Biology subjects

Pinto-Ledezma, J. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Pinto-Ledezma, J. N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

HOW TO MEASURE THE INFLUENCE OF LANDSCAPE ON POPULATION GENETIC STRUCTURE: DEVELOPING RESISTANCE SURFACES USING A PATTERN-ORIENTED MODELING APPROACH

There are several approaches to understand how a landscape, with its several components, affects the genetic population structure by imposing resistance to gene flow. Here we propose the creation of resistance surfaces using a Pattern-Oriented Modeling approach to explain genetic differentiation, estimated by pairwise FST, among "Baruzeiro" populations (Dipteryx alata), a tree species widely distributed in Brazilian Cerrado. To establish the resistance surface, we used land use layers from the area in which the 25 "Baruzeiro" populations were sampled, generating 10000 resistance surfaces. To establish the resistance surface, we used land use layers from the area in which the 25 "Baru" populations were sampled, generating 10000 resistance surfaces. We randomized the cost values for each landscape component between 0 and 100. We use these surfaces to calculate pairwise matrices of the effective resistance among populations. Mantel test revealed a correlation of pairwise FST with a geographical distance equal to r = 0.48 (P < 0.001), whereas the Mantel correlations between pairwise FST and the generated resistance matrices ranged between r = -0.2019 and r= 0.6736. Partial regression on distance matrices was used to select the resistance matrix that provided the highest correlation with pairwise FST, based on the AIC criterion. The selected models suggest that the areas with lower resistance are characterized as natural savanna habitats of different forms, mainly arboreal dense savannas. In contrast, roads, big rivers, and agricultural lands cause higher resistance to gene flow.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

Urban warming inverse contribution on risk of dengue transmission in the southeastern North America

O_LIPreventing diseases from becoming a problem where they are not is a common ground for disease ecology. The expectation for vector-borne diseases, especially those transmitted by mosquitos, is that warm and wet conditions favor vector traits increasing transmission potential. The advent of urbanization altering inner climate conditions hazards to increase mosquitos transmission potential on "disease-free" cooler areas as a consequence of a warming urban heat island (UHI) effect. C_LIO_LIWe assessed the realism of the anticipated dengue transmission potential into the southern United States in a causal pathway with the ongoing UHI effect, vectors spatial distribution patterns, and exogenous environment; We also measured the climatic niche similarity between both dengue vectors species. C_LIO_LIOur path model revealed that the UHI effect presents negative or no relation with dengue transmission potential. Instead, the surrounding non-urban temperature was rather suitable for the expected mosquitos transmission potential. C_LIO_LIBoth dengue vectors occurrence revealed to be more aggregated then expected by chance. These mosquitos density patterns were responsive to the warming effect of UHI-especially Aedes Aegypti-but not a reliable predictor for the anticipated dengue transmission potential pattern. The climatic niches of both vectors are not equivalent. Although currently highly overlapped, there is a wide space of their climatic niche still to be filled. C_LIO_LIPolicy implications. We highlight that the warming UHI effect on urban sites is not congruent with the expected suitability for dengue transmission. Instead, non-urban areas would be a better focus for dengue hazards into the southern United States. Our study also highlights the need for including low scale temperature on further mosquito-borne disease transmission models and track vectors niche filling under anthropogenic changes. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Testing Darwin's naturalization conundrum based on taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional dimensions of vascular plants

Charles Darwin posited two alternative hypotheses to explain the success of nonnative species based on their relatedness to incumbent natives: coexistence between them should be (i) more likely with greater relatedness (due to trait similarity that correlates with better matching to the environment), or (ii) less likely (due to biotic interference, such as competition). The paradox raised by the opposing predictions of these two hypotheses has been termed Darwins naturalization conundrum (DNC). Using plant communities measured repeatedly over a 31-year time span across an experimental fire gradient in an oak savanna (Minnesota, USA) we evaluated the DNC by explicitly incorporating taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic information. Our approach was based on focal-species such that the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure of species co-occurring with a given nonnative species in local communities was quantified. We found three main results: first, nonnatives colonizers tended to co-occur most with closely related incumbent natives in recipient communities, except in the extreme ends of the fire gradient (i.e., communities with no fire and those subjected to high fire frequencies); second, with increasing fire frequency, nonnative species were functionally more similar to native species in recipient communities; third, functional similarity of co-occurring nonnatives and natives in recipient communities showed a consistent pattern over time, but the phylogenetic similarity shifted over time, suggesting that external forces (e.g., climate variability) are also relevant in driving the phylogenetic relatedness of nonnatives to natives in invaded communities. Our results provide insights for understanding the invasion dynamics across environmental gradients and highlight the importance of evaluating different dimensions of biodiversity in order to produce more powerful evaluations of species co-occurrence at different spatial and temporal scales.

ecology↗