搜索结果：Ecological and evolutionary physiology

The external appearance of frog skin varies among species and across body regions. Although this variation has long been recognized, it remains an understudied aspect of frog diversity. Further, the evolutionary processes driving this variation are unclear because previous work has been largely qualitative. Here we quantify the skin texture of 187 species spanning 45 of the 57 frog families using standardized gel-based profilometry. Using phylogenetic comparative models we explore the extent to which skin texture differs among body regions, how these differences have evolved across major frog clades, and whether microhabitat, climate, and body size help explain texture patterns. We find that the ventral posterior region, which functions in water uptake and rehydration, tends to be rougher than other body regions, yet skin texture evolves at similar rates across the body. Microhabitat, particularly arboreality, is linked to greater skin texture variation among body regions. Among species occupying more terrestrial microhabitats (e.g., arboreal, burrowing, leaflitter), we find that body size and local climate has little effect on skin texture. By comparing skin texture across a wide range of species and environments worldwide, our study tests hypotheses about external skin diversity in frogs that have previously received limited comparative evaluation and highlights texture as an informative component of amphibian skin biology.

Caudata (salamanders and newts) exhibit considerable diversity in terms of ecology, life cycle, morphology, and behavior, ranging from species with complete metamorphosis to those with facultative or complete loss of metamorphosis. These developmental differences are often tightly linked to ecological transitions and morphological transformations, influencing how salamanders exploit habitats, access resources, and feed during their lifetime. While skeletal transformations have been widely studied, the impact on cranial musculature remains poorly understood. This study explores how life-cycle variation and associated ecological transitions and morphological transformations affect the architecture of feeding muscles in salamanders. We conducted dissections of the feeding system in 25 salamander species representing different life cycles, ecological transitions, and morphological transformations. We quantified muscle volume and physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) functional muscle group of the jaw and hyoid muscles. Our results revealed a differentiation in cranial musculature based on different ecological strategies, and that other factors, such as head size, play a prominent role in shaping muscle architecture. We identified consistent patterns associated with whether individuals undergo an ecological transition, experience a morphological transformation, and with their adult habitat use, suggesting that ecological context imposes functional constraints on the muscular organization of the feeding system. These findings suggest that life history, ecological, and developmental strategies impose constraints that influence the muscular organization of the jaw and the hyoid apparatus. Future work should broaden taxonomic sampling, integrate bone and muscular traits together, and examine the evolutionary pathways by which life-cycle variation interacts with functional morphology in Caudata.

The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), one of the most widespread and ecologically significant megafauna species in the Mediterranean, exhibits ontogenetic shifts in spatial distribution and habitat use throughout its life cycle, which further vary under different seasonal environmental conditions. However, how ontogeny and seasonality jointly shape the large-scale use of oceanic habitats remains poorly understood. Most research has focused on coastal areas, while the oceanic habitats, crucial for development, foraging, and migration have received comparatively limited attention. We investigated the spatial and seasonal patterns of oceanic loggerhead turtles in the Western Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas using standardized ferry-based surveys conducted between 2019 and 2024 within the LIFE CONCEPTU MARIS and FLT Med Net projects. For the first time at this large-scale, individuals were consistently assigned to three life stages (early juveniles, late juveniles, adults), enabling robust ontogenetic comparisons across seasons through multivariate analyses and stage-specific Species Distribution Models. Environmental associations partially overlapped among life stages but varied consistently with ontogeny and season, with differentiation being most pronounced in spring and autumn. Early juveniles were associated with warm, productive, and dynamic waters, whereas adults occurred mainly in deeper and more thermally stable offshore habitats. Late juveniles showed broader and more variable associations, often occupying transitional shelf-oceanic zones influenced by mesoscale activity. Across the basin, the Algerian, Tyrrhenian, and Adriatic regions emerged as recurrent offshore areas used by multiple life stages, although their spatial extent and seasonal importance varied among stages. By integrating ontogeny and seasonal perspectives, this study refines the understanding of loggerhead turtle spatial ecology in the Mediterranean and identifies persistent offshore areas of conservation relevance, supporting the need to extend management beyond coastal ecosystems.

