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The formation of reproductive barriers in diverging lineages is a prerequisite to complete speciation according to the biological species concept. In parasites with complex life cycles, speciation may be drive...
Cypriniformes (minnows, carps, loaches, and suckers) is the largest group of freshwater fishes in the world (~4300 described species). Despite much attention, previous attempts to elucidate relationships using...
Genital diversity may arise through sexual conflict over polyandry, where male genital features function to manipulate female mating frequency against her interest. Correlated genital evolution across animal g...
Although resurrecting ancestral proteins is a powerful tool for understanding the molecular-functional evolution of gene families, nearly all studies have examined proteins functioning in relatively stable bio...
RAD-seq is a powerful tool, increasingly used in population genomics. However, earlier studies have raised red flags regarding possible biases associated with this technique. In particular, polymorphism on res...
Genetic canalization reflects the capacity of an organism’s phenotype to remain unchanged in spite of mutations. As selection on genetic canalization is weak and indirect, whether or not genetic canalization c...
Dioscorea is a widely distributed and highly diversified genus in tropical regions where it is represented by ten main clades, one of which diversified exclusively in Africa. In southe...
Understanding how past climatic oscillations have affected organismic evolution will help predict the impact that current climate change has on living organisms. The European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur, is ...
Turtles (Testudinata) are a successful lineage of vertebrates with about 350 extant species that inhabit all major oceans and landmasses with tropical to temperate climates. The rich fossil record of turtles d...
The Equator and Easter Microplate regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean exhibit geomorphological and hydrological features that create barriers to dispersal for a number of animals associated with deep-sea hydr...
The majority of the subspecies of Daucus carota have not yet been discriminated clearly by various molecular or morphological methods and hence their phylogeny and classification remains unresolved. Recent studie...
Host resistance and viral pathogenicity are determined by molecular interactions that are part of the evolutionary arms race between viruses and their hosts. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites and en...
The primordial germ cells (PGCs) giving rise to gametes are determined by two different mechanisms in vertebrates. While the germ cell fate in mammals and salamanders is induced by zygotic signals, maternally ...
In North America, the last ice age is the most recent event with severe consequences on boreal species’ ranges. Phylogeographic patterns of range expansion in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) suggested that ...
Pigeons and doves (Columbiformes) are one of the oldest and most diverse extant lineages of birds. However, the nature and timing of the group’s evolutionary radiation remains poorly resolved, despite recent a...
Although bats are natural reservoirs of many pathogens, few studies have been conducted on the genetic variation and detection of selection in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. These genes are crit...
Drosophila is an important model for studying the evolution of animal immunity, due to the powerful genetic tools developed for D. melanogaster. However, Drosophila is an incredibly sp...
Antagonistic coevolution between bacteria and their viral parasites, phage, drives continual evolution of resistance and infectivity traits through recurrent cycles of adaptation and counter-adaptation. Both p...
During the Pleistocene, shifts of species distributions and their isolation in disjunct refugia led to varied outcomes in how taxa diversified. Some species diverged, others did not. Here, we begin to address ...
The southern African Oxalis radiation is extremely morphologically variable. Despite recent progress in the phylogenetics of the genus, there are few morphological synapomorphies supporting DNA-based clades. Leaf...
Flatfish cranial asymmetry represents one of the most remarkable morphological innovations among vertebrates, and has fueled vigorous debate on the manner and rate at which strikingly divergent phenotypes evol...
Group II introns are catalytically active RNA and mobile retroelements present in certain eukaryotic organelles, bacteria and archaea. These ribozymes self-splice from the pre-mRNA of interrupted genes and rei...
Bergmann’s rule proposes that animals in cold habitats will be larger than those in warm habitats. This prediction has been tested thoroughly at the intraspecific level, but few studies have investigated the h...
SMRT and NCoR are corepressor paralogs that help mediate transcriptional repression by a variety of transcription factors, including the nuclear hormone receptors. The functions of both corepressors are extens...
Subtilisin-like serine proteases or Subtilases in fungi are important for penetration and colonization of host. In Hypocreales, these proteins share several properties with other fungal, bacterial, plant and m...
Adaptive radiation involving a colonizing phenotype that rapidly evolves into at least one other ecological variant, or ecotype, has been observed in a variety of freshwater fishes in post-glacial environments...
