwueng, D. (2012) Coevolution in multidimensional trait space favours escape from parasites and pathogens. Nature, 483(7389), 328-330. DOI: 10.1038/nature10853
- March 6, 2012
- 09:05 AM
- 840 views
Do choosy cuckoos choose well-matched hosts?
by Jeremy Yoder in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
Brood parasitism, the reproductive strategy of choice for cuckoos and cowbirds, sounds like a lazy approach to parenting: lay your eggs in another bird’s nest, and let the unwilling adoptive parents take the trouble to raise your chicks. But contracting out parental care like this comes with many of its own complications. Chicks raised by [...]... Read more »
Antonov, A., Stokke, B., Fossøy, F., Ranke, P., Liang, W., Yang, C., Moksnes, A., Shykoff, J., & Røskaft, E. (2012) Are cuckoos maximizing egg mimicry by selecting host individuals with better matching egg phenotypes?. PLoS ONE, 7(2). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031704
Avilés, J., Stokke, B., Moksnes, A., Røskaft, E., Åsmul, M., & Møller, A. (2006) Rapid increase in cuckoo egg matching in a recently parasitized reed warbler population. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 19(6), 1901-10. DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01166.x
Cherry, M., Bennett, A., & Moskat, C. (2007) Do cuckoos choose nests of great reed warblers on the basis of host egg appearance?. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 20(3), 1218-22. DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01308.x
- February 28, 2012
- 08:11 AM
- 727 views
Bacterial Thunderdome: Decoding virulence, spiteful interactions, and diversity
by devindrown in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
What happens when two parasites infect the same host individual? Is the outcome similar to the Thunderdome: two parasites enter, one parasite leaves? Host-parasite interactions are rarely so simple. While a reductionist approach to understanding the interaction of a parasite or pathogen with its host may decompose the system to a single infection, nature is [...]... Read more »
BASHEY, F., YOUNG, S., HAWLENA, H., & LIVELY, C. (2012) Spiteful interactions between sympatric natural isolates of Xenorhabdus bovienii benefit kin and reduce virulence. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 25(3), 431-437. DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02441.x
- February 21, 2012
- 09:05 AM
- 870 views
In flour beetles, coevolution mixes things up
by Jeremy Yoder in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
When evolutionary biologists think about sex, we often think of parasites, too. That’s not because we’re paranoid about sexually transmitted infections—though I’d like to think that biologists are more rigorous users of safer sex practices than the general population. It’s because coevolution with parasites is thought to be a major evolutionary reason for sexual reproduction. [...]... Read more »
Kerstes, N., Berenos, C., Schmid-Hempel, P., & Wegner, K. (2012) Antagonistic experimental coevolution with a parasite increases host recombination frequency. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 12(1), 18. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-18
Morran, L., Schmidt, O., Gelarden, I., Parrish, R., & Lively, C. (2011) Running with the Red Queen: Host-parasite coevolution selects for biparental sex. Science, 333(6039), 216-218. DOI: 10.1126/science.1206360
- November 1, 2011
- 09:05 AM
- 1,213 views
Timing is everything: In which an intimate relationship turns out to be rather one-sided
by Jeremy Yoder in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
Orchids have some of the most remarkable pollination relationships of all the flowering plants. Their flowers are adapted into wild shapes for placing packets of pollen on precisely the right part of a pollinator’s body, and many species attract pollinators with lures that are somewhat kinkier than simply offering nectar—such as mimicking a female pollinator’s [...]... Read more »
Gaskett, A. (2011) Orchid pollination by sexual deception: pollinator perspectives. Biological Reviews, 86(1), 33-75. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2010.00134.x
Ramirez, S., Eltz, T., Fujiwara, M., Gerlach, G., Goldman-Huertas, B., Tsutsui, N., & Pierce, N. (2011) Asynchronous diversification in a specialized plant-pollinator mutualism. Science, 333(6050), 1742-6. DOI: 10.1126/science.1209175
- October 25, 2011
- 08:06 AM
- 1,093 views
Double, double toil and trouble: a tale of two infections
by devindrown in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
What are the evolutionary consequences of parasite superinfection (i.e. simultaneous infection by multiple parasites)? When parasites are genetically distinct, coexistence within a host generates conflict because of limited resources. How this conflict is resolved is the source of evolutionary research on the evolution of parasite life history traits such as virulence, the negative effects on [...]... Read more »
BEN-AMI, F., RIGAUD, T., & EBERT, D. (2011) The expression of virulence during double infections by different parasites with conflicting host exploitation and transmission strategies. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24(6), 1307-1316. DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02264.x
- October 18, 2011
- 04:05 AM
- 1,267 views
Coevolutionary Medicine?
by cej9f in Nothing in Biology Makes Sense!
I’ll admit it. Coevolution turns me on. It gets me up in the morning, is usually the last thing I think about before passing out at night and I’ve made more of a commitment to coevolution than any man I’ve ever been with. I’ve been an evolutionary biologist for the majority of my adult life, [...]... Read more »
Antolin, M. (2009) Evolutionary biology of disease and Darwinian medicine. Evolution: the First Four Billion Years, 281-98. info:/
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