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Badger JJ, Bowen WD, den Heyer CE, Breed GA. Individual Quality Drives Life History Variation in a Long-Lived Marine Predator. Am Nat 2023; 202:351-367. [PMID: 37606942 DOI: 10.1086/725451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
AbstractIndividual quality and environmental conditions may mask or interact with energetic trade-offs in life history evolution. Deconstructing these sources of variation is especially difficult in long-lived species that are rarely observed on timescales long enough to disentangle these effects. Here, we investigated relative support for variation in female quality and costs of reproduction as factors shaping differences in life history trajectories using a 32-year dataset of repeated reproductive measurements from 273 marked, known-age female gray seals (Halichoerus grypus). We defined individual reproductive investment using two traits, reproductive frequency (a female's probability of breeding) and provisioning performance (offspring weaning mass). Fitted hierarchical Bayesian models identified individual investment relative to conspecifics (over a female's entire life and in three age classes) and subsequently estimated how these investment metrics and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation are associated with longevity. Individual differences (i.e., quality) contributed a large portion of the variance in reproductive traits. Females that consistently invest well in their offspring relative to other females survive longer. The best-supported model estimated survival as a function of age class-specific provisioning performance, where late-life performance was particularly variable and had the greatest impact on survival, possibly indicating individual variation in senescence. There was no evidence to support a trade-off in reproductive performance and survival at the individual level. Overall, these results suggest that in gray seals, individual quality is a stronger driver in life history variation than individual strategies resulting from energetic trade-offs.
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2
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Eriksen LF, Ringsby TH, Pedersen HC, Nilsen EB. Climatic forcing and individual heterogeneity in a resident mountain bird: legacy data reveal effects on reproductive strategies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221427. [PMID: 37234506 PMCID: PMC10206478 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Optimization of clutch size and timing of reproduction have substantial effects on lifetime reproductive success in vertebrates, and both individual quality and environmental variation may impact life history strategies. We tested hypotheses related to maternal investment and timing of reproduction, using 17 years (1978-1994) of individual-based life history data on willow ptarmigan (Lagopus l. lagopus, n = 290 breeding females with n = 319 breeding attempts) in central Norway. We analysed whether climatic variation and individual state variables (age and body mass) affected the number of offspring and timing of reproduction, and individual repeatability in strategies. The results suggest that willow ptarmigan share a common optimal clutch size that is largely independent of measured individual states. While we found no clear direct weather effects on clutch size, higher spring temperatures advanced onset of breeding, and early breeding was followed by an increased number of offspring. Warmer springs were positively related to maternal mass, and mass interacted with clutch size in production of hatchlings. Finally, clutch size and timing of reproduction were highly repeatable within individuals, indicating that individual quality guided trade-offs in reproductive effort. Our results demonstrate how climatic forcing and individual heterogeneity in combination influenced life history traits in a resident montane keystone species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lasse Frost Eriksen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
- Terrestrial Biodiversity Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
- Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture (FBA), Nord University, 7713 Steinkjer, Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Hans Chr. Pedersen
- Terrestrial Biodiversity Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Erlend B. Nilsen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
- Terrestrial Biodiversity Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), 7034 Trondheim, Norway
- Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture (FBA), Nord University, 7713 Steinkjer, Norway
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3
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Jenouvrier S, Aubry L, van Daalen S, Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H, Caswell H. When the going gets tough, the tough get going: Effect of extreme climate on an Antarctic seabird's life history. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2120-2131. [PMID: 35981228 PMCID: PMC9804658 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Individuals differ in many ways. Most produce few offspring; a handful produce many. Some die early; others live to old age. It is tempting to attribute these differences in outcomes to differences in individual traits, and thus in the demographic rates experienced. However, there is more to individual variation than meets the eye of the biologist. Even among individuals sharing identical traits, life history outcomes (life expectancy and lifetime reproduction) will vary due to individual stochasticity, that is to chance. Quantifying the contributions of heterogeneity and chance is essential to understand natural variability. Interindividual differences vary across environmental conditions, hence heterogeneity and stochasticity depend on environmental conditions. We show that favourable conditions increase the contributions of individual stochasticity, and reduce the contributions of heterogeneity, to variance in demographic outcomes in a seabird population. The opposite is true under poor conditions. This result has important consequence for understanding the ecology and evolution of life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Jenouvrier
- Biology Department, MS‐50Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMassachusettsUSA
| | - Lise Aubry
- Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology DepartmentColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Silke van Daalen
- Biology Department, MS‐50Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMassachusettsUSA
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de ChizéUMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La RochelleVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de ChizéUMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La RochelleVilliers en BoisFrance
| | - Hal Caswell
- Biology Department, MS‐50Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleMassachusettsUSA,Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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4
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Bennett S, Wanless S, Harris MP, Newell MA, Searle K, Green JA, Daunt F. Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially-breeding seabird. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:752-765. [PMID: 35157312 PMCID: PMC9305850 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Density-dependent regulation can offer resilience to wild populations experiencing fluctuations in environmental conditions because, at lower population sizes, the average quality of habitats or resources is predicted to increase. Site-dependent regulation is a mechanism whereby individuals breed at the highest quality, most successful, sites, leaving poorer quality, less successful sites vacant. As population size increases, higher quality sites become limiting but when populations decline, lower quality sites are vacated first, offering resilience. This process is known as the 'buffer effect'. However, few studies have tested whether such regulation operates in populations experiencing changes in size and trend. We used data from a population of common guillemots Uria aalge, a colonially breeding seabird, to investigate the relationship between site occupancy probability, site quality and population size and trend. These data were collected at five sub-colonies spanning a 38-year period (1981-2018) comprising phases of population increase, decrease and recovery. We first tested whether site quality and population size in sub-colonies explained which sites were occupied for breeding, and if this was robust to changes in sub-colony trend. We then investigated whether disproportionate use of higher quality sites drove average site quality and breeding success across sub-colony sizes and trends. Finally, we tested whether individuals consistently occupied higher quality sites during periods of decline and recovery. Higher quality sites were disproportionality used when sub-colony size was smaller, resulting in higher average site quality and breeding success at lower population sizes. This relationship was unaffected by changes in sub-colony trend. However, contrary to the predictions of the buffer effect, new sites were established at a similar rate to historically occupied sites during sub-colony decline and recovery despite being of lower quality. Our results provide support for the buffer effect conferring resilience to populations, such that average breeding success was consistently higher at lower population size during all phases of population change. However, this process was tempered by the continued establishment of new, lower quality, sites which could act to slow population recovery after periods when colony size was low.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Bennett
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK.,School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Sarah Wanless
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
| | - Michael P Harris
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
| | - Mark A Newell
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
| | - Kate Searle
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
| | - Jonathan A Green
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Francis Daunt
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK
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5
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Wood MJ, Canonne C, Besnard A, Lachish S, Fairhurst SM, Liedvogel M, Boyle D, Patrick SC, Josey S, Kirk H, Dean B, Guilford T, McCleery RM, Perrins CM, Horswill C. Demographic profiles and environmental drivers of variation relate to individual breeding state in a long-lived trans-oceanic migratory seabird, the Manx shearwater. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260812. [PMID: 34914747 PMCID: PMC8675709 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the points in a species breeding cycle when they are most vulnerable to environmental fluctuations is key to understanding interannual demography and guiding effective conservation and management. Seabirds represent one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world, and climate change and severe weather is a prominent and increasing threat to this group. We used a multi-state capture-recapture model to examine how the demographic rates of a long-lived trans-oceanic migrant seabird, the Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus, are influenced by environmental conditions experienced at different stages of the annual breeding cycle and whether these relationships vary with an individual's breeding state in the previous year (i.e., successful breeder, failed breeder and non-breeder). Our results imply that populations of Manx shearwaters are comprised of individuals with different demographic profiles, whereby more successful reproduction is associated with higher rates of survival and breeding propensity. However, we found that all birds experienced the same negative relationship between rates of survival and wind force during the breeding season, indicating a cost of reproduction (or central place constraint for non-breeders) during years with severe weather conditions. We also found that environmental effects differentially influence the breeding propensity of individuals in different breeding states. This suggests individual spatio-temporal variation in habitat use during the annual cycle, such that climate change could alter the frequency that individuals with different demographic profiles breed thereby driving a complex and less predictable population response. More broadly, our study highlights the importance of considering individual-level factors when examining population demography and predicting how species may respond to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt J. Wood
