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Olin AB, Bergström U, Bodin Ö, Sundblad G, Eriksson BK, Erlandsson M, Fredriksson R, Eklöf JS. Predation and spatial connectivity interact to shape ecosystem resilience to an ongoing regime shift. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1304. [PMID: 38347008 PMCID: PMC10861472 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45713-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem regime shifts can have severe ecological and economic consequences, making it a top priority to understand how to make systems more resilient. Theory predicts that spatial connectivity and the local environment interact to shape resilience, but empirical studies are scarce. Here, we use >7000 fish samplings from the Baltic Sea coast to test this prediction in an ongoing, spatially propagating shift in dominance from predatory fish to an opportunistic mesopredator, with cascading effects throughout the food web. After controlling for the influence of other drivers (including increasing mesopredator densities), we find that predatory fish habitat connectivity increases resilience to the shift, but only when densities of fish-eating top predators (seals, cormorants) are low. Resilience also increases with temperature, likely through boosted predatory fish growth and recruitment. These findings confirm theoretical predictions that spatial connectivity and the local environment can together shape resilience to regime shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes B Olin
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Ulf Bergström
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Örjan Bodin
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Göran Sundblad
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Britas Klemens Eriksson
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Mårten Erlandsson
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ronny Fredriksson
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan S Eklöf
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Turba R, Richmond JQ, Fitz-Gibbon S, Morselli M, Fisher RN, Swift CC, Ruiz-Campos G, Backlin AR, Dellith C, Jacobs DK. Genetic structure and historic demography of endangered unarmoured threespine stickleback at southern latitudes signals a potential new management approach. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6515-6530. [PMID: 36205603 PMCID: PMC10092051 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Habitat loss, flood control infrastructure, and drought have left most of southern California and northern Baja California's native freshwater fish near extinction, including the endangered unarmoured threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni). This subspecies, an unusual morph lacking the typical lateral bony plates of the G. aculeatus complex, occurs at arid southern latitudes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and survives in only three inland locations. Managers have lacked molecular data to answer basic questions about the ancestry and genetic distinctiveness of unarmoured populations. These data could be used to prioritize conservation efforts. We sampled G. aculeatus from 36 localities and used microsatellites and whole genome data to place unarmoured populations within the broader evolutionary context of G. aculeatus across southern California/northern Baja California. We identified three genetic groups with none consisting solely of unarmoured populations. Unlike G. aculeatus at northern latitudes, where Pleistocene glaciation has produced similar historical demographic profiles across populations, we found markedly different demographics depending on sampling location, with inland unarmoured populations showing steeper population declines and lower heterozygosity compared to low armoured populations in coastal lagoons. One exception involved the only high elevation population in the region, where the demography and alleles of unarmoured fish were similar to low armoured populations near the coast, exposing one of several cases of artificial translocation. Our results suggest that the current "management-by-phenotype" approach, based on lateral plates, is incidentally protecting the most imperilled populations; however, redirecting efforts toward evolutionary units, regardless of phenotype, may more effectively preserve adaptive potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Turba
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - Sorel Fitz-Gibbon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Marco Morselli
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - Camm C Swift
- Emeritus, Section of Fishes, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos
- Ichthyological Collection, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
| | - Adam R Backlin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Diego Field Station-Santa Ana Office, Santa Ana, California, USA
| | - Chris Dellith
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura, California, USA
| | - David K Jacobs
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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3
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Ramesh A, Groothuis TGG, Weissing FJ, Nicolaus M. Habitat fragmentation induces rapid divergence of migratory and isolated sticklebacks. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The adaptive capacity of many organisms is seriously challenged by human-imposed environmental change, which currently happens at unprecedented rates and magnitudes. For migratory fish, habitat fragmentation is a major challenge that can compromise their survival and reproduction. Therefore, it is important to study if fish populations can adapt to such modifications of their habitat. Here, we study whether originally anadromous three-spined stickleback populations (Gasterosteus aculeatus; “migrants”) changed in behavior and morphology in response to human-induced isolation. We made use of a natural field-experiment, where the construction of pumping stations and sluices in the 1970s unintendedly created replicates of land-locked stickleback populations (“resident”) in the Netherlands. For two years, we systematically tested populations of residents and migrants for differences in morphology and behavioral traits (activity, aggressiveness, exploration, boldness, and shoaling) in lab-based assays. We detected differences between migrant and resident populations in virtually all phenotypic traits studied: compared with the ancestral migrants, residents were smaller in size, had fewer and smaller plates and were significantly more active, aggressive, exploratory and bolder, and shoaled less. Despite large ecological differences between 2018 and 2019, results were largely consistent across the two years. Our study shows that human-induced environmental change has led to the rapid and consistent morphological and behavioral divergence of stickleback populations in about 50 generations. Such changes may be adaptive but this remains to be tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aparajitha Ramesh
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Evolutionary Genetics, Development & Behaviour group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Evolutionary Genetics, Development & Behaviour group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Franz J Weissing
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marion Nicolaus
- Conservation Ecology group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh, AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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Yanos CL, Haanstra EP, Colgan Carey F, Passmore SA, Eklöf JS, Bergström U, Hansen JP, Fontaine MC, Maan ME, Eriksson BK. Predator biomass and vegetation influence the coastal distribution of threespine stickleback morphotypes. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:12485-12496. [PMID: 34594514 PMCID: PMC8462182 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific niche differentiation can contribute to population persistence in changing environments. Following declines in large predatory fish, eutrophication, and climate change, there has been a major increase in the abundance of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in the Baltic Sea. Two morphotype groups with different levels of body armor-completely plated and incompletely plated-are common in coastal Baltic Sea habitats. The morphotypes are similar in shape, size, and other morphological characteristics and live as one apparently intermixed population. Variation in resource use between the groups could indicate a degree of niche segregation that could aid population persistence in the face of further environmental change. To assess whether morphotypes exhibit niche segregation associated with resource and/or habitat exploitation and predator avoidance, we conducted a field survey of stickleback morphotypes, and biotic and abiotic ecosystem structure, in two habitat types within shallow coastal bays in the Baltic Sea: deeper central waters and shallow near-shore waters. In the deeper waters, the proportion of completely plated stickleback was greater in habitats with greater biomass of two piscivorous fish: perch (Perca fluviatilis) and pike (Esox lucius). In the shallow waters, the proportion of completely plated stickleback was greater in habitats with greater coverage of habitat-forming vegetation. Our results suggest niche segregation between morphotypes, which may contribute to the continued success of stickleback in coastal Baltic Sea habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey L. Yanos
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Eeke P. Haanstra
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Fiona Colgan Carey
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Sorsha A. Passmore
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Johan S. Eklöf
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Ulf Bergström
- Department of Aquatic ResourcesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUppsalaSweden
| | | | - Michael C. Fontaine
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
- Unité Mixe de Recherche MIVEGEC et Centre de Recherche en Ecologie et Evolution de la SantéCentre IRD de MontpellierCNRSIRD 229Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Martine E. Maan
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Britas Klemens Eriksson
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life‐SciencesGELIFESUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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