Joe Bailey

Plant evolution and environmental variation create a geographic mosaic of predator-prey interactions and natural selection - Evolutionary Ecology A major goal of ecology and evolutionary biology is to understand patterns of species interactions, their resulting natural selection and how these change across space and time. Studies show that variation in predator-prey interactions causes variation in natural selection on prey phenotypes. Other studies have shown that plant genetic variation can influence predator attack rates on prey. However, no study to our knowledge has linked these two phenomena to see if plant evolution can influence predator attack rates on prey, how predators cause natural selection on prey and how these patterns differ geographically. We studied a plant-gall-predator system in the wild across three tree sites spanning an elevation/climate gradient, across which trees have evolved in response to climate variation and other factors. We also worked in a common garden, in which trees were drawn from the same three wild sites. In the wild, attack by birds on galls was ~ 4x higher at the mid-elevation site compared to the low and high elevation sites. Further, birds selectively foraged on small galls, resulting in bird-mediated natural selection at the mid elevation, but not at the low and high elevation sites. In the common garden with respect to predator-prey interactions, we found similar patterns to the wild, providing evidence that evolved variation in the tree influenced attack rates by predators. In terms of natural selection, we found mixed evidence for the hypothesis that plant evolution would shape patterns of predator-caused natural selection on galls. Our findings broaden our understanding of geographic mosaics of community interactions and their resultant patterns of natural selection.

Neat new paper on Geographic Mosaics of Coevolution in tropic interactions between birds, grasshoppers, galling insects and cottonwoods (link.springer.com/article/10.1...).

Hybrid introgression as a mechanism of rapid evolution and resilience to climate change in a riparian tree species Communications Biology - A long-term common garden experiment shows that hybrid introgression is associated with enhanced survival and increased resistance to selection pressures in warmer, drier...

rdcu.be/ezMuk. Evidence of climate change driven rapid evolution in a 31 year old common garden. Congrats on a great first first author paper @ashlynnhord.bsky.social and for all of the help from everyone else @carrileroy.bsky.social @jenschweitzer.bsky.social and Dylan Fischer...and the mustang.

Genetic architecture of heritable leaf microbes | Microbiology Spectrum We investigated how host genetic variation affects the assembly of Ipomoea hederacea’s natural microbiome. We found that the genetic architecture of leaf-associated microbiomes involves both quantitat...

I agree!

(plug for one of my former grad student's papers)...

journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

New work by Alivia Nytko on how eco-evolutionary traits of rarity link genes and ecosystems. Evolved traits that affect how plants are rare also drive variation in plant-plant interactions that impact above and belowground biomass. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

An evolutionary case for plant rarity: Eucalyptus as a model species

Building off of Rabinowitz 7 forms of rarity, Alivia Nytko found a phylogenetic pattern to rarity suggesting that species can evolve a syndrome of traits that makes them rare (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....).

Landscape fragmentation overturns classical metapopulation thinking | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Habitat loss and isolation caused by landscape fragmentation represent a growing threat to global biodiversity. Existing theory suggests that the p...

👀 Landscape fragmentation overturns classical metapopulation thinking 🧪🦋🌎 "We found that classical results from past models are not generalizable...a philosophical departure from current ideas for managing species persistence, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience " www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

This NOAA map shows all 28 of the billion dollar weather and climate disasters that occurred in the US in 2023

2023 was the hottest year on record. Around the world, it was marked by record wildfires, hot-tub temperature ocean waters, torrential downpours, and non-stop heatwaves. The US had one billion+ dollar weather extreme every 1.8 weeks.

More info: www.climate.gov/news-feature...

Keep reading ... 🧵

Hunting sky islands for genetic clues to climate resilience OPINION: Isolated mountaintops are hotbeds of evolutionary adaptation and great places to study how climate change affects ecosystems

Sky islands are ideal locations to identify above and belowground genes of climate resilience and ecosystem function knowablemagazine.org/content/arti.... Outstanding work by @sarahlove.bsky.social, Knowable Magazine and their great editorial team. Shoutout to @skyislandalliance.bsky.social.

~ 20 years ago this month this Lego Beaver picture from Legoland California (taken by Steve Hart) was published in Ecology (esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....).

