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Cones AG, Schneider ER, Westneat DF. The incubation environment does not explain significant variation in heart rate plasticity among avian embryos. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247120. [PMID: 38456553 PMCID: PMC10949066 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The conditions an organism experiences during development can modify how they plastically respond to short-term changes in their environment later in life. This can be adaptive because the optimal average trait value and the optimal plastic change in trait value in response to the environment may differ across different environments. For example, early developmental temperatures can adaptively modify how reptiles, fish and invertebrates metabolically respond to temperature. However, whether individuals within populations respond differently (a prerequisite to adaptive evolution), and whether this occurs in birds, which are only ectothermic for part of their life cycle, is not known. We experimentally tested these possibilities by artificially incubating the embryos of Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) at constant or variable temperatures. We measured their consequent heart rate reaction norms to short-term changes in egg temperature and tracked their growth. Contrary to expectations, the early thermal environment did not modify heart rate reaction norms, but regardless, these reaction norms differed among individuals. Embryos with higher average heart rates were smaller upon hatching, but heart rate reaction norms did not predict subsequent growth. Our data also suggests that the thermal environment may affect both the variance in heart rate reaction norms and their covariance with growth. Thus, individual avian embryos can vary in their plasticity to temperature, and in contrast to fully ectothermic taxa, the early thermal environment does not explain this variance. Because among-individual variation is one precondition to adaptive evolution, the factors that do contribute to such variability may be important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra G. Cones
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 101 Thomas Hunt Morgan Building, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - Eve R. Schneider
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 101 Thomas Hunt Morgan Building, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - David F. Westneat
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, 101 Thomas Hunt Morgan Building, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
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van Oers K, van den Heuvel K, Sepers B. The Epigenetics of Animal Personality. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 150:105194. [PMID: 37094740 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Animal personality, consistent individual differences in behaviour, is an important concept for understanding how individuals vary in how they cope with environmental challenges. In order to understand the evolutionary significance of animal personality, it is crucial to understand the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation are hypothesised to play a major role in explaining variation in phenotypic changes in response to environmental alterations. Several characteristics of DNA methylation also align well with the concept of animal personality. In this review paper, we summarise the current literature on the role that molecular epigenetic mechanisms may have in explaining personality variation. We elaborate on the potential for epigenetic mechanisms to explain behavioural variation, behavioural development and temporal consistency in behaviour. We then suggest future routes for this emerging field and point to potential pitfalls that may be encountered. We conclude that a more inclusive approach is needed for studying the epigenetics of animal personality and that epigenetic mechanisms cannot be studied without considering the genetic background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands; Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Krista van den Heuvel
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands; Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Bernice Sepers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands; Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Toro-Ospina AM, Faria RA, Dominguez-Castaño P, Santana ML, Gonzalez LG, Espasandin AC, Silva JAIV. Genotype-environment interaction for milk production of Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia. Genes Genomics 2023; 45:135-143. [PMID: 35689753 DOI: 10.1007/s13258-022-01273-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genotype by environment interactions (G × E) can play an important role in cattle populations and should be included in breeding programs in order to select the best animals for different environments. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the G × E for milk production of Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia by applying a reaction norm model used genomics information, and to identify genomic regions associated with milk production in the two countries. METHODS The Brazilian and Colombian database included 464 animals (273 cows and 33 sires from Brazil and 158 cows from Colombia) and 27,505 SNPs. A two-trait animal model was used for milk yield adjusted to 305 days in Brazil and Colombia as a function of country of origin, which included genomic information obtained with a single-step genomic reaction norm model. The GIBBS3F90 and POSTGSf90 programs were used. RESULTS The results obtained indicate G × E based on the reranking of bulls between Brazil and Colombia, demonstrating environmental differences between the two countries. The findings highlight the importance of considering the environment when choosing breeding animals in order to ensure the adequate performance of their progeny. Within this context, the reranking of bulls and the different SNPs associated with milk production in the two countries suggest that G × E is an important effect that should be included in the genetic evaluation of Dairy Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia. CONCLUSION The Gyr breeding program can be optimized by choosing a selection environment that will allow maximum genetic progress in milk production in different environments within and between countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Maria Toro-Ospina
- FMVZ, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias-UNESP, Jaboticabal, DMNA, Fazenda Experimental Lageado, Rua José Barbosa de Barros, nº 1780, Botucatu, São Paulo, 18.618-307, Brazil.
| | - Ricardo Antonio Faria
- FMVZ, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias-UNESP, Jaboticabal, DMNA, Fazenda Experimental Lageado, Rua José Barbosa de Barros, nº 1780, Botucatu, São Paulo, 18.618-307, Brazil
| | - Pablo Dominguez-Castaño
- FMVZ, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias-UNESP, Jaboticabal, DMNA, Fazenda Experimental Lageado, Rua José Barbosa de Barros, nº 1780, Botucatu, São Paulo, 18.618-307, Brazil.,Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Fundación Universitaria Agraria de Colombia-UNIAGRARIA, Bogotá, Colombia
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Bagni T, Siaussat D, Maria A, Couzi P, Maïbèche M, Massot M. The impact of temperature on insecticide sensitivity depends on transgenerational effects. Sci Total Environ 2022; 851:158140. [PMID: 35987238 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The combined effects of insecticides and temperature are increasingly being studied because species are expected to change their responses to insecticides with climate warming. As recently highlighted, the impact of temperature on insecticide sensitivity might be influenced by the environment experienced by the previous generation. However, a pioneering study that showed this transgenerational effect in the mosquito Culex pipiens needs to be confirmed because two other studies did not show similar results. Here, we performed an experiment on the moth Spodoptera littoralis to test this hypothesis. We analysed reaction norms among experimental families to test transgenerational effects, i.e., the variation in the response of families to the combined effects of the insecticide chlorpyrifos and developmental temperature. Reaction norm analyses revealed that the responses of the families to chlorpyrifos and temperature differed for developmental time and larval survival, two key parameters in S. littoralis. Crucially, for larval survival, a family effect influenced the impact of temperature on chlorpyrifos sensitivity. This finding confirms the pioneering study on C. pipiens that showed transgenerational effects on the combined effects of insecticides and temperature. This result also highlights that transgenerational plasticity can be important to consider in ecotoxicology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut Bagni
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - David Siaussat
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Annick Maria
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Philippe Couzi
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Martine Maïbèche
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Manuel Massot
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France.
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Klock AM, Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Gordon JC. Methodology to calculate forest stand level maximum potential productivity, potential achievable productivity and ecosystem fit. MethodsX 2022; 9:101812. [PMID: 36039193 PMCID: PMC9418551 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2022.101812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A modified Loomis-William model was originally developed to estimate the theoretical maximum yields of crops. That model was adapted in this paper to measure how much of the theoretical maximum potential productivity (tNpptmax) is reached in any forest due to edaphic and climatic limits to growth, i.e., its “Ecosystem fit” (eFit). The procedure to calculate eFit has not been published except as a concept. Our goal is to describe the methodology in sufficient detail to facilitate its use by the scientific community and forest managers. To calculate eFit you need: 1) to convert all photosynthetically active radiation to a photosynthetic product for each forest plot or stand to calculate its tNpptmax, and 2) use field-collected data of total observed net primary productivity (tNppobs). Theoretical maximum potential tNpp is calculated with a simple light-use efficiency model as the product of the efficiency at which forest canopies absorb solar radiation, the photosynthetic conversion efficiency into biomass, and remotely sensed solar radiation with temperature data extracted to the geographic coordinates for the site. Ecosystem fit represents a forest's realized percent productive capacity and is the ratio of field-collected tNpp (i.e., tNppobs) to the theoretical maximum potential tNpp (i.e., tNpptmax).Available indices to assess forest productivity and adaptive capacity to land-use disturbance and climate change are sensitive at the small-to-meso spatio-ecophysiological scales. A more holistic index (such as eFit) will provide an informative picture of forest conditions where management practices are undertaken and the ecosystem's capacity to adapt to environmental change. A comparison of eFit across similar forests within a climatic zone is an indication of the stressors or constraints that are being imposed locally and that limit tNppobs.
