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Duran LH, Wilson DT, Salih M, Rymer TL. Interactions between physiology and behaviour provide insights into the ecological role of venom in Australian funnel-web spiders: Interspecies comparison. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285866. [PMID: 37216354 PMCID: PMC10202279 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Australian funnel-web spiders are iconic species, characterized as being the most venomous spiders in the world. They are also valued for the therapeutics and natural bioinsecticides potentially hidden in their venom molecules. Although numerous biochemical and molecular structural approaches have tried to determine the factors driving venom complexity, these approaches have not considered behaviour, physiology and environmental conditions collectively, which can play a role in the evolution, complexity, and function of venom components in funnel-webs. This study used a novel interdisciplinary approach to understand the relationships between different behaviours (assessed in different ecological contexts) and morphophysiological variables (body condition, heart rate) that may affect venom composition in four species of Australian funnel-web spiders. We tested defensiveness, huddling behaviour, frequency of climbing, and activity for all species in three ecological contexts: i) predation using both indirect (puff of air) and direct (prodding) stimuli; ii) conspecific tolerance; and iii) exploration of a new territory. We also assessed morphophysiological variables and venom composition of all species. For Hadronyche valida, the expression of some venom components was associated with heart rate and defensiveness during the predation context. However, we did not find any associations between behavioural traits and morphophysiological variables in the other species, suggesting that particular associations may be species-specific. When we assessed differences between species, we found that the species separated out based on the venom profiles, while activity and heart rate are likely more affected by individual responses and microhabitat conditions. This study demonstrates how behavioural and morphophysiological traits are correlated with venom composition and contributes to a broader understanding of the function and evolution of venoms in funnel-web spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Hernández Duran
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
- Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
| | - David Thomas Wilson
- Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
| | - Mohamed Salih
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tasmin Lee Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
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2
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McDonald GC. The impact of small groups on pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10057. [PMID: 37153025 PMCID: PMC10154804 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is a key evolutionary force but varies widely between populations. Two key factors that influence sexual selection are the extent to which females copulate with multiple males (polyandry) and variation in the social environment. Increasing research demonstrates populations are structured by complex socio-sexual networks, and the structure of these networks can influence sexual selection by shaping the relationship between male precopulatory mating success and the intensity of postcopulatory competition. However, comparatively less attention has been dedicated to the influence of group structure on sexual selection and how differences in the size of groups may impact on the relative force of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations. The presence of groups (i.e., group structure) and the size of groups varies widely in nature and forms an implicit part of much experimental sexual selection research under laboratory conditions. Here I use simulations of mating competition within populations that vary in the size of groups they contain, to show that variation in group size, and in particular small groups, can influence sexual selection. Specifically, I show that null expectations for the operation of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection is governed by the size of groups within populations because smaller group sizes constrain the structure of sexual networks leading to reinforcing episodes of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. Given broad variation in group structure in nature and the tendency for experimental sexual selection research to study replicate small groups, these effects have implications for our understanding of the operation of sexual selection in polyandrous populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant C. McDonald
- Department of EcologyUniversity of Veterinary Medicine BudapestBudapestHungary
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3
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Carleial R, Pizzari T, Richardson DS, McDonald GC. Disentangling the causes of temporal variation in the opportunity for sexual selection. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1006. [PMID: 36813810 PMCID: PMC9947164 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36536-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
In principle, temporal fluctuations in the potential for sexual selection can be estimated as changes in intrasexual variance in reproductive success (i.e. the opportunity for selection). However, we know little about how opportunity measures vary over time, and the extent to which such dynamics are affected by stochasticity. We use published mating data from multiple species to investigate temporal variation in the opportunity for sexual selection. First, we show that the opportunity for precopulatory sexual selection typically declines over successive days in both sexes and shorter sampling periods lead to substantial overestimates. Second, by utilising randomised null models, we also find that these dynamics are largely explained by an accumulation of random matings, but that intrasexual competition may slow temporal declines. Third, using data from a red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) population, we show that declines in precopulatory measures over a breeding period were mirrored by declines in the opportunity for both postcopulatory and total sexual selection. Collectively, we show that variance-based metrics of selection change rapidly, are highly sensitive to sampling durations, and likely lead to substantial misinterpretation if used as indicators of sexual selection. However, simulations can begin to disentangle stochastic variation from biological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rômulo Carleial
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
- Science Directorate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE, UK.
| | - Tommaso Pizzari
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | | | - Grant C McDonald
- Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, 1077, Hungary.