Colour and shape polymorphisms are important features of many species and may allow individuals to exploit a wider array of habitats, including through behavioural differences among morphs. In addition, differ...
The fossil record of Plecoptera (stoneflies) is considered relatively complete, with stem-groups of each of the three major lineages, viz. Antarctoperlaria, Euholognatha and Systellognatha (and some of their f...
There is great controversy as to whether Microsporidia undergo a sexual cycle. In the paradigmatic case of Nosema ceranae, although there is no morphological evidence of sex, some meiosis-specific genes are prese...
A defining feature of eukaryotic cells is the presence of various distinct membrane-bound compartments with different metabolic roles. Material exchange between most compartments occurs via a sophisticated ves...
Huntingtin-associated Protein 1 (HAP1) is expressed in neurons and endocrine cells, and is critical for postnatal survival in mice. HAP1 shares a conserved “HAP1_N” domain with TRAfficking Kinesin proteins TRA...
We studied the phylogeography and demographical history of Tabebuia serratifolia (Bignoniaceae) to understand the disjunct geographical distribution of South American seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs). We s...
Despite considerable effort, progress in spider molecular systematics has lagged behind many other comparable arthropod groups, thereby hindering family-level resolution, classification, and testing of importa...
Seabirds are important components of marine ecosystems, both as predators and as indicators of ecological change, being conspicuous and sensitive to changes in prey abundance. To determine whether fluctuations...
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an enteric, single-stranded, positive sense RNA virus and a significant etiological agent of hepatitis, causing sporadic infections and outbreaks globally. Tracing the evolutionary a...
Within-generational plasticity (WGP) and transgenerational plasticity (TGP) are mechanisms allowing rapid adaptive responses to fluctuating environments without genetic change. These forms of plasticity have o...
New World monkeys (NWMs) are unique in that they exhibit remarkable interspecific variation in color vision and feeding behavior, making them an excellent model for studying sensory ecology. However, it is lar...
High morphological diversity can occur in closely related animals when selection favors morphologies that are subject to intrinsic biological constraints. A good example is subterranean rodents of the genus Thomo...
The Ethiopian highlands are a biodiversity hotspot, split by the Great Rift Valley into two distinct systems of plateaus and mountains. The Rift Valley is currently hot and dry and acts as a barrier to gene fl...
Obtaining strongly supported phylogenies that permit confident taxonomic and evolutionary interpretations has been a challenge in algal biology. High-throughput sequencing has improved the capacity to generate...
Polyploidy is one of the most important evolutionary pathways in flowering plants and has significantly contributed to their diversification and radiation. Due to the prevalence of reticulate evolution spannin...
Fossil ticks are extremely rare and Ixodes succineus Weidner, 1964 from Eocene (ca. 44–49 Ma) Baltic amber is one of the oldest examples of a living hard tick genus (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Previous work suggested it...
Oceanic archipelagos typically harbour extensive radiations of flowering plants and a high proportion of endemics, many of which are restricted to a single island (Single Island Endemics; SIEs). The Azores rep...
Horizontal transfer (HT) of genetic materials is increasingly being found in both animals and plants and mainly concerns transposable elements (TEs). Many crustaceans have big genome sizes and are thus likely ...
Embryogenesis is a highly conserved, canalized process, and variation in the duration of embryogenesis (DOE), i.e., time from egg lay to hatching, has a potentially profound effect on the outcome of within- an...
Dietary restriction (DR), a reduction in the amount of food or particular nutrients eaten, is the most consistent environmental manipulation to extend lifespan and protect against age related diseases. Current...
Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are of great importance for survival and reproduction since they participate in initial steps of the olfactory signal transduction cascade, solubilizing and transporting chemica...
Multiple prokaryotic lineages use the arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway for anaerobic energy production by arginine degradation. The distribution of this pathway among eukaryotes has been thought to be very lim...
Syllids are a species rich annelid family possessing remarkable regenerative ability, which is not only the response after traumatic injury, but also a key step during the life cycle of several syllid taxa. In...
Reproductive success is determined by the interplay between mating and fertilization success. In social insect species with male-biased sex ratios and queen monogamy, males face particularly strong pre-copulat...
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