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Narvaez CA, Moura AJ, Scutella DF, Cucchiara JP, Stark AY, Russell MP. Plasticity in fluctuating hydrodynamic conditions: Tube feet regeneration in sea urchins. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274209. [PMID: 35044457 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Regenerating structures critical for survival provide excellent model systems for the study of phenotypic plasticity. These body components must regenerate their morphology and functionality quickly while subjected to different environmental stressors. Sea urchins live in high energy environments where hydrodynamic conditions pose significant challenges. Adhesive tube feet provide secure attachment to the substratum but can be amputated by predation and hydrodynamic forces. Tube feet display functional and morphological plasticity in response to environmental conditions, but regeneration to their pre-amputation status has not been achieved under quiescent laboratory settings. In this study, we assessed the effect of turbulent water movement, periodic emersion, and quiescent conditions on the regeneration process of tube feet morphology (length, disc area) and functionality (maximum disc tenacity, stem breaking force). Disc area showed significant plasticity in response to the treatments; when exposed to emersion and turbulent water movement, disc area was larger than tube feet regenerated in quiescent conditions. However, no treatment stimulated regeneration to pre-amputation sizes. Tube feet length was unaffected by treatments and remained shorter than non-amputated tube feet. Stem breaking force for amputated and not amputated treatments increased in all cases when compared to pre-amputation values. Maximum tenacity (force per unit area) was similar among tube feet subjected to simulated field conditions and amputation treatments. Our results suggest the role of active plasticity of tube feet functional morphology in response to field-like conditions and demonstrate the plastic response of invertebrates to laboratory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla A Narvaez
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
| | - Andrew J Moura
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
| | - Daniel F Scutella
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
| | - Jack P Cucchiara
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
| | - Alyssa Y Stark
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
| | - Michael P Russell
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA
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Madsen MD, van der Werf J, Börner V, Mulder HA, Clark S. Estimation of macro- and micro-genetic environmental sensitivity in unbalanced datasets. Animal 2021; 15:100411. [PMID: 34837779 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genotype-by-environment interaction is caused by variation in genetic environmental sensitivity (GES), which can be subdivided into macro- and micro-GES. Macro-GES is genetic sensitivity to macro-environments (definable environments often shared by groups of animals), while micro-GES is genetic sensitivity to micro-environments (individual environments). A combined reaction norm and double hierarchical generalised linear model (RN-DHGLM) allows for simultaneous estimation of base genetic, macro- and micro-GES effects. The accuracy of variance components estimated using a RN-DHGLM has been explicitly studied for balanced data and recommendation of a data size with a minimum of 100 sires with at least 100 offspring each have been made. In the current study, the data size (numbers of sires and progeny) and structure requirements of the RN-DHGLM were investigated for two types of unbalanced datasets. Both datasets had a variable number of offspring per sire, but one dataset also had a variable number of offspring within macro-environments. The accuracy and bias of the estimated macro- and micro-GES effects and the estimated breeding values (EBVs) obtained using the RN-DHGLM depended on the data size. Reasonably accurate and unbiased estimates were obtained with data containing 500 sires with 20 offspring or 100 sires with 50 offspring, regardless of the data structure. Variable progeny group sizes, alone or in combination with an unequal number of offspring within macro-environments, had little impact on the dispersion of the EBVs or the bias and accuracy of variance component estimation, but resulted in lower accuracies of the EBVs. Compared to genetic correlations of zero, a genetic correlation of 0.5 between base genetic, macro- and micro-GES components resulted in a slight decrease in the percentage of replicates that converged out of 100 replicates, but had no effect on the dispersion and accuracy of variance component estimation or the dispersion of the EBVs. The results show that it is possible to apply the RN-DHGLM to unbalanced datasets to obtain estimates of variance due to macro- and micro-GES. Furthermore, the levels of accuracy and bias of variance estimates when analysing macro- and micro-GES simultaneously are determined by average family size, with limited impact from variability in family size and/or cohort size. This creates opportunities for the use of field data from populations with unbalanced data structures when estimating macro- and micro-GES.
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Affiliation(s)
- M D Madsen
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
| | - J van der Werf
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
| | - V Börner
- Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia; Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | - H A Mulder
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - S Clark
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
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Massot M, Bagni T, Maria A, Couzi P, Drozdz T, Malbert-Colas A, Maïbèche M, Siaussat D. Combined influences of transgenerational effects, temperature and insecticide on the moth Spodoptera littoralis. Environ Pollut 2021; 289:117889. [PMID: 34358866 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming is expected to impact the response of species to insecticides. Recent studies show that this interaction between insecticides and temperature can depend on other factors. Here, we tested for the influence of transgenerational effects on the Insecticide × Temperature interaction in the crop pest moth Spodoptera littoralis. Specifically, we analysed reaction norms among experimental clutches based on a split-plot design crossing the factors temperature, insecticide and clutch. The study was performed on 2280 larvae reared at four temperatures (23, 25, 27 and 29 °C), and their response to the insecticide deltamethrin (three concentrations and a control group) was tested. Temperature had a global influence with effects on larval survival, duration of development, pupal body mass, and significant reaction norms of the clutches for temperature variations of only 2 °C. In addition to the expected effect of deltamethrin on mortality, the insecticide slightly delayed the development of S. littoralis, and the effects on mortality and development differed among the clutches. Projection models integrating all the observed responses illustrated the additive effects of deltamethrin and temperature on the population multiplication rate. Variation in the response of the clutches showed that transgenerational effects influenced the impact of insecticide and temperature. Although no evidence indicated that the Insecticide × Temperature interaction depended on transgenerational effects, the studies on the dependence of the Insecticide × Temperature interaction on other factors continue to be crucial to confidently predict the combined effects of insecticides and climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Massot
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Thibaut Bagni
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Annick Maria
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Philippe Couzi
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Thomas Drozdz
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Aude Malbert-Colas
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - Martine Maïbèche
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
| | - David Siaussat
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INRAe, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005, Paris, France.
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Tapper S, Nocera JJ, Burness G. Body temperature is a repeatable trait in a free-ranging passerine bird. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:272129. [PMID: 34498672 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Body temperature (Tb) affects animal function through its influence on rates of biochemical and biophysical reactions, the molecular structures of proteins and tissues, and, ultimately, organismal performance. Despite its importance in driving physiological processes, there are few data on how much variation in Tb exists within populations of organisms, and whether this variation consistently differs among individuals over time (i.e. repeatability of a trait). Here, using thermal radio-frequency identification implants, we quantified the repeatability of Tb, both in the context of a fixed average environment (∼21°C) and across ambient temperatures (6-31°C), in a free-living population of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor, n=16). By experimentally trimming the ventral plumage of a subset of female swallows (n=8), we also asked whether the repeatability of Tb is influenced by the capacity to dissipate body heat. We found that both female and male tree swallow Tb was repeatable at 21°C (R=0.89-92), but female Tb was less repeatable than male Tb across ambient temperature (Rfemale=0.10, Rmale=0.58), which may be due to differences in parental investment. Trimmed birds had on average lower Tb than control birds (by ∼0.5°C), but the repeatability of female Tb did not differ as a function of heat dissipation capacity. This suggests that trimmed individuals adjusted their Tb to account for the effects of heat loss on Tb. Our study provides a first critical step toward understanding whether Tb is responsive to natural selection, and for predicting how animal populations will respond to climatic warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Tapper
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Department, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9L 0G2
| | - Joseph J Nocera
- Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, 28 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3
| | - Gary Burness
- Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9L 0G2
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Abstract
Body temperature (Tb) affects animal function through its influence on rates of biochemical and biophysical reactions, the molecular structures of proteins and tissues, and, ultimately, organismal performance. Despite its importance in driving physiological processes, there are few data on how much variation in Tb exists within populations of organisms, and whether this variation consistently differs among individuals over time (i.e. repeatability of a trait). Here, using thermal radio-frequency identification implants, we quantified the repeatability of Tb, both in the context of a fixed average environment (∼21°C) and across ambient temperatures (6-31°C), in a free-living population of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor, n=16). By experimentally trimming the ventral plumage of a subset of female swallows (n=8), we also asked whether the repeatability of Tb is influenced by the capacity to dissipate body heat. We found that both female and male tree swallow Tb was repeatable at 21°C (R=0.89-92), but female Tb was less repeatable than male Tb across ambient temperature (Rfemale=0.10, Rmale=0.58), which may be due to differences in parental investment. Trimmed birds had on average lower Tb than control birds (by ∼0.5°C), but the repeatability of female Tb did not differ as a function of heat dissipation capacity. This suggests that trimmed individuals adjusted their Tb to account for the effects of heat loss on Tb. Our study provides a first critical step toward understanding whether Tb is responsive to natural selection, and for predicting how animal populations will respond to climatic warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Tapper