The urinary systems of ruminants and poultry represent an evolutionary adaptation to distinct ecological niches, digestive strategies, and water conservation needs. This critical review employs a systematic approach to compare these systems, analyzing their anatomical, physiological, and functional divergences with emphasis on contemporary agricultural challenges. Ruminants, as ureotelic mammals, possess a urinary system where nitrogen excretion is dominated by urea, heavily influenced by rumen microbial metabolism and the urea nitrogen recycling loop. This physiology underpins both the use of urinary purine derivatives as markers for microbial protein synthesis and the significant environmental burden of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from urine patches. In contrast, the avian uricotelic system, characterized by a mixed population of loopless (reptilian type) and looped (mammalian type) nephrons and a cloacal terminus, prioritizes water conservation and eggshell calcification but presents unique pathologies like gout. By synthesizing scattered literature, this review provides a novel, integrated framework linking core physiology to applied outcomes in nutrition, disease management, and environmental sustainability. This review identified critical knowledge gaps, particularly in avian renal microanatomy and the precise modeling of dietary interventions on nitrogen loss and proposes specific, actionable research directions to advance sustainable animal production.

AbstractIn 1985, two seminal publications redefined the study of acoustic communication in frogs. By demonstrating that male frogs expend energy at rates surpassing those of vigorous locomotion when calling (Taigen and Wells 1985) and that these extreme demands are sustained by trunk muscles with oxidative enzyme profiles rivaling endothermic vertebrates (Taigen et al. 1985), they revealed what was then seen as a physiological paradox through an integrative approach that continues to inspire research. Here, we evaluate the scientific legacy of these studies four decades later using curated citation datasets and thematic analyses. We show that their influence has persisted through sustained citation across disciplines. This broad impact appears rooted in their novel integration of behavioral ecology and comparative physiology, two fields they engaged in complementary ways. Early citations emphasized mechanisms such as oxygen consumption, muscle biochemistry, and performance limits, while later work expanded toward processes and patterns, including sexual selection, ecological trade-offs, and environmental modulation of signaling. Subsequent reframings situate frog calling as an evolved strategy embedded in endocrine regulation, phenology, social responsiveness, and ecological change. The Wells-Taigen collaboration thus stands as a rare example of transdisciplinary integration where mechanistic physiology and ecological realism were jointly advanced, catalyzing enduring conceptual synthesis in evolutionary physiology. By revisiting these papers, we highlight how their intellectual lineages continue to scaffold inquiry into performance, adaptation, and the integrated study of animal behavior and its physiological bases.

Urbanization and biological invasions are two dominant drivers of global change, yet their joint effects on dispersal-related trait evolution remain poorly understood. Cities often facilitate the establishment and spread of nonnative species through anthropogenic transport, ecological disturbance, and favorable microclimates, but they may also impose novel selective pressures that reshape traits linked to movement and colonization. Here, we examine these interactions in the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, an invasive planthopper that has rapidly expanded across the northeastern United States since 2014. We quantified forewing size and shape in adults collected from urban and rural habitats in the native range (Shanghai, China), and from individuals in the invasive northeastern United States from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, with more intensive sampling in New York City, enabling us to evaluate the combined effects of urbanization and invasion on wing morphology. We measured wing area and length from photographs and quantified wing shape using geometric morphometrics, and compared size, shape, and morphological disparity among groups. Our analyses revealed contrasting responses of wing size and wing shape to urbanization and invasion. Forewing area and length increased consistently with urbanization and building height in both ranges, indicating that larger wings are associated with more urbanized habitats and suggesting that wing size may be important for navigating fragmented, vertically complex city environments. In contrast, wing shape did not vary significantly with urbanization itself, but it diverged between ranges: invasive U.S. individuals had longer, narrower forewings than native Chinese individuals. Wing shape variance was also significantly greater in the invasive range. Together, these results indicate that different components of dispersal morphology respond to different eco-evolutionary pressures, with wing size tracking contemporary urban conditions and wing shape reflecting invasion history and expansion through heterogeneous environments. Our findings suggest that urban environments may do more than facilitate invasion through opportunity alone; they may also contribute to the reshaping of dispersal traits as invasions unfold. By linking urban environmental structure with morphological divergence and increased phenotypic variance in an emerging global pest, our study highlights the importance of integrating urban ecology and invasion biology to understand how species spread and adapt in an increasingly human-dominated world.

