Traits that exhibit differences between the sexes have been of special interest in the study of phenotypic evolution. Classic hypotheses explain sexually dimorphic traits via intrasexual competition and mate selection, yet natural selection may also act differentially on the sexes to produce dimorphism. Natural selection can act either through physiological and ecological constraints on one of the sexes or by modulating the strength of sexual/social selection. This predicts an association between the degree of dimorphism...

We present The Odonate Phenotypic Database (OPD): an online data resource of dragonfly and damselfly phenotypes (Insecta: Odonata). Odonata is a relatively small insect order that currently consists of about 6400 species belonging to 32 families. The database consists of a variety of morphological, life-history and behavioral traits, and biogeographical information collected from literature sources. We see taxon-specific phenotypic databases from Odonata and other organismal groups as becoming an increasing valuable resource in comparative studies....

Despite longstanding interest in the evolutionary origins and maintenance of vocal learning, we know relatively little about how social dynamics influence vocal learning processes in natural populations. The “social group membership” hypothesis proposes that socially learned calls evolved and are maintained as signals of group membership. However, in fission-fusion societies, individuals can interact in social groups across various social scales. For learned calls to signal group membership over multiple social scales, they must contain information...

Aim: Historical processes that shaped current diversity patterns of seaweeds remain poorly understood. Using Dictyotales, a globally distributed order of brown seaweeds as a model, we test if historical biogeographical and diversification patterns are comparable across clades. Dictyotales contain some 22 genera, three of which, Dictyota, Lobophora and Padina, are exceptionally diverse. Specifically we test if the evolutionary processes in these clades that shaped their latitudinal diversity patterns are in line with the tropical conservatism,...

A major prediction of coevolutionary theory is that plants may target particular herbivores with secondary compounds that are selectively defensive. The highly specialized monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) copes well with cardiac glycosides (inhibitors of animal Na+/K+-ATPases) from its milkweed host plants, but selective inhibition of its Na+/K+-ATPase by different compounds has not been previously tested. We applied 17 cardiac glycosides to the D. plexippus-Na+/K+-ATPase and to the more susceptible Na+/K+-ATPases of two non-adapted insects (Euploea...

1. Changes in the pollinator assemblage visiting a plant can have consequences for reproductive success and floral evolution. We studied a recent plant trans-continental range expansion to test whether the acquisition of new pollinator functional groups can lead to rapid adaptive evolution of flowers. 2. In Digitalis purpurea, we compared flower visitors, floral traits and natural selection between native European populations and those in two Neotropical regions, naturalised after independent introductions. Bumblebees are the main...

Porites corals are foundation species on Pacific reefs but a confused taxonomy hinders understanding of their ecosystem function and responses to climate change. Here, we show that what has been considered a single species in the eastern tropical Pacific, Porites lobata, includes a morphologically similar yet ecologically distinct species, Porites evermanni. While P. lobata reproduces mainly sexually, P. evermanni dominates in areas where triggerfish prey on bioeroding mussels living within the coral skeleton, thereby generating...

Knowledge on the structure and distribution of genetic diversity is a key aspect in order to plan and execute an efficient conservation and utilization of the genetic resources of any crop as well as for determining historical demographic inferences. In this work, a large data set of 1765 accessions of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill, Annonaceae), an underutilized fruit tree crop native to the neotropics and used as a food source by pre-Columbian cultures, was collected...

Aim Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) within natural plant communities can be large, influencing local ecological processes and dynamics. Here, we shed light on how ITV in vegetative and floral traits responds to large-scale abiotic and biotic gradients (i.e. climate and species richness). Specifically, we tested if associations of ITV with temperature, precipitation and species richness were consistent with any of from four hypotheses relating to stress-tolerance and competition. Furthermore, we estimated the degree of correlation...

Subtribe Spiranthinae is the most species-rich lineage of terrestrial Neotropical orchids, encompassing > 500 species and 40 genera. We conducted maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data of plastid matK-trnK and trnL-trnF and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences for 36 genera and 182 species of Spiranthinae plus appropriate outgroups. The results strongly support monophyly of Spiranthinae (minus Discyphus, Discyphinae and Galeottiella, Galeottiellinae) and five major lineages, namely monospecific Cotylolabium (sister to the...

In these datasets we provided information on the drinking behavior in 14 wild groups of brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba clamitans) inhabiting small, medium, and large Atlantic Forest fragments in southern Brazil. We provided two datasets: (1) full data on the drinking behavior of the 14 study groups, and (2) the dataset used to run the GLMMs described in the main manuscript. Overall, we found a wide variation in the mean rate of drinking among...

In nest-building species, offspring survival and reproductive success of parental individuals are strongly influenced by nest quality. Thus, quantifying the influence of abiotic conditions on nest integrity is important to predict the effects of weather variability on the fitness of parental individuals. Here we investigated how rainfall affects nest integrity and how nest integrity influences males’ attractiveness and nest tenure. Our study species was the harvestman Quindina limbata, in which males build mud nests on...

