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1.
    
The expression of inducible morphological defenses in Daphnia in response to a single predator is a well-known phenomenon. However, predator-specific modifications of the same defensive traits as an adaption to different predator regimes is so far only described for Daphnia barbata. It is unknown if this accounts only for this species or if it is a more widespread, general adaptive response in the genus Daphnia. In the present study, we therefore investigated whether a clone of the pond-dwelling species Daphnia similis responds to different predatory invertebrates (Triops cancriformis; Notonecta maculata) with the expression of predator-specific modifications of the same defensive traits. We showed that Triops-exposed individuals express a significantly longer tail-spine, while body width decreased in comparison to control individuals. Additionally, they also expressed inconspicuous defenses, that is, significantly longer spinules on the dorsal ridge. The Notonecta-exposed D. similis showed a significantly longer tail-spine, longer spinules and a larger spinules bearing area on the dorsal ridge than control individuals as well. However, a geometric morphometric analysis of the head shape revealed significant, predator-specific changes. Triops-exposed individuals expressed a flattened head shape with a pronounced dorsal edge, while Notonecta-exposed individuals developed a high and strongly rounded head. Our study describes so far unrecognized inducible defenses of D. similis against two predators in temporary waters. Furthermore, the predator-dependent change in head shape is in concordance with the ‘concept of modality’, which highlights the qualitative aspect of natural selection caused by predators.  相似文献   

2.
    
We tested the fitness consequences of introgression of fast‐growing domesticated fish into a wild population. Fry from wild and domesticated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) crosses, F1 hybrids, and first‐ and second‐generation backcrosses were released into two natural lakes. Parentage analysis using microsatellite loci facilitated the identification of survivors, so fitness was estimated in nature from the first‐feeding stage. Results indicated that under certain conditions, domesticated fish survived at least as well as wild fish within the same environment. Relative growth and survival of the crosses, however, were highly dependent on environment. During the first summer, fastest‐growing crosses had the highest survival, but this trend was reversed after one winter and another summer. Although the F1 hybrids showed evidence of outbreeding depression because of the disruption of local adaptation, there was little evidence of outbreeding depression in the backcrosses, and the second‐generation backcrosses exhibited a wild‐type phenotype. This information is relevant for assessing the multigenerational risk of escaped or released domesticated fish should they successfully interbreed with wild populations and provides information on how to minimize detrimental impacts of a conservation breeding and/or management programme. These data also further understanding of the selection pressures in nature that maintain submaximal rates of growth.  相似文献   

3.
    
It is commonly observed that reproduction decreases with age, often at a different rate in males and females. This phenomenon is generally interpreted as senescence. Such reproductive declines may stem from at least two sources: a change in resource allocation and a decline in the ability to convert resources into offspring. This distinction is important because a shift in resource allocation may be favoured by selection, while reduced efficiency is purely deleterious. We propose a way to distinguish whether a decline in reproduction is purely deleterious based on estimating reproductive investment, output, and their ratio, efficiency. We apply this approach to the hermaphroditic snail Physa acuta and demonstrate that both male and female functions decline with age. The male decline largely stems from reduced investment into male activity while female decline is due to increased reproductive inefficiency. This shows that age‐related declines in reproduction can occur for a number of different reasons, a distinction that is usually masked by the general term ‘senescence’. This approach could be applied to any species to evaluate age‐related reproductive decline. We advocate that future studies measure age trajectories of reproductive investment and output to explore the potential processes hidden behind the observation that reproduction declines with age.  相似文献   

4.
    
1. Behavioural adaptations to avoid and evade predators are common. Many studies have investigated population divergence in response to changes in predation regime within species, but studies exploring interspecific patterns are scant. Studies on interspecific divergence can infer common outcomes from evolutionary processes and highlight the role of environmental constraints in shaping species traits. 2. Species of the dragonfly genus Leucorrhinia underwent well‐studied shifts from habitats being dominated by predatory fish (fish lakes) to habitat being dominated by predatory invertebrates (dragonfly lakes). This change in top predators resulted in a set of adaptive trait modifications in response to the different hunting styles of both predator types: whereas predatory fish actively search and pursue prey, invertebrate predator follow a sit‐and‐wait strategy, not pursuing prey. 3. Here it is shown that the habitat shift‐related change in selection regime on larval Leucorrhinia caused species in dragonfly lakes to evolve increased larval foraging and activity, and results suggest that they lost the ability to recognise predatory fish. 4. The results of the present study highlight the impact of predators on behavioural trait diversification with habitat‐specific predation regimes selecting for distinct behavioural expression.  相似文献   

5.
    