- School of Natural & Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Coline Canonne
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE-PSL University, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélien Besnard
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE-PSL University, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | - Shelly Lachish
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Stace M. Fairhurst
- School of Natural & Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
| | - Miriam Liedvogel
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Dave Boyle
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Samantha C. Patrick
- School of Natural & Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Josey
- National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Holly Kirk
- Oxford Navigation Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ben Dean
- Oxford Navigation Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Guilford
- Oxford Navigation Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Robin M. McCleery
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Chris M. Perrins
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Cat Horswill
- ZSL Institute of Zoology, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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6
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Saraux C, Chiaradia A. Age‐related breeding success in little penguins: a result of selection and ontogenetic changes in foraging and phenology. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Saraux
- DEPE UMR7178 IPHC CNRS‐Université de Strasbourg 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg France
| | - Andre Chiaradia
- Conservation Department Phillip Island Nature Parks PO Box 97 Cowes Victoria 3922 Australia
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7
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Josimovich JM, Falk BG, Grajal-Puche A, Hanslowe EB, Bartoszek IA, Reed RN, Currylow AF. Clutch may predict growth of hatchling Burmese pythons better than food availability or sex. Biol Open 2021; 10:273482. [PMID: 34796905 PMCID: PMC8609237 DOI: 10.1242/bio.058739] [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: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying which environmental and genetic factors affect growth pattern phenotypes can help biologists predict how organisms distribute finite energy resources in response to varying environmental conditions and physiological states. This information may be useful for monitoring and managing populations of cryptic, endangered, and invasive species. Consequently, we assessed the effects of food availability, clutch, and sex on the growth of invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus Kuhl) from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem in Florida, USA. Though little is known from the wild, Burmese pythons have been physiological model organisms for decades, with most experimental research sourcing individuals from the pet trade. Here, we used 60 hatchlings collected as eggs from the nests of two wild pythons, assigned them to High or Low feeding treatments, and monitored growth and meal consumption for 12 weeks, a period when pythons are thought to grow very rapidly. None of the 30 hatchlings that were offered food prior to their fourth week post-hatching consumed it, presumably because they were relying on internal yolk stores. Although only two clutches were used in the experiment, we found that nearly all phenotypic variation was explained by clutch rather than feeding treatment or sex. Hatchlings from clutch 1 (C1) grew faster and were longer, heavier, in better body condition, ate more frequently, and were bolder than hatchlings from clutch 2 (C2), regardless of food availability. On average, C1 and C2 hatchling snout-vent length (SVL) and weight grew 0.15 cm d−1 and 0.10 cm d−1, and 0.20 g d−1 and 0.03 g d−1, respectively. Additional research may be warranted to determine whether these effects remain with larger clutch sample sizes and to identify the underlying mechanisms and fitness implications of this variation to help inform risk assessments and management. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Hatchling pythons from an invasive population displayed substantial phenotypic variation in morphometrics, growth rates, and behaviors. This information may be useful for managing populations of cryptic, endangered, and invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian M Josimovich
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034, USA
| | - Bryan G Falk
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034, USA
| | - Alejandro Grajal-Puche
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034, USA
| | - Emma B Hanslowe
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034, USA
| | | | - Robert N Reed
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
| | - Andrea F Currylow
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center - South Florida Field Station, 40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034, USA
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8
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Performance Trade-Offs in Elite Swimmers. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00179-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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9