Hosts function as ecological islands for endoparasites, offering structured habitats that support parasite survival, growth, and reproduction. Larger and older hosts are often expected to harbour more diverse and abundant parasitic assemblages due to increased structural complexity and longer exposure times. In this study, we investigated how host body size and phylogenetic relatedness influence endoparasite mean richness and mean intensity of infection in lizards from the Atlantic Rainforest of northeastern Brazil. We analysed 121 parasitised specimens representing 15 species, recording body size metrics (SVL and mass) and calculating parasitological indices. Significant phylogenetic signal was detected for host body size (SVL and mass) and mean intensity of infection, whereas no phylogenetic signal was found for mean parasite richness. Contrary to the island theory predictions, PGLS models revealed a significant negative relationship between mean SVL/mass and mean intensity of infection. Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between host body size (SVL or mass) and mean parasite richness, regardless of the evolutionary model used. The pPCA identified a predominance of global structure (phylogenetic relatedness), explaining 42.15% of the variation, while local structures, reflecting niche differentiation, accounted for 18.61%. Our results demonstrate that lizard-parasite interactions are shaped by a complex synergy between conserved evolutionary templates and opportunistic ecological responses, highlighting the necessity of integrated phylogenetic approaches in parasitological studies.

Global analyses of leaf size suggest that large leaves predominate in favourably warm and wet climates, and small leaves occur at climatic extremes. However, these patterns are dominated by data from angiosperms and may obscure drivers of leaf size variation in older, less speciose groups, such as conifers. Here we employ a novel modelling framework, multi-response phylogenetic mixed models (MRPMM), that identifies trait correlations at both phylogenetic and phylogenetically independent levels to investigate how climate influences leaf size evolution across conifers. We show overall patterns for all conifers and focus on three groups with distinctive leaf architectures: scale-leaved Cupressaceae, needle-leaved Pinus and broad-leaved Podocarpus. We found moderate to strong phylogenetic signal in conifer leaf and climate niche traits. Phylogenetic relationships explained most of the association between leaf size and climate, with temperature revealed as a stronger driver than dry season precipitation, indicating deep-time co-evolutionary associations. These patterns reflect trade-offs associated with leaf hydraulic architecture under contrasting selection pressures. In single-veined leaves, lateral water transport and thus leaf width is constrained, yet this narrow leaf form can be advantageous for survival under climatic extremes such as drought and freezing. In contrast, anatomical innovations (like accessory transfusion tissue in Podocarpus) allow for broader leaves which are favourable in competitive environments, while also potentially making leaves more vulnerable to climate extremes. Our results support previous evidence for phylogenetic niche conservatism in conifers, where species tend to track their ancestral climatic preferences rather than adapting to new environments. This conservatism, likely controlled by leaf hydraulic architecture, results in strong evolutionary constraints on current bioclimatic distributions and potential responses to changing climates in conifers. This study also highlights the importance of considering phylogenetic impacts on functional trait evolution, especially in evolutionarily conservative groups like conifers.

Iranian Barbel taxonomy and evolutionary history (Cyprinidae: Barbinae and Torinae) remain contentious due to overlapping morphological traits and limited molecular data. This study applies an integrative taxonomic framework to elucidate species boundaries, phylogenetic relationships, and the environmental drivers of diversification within Barbels lineages across Iran. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (Cytb and COI genes), seven meristic morphological characters, and five spatial environmental predictors from specimens collected across localities representing major Iranian basins. Phylogenetic reconstructions using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference revealed three main monophyletic groups: (1) Arabibarbus, Mesopotamichthys, and Carasobarbus (Torinae); (2) Luciobarbus; and (3) Barbus sensu stricto (Barbinae). Principal Component and Canonical Variate Analyses of meristic data corroborated molecular findings, supporting the delineation of this taxa. Ecological Niche Evolution analysis indicated several species occupy similar climatic niches, suggesting parallel evolutionary responses to environmental pressures. Divergence time estimates and lineage-through-time analyses linked major cladogenic events to regional orogeny and Quaternary climatic fluctuations. Species delimitation analyses suggested potential synonymy among specific taxa (e.g., L. capito with L. conocephalus; L. esosinus with L. xanthopetrus), highlighting the need for taxonomic revision. Our integrative approach demonstrates that geological history and climatic factors have shaped the diversity and distribution of Barbels in Iran. These findings provide a robust framework for future taxonomic, conservation, and biogeographic studies of Iranian freshwater fishes.

