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Matich P, Plumlee JD, Fisher M. Grow fast, die young: Does compensatory growth reduce survival of juvenile blacktip sharks ( Carcharhinus limbatus) in the western Gulf of Mexico? Ecol Evol 2021; 11:16280-16295. [PMID: 34824827 PMCID: PMC8601900 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective conservation and management necessitate an understanding of the ecological mechanisms that shape species life histories in order to predict how variability in natural and anthropogenic impacts will alter growth rates, recruitment, and survival. Among these mechanisms, the interaction between parturition timing and prey availability frequently influences offspring success, particularly when postnatal care is absent. Here, we assess how parturition timing and nursery conditions, including prey abundance and environmental conditions, influence the growth and potential survival of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) estuaries over their first year. Catch data from long-term gillnet monitoring allowed for clear delineation of cohorts based on size frequency distribution plots, and showed that late parturition cohorts born in estuaries with fewer prey resources exhibited more rapid growth than early parturition cohorts that experienced more abundant prey. Compensatory behaviors that promoted accelerated growth led to reduced second year residency, likely due to reduced survival resultant from greater risk taking and potentially due to reduced site fidelity attributed to larger body size. Water temperatures influenced blacktip growth rates through physiological increases in metabolism and potential premigratory foraging cues associated with cooling temperatures. Gradual warming of the GOM (0.03°C year-1) was also correlated with earlier parturition across the study period (1982-2017), similar to other migratory species. Considering current trends in climate and associated phenological shifts in many animals, testing hypotheses assessing compensatory growth-risk trade-offs is important moving forward to predict changes in life histories and associated recruitment in concert with current and future conservation actions, like wildlife management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Matich
- Marine Biology DepartmentTexas A & M University at GalvestonGalvestonTexasUSA
| | - Jeffrey D. Plumlee
- Institute of Marine SciencesUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillMorehead CityNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Mark Fisher
- Rockport Marine Science LaboratoryCoastal Fisheries DivisionTexas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentRockportTexasUSA
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Seifarth J, Inamine H, Buckling A, Shea K. Duration and timing interactions of early‐life stress and the potential for recovery. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jack Seifarth
- Department of Biology The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania16801USA
| | - Hidetoshi Inamine
- Department of Biology The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania16801USA
| | - Angus Buckling
- Department of Biosciences University of Exeter Penryn Campus PenrynTR10 9FEUK
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania16801USA
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Gomes MA, Ditchkoff SS, Zohdy S, Gulsby WD, Newbolt CH. Patterns of testosterone in male white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus): Seasonal and lifetime variation. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5320-5330. [PMID: 34026009 PMCID: PMC8131792 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Testosterone is strongly associated with the annual development of antlers in cervids, but endocrine research on wild, freely breeding ungulates is often done without repeated capture of known-aged individuals. As a result, our knowledge on how testosterone fluctuates over the course of a lifetime and variation in lifetime patterns among individuals is limited. We investigated patterns of testosterone in a freely breeding population of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Alabama, USA, that breeds in January. Testosterone peaked during the height of the breeding season, despite this period occurring approximately 2 months later than in most temperate-region white-tailed deer populations. Age-related differences in testosterone were only prevalent during the breeding season, with bucks ≥3.5 years old having greater testosterone (853 ng/dl ± 96 SE; p = 0.012) than bucks 1.5-2.5 years old (364 ng/dl ± 100 SE). Additionally, an individual's testosterone level as a yearling was not positively associated with their lifetime maximum testosterone level (p = 0.583), and an individual's mean testosterone level was positively associated with lifetime testosterone variation (p < 0.001). To our knowledge, our study is one of the first to assess how testosterone early in life might relate to individual testosterone later in life. We believe these data provide insight into lifetime hormonal patterns in cervids, and that these patterns may indicate intraspecific variation of lifetime reproductive strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monet A. Gomes
- School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
| | | | - Sarah Zohdy
- School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
- Department of PathobiologyCollege of Veterinary MedicineAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
| | - William D. Gulsby
- School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
| | - Chad H. Newbolt
- School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