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Department, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9L 0G2
| | - Joseph J Nocera
- Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, 28 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3
| | - Gary Burness
- Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9L 0G2
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Shi R, Brito LF, Liu A, Luo H, Chen Z, Liu L, Guo G, Mulder H, Ducro B, van der Linden A, Wang Y. Genotype-by-environment interaction in Holstein heifer fertility traits using single-step genomic reaction norm models. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:193. [PMID: 33731012 PMCID: PMC7968333 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07496-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The effect of heat stress on livestock production is a worldwide issue. Animal performance is influenced by exposure to harsh environmental conditions potentially causing genotype-by-environment interactions (G × E), especially in highproducing animals. In this context, the main objectives of this study were to (1) detect the time periods in which heifer fertility traits are more sensitive to the exposure to high environmental temperature and/or humidity, (2) investigate G × E due to heat stress in heifer fertility traits, and, (3) identify genomic regions associated with heifer fertility and heat tolerance in Holstein cattle. Results Phenotypic records for three heifer fertility traits (i.e., age at first calving, interval from first to last service, and conception rate at the first service) were collected, from 2005 to 2018, for 56,998 Holstein heifers raised in 15 herds in the Beijing area (China). By integrating environmental data, including hourly air temperature and relative humidity, the critical periods in which the heifers are more sensitive to heat stress were located in more than 30 days before the first service for age at first calving and interval from first to last service, or 10 days before and less than 60 days after the first service for conception rate. Using reaction norm models, significant G × E was detected for all three traits regarding both environmental gradients, proportion of days exceeding heat threshold, and minimum temperature-humidity index. Through single-step genome-wide association studies, PLAG1, AMHR2, SP1, KRT8, KRT18, MLH1, and EOMES were suggested as candidate genes for heifer fertility. The genes HCRTR1, AGRP, PC, and GUCY1B1 are strong candidates for association with heat tolerance. Conclusions The critical periods in which the reproductive performance of heifers is more sensitive to heat stress are trait-dependent. Thus, detailed analysis should be conducted to determine this particular period for other fertility traits. The considerable magnitude of G × E and sire re-ranking indicates the necessity to consider G × E in dairy cattle breeding schemes. This will enable selection of more heat-tolerant animals with high reproductive efficiency under harsh climatic conditions. Lastly, the candidate genes identified to be linked with response to heat stress provide a better understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of heat tolerance in dairy cattle. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07496-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Shi
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, MARA, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.,Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 338, Wageningen, AH, 6700, the Netherlands.,Animal Production System Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 338, Wageningen, AH, 6700, the Netherlands
| | - Luiz Fernando Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA
| | - Aoxing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, MARA, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.,Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Hanpeng Luo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, MARA, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ziwei Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, MARA, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Lin Liu
- Beijing Dairy Cattle Center, Beijing, 100192, China
| | - Gang Guo
- Beijing Sunlon Livestock Development Co. Ltd, Beijing, 100176, China.
| | - Herman Mulder
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 338, Wageningen, AH, 6700, the Netherlands.
| | - Bart Ducro
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 338, Wageningen, AH, 6700, the Netherlands
| | - Aart van der Linden
- Animal Production System Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 338, Wageningen, AH, 6700, the Netherlands.,Cooperation CRV, Arnhem, AL, 6800, the Netherlands
| | - Yachun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, MARA, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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12
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Krenhardt K, Markó G, Jablonszky M, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. Sex-dependent risk-taking behaviour towards different predatory stimuli in the collared flycatcher. Behav Processes 2021; 186:104360. [PMID: 33609633 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Prey animals may react differently to predators, which can thus raise plasticity in risk-taking behaviour. We assessed the behavioural responses of nestling-feeding collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) parents towards different avian predator species (Eurasian sparrowhawk, long-eared owl) and a non-threatening songbird (song thrush) by measuring the latency to resume feeding activity. We found that the sexes differed in their responses towards the different stimuli, as males resumed nestling-provisioning sooner after the songbird than after the predator stimuli, while latency of females was not affected by the type of stimulus. Parents breeding later in the season took less risk than early breeders, and mean response also varied across the study years. We detected a considerable repeatability at the within-brood level across stimuli, and a correlation between the latency of parents attending the same nest, implying that they may adjust similarly their risk-taking behaviour to the brood value. Repeated measurements at the same brood suggested that risk-taking behaviour of flycatcher parents is a plastic trait, and sex-specific effects might be the result of sex-specific adjustments of behaviour to the perceived environmental challenge as exerted by different predators. Furthermore, the nest-specific effects highlighted that environmental effects can render consistently similar responses between the parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Krenhardt
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány utca 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary; Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Gábor Markó
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Plant Protection, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ménesi út 44, 1118, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Mónika Jablonszky
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány utca 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary; Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány utca 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary; MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
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13
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McCracken AW, Buckle E, Simons MJP. The relationship between longevity and diet is genotype dependent and sensitive to desiccation in Drosophila melanogaster. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb230185. [PMID: 33109715 PMCID: PMC7725603 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.230185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Dietary restriction (DR) is a key focus in ageing research. Specific conditions and genotypes were recently found to negate lifespan extension by DR, questioning its universal relevance. However, the concept of dietary reaction norms explains why the effects of DR might be obscured in some situations. We tested the importance of dietary reaction norms by measuring longevity and fecundity on five diets in five genotypes, with and without water supplementation in female Drosophila melanogaster (N>25,000). We found substantial genetic variation in the response of lifespan to diet. Flies supplemented with water rescued putative desiccation stress on the richest diets, suggesting that water availability can be an experimental confound. Fecundity declined on these richest diets, but was unaffected by water, and this reduction is thus most likely to be caused by nutritional toxicity. Our results demonstrate empirically that a range of diets need to be considered to conclude an absence of the DR longevity effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W McCracken
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences & Bateson Centre, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Eleanor Buckle
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences & Bateson Centre, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Mirre J P Simons
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences & Bateson Centre, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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14
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Kutcherov D. Stagewise resolution of temperature-dependent embryonic and postembryonic development in the cowpea seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus (F.). BMC Ecol 2020; 20:50. [PMID: 32917176 PMCID: PMC7488527 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-020-00318-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The thermal plasticity of life-history traits receives wide attention in the recent biological literature. Of all the temperature-dependent traits studied, developmental rates of ectotherms are especially often addressed, and yet surprisingly little is known about embryonic responses to temperature, including changes in the thermal thresholds and thermal sensitivity during early development. Even postembryonic development of many cryptically living species is understood superficially at best. RESULTS This study is the first to estimate the exact durations of developmental stages in the cowpea seed beetle C. maculatus from oviposition to adult emergence at five permissive constant temperatures from 20 to 32 °C. Early embryonic development was tracked and documented by means of destructive sampling and subsequent confocal imaging of fluorescently stained specimens. Late embryonic and early larval development was studied with the use of destructive sampling and light microscopy. Well-resolved temporal series based on thousands of embryos allowed precise timing of the following developmental events: formation of the blastoderm; formation, elongation, and retraction of the germ band; dorsal closure; the onset and completion of sclerotization of the cuticle; hatching, and penetration of the first-instar larva into the cowpea seed. Pupation and adult eclosion were observed directly through an incision in the seed coat. The thermal phenotype of C. maculatus was found to vary in the course of ontogeny and different stages scaled disproportionately with temperature, but pitfalls and caveats associated with analyses of relative durations of individual stages are also briefly discussed. CONCLUSION Disproportionate changes in developmental durations with temperature may have important implications when study design requires a high degree of synchronization among experimental embryos or when the occurrence of particular stages in the field is of interest, as well as in any other cases when development times need to be estimated with precision. This work provides one of the first examples of integration of embryological techniques with ecophysiological concepts and will hopefully motivate similar projects in the future. While experiments with Drosophila continue to be the main source of information on animal development, knowledge on other model species is instrumental to building a broader picture of developmental phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Kutcherov
- Department of Entomology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia.