Inbreeding depression is defined as a fitness decline in progeny resulting from mating between related individuals, the severity of which may vary across environmental conditions. Such inbreeding‐by‐environment interactions might reflect that inbred individuals have a lower capacity for adjusting their phenotype to match different environmental conditions better, as shown in prior studies on developmental plasticity. Behavioural plasticity is more flexible than developmental plasticity because it is reversible and relatively quick, but little is known about its sensitivity to inbreeding. Here, we investigate effects of inbreeding on behavioural plasticity in the context of parent–offspring interactions in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Larvae increase begging with the level of hunger, and parents increase their level of care when brood sizes increase. Here, we find that inbreeding increased behavioural plasticity in larvae: inbred larvae reduced their time spent associating with a parent in response to the length of food deprivation more than outbred larvae. However, inbreeding had no effect on the behavioural plasticity of offspring begging or any parental behaviour. Overall, our results show that inbreeding can increase behavioural plasticity. We suggest that inbreeding‐by‐environment interactions might arise when inbreeding is associated with too little or too much plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions.  相似文献   

6.
    
Theories involving niche diversification to explain high levels of tropical diversity propose that species are more likely to co‐occur if they partition at least one dimension of their ecological niche space. Yet, numerous species appear to have widely overlapping niches based upon broad categorizations of resource use or functional traits. In particular, the extent to which food partitioning contributes to species coexistence in hyperdiverse tropical ecosystems remains unresolved. Here, we use a molecular approach to investigate inter‐ and intraspecific dietary partitioning between two species of damselfish (Dascyllus flavicaudus, Chromis viridis) that commonly co‐occur in branching corals. Species‐level identification of their diverse zooplankton prey revealed significant differences in diet composition between species despite their seemingly similar feeding strategies. Dascyllus exhibited a more diverse diet than Chromis, whereas Chromis tended to select larger prey items. A large calanoid copepod, Labidocera sp., found in low density and higher in the water column during the day, explained more than 19% of the variation in dietary composition between Dascyllus and Chromis. Dascyllus did not significantly shift its diet in the presence of Chromis, which suggests intrinsic differences in feeding behaviour. Finally, prey composition significantly shifted during the ontogeny of both fish species. Our findings show that levels of dietary specialization among coral reef associated species have likely been underestimated, and they underscore the importance of characterizing trophic webs in tropical ecosystems at higher levels of taxonomic resolution. They also suggest that niche redundancy may not be as common as previously thought.  相似文献   

7.
    
Juvenile common carp Cyprinus carpio were collected from 10 lakes with variable predator abundance over 4 months to evaluate if morphological defences increased with increasing predation risk. Cyprinus carpio dorsal and pectoral spines were longer and body depth was deeper when predators were more abundant, with differences becoming more pronounced from July to October. To determine if morphological plasticity successfully reduced predation risk, prey selection of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides foraging on deep- and shallow-bodied C. carpio was evaluated in open and vegetated environments. Predators typically selected deep- over shallow-bodied phenotypes in open habitats and neutrally selected both phenotypes in vegetated habitats. When exposed to predators, shallow-bodied C. carpio phenotypes shoaled in open habitat, whereas deep-bodied phenotypes occupied vegetation. Although deep-bodied phenotypes required additional handling time, shallow-bodied phenotypes were more difficult to capture. These results suggest that juvenile C. carpio gradually develop deeper bodies and larger spines as predation risk increases. Morphological defences made it more difficult for predators to consume these prey but resulted in higher vulnerability to predation in some instances.  相似文献   

8.
    