Pedicels, the short specialized stems that support reproductive structures in flowering plants, play diverse roles throughout plant development, yet many of their functions remain insufficiently understood. Morphologically and anatomically, they share several features with the main stem, including similar epidermal, cortical, and vascular traits. Variation in pedicel length, branching angle, and orientation influences floral and inflorescence architecture, thereby shaping floral display patterns and ultimately affecting reproductive success. Functionally, pedicels provide mechanical support, maintain vascular continuity between flowers and inflorescence axes, and facilitate the transport of nutrients, water, hormones, and signaling molecules to flowers and developing fruits. Recent studies highlight their additional roles in pollen presentation and seed dispersal, in which pedicel orientation aids effective interactions with pollinators and dispersal agents. Pedicels also serve as important sites of abscission, initiating enzymatic processes that lead to the detachment of flower or fruit. Advances in developmental genetics have identified numerous genes and transcription factors involved in pedicel formation, orientation, and functional modulation. Despite these insights, significant gaps remain, particularly regarding how pedicels adapt structurally and functionally to different pollination strategies. Further integrative research is required to clarify the developmental, ecological, and evolutionary significance of this understudied floral organ.

Humans exhibit a striking and near-universal population-level right-hand preference, an evolutionary singularity unmatched among primates. Despite its pervasiveness, the origins of this lateralization remain poorly understood. Here, we combine phylogenetic comparative methods with meta-analysis to investigate manual lateralization across 41 anthropoid species (n = 2,025), testing longstanding eco-evolutionary hypotheses for handedness direction (mean handedness index, MHI) and strength (mean absolute handedness index, MABSHI). Our models reveal significant phylogenetic signal for both traits and identify Homo sapiens as an evolutionary outlier, exhibiting exceptional rightward bias and strength relative to phylogenetic expectations. However, this outlier status disappears when brain size (endocranial volume) and intermembral index are included, suggesting these factors are central to the emergence of human handedness. We also show that high MABSHI evolved early in hominin evolution, while MHI increased to unparalleled levels with the appearance of the genus Homo. Our findings identify bipedalism and neuroanatomical expansion as likely key drivers of uniquely human lateralization, while also revealing broader ecological patterns shaping handedness across primates. This work provides a framework for disentangling human-specific adaptations from general primate trends in the evolution of behavioral asymmetries.

Sex-specific variation can critically shape species' physiological responses to environmental change, with potentially strong implications during reproduction. Yet this source of variation is often overlooked. To help address this paucity, we investigated fitness and whole-organism traits and metabolomic profiles to elevated temperature in males and females of Gammarus locusta, a keystone intertidal amphipod inhabiting thermally dynamic coastal environments. Individuals were gradually acclimated to four ecologically relevant temperatures (16°C, 21°C, 26°C and 31°C) and maintained at these conditions for 21 d under controlled laboratory settings. Survival declined at 26°C and 31°C in both sexes, and females exhibited consistently higher upper thermal limits, broader thermal safety margins, but lower thermal acclimation capacity compared to males. Whilst reproductive output was lower in elevated temperatures (26°C and 31°C), juveniles' body length increased, indicating a "quality-over-quantity" reproduction strategy. At the metabolomic level, females exhibited greater plasticity, with enhanced pathways linked to energy metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and cellular stress defence, suggesting adaptive activation rather than heightened vulnerability, consistent with their higher thermal tolerance and survival. Elevated temperatures also impaired amphipods' energetic status, with both glucose and ATP:ADP ratio decreasing, particularly at 31°C. Overall, we show that sex-specific metabolomic strategies define different sex thermal tolerance levels in G. locusta. As ocean warming intensifies, males' greater vulnerability could skew population sex ratios toward females. This imbalance may limit mating opportunities and alter population operational sex ratio and therefore dynamics, if the number of males is insufficient to fertilise all females. Our study highlights the importance of considering sex-specific physiological responses by integrating them with life-history and fitness measures to build a mechanistic understanding of how thermal stress may shape reproductive dynamics and, ultimately, affect population viability. By linking cellular metabolism with organismal fitness, we provide the cross-scale insight needed to more accurately forecast marine invertebrates' responses to global change.

Killifishes have emerged as valuable supplementary biological and biomedical research models due to their remarkable adaptations to extreme and variable environments. Despite their ecological and evolutionary significance, the histology and anatomy of freshwater members of the family Aphaniidae remain largely understudied. This study provides the first comprehensive microscopic analysis of Esmaeilius sophiae, a freshwater killifish endemic to Iran, using histological staining, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray microscopy. Key organ systems-including gills, kidneys, liver, brain and reproductive organs-were examined to identify structural adaptations that support survival in dynamic freshwater habitats. The gills possess organised lamellae supported by pillar cells and a specialised mucosal epithelium, enhancing oxygen exchange in environments with fluctuating oxygen availability. SEM imaging revealed specialised glomerular structures in the kidney that likely facilitate efficient osmoregulation, as well as a distinctive scale morphology contributing to environmental protection. Additionally, the well-differentiated brain regions-particularly the optic tectum-and the unique otolith morphology of E. sophiae underscore its sensory and ecological specialisation. Our findings reveal key anatomical and histological adaptations in E. sophiae, establishing a foundational reference for future research in fish physiology, environmental adaptation and evolutionary biology.