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15
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Careau V, Mariette MM, Crino O, Buttemer WA, Buchanan KL. Repeatability of behavior and physiology: No impact of reproductive investment. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 290:113403. [PMID: 31991098 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals have well-documented individual differences in their behaviour, including in their response to stressful stimuli. The physiological bases for the repeatability of these traits has been the focus of much research in recent years, in an attempt to explain the mechanistic drivers for behavioral syndromes. Whilst a range of studies have demonstrated repeatable individual differences in physiological traits, little is known about potential trade-offs between reproductive investment and the physiological responses to subsequent stressors. We therefore sought to test the behavioral and physiological responses of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to a novel environment, quantifying a series of repeated "temporal reaction norms" before and after reproduction. Given that reproductive investment is costly both in time and energy, it is likely to affect expression of behavioral and physiological traits. We hypothesised that reproductive investment would impact the consistency of these temporal reaction norms. Specifically, we predicted that individuals which invested more in reproduction would show altered rates of habituation to a stressful stimulus. Therefore, we quantified temporal reaction norm components (i.e., intercept and slope) of two behaviours and metabolic rate (MR) within and among individuals before and after a breeding season. We found that individuals consistently differed in how their locomotor and feeding activity increased upon introduction into a novel environment and also how their MR decreased after being handled and confined within the metabolic chamber. We also found that the slope of the feeding activity reaction norm was negatively correlated with stress-induced corticosterone levels at the within-individual level. Finally, in contrast to our prediction, we found that neither the intercept nor slope of the reaction norms were influenced by the reproductive effort (the number of fledglings produced) displayed by individual males. This suggests that the substantial individual variation in the expression of physiological and behavioural traits is not plastic with respect to the immediate consequences of reproductive investment. This study is the first quantification of metabolic rate reaction norms and their relationships with fitness, which represents an important first step towards understanding the evolutionary significance of instantaneous habituation to stressful and novel situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Careau
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Mylene M Mariette
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Ondi Crino
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - William A Buttemer
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
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16
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Noakes MJ, McKechnie AE. Phenotypic flexibility of metabolic rate and evaporative water loss does not vary across a climatic gradient in an Afrotropical passerine bird. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb220137. [PMID: 32165435 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.220137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Small birds inhabiting northern temperate and boreal latitudes typically increase metabolic rates during cold winters or acclimation to low air temperatures (Taccl). Recent studies suggest considerable variation in patterns of seasonal metabolic acclimatization in birds from subtropical and tropical regions with milder winters, but there remains a dearth of acclimation studies investigating metabolic flexibility among lower-latitude birds. We used short-term thermal acclimation experiments to investigate phenotypic flexibility in basal metabolic rate (BMR), thermoneutral evaporative water loss (EWL) and summit metabolism (Msum) in three populations of white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali) along a climatic and aridity gradient. We allocated individuals to one of three Taccl treatments (5, 20 and 35°C; n=11 per population per Taccl) for 28 days, and measured post-acclimation BMR, EWL and Msum using flow-through respirometry. Our data reveal the expected pattern of lower BMR and EWL (∼12% and 25% lower, respectively) in birds at Taccl=35°C compared with cooler Taccl treatments, as observed in previous acclimation studies on subtropical birds. We found no variation in the reaction norms of BMR and EWL among populations in response to acclimation, suggesting previously documented differences in seasonal BMR acclimatization are the result of phenotypic flexibility. In contrast to higher-latitude species, Msum did not significantly vary in response to thermal acclimation. These findings support the idea that factors other than enhancing cold tolerance may be driving patterns of metabolic variation in subtropical birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Noakes
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Andrew E McKechnie
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
- South African Research Chair in Conservation Physiology, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
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17
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Abreu-Grobois FA, Morales-Mérida BA, Hart CE, Guillon JM, Godfrey MH, Navarro E, Girondot M. Recent advances on the estimation of the thermal reaction norm for sex ratios. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8451. [PMID: 32181050 PMCID: PMC7060753 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature-dependent sex determination, or TSD, is a widespread phenomenon in reptiles. The shape of the relationship between constant incubation temperature and sex ratio defines the TSD pattern. The TSD pattern is considered a life-history parameter important for conservation because the wider the range of temperatures producing both sexes, the more resilient the species is to climate change impacts. We review the different published equations and methodologies that have been used to model TSD patterns. We describe a new flexible model that allows for an asymmetrical pattern around the pivotal temperature, which is the constant temperature producing both sexes in equal proportions. We show that Metropolis-Hastings with Markov chain produced by a Monte Carlo process has many advantages compared to maximum likelihood and is preferred. Finally, we apply the models to results from incubation experiments using eggs from the marine turtle Lepidochelys olivacea originating in Northeast Indian, East Pacific, and West Atlantic Regional Management Units (RMUs) and find large differences in pivotal temperatures but not in transitional ranges of temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Alberto Abreu-Grobois
- Laboratorio de Genética y Banco de Información sobre Tortugas Marinas (BITMAR), Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
| | - B Alejandra Morales-Mérida
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.,Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales para el Desarrollo (DOCINADE), Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC), Universidad Nacional (UNA), Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), San Jose, Costa Rica.,Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris Saclay, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, AgroParisTech, Orsay, France
| | - Catherine E Hart
- Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias A.C., La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.,Investigación, Capacitación y Soluciones Ambientas y Sociales A.C., Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
| | - Jean-Michel Guillon
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris Saclay, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, AgroParisTech, Orsay, France
| | - Matthew H Godfrey
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Beaufort, NC, United States of America.,Duke Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United States of America.,Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America
| | - Erik Navarro
- Laboratorio de Genética y Banco de Información sobre Tortugas Marinas (BITMAR), Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
| | - Marc Girondot
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris Saclay, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, AgroParisTech, Orsay, France
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18
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Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity enables organisms to survive in the face of unpredictable environmental stress. Intimately related to the notion of phenotypic plasticity is the concept of the reaction norm that places phenotypic plasticity in the context of a genotype-specific response to environmental gradients. Whether reaction norms themselves evolve and which factors might affect their shape has been the object of intense debates among evolutionary biologists along the years. Since their discovery, viruses have been considered as pathogens. However, new viromic techniques and a shift in conceptual paradigms are showing that viruses are mostly non-pathogenic ubiquitous entities. Recent studies have shown how viral infections can even be beneficial for their hosts. This may happen especially in the context of stressed hosts, where the virus infection can induce beneficial changes in the host's physiological homeostasis, hence changing the shape of the reaction norm. Despite the fact that underlying physiological mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics are still not well understood, such beneficial interactions are being discovered in a growing number of plant-virus systems. Here, we aim to review these disperse studies and place them into the context of phenotypic plasticity and the evolution of reaction norms. This is an emerging field that is posing many questions that still need to be properly answered. The answers would clearly interest virologists, plant pathologists and evolutionary biologists and likely they will suggest possible future biotechnological applications, including the development of crops with higher survival rates and yield under adverse environmental situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubén González
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas, CSIC-Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Anamarija Butković
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas, CSIC-Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Santiago F Elena
- Instituto de Biología Integrativa de Sistemas, CSIC-Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain; The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United States.
