Instruct: Identify the main category of Biorxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: A molecular phylogeny of forktail damselflies (genus Ischnura) reveals a dynamic macroevolutionary history of female colour polymorphisms Colour polymorphisms are popular study systems among biologists interested in evolutionary dynamics, genomics, sexual selection and sexual conflict. In many damselfly groups, such as in the globally distributed genus Ischnura (forktails), sex-limited female colour polymorphisms occur in multiple species. Female-polymorphic species contain two or three female morphs, one of which phenotypically matches the male (androchrome or male mimic) and the other(s) which are phenotypically distinct from the male (heterochrome). These female colour polymorphisms are thought to be maintained by frequency-dependent sexual conflict, but their macroevolutionary histories are unknown, due to the lack of a robust molecular phylogeny. Here, we present the first time-calibrated phylogeny of Ischnura, using a multispecies coalescent approach (StarBEAST2) and incorporating both molecular and fossil data for 41 extant species (55% of the genus). We estimate the age of Ischnura to be between 13.8 and 23.4 millions of years, i.e. Miocene. We infer the ancestral state of this genus as female monomorphism with heterochrome females, with multiple gains and losses of female polymorphisms, evidence of trans-species female polymorphisms and a significant positive relationship between female polymorphism incidence and current geographic range size. Our study provides a robust phylogenetic framework for future research on the dynamic macroevolutionary history of this clade with its extraordinary diversity of sex-limited female polymorphisms.
23
The categories of this paper are: immunology
32
The categories of this paper are: zoology
8
The categories of this paper are: genomics
11
The categories of this paper are: cognition
4
The categories of this paper are: neuroscience
13
The categories of this paper are: animal
16
The categories of this paper are: microbiology
20
The categories of this paper are: pharmacology
10
The categories of this paper are: and
22
The categories of this paper are: physiology
7
The categories of this paper are: ecology
18
The categories of this paper are: systems
29
The categories of this paper are: education
17
The categories of this paper are: molecular
30
The categories of this paper are: scientific
21
The categories of this paper are: toxicology