Brackish coastal waters are increasingly susceptible to harmful cyanobacterial blooms and toxin contamination, and climate change may enhance the persistence of bloom-forming species across salinity gradients. The Baltic Sea, one of the world's largest brackish basins is characterised by distinct salinity gradients, high productivity, and pronounced sensitivity to cyanobacterial blooms. Cyanobacteria are highly adaptable and tolerat of diverse environmental conditions. However, the response of freshwater strains to brackish water from various Baltic coastal sites, and the extent to which such conditions limit their persistence, remains uncertain. This study addressed three main objectives: (1) evaluating the ability of common freshwater bloom-forming filamentous cyanobacteria to grow in water from different Baltic coastal sites; (2) examining the combined effects of warming and CO2 enrichment on their performance under simulated brackish conditions; and (3) testing whether selected freshwater strain can persist in pairwise co-culture with the resident Baltic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena. Results showed that several freshwater strains grew in water from both the fresher northern and more saline southern Baltic coastal sites. However, their responses varied by strain and were influenced by site-specific water properties, climate conditions, and biotic interactions. Notably, a cylindrospermopsin-producing strain of Aphanizomenon gracile from an eutrophic inland lake showed the highest performance and also grew in co-culture with Nodularia. Simulations indicate that certain freshwater cyanobacteria can tolerate brackish water from different Baltic coastal sites under controlled short-term conditions. Moreover, findings suggest that freshwater strains capable of persisting under brackish conditions may contribute to cyanotoxin presence risk. This risk may affect water from both the fresher northern and saltier southern Baltic coasts, highlighting an emerging ecological and public health concern. The simplified, nature-safe experimental approach provides a foundation for more complex, field-based studies assessing the ecological relevance of freshwater cyanobacteria in transitional brackish coastal systems.

High-latitude terrestrial ecosystems are commonly viewed as marginal environments to deep-time evolutionary innovation, yet their role in shaping biotic dispersal, diversification, and survivorship remains poorly understood. The Upper Cretaceous Prince Creek Formation of northern Alaska (paleolatitude ~80-85°N) yields the most northerly known Mesozoic mammals and provides a rare opportunity to examine the ecological and biogeographic roles of polar terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we describe three multituberculate species, Camurodon borealis, Qayaqgruk peregrinus, and Kaniqsiqcosmodon polaris, and integrate comparative morphology with phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses to evaluate patterns and timing of dispersal and diversification across a high-latitude Asian-American terrestrial corridor. Qayaqgruk peregrinus is recovered within the Mongolian Djadochtatherioidea, representing the earliest direct evidence for multituberculate dispersal from Asia into North America. Kaniqsiqcosmodon polaris constitutes the oldest known member of the Microcosmodontidae, suggesting a high-latitude origin for a derived North American lineage that later diversified during the Paleocene following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. Camurodon borealis represents the northernmost occurrence of the Cimolomyidae. Pronounced variation in dental morphology among the Prince Creek multituberculates indicates ecological differentiation and niche partitioning within an extreme, highly seasonal polar environment. Our findings indicate that Late Cretaceous Arctic ecosystems supported both sustained intercontinental exchanges as early as 91.82 Ma and endemism. Our results challenge interpretations of polar regions as evolutionary peripheries and instead identify them as important contributors to mammalian evolutionary dynamics prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction.

Corals and lichens represent some of the most diverse mutualistic symbioses in the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Their evolutionary success is partly attributed to their association with internal, photosynthetic symbionts, which provide carbon and enable colonization of a wide-range of habitats. Although corals and lichens occupy fundamentally different ecosystems and are phylogenetically unrelated-corals are animals associated with dinoflagellates, while lichens are fungi associated with green algae/cyanobacteria-they share surprisingly many morphological, ecological, and life history traits. Here, we juxtapose morphology, reproduction, dispersal, symbiont acquisition strategies, and symbiont diversity in coral and lichen mutualisms, focusing mainly on the host and associated photobiont partner. We highlight how shared traits lead to convergent mechanisms of niche specialization, including adaptation to abiotic conditions through the formation of environment-specific host-symbiont combinations. The comparison enhances our understanding of evolutionary forces shaping these symbioses and provides a framework for evaluating their adaptive potential in a changing world.

