Veronica Pagowski

All Publications

• Mind the Gap: A Review of Disjunctions in Coastal Marine Species INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY Pagowski, V., Micheli, F. 2024

  Abstract

  Many coastal marine species have discontinuous distributions or genetic breakpoints throughout their geographical ranges. These spatial and genetic disjunctions occur in species that span limited to broad dispersal potential. Thus, the mechanisms that underlie these disjunctions remain speculative or incompletely known, particularly on small spatial scales where long-term historical processes are unlikely to be the only mechanism contributing to disjunction. Rather, ecological or oceanographic factors may be important. To identify key drivers of coastal disjunctions, we reviewed publications investigating spatial and genetic disjunctions in coastal marine species and visually summarized where and why they are thought to occur. The most frequently cited mechanisms implicated in causing disjunctions include historical processes, oceanographic features, heterogeneous habitat, species introductions, and limited larval dispersal capacities. However, the relative importance of each of these processes varies depending on the spatial scales investigated. Furthermore, locations associated with disjunctions for a suite of species are typically associated with multiple processes that maintain these disjunctions. This study provides a non-exhaustive synthesis of disjunctions in coastal marine species by visualizing where they occur, exploring underlying mechanisms, and investigating biases in how the scientific community studies this phenomenon.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/icb/icae099

  View details for Web of Science ID 001274938700001

  View details for PubMedID 38970364

• A description of the bat star nervous system throughout larval ontogeny. Evolution & development Pagowski, V. 2023: e12468

  Abstract

  Larvae represent a distinct life history stage in which animal morphology and behavior contrast strongly to adult organisms. This life history stage is a ubiquitous aspect of animal life cycles, particularly in the marine environment. In many species, the structure and function of the nervous system differ significantly between metamorphosed juveniles and larvae. However, the distribution and diversity of neural cell types in larval nervous systems remains incompletely known. Here, the expression of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide synthesis and transport genes in the bat star Patiria miniata is examined throughout larval development. This characterization of nervous system structure reveals three main neural regions with distinct but overlapping territories. These regions include a densely innervated anterior region, an enteric neural plexus, and neurons associated with the ciliary band. In the ciliary band, cholinergic cells are pervasive while dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and GABAergic cells show regional differences in their localization patterns. Furthermore, the distribution of some neural subtypes changes throughout larval development, suggesting that changes in nervous system structure align with shifting ecological priorities during different larval stages, before the development of the adult nervous system. While past work has described aspects of P. miniata larval nervous system structure, largely focusing on early developmental timepoints, this work provides a comprehensive description of neural cell type localization throughout the extensive larval period.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/ede.12468

  View details for PubMedID 38108150

• Genetic diversity loss in the Anthropocene. Science (New York, N.Y.) Exposito-Alonso, M., Booker, T. R., Czech, L., Gillespie, L., Hateley, S., Kyriazis, C. C., Lang, P. L., Leventhal, L., Nogues-Bravo, D., Pagowski, V., Ruffley, M., Spence, J. P., Toro Arana, S. E., WeiSS, C. L., Zess, E. 2022; 377 (6613): 1431-1435

  Abstract

  Anthropogenic habitat loss and climate change are reducing species' geographic ranges, increasing extinction risk and losses of species' genetic diversity. Although preserving genetic diversity is key to maintaining species' adaptability, we lack predictive tools and global estimates of genetic diversity loss across ecosystems. We introduce a mathematical framework that bridges biodiversity theory and population genetics to understand the loss of naturally occurring DNA mutations with decreasing habitat. By analyzing genomic variation of 10,095 georeferenced individuals from 20 plant and animal species, we show that genome-wide diversity follows a mutations-area relationship power law with geographic area, which can predict genetic diversity loss from local population extinctions. We estimate that more than 10% of genetic diversity may already be lost for many threatened and nonthreatened species, surpassing the United Nations' post-2020 targets for genetic preservation.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/science.abn5642

  View details for PubMedID 36137047