We're here to remind you that the 2024 ASN Student Research awards are open for funding applications! We offer $2k USD for post-candidacy PhD projects. Apply by March 15th: www.amnat.org/announcement.... Email asngrads@gmail.com or DM us with questions. @asn-amnat.bsky.social

Reminder that apps for the Student Research Award from @asn-amnat.bsky.social are due in two weeks (3/15)

Lysimachia venosum (photo by Ken Wood)

Graphical representation of GeoSSE model

Photo of Washington University in St. Louis

Time-calibrated phylogeny

Join us June 4-6 for a free phylogenetic biogeography workshop using RevBayes at WUSTL

Details: tinyurl.com/phylobiogeow...

Apply by March 6: forms.gle/3ax6q4GzYFMY...

Instructors: Isaac Lichter Marck, Fábio Mendes, Sarah Swiston, Felipe Zapata + me

Funded by award DEB-2040347

#evolsky

Mapping the global distribution of C4 vegetation using observations and optimality theory - Nature Communications Due to fundamental anatomical and biochemical differences, C3 and C4 plant species tend to differ in their biogeography and response to climate change. Here, the authors use global observations and op...

Check out our new paper, led by Remi Luo, on estimating global C4 vegetation coverage and primary productivity. We find C4 plants make up ~17% of plants and ~20% of GPP globally. We also examine changes through time since the turn of the century.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Climate-driven divergence in plant-microbiome interactions generates range-wide variation in bud break phenology - Communications Biology Ian Ware et al. use reciprocal plant population by soil location feedback experiments to show how the soil microbiomes of the narrowleaf cottonwood are influenced by genetic and environmental variatio...

Warm and Cool soil microbiomes advance and delay bud break phenology, respectively along replicated elevation nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1... and latitudinal www.nature.com/articles/s42... gradients and populations at continental scales!

That was a fun and funny talk today. Thanks @stephenbheard.bsky.social

That was a great talk and a good night! We need to get you back this way.

Climate Change Driven Convergent Evolution on Sky Islands leads to convergent effects on ecosystem function www.nature.com/articles/s41.... @ljrissler.bsky.social Sky islands are a model system to understand climate change effects not just climatic variation www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1....

We can make that happen!

Oooooooooooooooh! Get thee behind me, Satan - no, wait, get thee right in front of me with your delicious whiskies🤣

We could make that happen! Just ask @ecoevoevoeco.bsky.social Andrew Hendry, and @aclassen.bsky.social aimee classen.

One of the great migrations in the eastern US! And Loud!!!

Assistant Professor of Applied Quantitative Ecology The Ecology Department at Montana State University seeks applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Applied Quantitative Ecology whose research uses cutting-edge quantitative approaches, inc...

Assistant Professor of Quantitative Ecology at Montana State - you'd have some great colleagues and a great place to live: jobs.montana.edu/postings/40231

Weirdest and most important! This is great.

We are looking forward to the visit on Darwin Day! @stephenbheard.bsky.social

Drought-Induced Civil Conflict Among the Ancient Maya - Nature Communications The influence of climate on premodern civil conflict and societal instability is debated. Here, the authors combine archeological, historical, and paleoclimatic datasets to show that drought between 1...

Erneut weisen Forschende auf das Ende großer Teile der Maya-Zivilisation infolge einer regionalen Klimaveränderung und den daraus resultierenden sozialen Konflikten hin. Die Menschheit kann in dieser Vergangenheit ihre Zukunft sehen.

www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Klimakrise

Belmont University Class Creates Sky Island Art - Sky Island Alliance Inspired by conversations with Sarah J. Love, who gave a Coffee Break talk in November 2023 and who also happens to be my niece, I was recently introduced to Sky Island Alliance and their work in sout...

More Sky Islands! New art installation at Sky Island Alliance. skyislandalliance.org/2023/12/sky-...
Driven by Sarah Love. Built at Belmont. Inspired by Science! www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Newest paper out of the lab- microbiomes from dried soils reflect those in frozen soils, even after 8 years. @joeedwards.bsky.social @joe-bailey.bsky.social @jenschweitzer.bsky.social and others.

📢🚨We are hiring a new Biology Department Head at the University of Oregon! Applicants with a strong record of mentoring and inclusive leadership are encouraged to apply.

Please share and repost, initial deadline is coming up (Feb. 12). More information below:

careers.uoregon.edu/en-us/job/53...