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19
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van Eeuwijk FA, Bustos-Korts D, Millet EJ, Boer MP, Kruijer W, Thompson A, Malosetti M, Iwata H, Quiroz R, Kuppe C, Muller O, Blazakis KN, Yu K, Tardieu F, Chapman SC. Modelling strategies for assessing and increasing the effectiveness of new phenotyping techniques in plant breeding. Plant Sci 2019; 282:23-39. [PMID: 31003609 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
New types of phenotyping tools generate large amounts of data on many aspects of plant physiology and morphology with high spatial and temporal resolution. These new phenotyping data are potentially useful to improve understanding and prediction of complex traits, like yield, that are characterized by strong environmental context dependencies, i.e., genotype by environment interactions. For an evaluation of the utility of new phenotyping information, we will look at how this information can be incorporated in different classes of genotype-to-phenotype (G2P) models. G2P models predict phenotypic traits as functions of genotypic and environmental inputs. In the last decade, access to high-density single nucleotide polymorphism markers (SNPs) and sequence information has boosted the development of a class of G2P models called genomic prediction models that predict phenotypes from genome wide marker profiles. The challenge now is to build G2P models that incorporate simultaneously extensive genomic information alongside with new phenotypic information. Beyond the modification of existing G2P models, new G2P paradigms are required. We present candidate G2P models for the integration of genomic and new phenotyping information and illustrate their use in examples. Special attention will be given to the modelling of genotype by environment interactions. The G2P models provide a framework for model based phenotyping and the evaluation of the utility of phenotyping information in the context of breeding programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fred A van Eeuwijk
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Daniela Bustos-Korts
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Emilie J Millet
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martin P Boer
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Willem Kruijer
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Addie Thompson
- Institute for Plant Sciences, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Marcos Malosetti
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AC Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Hiroyoshi Iwata
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
| | - Roberto Quiroz
- International Potato Center (CIP), P.O. Box 1558, Lima 12, Peru
| | - Christian Kuppe
- Institute for Bio-and Geosciences, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Onno Muller
- Institute for Bio-and Geosciences, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Konstantinos N Blazakis
- Department of Horticultural Genetics and Biotechnology, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh), Alsylio Agrokipiou, P.O. Box 85, 73100 Chania-Crete, Greece
| | - Kang Yu
- Crop Science, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Remote Sensing & Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Francois Tardieu
- Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress Environnementaux, UMR759, INRA, 34060 Montpellier, France
| | - Scott C Chapman
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia; School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia
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20
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Reed JM, Harris DR, Romero LM. Profile repeatability: A new method for evaluating repeatability of individual hormone response profiles. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2019; 270:1-9. [PMID: 30273607 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
There is broad interest in determining repeatability of individual responses. Current methods calculate repeatability of individual points (initial and/or peak), time to peak value, or a single measure of the integrated total response (area under the curve), rather than the shape of the response profile. Repeatability estimates of response profiles using linear mixed models (LMM) generate an average repeatability for an aggregate of individuals, rather than an estimate of individual repeatability. Here we use a novel ad hoc method to calculate repeatability of individual response profiles and demonstrate the need for a more rigorous assessment protocol. Response profile repeatability has not been defined at the individual level. We do this using a new metric, Profile Repeatability (PR), which incorporates components of variance and the degree to which response profiles cross each other in a time series. Values range from 0 (no repeatability) to 1 (complete repeatability). We created synthetic data to represent a range of apparent time series repeatability, and 20 independent observers visually ranked those data sets by degree of repeatability. We also applied the method to real data on stress responses of European starlings Sturnus vulgaris. We then computed PR scores for the synthetic data and for real data from European starling corticosterone responses over time, and contrast the results to those from LMM. Finally, we assessed the sensitivity of PR to reductions in the number of time points in the corticosterone response, as well as reductions in the number of replicates per individual. We found the average PR scores for a group of individuals to be somewhat robust to reductions in points in the time series; however, the ranks of individuals (PR values relative to one another) could change substantially with reduction in the number of values in a time series. PR showed threshold sensitivity to losing replicate time series between 6 and 4 replicates. Surprisingly, human observers fell into two disparate groups when ranking repeatability of the synthetic data, and the PR score indicated that human observers may underestimate repeatability of data where replicates cross each other. In contrast to the average profile repeatability estimated using LMMs, our approach calculates individual repeatability. From our perspective, LMM does not provide a definitive idea of repeatability at the individual level; in essence, it concludes that suites of time series with low within-individual variance has high repeatability, regardless of replicate trajectories. LMM and PR have non-linear relationships between 0 and 1, but PR has greater discrimination for mid-values of repeatability. Consistent average group repeatability can be associated with substantial differences in individual ranks suggests that estimating individual repeatability is critical. The PR score should be useful in comparing repeatability of any type of nonlinear, including non-monotonic, response profiles over time, which are common in both physiology and behavior, and it demonstrates the specific needs for future improvements of a profile repeatability metric.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Michael Reed
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
| | - David R Harris
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
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21
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Liquid cultures have been commonly used in space, toxicology, and pharmacology studies of Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the knowledge about transcriptomic alterations caused by liquid cultivation remains limited. Moreover, the impact of different genotypes in rapid adaptive responses to environmental changes (e.g., liquid cultivation) is often overlooked. Here, we report the transcriptomic and phenotypic responses of laboratory N2 and the wild-isolate AB1 strains after culturing P0 worms on agar plates, F1 in liquid cultures, and F2 back on agar plates. RESULTS Significant variations were found in the gene expressions between the N2 and AB1 strains in response to liquid cultivation. The results demonstrated that 8-34% of the environmental change-induced transcriptional responses are transmitted to the subsequent generation. By categorizing the gene expressions for genotype, environment, and genotype-environment interactions, we identified that the genotype has a substantial impact on the adaptive responses. Functional analysis of the transcriptome showed correlation with phenotypical changes. For example, the N2 strain exhibited alterations in both phenotype and gene expressions for germline and cuticle in axenic liquid cultivation. We found transcript evidence to approximately 21% of the computationally predicted genes in C. elegans by exposing the worms to environmental changes. CONCLUSIONS The presented study reveals substantial differences between N2 and AB1 strains for transcriptomic and phenotypical responses to rapid environmental changes. Our data can provide standard controls for future studies for the liquid cultivation of C. elegans and enable the discovery of condition-specific genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- İrem Çelen
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19711 USA
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 15 Innovation Way, Newark, DE 19711 USA
| | - Jung H. Doh
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 15 Innovation Way, Newark, DE 19711 USA
| | - Chandran R. Sabanayagam
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 15 Innovation Way, Newark, DE 19711 USA
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Eacock A, Rowland HM, Edmonds N, Saccheri IJ. Colour change of twig-mimicking peppered moth larvae is a continuous reaction norm that increases camouflage against avian predators. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3999. [PMID: 29158965 PMCID: PMC5691783 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Camouflage, and in particular background-matching, is one of the most common anti-predator strategies observed in nature. Animals can improve their match to the colour/pattern of their surroundings through background selection, and/or by plastic colour change. Colour change can occur rapidly (a few seconds), or it may be slow, taking hours to days. Many studies have explored the cues and mechanisms behind rapid colour change, but there is a considerable lack of information about slow colour change in the context of predation: the cues that initiate it, and the range of phenotypes that are produced. Here we show that peppered moth (Biston betularia) larvae respond to colour and luminance of the twigs they rest on, and exhibit a continuous reaction norm of phenotypes. When presented with a heterogeneous environment of mixed twig colours, individual larvae specialise crypsis towards one colour rather than developing an intermediate colour. Flexible colour change in this species has likely evolved in association with wind dispersal and polyphagy, which result in caterpillars settling and feeding in a diverse range of visual environments. This is the first example of visually induced slow colour change in Lepidoptera that has been objectively quantified and measured from the visual perspective of natural predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Eacock
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah M. Rowland
- Predators and Prey Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicola Edmonds
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Ilik J. Saccheri