Understanding how locomotion-related skeletal elements evolve under biomechanical and ecological constraints is central to animal evolutionary biology. In hummingbirds (Trochilidae), the humerus plays a key role in force transmission during hovering and flapping flight, yet the drivers of its shape evolution have not been examined. We combined geometric morphometrics with phylogenetic comparative analyses to examine humeral shape variation, evolutionary rates and phenotypic integration in male hummingbirds from 78 species. Our analyses identified humerus allometry as the dominant predictor of shape, revealing a pattern in which larger humeri show broader proximal epiphyses, increased shaft robustness and reduced curvature. In addition to this scaling pattern, we find that male humerus shape differs subtly among hummingbird species that differ in the use of aggression during nectar foraging. Evolutionary rates of humeral shape were heterogeneous and decoupled from ecological predictors. We also find phenotypic integration between the proximal and distal regions of the humerus, indicating coordinated evolution. Together, these results show that humeral evolution in hummingbirds is governed primarily by biomechanical scaling and internal integration, with foraging ecology introducing secondary, size-dependent modifications. This work highlights the importance of considering scaling and internal integration when interpreting morphological evolution in locomotor systems across vertebrates.

Salinity is a major abiotic threat on plant productivity and biodiversity worldwide, particularly in degraded soils and grass-dominated coastal ecosystems. Identifying species-specific physiological mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance is essential for selecting resilient crop and forage grasses. However, the integrated analysis of root ion fluxes, shoot ionic balance, and root anatomy within a physiological framework in grasses under salt stress remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, we compared three grass species-Lolium perenne, Festuca rubra, and Puccinellia maritima-to determine how root ion flux dynamics, shoot ionic status, and root anatomical traits contribute to contrasting salinity responses. The results reveal species-specific patterns in ion flux response to salt stress, underscoring contrasting strategies for K+ retention and H+ dynamics. P. maritima showed high K+ retention with minimal loss and stable H+ dynamic following salt exposure, whereas L. perenne exhibited pronounced and sustained K+ leakage alongside strong perturbations in H+ flux. F. rubra showed transient ion flux disturbances with partial recovery from K+ loss. These root-level responses were closely linked to shoot ionic status: L. perenne accumulated substantial NaCl-derived osmolarity in leaves, whereas leaf osmolarity in P. maritima and F. rubra remained comparatively low even under high salinity. Furthermore, root anatomical observation revealed earlier and more extensive suberization in P. maritima, with limited development in F. rubra. These structural differences provide a mechanistic context for the observed variations in ion behavior, offering insights into species-specific adaptations to salt stress. Collectively, these findings indicate that effective salinity tolerance in grasses is closely associated with coordinated regulation of root ion fluxes, restricted salt accumulation in shoot, and the presence of supportive anatomical features, characteristics exemplified by P. martima. This study highlights the importance of integrative analysis within the physiological framework for identifying salt-resilient grasses. Such a comprehensive and efficient screening approach is crucial for advancing sustainable agriculture and facilitating ecosystem restoration in saline environments.

Endophytic fungi profoundly influence plant physiology and chemical ecology, yet their integrated functional roles remain underexplored, especially in ferns. Here, we reveal that Tectaria coadunata (J.Sm.) C.Chr. harbours a taxonomically rich and metabolically active endophytic mycobiome comprising ten genera with distinct ecological and evolutionary lineages. Morphological diagnostics combined with multilocus phylogenetics resolved all isolates with high confidence, delineating well-supported clades across Aspergillus, Calonectria, Diaporthe, Fusarium, Macrophomina, Neurospora, Nigrospora, Penicillium, Rhizoctonia, and Xylaria. LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS profiling uncovered extensive metabolic cross-communication between the host plant and endophytes. Nine phytochemicals previously attributed to T. coadunata were also present in fungal endophytes, while eleven additional metabolites, including potent polyketides, mellein, and mycotoxins were exclusively endophytic. Multivariate and network analyses revealed distinct chemical profiles among different fungal isolates and coordinated biosynthetic modules, underscoring functional heterogeneity of the community. All isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity, but Xylaria grammica had the least minimum inhibitory concentration of 15.63 µg/mL against Bacillus subtilis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This pronounced activity, coupled with its broad-spectrum inhibition, positions X. grammica as a promising reservoir of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Collectively, our findings establish T. coadunata as a reservoir of phylogenetically diverse, chemically productive, and bioactive endophytes. These combined taxonomic, metabolomic, and functional insights into endophytes from T. coadunata open new avenues for potential applications across various fields.