How Paedomorphosis shapes Animal Phenotypes Evolution: A Case Study Using Beetles

Project Information

PAEDOMORPHOSIS

Grant agreement ID: 101018841

DOI

10.3030/101018841

Project closed

EC signature date 16 March 2021

Start date 1 September 2021

End date 31 August 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 219 312,00

EU contribution

€ 219 312,00

Coordinated by

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PAEDOMORPHOSIS (How Paedomorphosis shapes Animal Phenotypes Evolution: A Case Study Using Beetles)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The paedomorphosis syndrome (PDM) is a phenomenon in which individuals retain juvenile traits or features into adulthood, resulting in a resemblance of adults with their young forms. Overall, our knowledge about the effects and causes of the PDM in animals is fragmentary. In beetles, the PDM has evolved multiple times in several unrelated lineages, such as fireflies and click-beetles. Our knowledge about the effects and causes of PDM in beetles is as fragmentary as in animals in general. It is currently unknown whether the paedomorphic modifications in different beetle lineages have the same evolutionary origins or if they have evolved independently. These gaps negatively impact our understanding of how PDM shapes the evolution of organisms. This study aimed to (1) Identify and document morphological changes in paedomorphic lineages across the Coleoptera, 2) Test hypotheses of homology for morphological characters heavily affected by PDM in a phylogenetic framework using beetles of the tribe Calopterini (Lycidae) as example, and 3) Identify evolutionary causes for the repeated and independent development of PDM in beetles as a model to understand convergent phenotypes in animal evolution.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

A summary of the activities concluded during the fellowship is as follows: I published a total of nine peer-reviewed articles; I taught two semesters at University of Copenhagen; I participated in two international scientific conference meetings; I organized one international conference; I organized and obtained funds for two and half weeks of collecting trip in the West Indies; I co-supervised one master's student, one ERASMUS student, one volunteer and one undergraduate student; my research output was covered in four international media outlets, including The New York Times and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

My results will be used by a wide range of researchers in the scientific community. For evolutionary biologists, my research will provide results of diversification and speciation of paedomorphic beetles; these results can be exploited and extrapolated to other groups of paedomorphic animals, providing a first-hand comprehensive case-study to understand the consequences of paedomorphosis across the different groups in the animal kingdom.

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