Evo-Devo in dynamic environments: implications of climatic changes in the biodiversity

• Grant number: 20/14780-1
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2021
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Tiana Kohlsdorf
• Grantee: Tiana Kohlsdorf
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Ribeirão Preto
• Associated researchers: Ana Carolina Oliveira de Queiroz Carnaval ; Fernanda de Pinho Werneck ; Guarino Rinaldi Colli ; María Eugenia Guazzaroni ; Natália Martins Feitosa ; Rafael Silva Rocha ; Rodrigo Nunes da Fonseca
• Associated research grant(s): 25/19555-0 - Training in integrative approaches to study the evolution of form and function in the herpetofauna., AV.EXT; 24/14402-8 - Course: Integrating molecular and phenotypic data to understand biodiversity., AV.EXT; 22/03846-7 - Determinants of jaw shape and function in Gnathostomata, AP.R; 22/01188-2 - Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2020/14780: Leica stereoscope increment range 7.8x to 160x, AP.EMU
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/06434-0 - Plan for technical training 1: genetic traits, BP.TT; 24/23574-7 - Distribution patterns of lizards in the Caatinga: relations between climate change and fossoriality, BP.IC; 24/23421-6 - Morphological patterns in Dendropsophus minutus (Peters, 1872) collected in urban environments over a temporal scale, BP.IC; + associated scholarships 24/12123-4 - EVOLUTION IN THE UNDERGROUND - FUNCTIONAL AND ECOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN AMPHISBAENIA (REPTILIA: SQUAMATA), BP.PD; 24/07630-4 - Technical Training Plan 2: Phenotypical Variables and maintenance of organisms in controlled development conditions, BP.TT; 24/01954-2 - Evolution and Development of the Autopodium in Microteiid Lizard (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae), BP.DD; 23/17872-2 - Urban evolution in the Teiidae family: relationships between morphology, locomotion, and thermal physiology in lizards Found in Brazilian cities., BP.DR; 23/04922-1 - Technical Training in the project 'Evo-Devo in Changing Environments: Implications of Climatic Changes in the Biodiversity' - Quota 2, BP.TT; 22/07247-0 - Evolution of sex determination and sexual dimorphism in Squamata: relationships with ecological parameters and embryonic development, BP.DR; 22/11832-6 - MOLECULAR AND BIOMECHANICAL BASES OF CRYPTIC PLASTICITY., BP.PD; 20/08291-8 - Evolution and ontogeny of the hypertrofied antebrachial tubercle of Pseudopaludicola (Anura, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperinae), BP.PD; 21/03089-9 - Evolution of morphological diversity in Squamata: relations with environmental gradients and developmental mechanisms in neotropical lizards, BP.DR; 19/21712-5 - Molecular evolution of HOX genes: are there convergent genetic patterns on the multiple origins of the snakelike phenotype in Tetrapoda?, BP.PD - associated scholarships

Abstract

Developmental processes integrate environmental signals with genetic information when establishing phenotypes. EvoDevo recognizes that dynamic environments may induce new phenotypic variants in natural populations by activating of alternative developmental pathways mediated by the plasticity that is inherent to ontogenetic processes, a perspective that likely contributes for analyses of implications of climatic changes on biodiversity. Given the accelerated changes in climate, the substrate available for action of selective regimes will probably differ from the current range of phenotypic variants revealed by development in current environmental conditions. This proposal for a FAPESP Thematic Grant aims to incorporate the ontogenetic dimension into evaluations of impacts of climatic changes on the Brazilian biodiversity, testing for associations between phenotypic patterns and climatic parameters and compiling an empirical database of plastic developmental responses to variation in environmental parameters in ectothermic vertebrate lineages (fish, anurans and lizards) distributed in Brazil. The first sub-project aims to identify associations between phenotypic traits and climatic parameters in different lineages; cryptic developmental plasticity will be inferred in the second sub-project based on developmental reaction norms assessed in different species. Empiric data from these two projects enable interface with strategies used to evaluate the effects of climatic changes on Biodiversity (sub-project 3). We recognize the demand for specialized professional in the field, so we also intend to evaluate how undergraduate students deal with EvoDevo concepts, fostering the development of educational tools that complement the research axes addressed by this grant. (AU)

Scientific publications

(12)

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

ROTHIER, PRISCILA S.; SIMON, MONIQUE N.; MARROIG, GABRIEL; HERREL, ANTHONY; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. evelopment and function explain the modular evolution of phalanges in gecko lizard. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, v. 289, n. 1966, JAN 12 2022. (12/18269-3, 16/03953-7, 15/19556-4, 20/14780-1, 15/07650-6, 14/26287-7)