Predators are a major source of stress in natural systems because their prey must balance the benefits of feeding with the risk of being eaten. Although this ‘fear’ of being eaten often drives the organization and dynamics of many natural systems, we know little about how such risk effects will be altered by climate change. Here, we examined the interactive consequences of predator avoidance and projected climate warming in a three‐level rocky intertidal food chain. We found that both predation risk and increased air and sea temperatures suppressed the foraging of prey in the middle trophic level, suggesting that warming may further enhance the top‐down control of predators on communities. Prey growth efficiency, which measures the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels, became negative when prey were subjected to predation risk and warming. Thus, the combined effects of these stressors may represent an important tipping point for individual fitness and the efficiency of energy transfer in natural food chains. In contrast, we detected no adverse effects of warming on the top predator and the basal resources. Hence, the consequences of projected warming may be particularly challenging for intermediate consumers residing in food chains where risk dominates predator‐prey interactions.  相似文献   

9.
    
Despite the utility of gastropod models for the study of evolutionary processes of great generality and importance, their effective population size has rarely been estimated in the field. Here, we report allele frequency variance at three allozyme‐encoding loci monitored over 7 years in a population of the invasive freshwater pulmonate snail Physa acuta (Draparnaud 1805), estimating effective population size with both single‐sample and two‐sample approaches. Estimated Ne declined from effectively infinite in 2009 to approximately 40–50 in 2012 and then rose back to infinity in 2015, corresponding to a striking fluctuation in the apparent census size of the population. Such volatility in Ne may reflect cryptic population subdivision.  相似文献   

10.
    
Intraguild predation is a mix of competition and predation and occurs when one species feeds on another species that uses similar resources. Theory predicts that intraguild predation hampers coexistence of species involved, but it is common in nature. It has been suggested that increasing habitat complexity and the presence of alternative food may promote coexistence. Reciprocal intraguild predation limits possibilities for coexistence even further. Habitat complexity and the presence of alternative food are believed to promote coexistence. We investigated this using two species of predatory mites, Iphiseiodes zuluagai and Euseius concordis, by assessing co‐occurrence in the field and on arenas differing in spatial structure in the laboratory. The predators co‐occured on the same plants in the field. In the laboratory, adults of the two mites fed on juveniles of the other species, both in the presence and the absence of a shared food source, showing that the two species are involved in reciprocal intraguild predation. Adults of I. zuluagai also attacked adults of E. concordis. This suggests limited possibilities for coexistence of the two species. Indeed, E. concordis invariably went extinct extremely rapidly on arenas without spatial structure with populations consisting of all stages of the two predators and with a shared resource. Coexistence was prolonged on host plant leaves with extra food sources, but E. concordis still went extinct. On small, intact plants, coexistence of the two species was much longer, and ended with the other species, I. zuluagai, often going extinct. These results suggest that spatial structure and the presence of alternative food increase the coexistence period of intraguild predators.  相似文献   

11.
    
One suggested anti‐predator function of alarm calls is to deliver a message to a predator that it has been detected. Moreover, giving the alarm call could provide a signal to the predator that capturing the individual giving the alarm is more difficult than capturing its silent group members, as the caller is probably the most aware of the predator's location. In an aviary experiment using stuffed dummy Willow Tits Poecile montanus, we assessed whether an authentic alarm call given by Willow Tit affected Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum prey preference. In the experiment, the Owls attacked only the ‘silent’ dummy individuals, suggesting that alarm calling could offer direct fitness benefits to the caller by decreasing the attack risk of the caller relative to its group members.  相似文献   

12.
    
Several studies have emphasized that inbreeding depression (ID) is enhanced under stressful conditions. Additionally, one might imagine a loss of adaptively plastic responses which may further contribute to a reduction in fitness under environmental stress. Here, we quantified ID in inbred families of the cyclical parthenogen Daphnia magna in the absence and presence of fish predation risk. We test whether predator stress affects the degree of ID and if inbred families have a reduced capacity to respond to predator stress by adaptive phenotypic plasticity. We obtained two inbred families through clonal selfing within clones isolated from a fish pond. After mild purging under standardized conditions, we compared life history traits and adaptive plasticity between inbred and outbred lineages (directly hatched from the natural dormant egg bank of the same pond). Initial purging of lineages under standardized conditions differed among inbred families and exceeded that in outbreds. The least purged inbred family exhibited strong ID for most life history traits. Predator‐induced stress hardly affected the severity of ID, but the degree to which the capacity for adaptive phenotypic plasticity was retained varied strongly among the inbred families. The least purged family overall lacked the capacity for adaptive phenotypic plasticity, whereas the family that suffered only mild purging exhibited a potential for adaptive plasticity that was comparable to the outbred population. We thus found that inbred offspring may retain the capacity to respond to the presence of fish by adaptive phenotypic plasticity, but this strongly depends on the parental clone engaging in selfing.  相似文献   

13.
    