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4
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Collier M, Albery GF, McDonald GC, Bansal S. Pathogen transmission modes determine contact network structure, altering other pathogen characteristics. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221389. [PMID: 36515115 PMCID: PMC9748778 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogen traits can vary greatly and heavily impact the ability of a pathogen to persist in a population. Although this variation is fundamental to disease ecology, little is known about the evolutionary pressures that drive these differences, particularly where they interact with host behaviour. We hypothesized that host behaviours relevant to different transmission routes give rise to differences in contact network structure, constraining the space over which pathogen traits can evolve to maximize fitness. Our analysis of 232 contact networks across mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods, fish and molluscs found that contact network topology varies by contact type, most notably in networks that are representative of fluid-exchange transmission. Using infectious disease model simulations, we showed that these differences in network structure suggest pathogens transmitted through fluid-exchange contact types will need traits associated with high transmissibility to successfully proliferate, compared to pathogens that transmit through other types of contact. These findings were supported through a review of known traits of pathogens that transmit in humans. Our work demonstrates that contact network structure may drive the evolution of compensatory pathogen traits according to transmission strategy, providing essential context for understanding pathogen evolution and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Collier
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Gregory F. Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA,Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Grant C. McDonald
- Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Shweta Bansal
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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5
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Holtmann B, Lara CE, Santos ESA, Gillum JE, Gemmell NJ, Nakagawa S. The association between personalities, alternative breeding strategies and reproductive success in dunnocks. J Evol Biol 2021; 35:539-551. [PMID: 34314544 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although consistent between-individual differences in behaviour (i.e. animal personality) are ubiquitous in natural populations, relatively few studies have examined how personalities influence the formation of social relationships. Yet, behavioural characteristics of both sexes might be key when it comes to pair-bond formation, and cooperation with partners to successfully rear offspring. We here use a wild population of dunnocks (Prunella modularis) to first investigate whether individuals mate nonrandomly (i.e. assortative mating) with regard to four behavioural traits-flight-initiation distance (FID), provisioning, activity and vigilance-that differ in repeatability and have previously been associated with mating patterns and fitness in other species. Second, we test whether an individual's FID is associated with variability in the dunnocks' mating system (i.e. monogamous pairs vs. polygamous groups). Finally, we determine whether FID and provisioning of males and females associate with their reproductive success. We found no statistical support for assortative mating in FID between males and females. Interestingly, in polygamous groups, co-breeding males differed in their FIDs with dominant alpha males having significantly shorter FIDs compared with subordinate beta-males. Moreover, there was evidence for assortative mating in provisioning for alpha males and females in polygamous groups. We also found that male provisioning influenced reproductive success of both sexes, whereas female provisioning rates only positively correlated with her own but not their partner(s) reproductive output. Our results suggest that personality differences may have important implications for social relationships, the emergence of different mating patterns and ultimately reproductive success within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt Holtmann
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Carlos E Lara
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Eduardo S A Santos
- BECO Lab, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Joanne E Gillum
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Neil J Gemmell
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Fisher DN, Kilgour RJ, Siracusa ER, Foote JR, Hobson EA, Montiglio PO, Saltz JB, Wey TW, Wice EW. Anticipated effects of abiotic environmental change on intraspecific social interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2661-2693. [PMID: 34212487 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom. A variety of ecological and evolutionary processes are dependent on social interactions, such as movement, disease spread, information transmission, and density-dependent reproduction and survival. Social interactions, like any behaviour, are context dependent, varying with environmental conditions. Currently, environments are changing rapidly across multiple dimensions, becoming warmer and more variable, while habitats are increasingly fragmented and contaminated with pollutants. Social interactions are expected to change in response to these stressors and to continue to change into the future. However, a comprehensive understanding of the form and magnitude of the effects of these environmental changes on social interactions is currently lacking. Focusing on four major forms of rapid environmental change currently occurring, we review how these changing environmental gradients are expected to have immediate effects on social interactions such as communication, agonistic behaviours, and group formation, which will thereby induce changes in social organisation including mating systems, dominance hierarchies, and collective behaviour. Our review covers intraspecific variation in social interactions across environments, including studies in both the wild and in laboratory settings, and across a range of taxa. The expected responses of social behaviour to environmental change are diverse, but we identify several general themes. First, very dry, variable, fragmented, or polluted environments are likely to destabilise existing social systems. This