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Thierry M, Cote J, Bestion E, Legrand D, Clobert J, Jacob S. The interplay between abiotic and biotic factors in dispersal decisions in metacommunities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230137. [PMID: 38913055 PMCID: PMC11391301 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Suitable conditions for species to survive and reproduce constitute their ecological niche, which is built by abiotic conditions and interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics. Organisms should ideally assess and use information about all these environmental dimensions to adjust their dispersal decisions depending on their own internal conditions. Dispersal plasticity is often considered through its dependence on abiotic conditions or conspecific density and, to a lesser extent, with reference to the effects of interactions with heterospecifics, potentially leading to misinterpretation of dispersal drivers. Here, we first review the evidence for the effects of and the potential interplays between abiotic factors, biotic interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics and phenotype on dispersal decisions. We then present an experimental test of these potential interplays, investigating the effects of density and interactions with conspecifics and heterospecifics on temperature-dependent dispersal in microcosms of Tetrahymena ciliates. We found significant differences in dispersal rates depending on the temperature, density and presence of another strain or species. However, the presence and density of conspecifics and heterospecifics had no effects on the thermal-dependency of dispersal. We discuss the causes and consequences of the (lack of) interplay between the different environmental dimensions and the phenotype for metacommunity assembly and dynamics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Diversity-dependence of dispersal: interspecific interactions determine spatial dynamics'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Thierry
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Julien Cote
- Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), UMR 5300 CNRS-IRD-TINP-UT3 Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Bât. 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne , Toulouse Cedex 9 31062, France
| | - Elvire Bestion
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Delphine Legrand
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Jean Clobert
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR 2029, CNRS , Moulis 09200, France
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2
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Brans V, Manzi F, Jacob S, Schtickzelle N. Demography and movement patterns of a freshwater ciliate: The influence of oxygen availability. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11291. [PMID: 38660468 PMCID: PMC11040103 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11291] [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: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
In freshwater habitats, aerobic animals and microorganisms can react to oxygen deprivation by a series of behavioural and physiological changes, either as a direct consequence of hindered performance or as adaptive responses towards hypoxic conditions. Since oxygen availability can vary throughout the water column, different strategies exist to avoid hypoxia, including that of active 'flight' from low-oxygen sites. Alternatively, some organisms may invest in slower movement, saving energy until conditions return to more favourable levels, which may be described as a 'sit-and-wait' strategy. Here, we aimed to determine which, if any, of these strategies could be used by the freshwater ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila when faced with decreasing levels of oxygen availability in the culture medium. We manipulated oxygen flux into clonal cultures of six strains (i.e. genotypes) and followed their growth kinetics for several weeks using automated image analysis, allowing to precisely quantify changes in density, morphology and movement patterns. Oxygen effects on demography and morphology were comparable across strains: reducing oxygen flux decreased the growth rate and maximal density of experimental cultures, while greatly expanding the duration of their stationary phase. Cells sampled during their exponential growth phase were larger and had a more elongated shape under hypoxic conditions, likely mirroring a shift in resource investment towards individual development rather than frequent divisions. In addition to these general patterns, we found evidence for intraspecific variability in movement responses to oxygen limitation. Some strains showed a reduction in swimming speed, potentially associated with a 'sit-and-wait' strategy; however, the frequent alteration of movement paths towards more linear trajectories also suggests the existence of an inducible 'flight response' in this species. Considering the inherent costs of turns associated with non-linear movement, such a strategy may allow ciliates to escape suboptimal environments at a low energetic cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Brans
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life InstituteUniversité catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Florent Manzi
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life InstituteUniversité catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life InstituteUniversité catholique de LouvainLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
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3
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Wolfe E, Cerini F, Besson M, O'Brien D, Clements CF. Spatiotemporal thermal variation drives diversity trends in experimental landscapes. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:430-441. [PMID: 36494717 PMCID: PMC10108128 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13867] [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: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Temperature is a fundamental driver of species' vital rates and thus coexistence, extinctions and community composition. While temperature is neither static in space nor in time, little work has incorporated spatiotemporal dynamics into community-level investigations of thermal variation. We conducted a microcosm experiment using ciliate protozoa to test the effects of temperatures fluctuating synchronously or asynchronously on communities in two-patch landscapes connected by short or long corridors. We monitored the abundance of each species for 4 weeks-equivalent to ~28 generations-measuring the effects of four temperature regimes and two corridor lengths on community diversity and composition. While corridor length significantly altered the trajectory of diversity change in the communities, this did not result in different community structures at the end of the experiment. The type of thermal variation significantly affected both the temporal dynamics of diversity change and final community composition, with synchronous fluctuation causing deterministic extinctions that were consistent across replicates and spatial variation causing the greatest diversity declines. Our results suggest that the presence and type of thermal variation can play an important role in structuring ecological communities, especially when it interacts with dispersal between habitat patches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie Wolfe