The selection of a host of high nutritional quality is of great importance to the development of offspring of larvipositing aphids, as is the avoidance of natural enemies. Little is known, however, about their ability to select host plants based on these factors. This article tests the preference of aphids Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) and Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (both Hemiptera: Aphididae) for different winter wheat cultivars, Triticum aestivum (L.) (Poaceae), and their ability to detect and avoid predators in sacrifice of their most preferred host. In both species a preference was observed for nutritionally superior hosts. The preference of both species then exhibited a change towards a nutritionally inferior host after infestations of the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), that had been consuming conspecific aphids. This investigation opens the door to the interesting prospect of the ability of aphids to make complex decisions regarding a compromise between high‐quality nutrition and avoidance of predation.  相似文献   

14.
    
Trichomes, or leaf hairs, are epidermal extensions that take a variety of forms and perform many functions in plants, including herbivore defence. In this study, I document genetically determined variation, within‐generation plasticity, and a direct role of trichomes in herbivore defence for Mimulus guttatus. After establishing the relationship between trichomes and herbivory, I test for transgenerational effects of wounding on trichome density and herbivore resistance. Patterns of interannual variation in herbivore density and the high cost of plant defence makes plant–herbivore interactions a system in which transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TPP) is apt to evolve. Here, I demonstrate that parental damage alters offspring trichome density and herbivore resistance in nature. Moreover, this response varies between populations. This is among the first studies to demonstrate that TPP contributes to variation in nature, and also suggests that selection can modify TPP in response to local conditions.  相似文献   

15.
1. Antipredator behaviour by the facultative planktivorous fish species roach (Rutilus rutilus), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) was studied in a multi‐year whole‐lake experiment to evaluate species‐specific behavioural and numerical responses to the stocking of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), a predator with different foraging behaviour than the resident predators large perch (P. fluviatilis) and pike (Esox lucius). 2. Behavioural responses to pikeperch varied greatly during the night, ranging from reduced activity (roach and small perch) and a shift in habitat (roach), to no change in the habitat use and activity of rudd. The differing responses of the different planktivorous prey species highlight the potential variation in behavioural response to predation risk from species of similar vulnerability. 3. These differences had profound effects on fitness; the density of species that exhibited an antipredator response declined only slightly (roach) or even increased (small perch), whereas the density of the species that did not exhibit an antipredator response (rudd) decreased dramatically (by more than 80%). 4. The maladaptive behaviour of rudd can be explained by a ‘behavioural syndrome’, i.e. the interdependence of behaviours expressed in different contexts (feeding activity, antipredator) across different situations (different densities of predators). 5. Our study extends previous studies, that have typically been limited to more controlled situations, by illustrating the variability in intensity of phenotypic responses to predators, and the consequences for population density, in a large whole‐lake setting.  相似文献   

16.
17.
    
There is a growing agreement that conservation needs to be proactive and pay increased attention to common species and to the threats they face. The blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) plays a key ecological role in sensitive high‐altitude ecosystems of Central Asia and is among the main prey species for the globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia). As the blue sheep has been increasingly exposed to human pressures, it is vital to estimate its population dynamics, protect the key populations, identify important habitats, and secure a balance between conservation and local livelihoods. We conducted a study in Manang, Annapurna Conservation Area (Nepal), to survey blue sheep on 60 transects in spring (127.9 km) and 61 transects in autumn (134.7 km) of 2019, estimate their minimum densities from total counts, compare these densities with previous estimates, and assess blue sheep habitat selection by the application of generalized additive models (GAMs). Total counts yielded minimum density estimates of 6.0–7.7 and 6.9–7.8 individuals/km2 in spring and autumn, respectively, which are relatively high compared to other areas. Elevation and, to a lesser extent, land cover indicated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) strongly affected habitat selection by blue sheep, whereas the effects of anthropogenic variables were insignificant. Animals were found mainly in habitats associated with grasslands and shrublands at elevations between 4,200 and 4,700 m. We show that the blue sheep population size in Manang has been largely maintained over the past three decades, indicating the success of the integrated conservation and development efforts in this area. Considering a strong dependence of snow leopards on blue sheep, these findings give hope for the long‐term conservation of this big cat in Manang. We suggest that long‐term population monitoring and a better understanding of blue sheep–livestock interactions are crucial to maintain healthy populations of blue sheep and, as a consequence, of snow leopards.  相似文献   

18.
    