Agalychnis annae is a species endemic to Costa Rica and Panama with populations shrinking or disappearing from several locations. We studied the reproduction of a relict population of A. annae in a 1,300 m2 natural pond in Costa Rica during 2007–2008. We marked adults with a visible implant alphanumeric tag injected in the thigh. We measured reproductive effort considering calling males per night and per hour, number of pairs in amplexus, and number of egg...

Applied nucleation, mostly based upon planting tree islands, has been proposed as a cost‐effective strategy to meet ambitious global forest and landscape restoration targets. We review results from a 15‐year study, replicated at 15 sites in southern Costa Rica, that compares applied nucleation to natural regeneration and mixed‐species tree plantations as strategies to restore tropical forest. We have collected data on planted tree survival and growth, woody vegetation recruitment and structure, seed rain, litterfall, epiphytes,...

The pig, Sus scrofa, is a foreign species to the American continent. Although pigs originally introduced in the Americas should be related to those from the Iberian Peninsula and Canary islands, the phylogeny of current creole pigs that now populate the continent is likely to be very complex. Because of the extreme climates that America harbours, these populations also provide a unique example of a fast evolutionary phenomenon of adaptation. Here, we provide a genome...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The orchid genus Dichaea, with over 100 species found throughout the neotropics, is easily recognized by distichous leaves on long stems without pseudobulbs and flowers with infrastigmatic ligules. The genus has previously been divided into four sections based primarily on presence of ovary bristles and a foliar abscission layer. The aim of this work is to use DNA sequence data to estimate phylogenetic relationships within Dichaea and map the distribution of major...

Species population genetics could be an important factor explaining variation in clade species richness. Here we use newly generated AFLP data to test whether five pairs of sister clades of Costa Rican orchids that differ greatly in species richness also differ in average neutral genetic differentiation within species, expecting that if the strength of processes promoting differentiation within species is phylogenetically heritable, then clades with greater genetic differentiation should diversify more. Contrary to expectation, neutral...

The history of domestic species and of their wild ancestors is not a simple one, and feral processes can clarify key aspects of this history, including the adaptive processes triggered by new environments. Here, we provide a comprehensive genomic study of Isla del Coco (Costa Rica) feral pigs, a unique population that was allegedly founded by two individuals and has remained isolated since 1793. Using SNP arrays and genome sequencing, we show that Cocos pigs...

Pleiotropy (multiple phenotypic effects of single genes) and epistasis (gene interaction) have key roles in the development of complex phenotypes, especially in polymorphic taxa. The development of discrete and heritable phenotypic polymorphisms often emerges from major-effect genes that interact with other loci and have pleiotropic effects on multiple traits. We quantified gene expression changes during ontogenetic colour development in a polymorphic insect (damselfly: Ischnura elegans), with three heritable female morphs, one being a male mimic....

The association between the reproductive phenology of epiphytic communities with environmental and ecological factors remains largely unexplored. Because epiphytes depend on environmental moisture, seasonal changes in moisture conditions likely act as the primary determinants of their reproductive timing. We examined whether water limitation or pollinator competition structures the flowering phenologies of an epiphytic community in a seasonal mountain forest in Costa Rica. Additionally, we addressed the environmental factors that might trigger floral induction. Using a...

1. Plant-pollinator interactions are fundamental to ecosystem functioning; however, the role that succession and phenology have on these interactions is poorly understood, particularly in endangered tropical ecosystems. In highly diverse ecosystems such as tropical dry forests (TDF), variation in water and food availability determines the life cycles of animal pollinators. Therefore, understanding patterns of flowering phenology and plant-pollinator interactions across seasons in successional environments is key to maintaining and restoring TDF. 2. We analysed the...

Here we included two Excel files:
1) A dataset with the IUCN conservation status of all Neotropical primates (species + subspecies) based in the information available in https://www.iucnredlist.org/
2) A list of 30 different conservation projects on 17 primate species in Latin America.

Habitat fragmentation negatively affects population size and mating patterns that directly impact progeny fitness and genetic diversity; however, little is known about the effects of habitat fragmentation on dioecious, wind pollinated trees. We assessed the effects of habitat fragmentation on population sex ratios, genetic diversity, gene flow, mating patterns and early progeny vigor in the tropical dioecious tree, Brosimum alicastrum. We conducted our study in three continuous and three fragmented forest sites in a Mexican...

Aposematism and crypsis are often viewed as two extremes of a continuum of visual conspicuousness to predators. Theory predicts that behavioral and coloration conspicuousness should vary in tandem along the conspicuousness spectrum for antipredator strategies to be effective. Here we used visual modeling of contrast and behavioral observations to examine the conspicuousness of four populations of the granular poison frog, Oophaga granulifera, which exhibits almost continuous variation in dorsal color. The patterns of geographic variation...

Conflicts of interests between males and females over reproduction is a universal feature of sexually reproducing organisms and has driven the evolution of intersexual mimicry, mating behaviors and reproductive polymorphisms. Here we show how temperature drives pre-reproductive selection in a female colour polymorphic insect that is subject to strong sexual conflict. This species has three female colour morphs, one of which is a male mimic. This polymorphism is maintained by frequency-dependent sexual conflict caused by...