In more fishy news, this week the latest (and last!) chapter of my PhD, describing how millions of years of climatic stability have allowed isolated and divergent lineages of pygmy perches to persist, was published (Open Access) in Heredity. It covers population divergence, phylogenetic relationships (including estimation of divergence times), species delimitation and projections of species distributions from the past (up to three million years ago) into the future (up to 2100). Some highlights include:
Continue readingBiodiversity
Species diversity on PNF-404: a biodiversity assessment of the Pikmin series
The Pikmin series
Like many “Nerds by Profession” (scientists), much of my love for evolutionary biology as a young kid was fostered by an amazing diversity of creatures, both real and fictional. A formative influence in the latter category for me was through gaming – while I hold love for many great gaming franchises, the Nintendo series Pikmin holds a special place in my heart. The series of puzzle-cross-strategy games primarily following the misadventures of diminutive space explorer Captain Olimar, who crash lands on what is heavily implied (and later confirmed) to be a post-human Earth (or PNF-404, as it’s known). There, he is greeted by a strange plant-like species called Pikmin, who assist him in repairing his ship or collecting treasure (depending on the game). The Pikmin games require a certain degree of strategy, planning and time-efficiency in order to complete the necessary tasks within the limited timeframe of the game (or individual day).
Continue readingPiñataversity – a biodiversity assessment of Viva Piñata
Revisiting Piñata Island
Every now and then, my gaming habits tend to take a bit of a wander down memory lane. Of late, that means cracking out one of my classic faves – the life simulation and “collectathon” Viva Piñata by Rare. Originally released in 2006, with successor (expanded version, essentially) Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise released in 2008, the game essentially involves creating a lavish garden to attract wild piñata-like animals. Although a little light on plot, the main goal is to entice these wild creatures (Wilds) to stay in your garden (becoming Residents), to later be sent off to parties across the globe. Trouble in Paradise boasts a roster of 88 different species of Piñatas to collect, as well as a variety of fruiting trees, plants, and flowers to grow.
Continue readingOur hand in maladaptation
Maladaptation
In the previous post on The G-CAT, we talked about the role of maladaptation in the evolution of populations and species, and how this might impact their future. To summarise, maladaptation is the process (or trait responsible for) which causes a reduction in the fitness. As we discussed, this can come about a number of ways – such as from a shift in the selective environment or from fitness trade-offs in traits over time – and predominantly impacts on species by reducing their capacity to adapt. Particularly, this is important for small populations or those lacking in genetic diversity, which are already at risk of entering an extinction vortex and lack the capability to respond well to extreme selective changes (such as contemporary climate change).
What’s yours is mine: evolution by adaptive introgression
Gene flow and introgression
Genetic variation remains a key component of not only understanding the process and history of evolution, but also for allowing evolution to continue into the future. This is the basis of the concept of ‘evolutionary potential’ – the available variation within a population or species which may enable them to adapt to new environmental stressors as they occur. With the looming threat of contemporary climate change and environmental transformations by humanity, predicting and supporting evolutionary potential across the diversity of life is critical for conserving the stability of our biosphere.
The G-cat 