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Przybylska-Piech AS, Wojciechowski MS, Jefimow M. Polymorphism of winter phenotype in Siberian hamster: consecutive litters do not differ in photoresponsiveness but prolonged acclimation to long photoperiod inhibits winter molt. Front Zool 2021; 18:11. [PMID: 33731152 PMCID: PMC7971963 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00391-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The theory of delayed life history effects assumes that phenotype of adult individual results from environmental conditions experienced at birth and as juvenile. In seasonal environments, being born late in the reproductive season affects timing of puberty, body condition, longevity, and fitness. We hypothesized that late-born individuals are more prone to respond to short photoperiod (SP) than early born ones. We used Siberian hamsters Phodopus sungorus, a model species characterized by high polymorphism of winter phenotype. We experimentally distinguished the effect of litter order (first or third) from the effect of exposure to long photoperiod (LP) before winter (3 months or 5 months) by manipulating the duration of LP acclimation in both litters. We predicted that, irrespective of the litter order, individuals exposed to long photoperiod for a short time have less time to gather energy resources and consequently are more prone to developing energy-conserving phenotypes. To assess effect of litter order, duration of acclimation to long days, and phenotype on basal cost of living we measured basal metabolic rate (BMR) of hamsters. RESULTS Individuals born in third litters had faster growth rates and were bigger than individuals from first litters, but these differences vanished before transfer to SP. Litter order or duration of LP acclimation had no effects on torpor use or seasonal body mass changes, but prolonged acclimation to LP inhibited winter molting both in first and third litters. Moreover, individuals that did not molt had significantly higher BMR in SP than those which molted to white fur. Although one phenotype usually predominated within a litter, littermates were often heterogeneous. We also found that over 10% of individuals presented late response to short photoperiod. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that duration of postnatal exposure to LP may define propensity to photoresponsiveness, regardless of the litter in which animal was born. Existence of littermates presenting different phenotypes suggests a prudent reproductive strategy of investing into offspring of varied phenotypes, that might be favored depending on environmental conditions. This strategy could have evolved in response to living in stochastic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna S Przybylska-Piech
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology and Ecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland.
| | - Michał S Wojciechowski
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology and Ecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Jefimow
- Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
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Strickland BK, Dixon PG, Jones PD, Demarais S, Owen NO, Cox DA, Landry-Guyton K, Baldwin WM, McKinley WT. Cohort antler size signals environmental stress in a moderate climate. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2020; 64:611-621. [PMID: 31900588 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-019-01850-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Research in northern latitudes confirms that climate teleconnections exert important influences on ungulate fitness, but studies from regions with milder climates are lacking. We explored the influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Northern Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on male, 2.5-year-old white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) antler and body mass in Mississippi, USA, a region with mild winters and warm, humid summers. Explanatory variables were seasonal averages of each climate index extending back to 3 years prior to account for possible maternal and lag effects. Seasonal climate indices from the period of gestation and the first year of life were correlated with deer morphometrics. Reduced antler mass was largely correlated (R2 = 0.52) with PDO values indicating dry conditions during parturition and neonatal development and NAO values indicating warmer than normal winters during gestation and the first year of life. Body mass was less correlated (R2 = 0.16) to climate indices, responding negatively to warmer winter weather during the first winter of life. Climate may promote variable fitness among cohorts through long-term effects on male competition for dominance and breeding access. Because broad-scale climate indices simplify complex weather systems, they may benefit management at larger scales. Although this study compared climate with morphological variables, it is likely that demographic characteristics can likewise be modeled using climate indices. As climate change in this region is projected to include greater variability in summer precipitation, we may see concomitantly greater variability in fitness among cohorts of white-tailed deer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronson K Strickland
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA.
| | - P Grady Dixon
- Department of Geosciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS, USA
| | - Phillip D Jones
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - Stephen Demarais
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - Nathan O Owen
- Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Box 5448, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - David A Cox
- Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Box 5448, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - Katie Landry-Guyton
- Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Box 5448, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - W Mark Baldwin
- Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Box 5448, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - William T McKinley
- Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks, Jackson, MS, 39211, USA
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Peterson BC, Schoenebeck CW, Fryda NJ. Effects of extreme environmental conditions on white‐tailed deer antlers. WILDLIFE SOC B 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/wsb.1019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian C. Peterson
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Nebraska at Kearney 2401 11th Avenue Kearney NE 68849 USA
| | - Casey W. Schoenebeck
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Nebraska at Kearney 2401 11th Avenue Kearney NE 68849 USA
| | - Nicolas J. Fryda
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 1617 1st Avenue Kearney NE 68847 USA
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