PEREIRA, ANIELI G.; GRIZANTE, MARIANA B.; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. What snakes and caecilians have in common? Molecular interaction units and the independent origins of similar morphotypes in Tetrapoda. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, v. 289, n. 1981, p. 10-pg., 2022-08-31. (10/00447-7, 15/07650-6, 20/14780-1, 19/21712-5)

MARIOTTO, LUCAS FERRIOLLI; LOFEU, LEANDRO; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Developmental Plasticity in Growth and Performance Blur Taxonomic Boundaries in South American True Toads (Rhinella). JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION, v. 344, n. 2, p. 14-pg., 2024-12-24. (20/14780-1)

BRONZATI, MARIO; VIECELI, FELIPE M.; BOTEZELLI, VITORIA S.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE C.; NASSIF, JANN P. M.; LUZETE, JULIANA; RIBEIRO, DOUGLAS; YAN, C. Y. IRENE; WERNEBURG, INGMAR; et al. Deep-time origin of tympanic hearing in crown reptiles. Current Biology, v. 34, n. 22, p. 13-pg., 2024-11-18. (20/14780-1, 21/09535-0, 18/18145-9, 15/07650-6, 22/05697-9)

ROSSIGALLI-COSTA, NATHALIA; ANELLI, VINICIUS; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. On the other hand: shape variation in the autopodia of Tropidurus lizards living in human-modified environments. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 145, n. 4, p. 8-pg., 2025-08-01. (20/14780-1, 15/07650-6, 21/03089-9, 22/11451-2)

MARIOTTO, LUCAS RIBEIRO; BARS-CLOSEL, MELISSA; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Limb length and poison glands size as predictors of anti-predatory performance in South American true toads. ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER, v. 296, p. 8-pg., 2022-01-01. (20/14780-1, 15/07650-6)

PEREIRA, ANIELI GUIRRO; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Repeated evolution of similar phenotypes: Integrating comparative methods with developmental pathways. GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 46, n. 1, p. 11-pg., 2023-01-01. (20/14780-1, 19/21712-5)

NUNES, IVAN; LYRA, MARIANA L.; MACHADO, THAYNARA M.; CARRASCO-MEDINA, ANDRES SANTIAGO; ANDRADE, FELIPE SILVA DE; HAGA, ISABELLE AQUEMI; BOTELHO, LUCAS M.; PEDROZO, MARIANA; VELASCO, ISABEL G.; JACINAVICIUS, FERNANDO DE CASTRO; et al. A new species of flea-toad of the genus Brachycephalus Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the cloud forests of Serra do Mar, southeastern Brazil. Zootaxa, v. 5691, n. 2, p. 26-pg., 2025-09-09. (20/08291-8, 21/10639-5, 20/14780-1, 19/18335-5, 16/25358-3)

SILVA, LEANDRO ALVES; HAGA, ISABELLE AQUEMI; NETO, ENNIO PAINKOW; DANTAS, SILIONAMA PEREIRA; VARAGO, AMANDA; GARDA, ADRIAN ANTONIO; KOHLSDORF, TIANA; DE ANDRADE, FELIPE SILVA. Description of a Puzzling New Long-Legged Pseudopaludicola Miranda-Ribeiro 1926 Species (Anura, Leptodactylidae) from the Araguaia River Floodplain, Brazil. Herpetologica, v. 81, n. 1, p. 15-pg., 2025-03-01. (20/14780-1, 20/08291-8)

LOFEU, LEANDRO; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE; SIMON, MONIQUE NOUAILHETAS; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Functional modularity and mechanical stress shape plastic responses during fish development. Evolution, v. 78, n. 9, p. 15-pg., 2024-06-06. (22/11832-6, 20/14780-1)

LOFEU, LEANDRO; BONINI-CAMPOS, BIANCA; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Water temperature modulates multidimensional plastic responses to water flow during the ontogeny of a neotropical fish (Astyanax lacustris, characiformes). FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, v. 13, p. 14-pg., 2025-07-07. (22/11832-6, 20/14780-1)

RACHID, LUCAS S. F.; LUZETE, JULIANA; CASSIMIRO, JOSE; RODRIGUES, MIGUEL TREFAUT; PELLEGRINO, KATIA C. M.. Filling the gap: The first karyotype of a Neotropical alopoglossid lizard species, with insights into the chromosomal evolution of Gymnophthalmoidea (Reptilia: Squamata). South American Journal of Herpetology, v. 35, p. 10-pg., 2025-08-01. (22/07247-0, 11/50146-6, 20/14780-1)