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Kay SL, Fischer JW, Monaghan AJ, Beasley JC, Boughton R, Campbell TA, Cooper SM, Ditchkoff SS, Hartley SB, Kilgo JC, Wisely SM, Wyckoff AC, VerCauteren KC, Pepin KM. Quantifying drivers of wild pig movement across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Mov Ecol 2017; 5:14. [PMID: 28630712 PMCID: PMC5471724 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-017-0105-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The movement behavior of an animal is determined by extrinsic and intrinsic factors that operate at multiple spatio-temporal scales, yet much of our knowledge of animal movement comes from studies that examine only one or two scales concurrently. Understanding the drivers of animal movement across multiple scales is crucial for understanding the fundamentals of movement ecology, predicting changes in distribution, describing disease dynamics, and identifying efficient methods of wildlife conservation and management. METHODS We obtained over 400,000 GPS locations of wild pigs from 13 different studies spanning six states in southern U.S.A., and quantified movement rates and home range size within a single analytical framework. We used a generalized additive mixed model framework to quantify the effects of five broad predictor categories on movement: individual-level attributes, geographic factors, landscape attributes, meteorological conditions, and temporal variables. We examined effects of predictors across three temporal scales: daily, monthly, and using all data during the study period. We considered both local environmental factors such as daily weather data and distance to various resources on the landscape, as well as factors acting at a broader spatial scale such as ecoregion and season. RESULTS We found meteorological variables (temperature and pressure), landscape features (distance to water sources), a broad-scale geographic factor (ecoregion), and individual-level characteristics (sex-age class), drove wild pig movement across all scales, but both the magnitude and shape of covariate relationships to movement differed across temporal scales. CONCLUSIONS The analytical framework we present can be used to assess movement patterns arising from multiple data sources for a range of species while accounting for spatio-temporal correlations. Our analyses show the magnitude by which reaction norms can change based on the temporal scale of response data, illustrating the importance of appropriately defining temporal scales of both the movement response and covariates depending on the intended implications of research (e.g., predicting effects of movement due to climate change versus planning local-scale management). We argue that consideration of multiple spatial scales within the same framework (rather than comparing across separate studies post-hoc) gives a more accurate quantification of cross-scale spatial effects by appropriately accounting for error correlation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon L. Kay
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154 USA
| | - Justin W. Fischer
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154 USA
| | - Andrew J. Monaghan
- Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80305 USA
| | - James C. Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802 USA
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, GA 30602 USA
| | - Raoul Boughton
- Range Cattle Research and Education Center, 3401 Experiment Station, Ona, FL 33865 USA
| | - Tyler A. Campbell
- East Foundation, 200 Concord Plaza Drive, Suite 410, San Antonio, TX 78216 USA
| | - Susan M. Cooper
- Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University System, 1619 Garner Field Road, Uvalde, TX 78801 USA
| | - Stephen S. Ditchkoff
- School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 3301 Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Building, Auburn, AL 36849 USA
| | - Steve B. Hartley
- United States Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, 700 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, LA 70506 USA
| | - John C. Kilgo
- United State Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, P.O. Box 700, New Ellenton, SC 29809 USA
| | - Samantha M. Wisely
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0430 USA
| | - A. Christy Wyckoff
- Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363 USA
- Santa Lucia Conservancy, 26700 Rancho San Carlos Rd, Carmel, CA 93923 USA
| | - Kurt C. VerCauteren
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154 USA
| | - Kim M. Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521-2154 USA
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Schmaljohann H, Lisovski S, Bairlein F. Flexible reaction norms to environmental variables along the migration route and the significance of stopover duration for total speed of migration in a songbird migrant. Front Zool 2017; 14:17. [PMID: 28344630 PMCID: PMC5360013 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0203-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Predicting the consequences of continuing anthropogenic changes in the environment for migratory behaviours such as phenology remains a major challenge. Predictions remain particularly difficult, because our knowledge is based on studies from single-snapshot observations at specific stopover sites along birds' migration routes. However, a general understanding on how birds react to prevailing environmental conditions, e.g. their 'phenotypic reaction norm', throughout the annual cycle and along their entire migration routes is required to fully understand how migratory birds respond to rapid environmental change. RESULTS Here, we provide direct evidence that northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) from a breeding population in Alaska adjusted their probability to resume migration as well as the distance covered per night, i.e. travel speed, to large-scale environmental conditions experienced along their 15,000 km migratory route on both northwards and southwards migrations. These adjustments were found to be flexible in space and time. At the beginning of autumn migration, northern wheatears showed high departure probabilities and high travel speeds at low surface air temperatures, while far away from Alaska both traits decreased with increasing air temperatures. In spring, northern wheatears increasingly exploited flow assistance with season, which is likely a behavioural adjustment to speed up migration by increasing the distance travelled per night. Furthermore, the variation in total stopover duration but not in travel speed had a significant effect on the total speed of migration, indicating the prime importance of total stopover duration in the overall phenology of bird migration. CONCLUSION Northern wheatears from Alaska provide evidence that the phenotypic reaction norm to a set of environmental conditions cannot be generalized to universal and persistent behavioural reaction pattern across entire migratory pathways. This highlights the importance of full annual-cycle studies on migratory birds to better understand their response to the environment. Understanding the mechanisms behind phenotypic plasticity during migration is particularly important in the assessment of whether birds can keep pace with the potentially increasing phenological mismatches observed on the breeding grounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko Schmaljohann
- Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, 26836 Germany.,University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK USA
| | - Simeon Lisovski
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220 Australia.,Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Franz Bairlein
- Institute of Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland", An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven, 26836 Germany
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Gaitán-Espitia JD, Bacigalupe LD, Opitz T, Lagos NA, Osores S, Lardies MA. Exploring physiological plasticity and local thermal adaptation in an intertidal crab along a latitudinal cline. J Therm Biol 2017; 68:14-20. [PMID: 28689716 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Intertidal organisms have evolved physiological mechanisms that enable them to maintain performance and survive during periods of severe environmental stress with temperatures close to their tolerance limits. The level of these adaptive responses in thermal physiology can vary among populations of broadly distributed species depending on their particular environmental context and genetic backgrounds. Here we examined thermal performances and reaction norms for metabolic rate (MR) and heart rate (HR) of seven populations of the porcelanid crab Petrolisthes violaceus from markedly different thermal environments across the latitudinal gradient of ~3000km. Physiological responses of this intertidal crab under common-garden conditions suggest the absence of local thermal adaptation along the geographic gradient (i.e., lack of latitudinal compensation). Moreover, thermal physiological sensitivities and performances in response to increased temperatures evidenced the existence of some level of: i) metabolic rate control or depression during warm temperature exposures; and ii) homeostasis/canalization (i.e., absence or low levels of plasticity) in physiological traits that may reflect some sort of buffering mechanism in most of the populations. Nevertheless, our results indicate that elevated temperatures can reduce cardiac function but not metabolic rate in high latitude crabs. The lack of congruence between HR and MR supports the idea that energy metabolism in marine invertebrates cannot be inferred from HR and different conclusions regarding geographic differentiation in energy metabolism can be obtained from both physiological traits. Integrating thermal physiology and species range extent can contribute to a better understanding of the likely effects of climate change on natural populations of marine ectotherms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitia
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, GPO Box 1538, Hobart 7001, TAS, Australia; Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Leonardo D Bacigalupe
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Tania Opitz
- Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolen, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nelson A Lagos
- Centro de Investigación e Innovación para el Cambio Climático, Universidad Santo Tomás, Ejército 146, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sebastián Osores
- Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolen, Santiago, Chile
| | - Marco A Lardies
- Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolen, Santiago, Chile.
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van Bergen E, Osbaldeston D, Kodandaramaiah U, Brattström O, Aduse-Poku K, Brakefield PM. Conserved patterns of integrated developmental plasticity in a group of polyphenic tropical butterflies. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:59. [PMID: 28241743 PMCID: PMC5327525 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0907-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Developmental plasticity is thought to have profound macro-evolutionary effects, for example, by increasing the probability of establishment in new environments and subsequent divergence into independently evolving lineages. In contrast to plasticity optimized for individual traits, phenotypic integration, which enables a concerted response of plastic traits to environmental variability, may affect the rate of local adaptation by constraining independent responses of traits to selection. Using a comparative framework, this study explores the evolution of reaction norms for a variety of life history and morphological traits across five related species of mycalesine butterflies from the Old World tropics. RESULTS Our data indicate that an integrated response of a suite of key traits is shared amongst these species. Interestingly, the traits that make up the functional suite are all known to be regulated by ecdysteroid signalling in Bicyclus anynana, one of the species included in this study, suggesting the same underlying hormonal regulator may be conserved within this group of polyphenic butterflies. We also detect developmental thresholds for the expression of alternative morphs. CONCLUSIONS The phenotypic plasticity of a broad suite of morphological and life history traits is integrated and shared among species from three geographically independent lineages of mycalesine butterflies, despite considerable periods of independent evolution and exposure to disparate environments. At the same time, we have detected examples of evolutionary change where independent traits show different patterns of reaction norms. We argue that the expression of more robust phenotypes may occur by shifting developmental thresholds beyond the boundaries of the typical environmental variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik van Bergen
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
- Present Address: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, P-2780, Oeiras, Portugal.
