The latest issue of Ecology and Evolution is now live! Over 20 excellent articles free to read, download and share. The cover image is taken from The bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa is not killed if it fails to infect: implications for coevolution by Kayla C. King, et al.
Below are some highlights from this issue:
Extinction hazards in experimental Daphnia magna populations: effects of genotype diversity and environmental variation by John D. Robinson, John P. Wares, and John M. Drake
Summary: Extinction is ubiquitous in natural systems and the ultimate fate of all biological populations. However, the factors that contribute to population extinction are still poorly understood, particularly genetic diversity and composition. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the influences of environmental variation and genotype diversity on persistence in experimental Daphnia magna populations. Populations were initiated in two blocks with one, two, three, or six randomly selected and equally represented genotypes, fed and checked for extinction daily, and censused twice weekly over a period of 170 days.
Simulating evolutionary responses of an introgressed insect resistance trait for ecological effect assessment of transgene flow: a model for supporting informed decision-making in environmental risk assessment by Matthias S. Meier, Miluse Trtikova, Matthias Suter, Peter J. Edwards and Angelika Hilbeck
Summary: Predicting outcomes of transgene flow from arable crops requires a system perspective that considers ecological and evolutionary processes within a landscape context. In Europe, the arable weed Raphanus raphanistrum is a potential hybridization partner of oilseed rape, and the two species are ecologically linked through the common herbivores Meligethes spp. Observations in Switzerland show that high densities of Meligethes beetles maintained by oilseed rape crops can lead to considerable damage on R. raphanistrum. We asked how increased insect resistance in R. raphanistrum – as might be acquired through introgression from transgenic oilseed rape – would affect seed production under natural herbivore pressure.
Read other top articles in this issue >
Submit your paper to Ecology and Evolution here >
Sign up for e-toc alerts here >