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Francesco Cerini
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Marc Besson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,Sorbonne Université CNRS UMR Biologie des organismes marins, BIOM, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Duncan O'Brien
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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4
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Campana JLM, Raffard A, Chaine AS, Huet M, Legrand D, Jacob S. Dispersal plasticity driven by variation in fitness across species and environmental gradients. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2410-2421. [PMID: 36198081 PMCID: PMC9827879 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal plasticity, when organisms adjust their dispersal decisions depending on their environment, can play a major role in ecological and evolutionary dynamics, but how it relates to fitness remains scarcely explored. Theory predicts that high dispersal plasticity should evolve when environmental gradients have a strong impact on fitness. Using microcosms, we tested in five species of the genus Tetrahymena whether dispersal plasticity relates to differences in fitness sensitivity along three environmental gradients. Dispersal plasticity was species- and environment-dependent. As expected, dispersal plasticity was generally related to fitness sensitivity, with higher dispersal plasticity when fitness is more affected by environmental gradients. Individuals often preferentially disperse out of low fitness environments, but leaving environments that should yield high fitness was also commonly observed. We provide empirical support for a fundamental, but largely untested, assumption in dispersal theory: the extent of dispersal plasticity correlates with fitness sensitivity to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Allan Raffard
- Université catholique de Louvain, Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research CentreLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium,Present address:
Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, INRAE, CARRTELThonon‐les‐BainsFrance
| | - Alexis S. Chaine
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et ExpérimentaleUAR CNRS 2029MoulisFrance
| | - Michèle Huet
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et ExpérimentaleUAR CNRS 2029MoulisFrance
| | - Delphine Legrand
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et ExpérimentaleUAR CNRS 2029MoulisFrance
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et ExpérimentaleUAR CNRS 2029MoulisFrance
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5
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Wolfe E, Hammill E, Memmott J, Clements CF. Landscape configuration affects probability of apex predator presence and community structure in experimental metacommunities. Oecologia 2022; 199:193-204. [PMID: 35523981 PMCID: PMC9120115 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05178-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, highlighting the urgent requirement for well-designed protected areas. Design tactics previously proposed to promote biodiversity include enhancing the number, connectivity, and heterogeneity of reserve patches. However, how the importance of these features changes depending on what the conservation objective is remains poorly understood. Here we use experimental landscapes containing ciliate protozoa to investigate how the number and heterogeneity in size of habitat patches, rates of dispersal between neighbouring patches, and mortality risk of dispersal across the non-habitat ‘matrix’ interact to affect a number of diversity measures. We show that increasing the number of patches significantly increases γ diversity and reduces the overall number of extinctions, whilst landscapes with heterogeneous patch sizes have significantly higher γ diversity than those with homogeneous patch sizes. Furthermore, the responses of predators depended on their feeding specialism, with generalist predator presence being highest in a single large patch, whilst specialist predator presence was highest in several-small patches with matrix dispersal. Our evidence emphasises the importance of considering multiple diversity measures to disentangle community responses to patch configuration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie Wolfe
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Edd Hammill
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Jane Memmott
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
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6
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Cayuela H, Jacob S, Schtickzelle N, Verdonck R, Philippe H, Laporte M, Huet M, Bernatchez L, Legrand D. Transgenerational plasticity of dispersal‐related traits in a ciliate: genotype‐dependency and fitness consequences. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Cayuela
- Dépt de Biologie, Inst. de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Univ. Laval, Pavillon Charles‐Eugène‐Marchand Québec QC Canada
- Dept of Ecology and Evolution, Univ. of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (UAR 2029), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier Univ. (UPS) Moulis France
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Univ. Catholique de Louvain, Earth and Life Inst., Biodiversity Research Centre Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
| | - Rik Verdonck
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (UAR 2029), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier Univ. (UPS) Moulis France
| | - Hervé Philippe
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (UAR 2029), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier Univ. (UPS) Moulis France
- Dépt de Biochimie, Centre Robert‐Cedergren, Univ. de Montréal Montréal QC Canada
| | - Martin Laporte
- Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parc (MFFP) du Québec Québec QC Canada
| | - Michèle Huet
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (UAR 2029), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier Univ. (UPS) Moulis France
| | - Louis Bernatchez
- Dépt de Biologie, Inst. de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Univ. Laval, Pavillon Charles‐Eugène‐Marchand Québec QC Canada
| | - Delphine Legrand
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station (UAR 2029), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paul Sabatier Univ. (UPS) Moulis France
