The skin microbiome of humpback whales harbours diverse microbial communities that play a crucial role in host skin protection and environmental interaction. However, studies on cetacean skin microbiomes in the Southern Hemisphere focus on feeding grounds, with limited information on microbiome dynamics at breeding grounds and during migration across contrasting habitats. We characterised the skin microbiome of 46 humpback wha...

It is known that phenological changes (i.e., behavioural and sometimes morphological and physiological traits that repeat annually) influence the wildlife gut microbiota. However, it remains largely unknown to what extent geographic variation could modulate the effect that phenology has on wildlife microbiota. Here, we analysed the feather microbiota in adult Magellanic penguins ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) and the microbes fro...

The genetic diversity found in natural populations is the result of the evolutionary forces in response to historical and contemporary factors. The environmental characteristics and geological history of Mexico promoted the evolution and diversification of plant species, including wild relatives of crops such as the wild pumpkins ( Cucurbita ). Wild pumpkin species are found in a variety of habitats, evidencing their capabilit...

Environmental microbes routinely colonize wildlife body surface microbiota. However, animals experience dynamic environmental shifts throughout their daily routine. Yet, the effect of ecological shifts in wildlife body surface microbiota has been poorly explored. Here, we sequenced the hypervariable region V3–V4 of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the body surface microbiota of wild Magellanic penguins ( Spheniscus magellanic...

Secondary contact of recently diverged species may have several outcomes, ranging from rampant hybridization to reinforced reproductive isolation. In plants, selfing tolerance and disjunct reproductive phenology may lead to reproductive isolation at contact zones. However, they may also evolve under both allopatric or parapatric frameworks and originate from adaptive and/or neutral forces. Inferring the historical demography o...

Aim Estimating genetic diversity is key for understanging biogeographic and evolutionary processes. However, gathering genetic information is not feasible for all taxa or populations, particularly in the tropical regions. Identifying proxies for inferring such values has thus become essential. Here, we built on the niche centrality hypothesis (NCH; or central‐abundance hypothesis) and the nearly neutral theory of evolution (NN...

Patterns of genomic divergence between hybridizing taxa can be heterogeneous along the genome. Both differential introgression and local adaptation may contribute to this pattern. Here, we analysed two teosinte subspecies, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis and ssp. mexicana , to test whether their divergence has occurred in the face of gene flow and to infer which environmental variables have been important drivers of their ecological...

Aim The history of Agave lechuguilla , a characteristic and dominant plant of the Chihuahuan Desert, was reconstructed in order to determine the importance of the Neogene orogenic uplift and the Quaternary glacial–interglacial climatic changes on the genetic patterns of a native Chihuahuan Desert species. Location Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico and United States. Methods Chloroplast DNA data from A. lechuguilla were analysed to des...

Aim We investigated changes in distribution of cloud forests during the last 130 kyr, and tested whether these changes explain the spatial patterns of genetic diversity of the tree fern Alsophila firma (Cyatheaceae), a species restricted to this habitat. Location Mexican cloud forests. Methods We sampled 204 individuals from 16 localities. Genetic data consisted of DNA sequences for five chloroplast microsatellites and one nuc...

Aim Our aim was to analyse the temporal dynamics of areas of endemism of Bursera species (Burseraceae), a dominant element of the Mexican tropical dry forest, between the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) and the present day. We aimed to identify stable core sectors that have held permanent populations of endemic species. Location Mexican dry forest. Methods We modelled the geographical distributions of 81 species of Bursera and id...

Summary Antagonistic interactions are frequently observed among bacteria in the environment and result in complex networks, which could promote co‐existence, and therefore promote biodiversity. We analysed interactions of aquatic bacteria isolated by their ability to grow in P seudomonas isolation agar from C hurince, C uatro C iénegas, M exico. In the resulting network, highly antagonistic and highly sensitive strains could b...

Summary The evolutionary history and ecological differentiation of the genus Exiguobacterium was characterized within natural communities from the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Mexico. Exiguobacterium comprises both halophilic and alkaliphilic bacteria that are abundant among the aquatic systems of the Cuatro Cienegas Basin. We obtained complete sequences of the 16srRNA gene and partial sequences of four housekeeping genes ( citC , r...

The genus Abies has a complex history in southern México and Guatemala. In this region, four closely related species, Abies flinckii , A. guatemalensis , A. hickelii , and A. religiosa , are distributed in fragmented and isolated montane populations. Range‐wide genetic variation was investigated across species using cytoplasmic DNA markers with contrasted inheritance. Variation at two maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA mar...