According to apparent competition theory, the co‐occurrence of two species that share the same predators appears to affect each other's population growth and abundance. However, due to habitat loss and over‐hunting, top predators are being made rare worldwide. Considering that apparent competitors share similar resources, we would expect the absence of top predators to reflect in changes on prey realized trophic niches. To test our hypothesis, we developed a model to predict the abundance ratio of apparent competitor species based on changes in their realized trophic niches. We tested our model against field data on the Neotropical marsupials Didelphis aurita and Metachirus nudicaudatus. Our results revealed that D. aurita and M. nudicaudatus are two species under apparent competition and their realized trophic niche and diet overlap change according to the presence of top predators. The model was able to predict the actual relative abundances of D. aurita and M. nudicaudatus in the three empirical studies analyzed. Our study presents quantitative support to the apparent competition theory; however, the model's applications to other groups still need to be verified. Additionally, our study shows that the lack of top predators has consequences on the realized trophic niche of their prey, and therefore, we reinforce that conservation plans need to focus on the effects of top predator loss on ecosystems.  相似文献   

19.
    
The success of invasive species is tightly linked to their fitness in a putatively novel environment. While quantitative components of fitness have been studied extensively in the context of invasive species, fewer studies have looked at qualitative components of fitness, such as behavioral plasticity, and their interaction with quantitative components, despite intuitive benefits over the course of an invasion. In particular, learning is a form of behavioral plasticity that makes it possible to finely tune behavior according to environmental conditions. Learning can be crucial for survival and reproduction of introduced organisms in novel areas, for example, for detecting new predators, or finding mates or oviposition sites. Here we explored how oviposition performance evolved in relation to both fecundity and learning during an invasion, using native and introduced Drosophila subobscura populations performing an ecologically relevant task. Our results indicated that, under comparable conditions, invasive populations performed better during our oviposition task than did native populations. This was because invasive populations had higher fecundity, together with similar cognitive performance when compared to native populations, and that there was no interaction between learning and fecundity. Unexpectedly, our study did not reveal an allocation trade‐off (i.e., a negative relationship) between learning and fecundity. On the contrary, the pattern we observed was more consistent with an acquisition trade‐off, meaning that fecundity could be limited by availability of resources, unlike cognitive ability. This pattern might be the consequence of escaping natural enemies and/or competitors during the introduction. The apparent lack of evolution of learning may indicate that the introduced population did not face novel cognitive challenges in the new environment (i.e., cognitive “pre‐adaptation”). Alternatively, the evolution of learning may have been transient and therefore not detected.  相似文献   

20.
    
Nongenetic inheritance mechanisms such as transgenerational plasticity (TGP) can buffer populations against rapid environmental change such as ocean warming. Yet, little is known about how long these effects persist and whether they are cumulative over generations. Here, we tested for adaptive TGP in response to simulated ocean warming across parental and grandparental generations of marine sticklebacks. Grandparents were acclimated for two months during reproductive conditioning, whereas parents experienced developmental acclimation, allowing us to compare the fitness consequences of short‐term vs. prolonged exposure to elevated temperature across multiple generations. We found that reproductive output of F1 adults was primarily determined by maternal developmental temperature, but carry‐over effects from grandparental acclimation environments resulted in cumulative negative effects of elevated temperature on hatching success. In very early stages of growth, F2 offspring reached larger sizes in their respective paternal and grandparental environment down the paternal line, suggesting that other factors than just the paternal genome may be transferred between generations. In later growth stages, maternal and maternal granddam environments strongly influenced offspring body size, but in opposing directions, indicating that the mechanism(s) underlying the transfer of environmental information may have differed between acute and developmental acclimation experienced by the two generations. Taken together, our results suggest that the fitness consequences of parental and grandparental TGP are highly context dependent, but will play an important role in mediating some of the impacts of rapid climate change in this system.  相似文献   

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