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Co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent cryptic species of spider wasps.

ABSTRACT: Many cryptic species have been discovered in various taxonomic groups based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and mating experiments. Some sympatric cryptic species share equivalent resources, which contradicts the competitive exclusion principle. Two major theories have been proposed to explain the apparent lack of competitive exclusion, i.e. niche-based coexistence and neutral model, but a conclusive explanation is lacking. Here, we report the co-occurrence of cryptic spider wasp species appearing to be ecologically equivalent. Molecular phylogenetic analyses and mating experiments revealed that three phylogenetically closely related species are found sympatrically in Japan. These species share the same resources for larval food, and two of the species have the same niche for nesting sites, indicating a lack of competitive exclusion. This evidence may suggest that ecologically equivalent species can co-occur stably if their shared resources are sufficiently abundant that they cannot be over-exploited.

SUBMITTER: Kurushima H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5108940 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent cryptic species of spider wasps.

Kurushima Hiroaki H Yoshimura Jin J Kim Jeong-Kyu JK Kim Jong-Kuk JK Nishimoto Yutaka Y Sayama Katsuhiko K Kato Manabu M Watanabe Kenta K Hasegawa Eisuke E Roff Derek A DA Shimizu Akira A

Royal Society open science 20160824 8

Many cryptic species have been discovered in various taxonomic groups based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and mating experiments. Some sympatric cryptic species share equivalent resources, which contradicts the competitive exclusion principle. Two major theories have been proposed to explain the apparent lack of competitive exclusion, i.e. niche-based coexistence and neutral model, but a conclusive explanation is lacking. Here, we report the co-occurrence of cryptic spider wasp species appe ...[more]

PMID: 27853590

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Project description:BackgroundThe processes through which populations originate and diversify ecologically in the initial stages of adaptive radiation are little understood because we lack information on critical steps of early divergence. A key question is, at what point do closely related species interact, setting the stage for competition and ecological specialization? The Hawaiian Islands provide an ideal system to explore the early stages of adaptive radiation because the islands span ages from 0.5-5 Mya. Hawaiian spiders in the genus Tetragnatha have undergone adaptive radiation, with one lineage ("spiny legs") showing four different ecomorphs (green, maroon, large brown, small brown); one representative of each ecomorph is generally found at any site on the older islands. Given that the early stages of adaptive radiation are characterized by allopatric divergence between populations of the same ecomorph, the question is, what are the steps towards subsequent co-occurrence of different ecomorphs? Using a transcriptome-based exon capture approach, we focus on early divergence among close relatives of the green ecomorph to understand processes associated with co-occurrence within the same ecomorph at the early stages of adaptive radiation.ResultsThe major outcomes from the current study are first that closely related species within the same green ecomorph of spiny leg Tetragnatha co-occur on the same single volcano on East Maui, and second that there is no evidence of genetic admixture between these ecologically equivalent species. Further, that multiple genetic lineages exist on a single volcano on Maui suggests that there are no inherent dispersal barriers and that the observed limited distribution of taxa reflects competitive exclusion.ConclusionsThe observation of co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent species on the young volcano of Maui provides a missing link in the process of adaptive radiation between the point when recently divergent species of the same ecomorph occur in allopatry, to the point where different ecomorphs co-occur at a site, as found throughout the older islands. More importantly, the ability of close relatives of the same ecomorph to interact, without admixture, may provide the conditions necessary for ecological divergence and independent evolution of ecomorphs associated with adaptive radiation.

Project description:BackgroundCacopsylla pruni is a psyllid that has been known since 1998 as the vector of the bacterium 'Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum', responsible for the European stone fruit yellows (ESFY), a disease that affects species of Prunus. This disease is one of the major limiting factors for the production of stone fruits, most notably apricot (Prunus armeniaca) and Japanese plum (P. salicina), in all EU stone fruit-growing areas. The psyllid vector is widespread in the Western Palearctic and evidence for the presence of the phytoplasma that it transmits to species of Prunus has been found in 15 of the 27 EU countries.Recent studies showed that C. pruni is actually composed of two cryptic species that can be differentiated by molecular markers. A literature review on the distribution of C. pruni was published in 2012, but it only provided presence or absence information at the country level and without distinction between the two cryptic species.Since 2012, numerous new records of the vector in several European countries have been published. We ourselves have acquired a large amount of data from sampling in France and other European countries. We have also carried out a thorough systematic literature review to find additional records, including all the original sources mentioning C. pruni (or its synonyms) since the first description by Scopoli in 1763. Our aim was to create an exhaustive georeferenced occurrence catalogue, in particular in countries that are occasionally mentioned in literature with little detail. Finally, for countries that seem suitable for the proliferation of C. pruni (USA, Canada, Japan, China etc.), we dug deeper into literature and reliable sources (e.g. published checklists) to better substantiate its current absence from those regions.Information on the distribution ranges of these vector psyllids is of crucial interest in order to best predict the vulnerability of stone fruit producing countries to the ESFY threat in the foreseeable future.New informationWe give free access to a unique file of 1975 records of all occurrence data in our possession concerning C. pruni, that we have gathered through more than twenty years of sampling efforts in Europe or through intensive text mining.We have made every effort to retrieve the source information for the records extracted from literature (1201 records). Thus, we always give the title of the original reference, together with the page(s) citing C. pruni and, if possible, the year of sampling. To make the results of this survey publicly available, we give a URL to access the literature sources. In most cases, this link allows free downloads of a PDF file.We also give access to information extracted from GBIF (162 exploitable data points on 245 occurrences found in the database), which we thoroughly checked and often supplemented to make the information more easily exploitable.We give access to our own unpublished georeferenced and genotyped records from 612 samples taken over the last 20 years in several European countries (Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain etc.). These include two countries (Portugal and North Macedonia), for which the presence of C. pruni had not been reported before. As our specimens have been genotyped (74 sites with species A solely, 202 with species B solely and 310 with species A+B), our new data enable a better overview of the geographical distribution of the two cryptic species at the Palaearctic scale.

Dataset Information

Co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent cryptic species of spider wasps.

Publications

Co-occurrence of ecologically equivalent cryptic species of spider wasps.

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