| | - Dave Osbaldeston
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, CET campus, Trivandrum, 695016, India
| | - Oskar Brattström
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Kwaku Aduse-Poku
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
- Present Address: Department of Biology, City College of New York, City University of New York, Convent Avenue at 138th Street, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Paul M Brakefield
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
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Calixto-Botía I, Sánchez JA. A case of modular phenotypic plasticity in the depth gradient for the gorgonian coral Antillogorgia bipinnata (Cnidaria: Octocorallia). BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:55. [PMID: 28212607 PMCID: PMC5316182 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0900-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phenotypic plasticity, as a phenotypic response induced by the environment, has been proposed as a key factor in the evolutionary history of corals. A significant number of octocoral species show high phenotypic variation, exhibiting a strong overlap in intra- and inter-specific morphologic variation. This is the case of the gorgonian octocoral Antillogorgia bipinnata (Verrill 1864), which shows three polyphyletic morphotypes along a bathymetric gradient. This research tested the phenotypic plasticity of modular traits in A. bipinnata with a reciprocal transplant experiment involving 256 explants from two morphotypes in two locations and at two depths. Vertical and horizontal length and number of new branches were compared 13 weeks following transplant. The data were analysed with a linear mixed-effects model and a graphic approach by reaction norms. RESULTS At the end of the experiment, 91.8% of explants survived. Lower vertical and horizontal growth rates and lower branch promotion were found for deep environments compared to shallow environments. The overall variation behaved similarly to the performance of native transplants. In particular, promotion of new branches showed variance mainly due to a phenotypic plastic effect. CONCLUSIONS Globally, environmental and genotypic effects explain the variation of the assessed traits. Survival rates besides plastic responses suggest an intermediate scenario between adaptive plasticity and local adaptation that may drive a potential process of adaptive divergence along depth cline in A. bipinnata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Calixto-Botía
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig Universität, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32 IFZ D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
- Laboratory of Biología Molecular Marina-Biommar, Department of Biological Sciences-Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1E No 18A - 10, P.O. Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Juan A Sánchez
- Laboratory of Biología Molecular Marina-Biommar, Department of Biological Sciences-Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1E No 18A - 10, P.O. Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia
- Marine Sciences, International Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences (GGL), Justus Liebig Universität, Giessen, Germany
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Liefting M, Cosijn J, Ellers J. Synergistic effect of daily temperature fluctuations and matching light-dark cycle enhances population growth and synchronizes oviposition behavior in a soil arthropod. J Insect Physiol 2017; 96:108-114. [PMID: 27751889 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Revised: 10/08/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Some major aspects of insect life, like development time and reproduction, can benefit from fluctuating temperatures rather than a constant temperature regime. The benefit of fluctuating temperature has generally been attributed to the non-linear properties of the relationship of many life history traits with temperature. Daily temperature rise, however, usually coincide with the light phase of the photoperiodic cycle and there could be a benefit in linking daily temperature fluctuations with light and dark phases e.g. to anticipate the change in temperature. Such synergistic effects have primarily been studied in the light of activity patterns and gene expression, but have not yet been shown to extend to population dynamics and aspects of individual fitness like oviposition behavior. We therefore explored possible synergistic effects on life history traits of the springtail Orchesella cincta. We first test the primary effect of ecologically relevant temperature fluctuations of different amplitudes on population growth and total population mass. The slowest population growth was observed in the constant temperature regime treatment and the highest population growth in the regime with high amplitude fluctuations. In a second experiment, population growth and oviposition rhythm were measured under four different regimes; a constant light and temperature regime, thermoperiod only, photoperiod only and thermoperiod and photoperiod aligned as under natural conditions. The regime in which thermoperiod was aligned with photoperiod resulted in a higher population growth than could be realized by either factor alone. Also, significantly fewer eggs were laid in the constant temperature/light regime than in the other three regimes, strongly suggesting that this regime is stressful to O. cincta. Additionally, the fraction of eggs laid at night was highest in the regime with the combined temperature and light cycle. In conclusion, our results show that under these experimental conditions there is a synergistic effect of daily temperature fluctuations in combination with light/dark phases that can considerably influence important life history traits and affect behavior. Such effects are likely to be relevant under natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maartje Liefting
- Animal Ecology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jarno Cosijn
- Animal Ecology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jacintha Ellers
- Animal Ecology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Roche DG, Careau V, Binning SA. Demystifying animal 'personality' (or not): why individual variation matters to experimental biologists. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:3832-3843. [PMID: 27852750 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.146712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Animal 'personality', defined as repeatable inter-individual differences in behaviour, is a concept in biology that faces intense controversy. Critics argue that the field is riddled with terminological and methodological inconsistencies and lacks a sound theoretical framework. Nevertheless, experimental biologists are increasingly studying individual differences in physiology and relating these to differences in behaviour, which can lead to fascinating insights. We encourage this trend, and in this Commentary we highlight some of the benefits of estimating variation in (and covariation among) phenotypic traits at the inter- and intra-individual levels. We focus on behaviour while drawing parallels with physiological and performance-related traits. First, we outline some of the confusion surrounding the terminology used to describe repeatable inter-individual differences in behaviour. Second, we argue that acknowledging individual behavioural differences can help researchers avoid sampling and experimental bias, increase explanatory power and, ultimately, understand how selection acts on physiological traits. Third, we summarize the latest methods to collect, analyse and present data on individual trait variation. We note that, while measuring the repeatability of phenotypic traits is informative in its own right, it is only the first step towards understanding how natural selection and genetic architecture shape intra-specific variation in complex, labile traits. Thus, understanding how and why behavioural traits evolve requires linking repeatable inter-individual behavioural differences with core aspects of physiology (e.g. neurophysiology, endocrinology, energy metabolism) and evolutionary biology (e.g. selection gradients, heritability).
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique G Roche
- Département d'Éco-Éthologie, Institut de Biologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel CH 2000, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Careau
- Canada Research Chair in Functional Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Sandra A Binning
- Département d'Éco-Éthologie, Institut de Biologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel CH 2000, Switzerland
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Luquet E, Tariel J. Offspring reaction norms shaped by parental environment: interaction between within- and trans-generational plasticity of inducible defenses. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:209. [PMID: 27733114 PMCID: PMC5062831 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0795-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND 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 often been viewed as independent processes. Recent evidence suggests that WGP is altered by the environmental conditions experienced by previous generations (i.e., TGP). In the context of inducible defenses, one of the most studied cases of plasticity, the WGP x TGP interaction has been poorly investigated. RESULTS We provide evidence that TGP can alter the reaction norms of inducible defenses in a freshwater snail. The WGP x TGP interaction patterns are trait-specific and lead to decreased slope of reaction norms (behaviour and shell thickness). Offspring from induced parents showed a higher predator avoidance behaviour and a thicker shell than snails from non-induced parents in no predator-cue environment while they reached similar defenses in predator-cue environment. The WGP x TGP interaction further lead to a switch from a plastic towards a constitutive expression of defenses for shell dimensions (flat reaction norm). CONCLUSIONS WGP-alteration by TGP may shape the adaptive responses to environmental change and then has a substantial importance to understand the evolution of plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilien Luquet
- CNRS UMR 5023 Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne cedex, France.
| | - Juliette Tariel
- CNRS UMR 5023 Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, Université de Lyon, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne cedex, France
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31
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Kain MP, Bolker BM, McCoy MW. A practical guide and power analysis for GLMMs: detecting among treatment variation in random effects. PeerJ 2015; 3:e1226. [PMID: 26401446 PMCID: PMC4579019 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In ecology and evolution generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) are becoming increasingly used to test for differences in variation by treatment at multiple hierarchical levels. Yet, the specific sampling schemes that optimize the power of an experiment to detect differences in random effects by treatment/group remain unknown. In this paper we develop a blueprint for conducting power analyses for GLMMs focusing on detecting differences in variance by treatment. We present parameterization and power analyses for random-intercepts and random-slopes GLMMs because of their generality as focal parameters for most applications and because of their immediate applicability to emerging questions in the field of behavioral ecology. We focus on the extreme case of hierarchically structured binomial data, though the framework presented here generalizes easily to any error distribution model. First, we determine the optimal ratio of individuals to repeated measures within individuals that maximizes power to detect differences by treatment in among-individual variation in intercept, among-individual variation in slope, and within-individual variation in intercept. Second, we explore how power to detect differences in target variance parameters is affected by total variation. Our results indicate heterogeneity in power across ratios of individuals to repeated measures with an optimal ratio determined by both the target variance parameter and total sample size. Additionally, power to detect each variance parameter was low overall (in most cases >1,000 total observations per treatment needed to achieve 80% power) and decreased with increasing variance in non-target random effects. With growing interest in variance as the parameter of inquiry, these power analyses provide a crucial component for designing experiments focused on detecting differences in variance. We hope to inspire novel experimental designs in ecology and evolution investigating the causes and implications of individual-level phenotypic variance, such as the adaptive significance of within-individual variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan P Kain
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA
| | - Ben M Bolker
- Departments of Mathematics & Statistics and Biology, McMaster University , Hamilton, ON , Canada
| | - Michael W McCoy
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University , Greenville, NC , USA
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32
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Małek D, Drobniak S, Gozdek A, Pawlik K, Kramarz P. Response of body size and developmental time of Tribolium castaneum to constant versus fluctuating thermal conditions. J Therm Biol 2015; 51:110-8. [PMID: 25965024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2014] [Revised: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Temperature has profound effects on biological functions at all levels of organization. In ectotherms, body size is usually negatively correlated with ambient temperature during development, a phenomenon known as The Temperature-Size Rule (TSR). However, a growing number of studies have indicated that temperature fluctuations have a large influence on life history traits and the implications of such fluctuations for the TSR are unknown. Our study investigated the effect of different constant and fluctuating temperatures on the body mass and development time of red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum Herbst, 1797); we also examined whether the sexes differed in their responses to thermal conditions. We exposed the progeny of half-sib families of a T. castaneum laboratory strain to one of four temperature regimes: constant 30°C, constant 25°C, fluctuating with a daily mean of 30°C, or fluctuating with a daily mean of 25°C. Sex-specific development time and body mass at emergence were determined. Beetles developed the fastest and had the greatest body mass upon emergence when they were exposed to a constant temperature of 30°C. This pattern was reversed when beetles experienced a constant temperature of 25°C: slowest development and lowest body mass upon emergence were observed. Fluctuations changed those effects significantly - impact of temperature on development time was smaller, while differences in body mass disappeared completely. Our results do not fit TSR predictions. Furthermore, regardless of the temperature regime, females acquired more mass, while there were no differences between sexes in development time to eclosion. This finding fails to support one of the explanations for smaller male size: that selection favors the early emergence of males. We found no evidence of genotype × environment interactions for selected set of traits.