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7
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Faillace CA, Sentis A, Montoya JM. Eco-evolutionary consequences of habitat warming and fragmentation in communities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1933-1950. [PMID: 33998139 PMCID: PMC7614044 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Eco-evolutionary dynamics can mediate species and community responses to habitat warming and fragmentation, two of the largest threats to biodiversity and ecosystems. The eco-evolutionary consequences of warming and fragmentation are typically studied independently, hindering our understanding of their simultaneous impacts. Here, we provide a new perspective rooted in trade-offs among traits for understanding their eco-evolutionary consequences. On the one hand, temperature influences traits related to metabolism, such as resource acquisition and activity levels. Such traits are also likely to have trade-offs with other energetically costly traits, like antipredator defences or dispersal. On the other hand, fragmentation can influence a variety of traits (e.g. dispersal) through its effects on the spatial environment experienced by individuals, as well as properties of populations, such as genetic structure. The combined effects of warming and fragmentation on communities should thus reflect their collective impact on traits of individuals and populations, as well as trade-offs at multiple trophic levels, leading to unexpected dynamics when effects are not additive and when evolutionary responses modulate them. Here, we provide a road map to navigate this complexity. First, we review single-species responses to warming and fragmentation. Second, we focus on consumer-resource interactions, considering how eco-evolutionary dynamics can arise in response to warming, fragmentation, and their interaction. Third, we illustrate our perspective with several example scenarios in which trait trade-offs could result in significant eco-evolutionary dynamics. Specifically, we consider the possible eco-evolutionary consequences of (i) evolution in thermal performance of a species involved in a consumer-resource interaction, (ii) ecological or evolutionary changes to encounter and attack rates of consumers, and (iii) changes to top consumer body size in tri-trophic food chains. In these scenarios, we present a number of novel, sometimes counter-intuitive, potential outcomes. Some of these expectations contrast with those solely based on ecological dynamics, for example, evolutionary responses in unexpected directions for resource species or unanticipated population declines in top consumers. Finally, we identify several unanswered questions about the conditions most likely to yield strong eco-evolutionary dynamics, how better to incorporate the role of trade-offs among traits, and the role of eco-evolutionary dynamics in governing responses to warming in fragmented communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara A. Faillace
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), 2 Route du CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France,Address for correspondence (Tel: +33 5 61 04 05 89; )
| | - Arnaud Sentis
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), 2 Route du CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France,INRAE, Aix Marseille University, UMR RECOVER, 3275 Route de Cézanne- CS 40061, Aix-en-Provence Cedex 5, 13182, France
| | - José M. Montoya
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), 2 Route du CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
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8
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Plastic cell morphology changes during dispersal. iScience 2021; 24:102915. [PMID: 34430806 PMCID: PMC8367785 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Dispersal is the movement of organisms from one habitat to another that potentially results in gene flow. It is often plastic, allowing organisms to adjust dispersal movements depending on environmental conditions. A fundamental aim in ecology is to understand the determinants underlying dispersal and its plasticity. We utilized 22 strains of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila to determine if different phenotypic dispersal strategies co-exist within a species and which mechanisms underlie this variability. We quantified the cell morphologies impacting cell motility and dispersal. Distinct differences in innate cellular morphology and dispersal rates were detected, but no universally utilized combinations of morphological parameters correlate with dispersal. Rather, multiple distinct and plastic morphological changes impact cilia-dependent motility during dispersal, especially in proficient dispersing strains facing challenging environmental conditions. Combining ecology and cell biology experiments, we show that dispersal can be promoted through plastic motility-associated changes to cell morphology and motile cilia.
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9
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Laurent E, Schtickzelle N, Jacob S. Fragmentation mediates thermal habitat choice in ciliate microcosms. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192818. [PMID: 31992166 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation is expected to reduce dispersal movements among patches as a result of increased inter-patch distances. Furthermore, since habitat fragmentation is expected to raise the costs of moving among patches in the landscape, it should hamper the ability or tendency of organisms to perform informed dispersal decisions. Here, we used microcosms of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila to test experimentally whether habitat fragmentation, manipulated through the length of corridors connecting patches differing in temperature, affects habitat choice. We showed that a twofold increase of inter-patch distance can as expected hamper the ability of organisms to choose their habitat at immigration. Interestingly, it also increased their habitat choice at emigration, suggesting that organisms become choosier in their decision to either stay or leave their patch when obtaining information about neighbouring patches gets harder. This study points out that habitat fragmentation might affect not only dispersal rate but also the level of non-randomness of dispersal, with emigration and immigration decisions differently affected. These consequences of fragmentation might considerably modify ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations facing environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Laurent
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Earth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research Centre, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4, L7-07-04, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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