occurs as these conditions limit the energy available for complex social interactions and affect dissimilar phenotypes differently. Second, a given environmental change can lead to opposite responses in social behaviour, and the direction of the response often hinges on the natural history of the organism in question. Third, our review highlights the fact that changes in environmental factors are not occurring in isolation: multiple factors are changing simultaneously, which may have antagonistic or synergistic effects, and more work should be done to understand these combined effects. We close by identifying methodological and analytical techniques that might help to study the response of social interactions to changing environments, highlight consistent patterns among taxa, and predict subsequent evolutionary change. We expect that the changes in social interactions that we document here will have consequences for individuals, groups, and for the ecology and evolution of populations, and therefore warrant a central place in the study of animal populations, particularly in an era of rapid environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Fisher
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, U.K
| | - R Julia Kilgour
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, U.S.A
| | - Erin R Siracusa
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4PY, U.K
| | - Jennifer R Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2G4, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 318 College Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, U.S.A
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, 141 Avenue Président-Kennedy, Montréal, QC, H2X 3X8, Canada
| | - Julia B Saltz
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
| | - Tina W Wey
- Maelstrom Research, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada
| | - Eric W Wice
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
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Perez A, Montiglio PO, Wey TW, Sih A. Male social plasticity influences transient dynamics in the emergence of alternative mating systems in water striders. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractAnimal mating systems are often studied with the goal of understanding why species, populations, or groups vary from one another in the system they display. Although these differences are often treated as basically stable, it is also known that mating systems may shift over time (e.g., from one breeding season to the next). There has been some study of how ecological factors correlate with these changes; however, few, if any, studies have investigated how the phenotypic composition of a group governs the timing and probability of these mating system transitions. Groups of stream water striders (Aquarius remigis) can experience rapid changes in mating system dynamics, with small groups often transitioning into a system in which a single, large male monopolizes mating opportunities. We asked if variation in individual- and group-level traits associated with morphology and behavior (e.g., size of the largest individual, average activity behavioral type in the group) could partially explain the variability in how rapidly groups make this transition, if they make it at all. We show that groups with males that exhibit higher social plasticity tended to take longer to transition to a mating system dominated by a single male. Our results, therefore, suggest that groups in identical ecological conditions can diverge in their mating systems based on how much individuals in the group change their behavior in response to the behavior of other members of the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Perez
- Department of Entomology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Pierre-Olivio Montiglio
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Tina W Wey
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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8
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Gallup AC, Pietruch K, Eldakar OT. Plasticity of Mating Duration in Response to Slightly Biased Operational Sex Ratios in the Water Strider (Aquarius remigis): The Effect of Cohabitation Under Standard Laboratory Conditions. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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9
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Perry JC, Rowe L. Sexual conflict in its ecological setting. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170418. [PMID: 30150217 PMCID: PMC6125725 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual conflict can lead to rapid and continuous coevolution between females and males, without any inputs from varying ecology. Yet both the degree of conflict and selection on antagonistic traits are known to be sensitive to local ecological conditions. This leads to the longstanding question: to what extent does variation in ecological context drive sexually antagonistic coevolution? In water striders, there is much information about the impacts of ecological factors on conflict, and about patterns of antagonistic coevolution. However, the connection between the two is poorly understood. Here, we first review the multiple ways in which ecological context might affect the coevolutionary trajectory of the sexes. We then review ecological and coevolutionary patterns in water striders, and connections between them, in light of theory and new data. Our analysis suggests that ecological variation does impact observed patterns of antagonistic coevolution, but highlights significant uncertainty due to the multiple pathways by which ecological factors can influence conflict and its evolutionary outcome. To the extent that water striders are a reasonable reflection of other systems, this observation serves as both an opportunity and a warning: there is much to learn, but gaining insight may be a daunting process in many systems.This article is part of the theme issue 'Linking local adaptation with the evolution of sex differences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C Perry
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3XZ, UK
- Jesus College, Oxford OX1 3DW, UK
| | - Locke Rowe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Canada M5S 3B2
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10
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The fitness cost to females of exposure to males does not depend on water availability in seed beetles. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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