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Love OP, Madliger CL, Bourgeon S, Semeniuk CAD, Williams TD. Evidence for baseline glucocorticoids as mediators of reproductive investment in a wild bird. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2014; 199:65-9. [PMID: 24462764 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Revised: 11/22/2013] [Accepted: 01/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Determining the mechanisms that mediate investment decisions between current and future reproductive attempts is still a key goal of life-history studies. Since baseline levels of stress hormones (glucocorticoids - GCs) act as predictive and labile regulators of daily energetic balance in vertebrates they remain excellent candidates for mediating investment decisions both within and across reproductive attempts. Using free-living female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) we experimentally reduced investment in current reproduction (number of offspring raised in the first brood) to examine whether baseline corticosterone (CORT) acted as a hormonal mediator preparing individuals for a predictable increase in future investment (number of offspring raised in the second brood). Although treatment and control birds raised the same total amount of offspring across two broods, the experimental birds increased reproductive investment in second broods to compensate for the reduced investment in the first brood. Data on both mean and intra-individual changes in baseline CORT support the idea that an increase in baseline CORT between the incubation stages in treatment birds strongly predicted this increase in investment. Importantly, we measured the increase in baseline CORT during late incubation prior to the increase in energetic demand associated with increased reproductive investment in offspring, indicating that flexible within-individual changes in baseline GCs can act as a labile mechanism preparing individuals for predictable increases in reproductive investment. As such, our experimental results indicate that elevated baseline GCs can prepare individuals for investment in energetically expensive life-history stages, rather than simply being elevated as a consequence of increased effort or demand. This suggests that short-term preparative increases in baseline GCs benefit individuals by successfully allowing them to maximize fitness under varying environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver P Love
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada.
| | | | - Sophie Bourgeon
- Norwegian Polar Institute, The Polar Environmental Center, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Christina A D Semeniuk
- Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
| | - Tony D Williams
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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Machado-Schiaffino G, Henning F, Meyer A. Species-specific differences in adaptive phenotypic plasticity in an ecologically relevant trophic trait: hypertrophic lips in Midas cichlid fishes. Evolution 2014; 68:2086-91. [PMID: 24475874 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Accepted: 01/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The spectacular species richness of cichlids and their diversity in morphology, coloration, and behavior have made them an ideal model for the study of speciation and adaptive evolution. Hypertrophic lips evolved repeatedly and independently in African and Neotropical cichlid radiations. Cichlids with hypertrophic lips forage predominantly in rocky crevices and it has been hypothesized that mechanical stress caused by friction could result in larger lips through phenotypic plasticity. To test the influence of the environment on the size and development of lips, we conducted a series of breeding and feeding experiments on Midas cichlids. Full-sibs of Amphilophus labiatus (thick-lipped) and Amphilophus citrinellus (thin-lipped) each were split into a control group which was fed food from the water column and a treatment group whose food was fixed to substrates. We found strong evidence for phenotypic plasticity on lip area in the thick-lipped species, but not in the thin-lipped species. Intermediate phenotypic values were observed in hybrids from thick- and thin-lipped species reared under "control" conditions. Thus, both a genetic, but also a phenotypic plastic component is involved in the development of hypertrophic lips in Neotropical cichlids. Moreover, species-specific adaptive phenotypic plasticity was found, suggesting that plasticity is selected for in recent thick-lipped species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Machado-Schiaffino
- Chair of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstrasse 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
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Varian-Ramos CW, Swaddle JP, Cristol DA. Familial differences in the effects of mercury on reproduction in zebra finches. Environ Pollut 2013; 182:316-323. [PMID: 23973883 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2013] [Revised: 07/22/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Ecotoxicologists often implicitly assume that populations are homogenous entities in which all individuals have similar responses to a contaminant. However, genetically variable responses occur within populations. This variation can be visualized using dose-response curves of genetically related groups, similar to the way that evolutionary biologists construct reaction norms. We assessed the variation in reproductive success of full-sibling families of captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) experimentally exposed to methylmercury. We found significant variation among families in the effects of methylmercury on several reproductive parameters. This variation suggests that there may be strong responses to selection for resistant genotypes in contaminated areas. This has important implications for the evolution of tolerance as well as risk assessment and wildlife conservation efforts on sites with legacy contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire W Varian-Ramos
- Institute for Integrative Bird Behavior Studies, Biology Department, College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA.
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Sanchez S, Schoch RR. Bone Histology Reveals a High Environmental and Metabolic Plasticity as a Successful Evolutionary Strategy in a Long-Lived Homeostatic Triassic Temnospondyl. Evol Biol 2013; 40:627-647. [PMID: 24293739 PMCID: PMC3832766 DOI: 10.1007/s11692-013-9238-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2012] [Accepted: 05/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary stasis (long-term stability of morphology in an evolving lineage) is a pattern for which explanations are usually elusive. The Triassic tetrapod Gerrothorax pulcherrimus, a gill-bearing temnospondyl, survived for 35 million years in the Germanic Basin of Central Europe persisting throughout the dinosaur-dominated Late Triassic period. This evolutionary stasis coincides with the occurrence of this species in a wide range of habitats and environmental conditions. By the combination of palaeoecological and palaeohistological analyses, we found great ecological flexibility in G. pulcherrimus and present substantial evidence of developmental and metabolic plasticity despite the morphological stasis. We conclude that G. pulcherrimus could show the capacity to settle in water bodies too harsh or unpredictable for most other tetrapods. This would have been made possible by a unique life history strategy that involved a wide reaction norm, permitting adjustment to fluctuating conditions such as salinity and level of nutrients. Growth rate, duration of juvenile period, age at maturity, and life span were all subject to broad variation within specimens of G. pulcherrimus in one single lake and in between different lakes. In addition to providing a better understanding of fossil ecosystems, this study shows the potential of such a methodology to encourage palaeobiologists and evolutionary biologists to consider the mechanisms of variation in extant and fossil organisms by using a similar time-scope reference.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Sanchez
- Subdepartment of Evolutionary Organismal Biology, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - R. R. Schoch
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
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Hatle JD, Crowley MC, Andrews AL, Juliano SA. Geographic variation of reproductive tactics in lubber grasshoppers. Oecologia 2002; 132:517-523. [PMID: 28547637 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-002-0994-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2001] [Accepted: 05/28/2002] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We investigate plastic and interpopulation variation of trade-offs among reproductive tactics. There is a potential three-way trade-off among timing of reproduction, somatic storage, and investment in reproduction. We tested whether this trade-off shows latitudinal interpopulation variation. We studied populations of the lubber grasshopper, Romalea microptera, from Florida (FL; lowest latitude), Louisiana (LA; intermediate latitude), and Georgia (GA; highest latitude), each tested at three diet levels. All three populations differed in their multivariate responses of the three reproductive tactics we studied. This difference across populations was due primarily to age at first reproduction, secondarily to somatic storage, and less so to clutch mass. Age at first reproduction was least in GA, intermediate in LA, and greatest in FL grasshoppers. Somatic storage was greatest in FL and LA, and least in GA grasshoppers. Clutch mass was greatest in LA and GA, and least in FL grasshoppers. Diet levels also differed in this suite of reproductive tactics, primarily due to variation in age at reproduction. In contrast to significant, independent effects of population and diet, we find no evidence that the trade-off itself varies across populations (as indicated by the non-significant interaction of population and diet level). Thus, we show that the innate allocation of resources among reproductive tactics is different across populations, but all three populations responded similarly to a range of diet levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Hatle
- Department of Biological Sciences, Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA.
| | - Michael C Crowley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA
| | - Amanda L Andrews
- Department of Biological Sciences, Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA
| | - Steven A Juliano
- Department of Biological Sciences, Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-4120, USA
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