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Queiros Q, Saraux C, Dutto G, Gasset E, Marguerite A, Brosset P, Fromentin JM, McKenzie DJ. Is starvation a cause of overmortality of the Mediterranean sardine? MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 170:105441. [PMID: 34411887 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Animal mortality is difficult to observe in marine systems, preventing a mechanistic understanding of major drivers of fish population dynamics. In particular, starvation is known to be a major cause of mortality at larval stages, but adult mortality is often unknown. In this study, we used a laboratory food-deprivation experiment, on wild caught sardine Sardina pilchardus from the Gulf of Lions. This population is interesting because mean individual phenotype shifted around 2008, becoming dominated by small, young individuals in poor body condition, a phenomenon that may result from declines in energy availability. Continuous monitoring of body mass loss and metabolic rate in 78 captive food-deprived individuals revealed that sardines could survive for up to 57 days on body reserves. Sardines submitted to long-term caloric restriction prior to food-deprivation displayed adaptive phenotypic plasticity, reducing metabolic energy expenditure and enduring starvation for longer than sardines that had not been calorie-restricted. Overall, entry into critical fasting phase 3 occurred at a body condition of 0.72. Such a degree of leanness has rarely been observed over 34 years of wild population monitoring. Still, the proportion of sardines below this threshold has doubled since 2008 and is maximal in January and February (the peak of the reproductive season), now reaching almost 10 % of the population at that time. These results indicate that the demographic changes observed in the wild may result in part from starvation-related adult mortality at the end of the winter reproductive period, despite adaptive plastic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire Saraux
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Sète, France; IPHC UMR 7178, University of Strasbourg, CNRS, DEPE, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Gilbert Dutto
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
| | - Eric Gasset
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
| | - Amandine Marguerite
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Sète, France; MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
| | - Pablo Brosset
- Ifremer, Laboratoire de Biologie Halieutique, ZI Pointe du Diable, CS 10070, 29 280, Plouzané, France; Université de Brest - UMR 6539 CNRS/UBO/IRD/Ifremer, Laboratoire des sciences de l'environnement marin - IUEM, Rue Dumont D'Urville, 29280, Plouzané, France
| | | | - David J McKenzie
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Montpellier, France
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10
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Forsythe AB, Day T, Nelson WA. Demystifying individual heterogeneity. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2282-2297. [PMID: 34288328 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Among-individual variation in vital rates, such as mortality and birth rates, exists in nearly all populations. Recent studies suggest that this individual heterogeneity produces substantial life-history and fitness differences among individuals, which in turn scale up to influence population dynamics. However, our ability to understand the consequences of individual heterogeneity is limited by inconsistencies across conceptual frameworks in the field. Studies of individual heterogeneity remain filled with contradicting and ambiguous terminology that introduces risks of misunderstandings, conflicting models and unreliable conclusions. Here, we synthesise the existing literature into a single and comparatively straightforward framework with explicit terminology and definitions. This work introduces a distinction between potential vital rates and realised vital rates to develop a coherent framework that maps directly onto mathematical models of individual heterogeneity. We suggest the terms "fixed condition" and "dynamic condition" be used to distinguish potential vital rates that are permanent from those that can change throughout an individual's life. To illustrate, we connect the framework to quantitative genetics models and to common classes of statistical models used to infer individual heterogeneity. We also develop a population projection matrix model that provides an example of how our definitions are translated into precise quantitative terms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy B Forsythe
- Department of Biology, Biosciences Complex, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Troy Day
- Department of Biology, Biosciences Complex, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.,Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - William A Nelson
- Department of Biology, Biosciences Complex, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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11
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Fokkema RW, Korsten P, Schmoll T, Wilson AJ. Social competition as a driver of phenotype-environment correlations: implications for ecology and evolution. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2561-2572. [PMID: 34145714 PMCID: PMC9290562 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
While it is universally recognised that environmental factors can cause phenotypic trait variation via phenotypic plasticity, the extent to which causal processes operate in the reverse direction has received less consideration. In fact individuals are often active agents in determining the environments, and hence the selective regimes, they experience. There are several important mechanisms by which this can occur, including habitat selection and niche construction, that are expected to result in phenotype–environment correlations (i.e. non‐random assortment of phenotypes across heterogeneous environments). Here we highlight an additional mechanism – intraspecific competition for preferred environments – that may be widespread, and has implications for phenotypic evolution that are currently underappreciated. Under this mechanism, variation among individuals in traits determining their competitive ability leads to phenotype–environment correlation; more competitive phenotypes are able to acquire better patches. Based on a concise review of the empirical evidence we argue that competition‐induced phenotype–environment correlations are likely to be common in natural populations before highlighting the major implications of this for studies of natural selection and microevolution. We focus particularly on two central issues. First, competition‐induced phenotype–environment correlation leads to the expectation that positive feedback loops will amplify phenotypic and fitness variation among competing individuals. As a result of being able to acquire a better environment, winners gain more resources and even better phenotypes – at the expense of losers. The distinction between individual quality and environmental quality that is commonly made by researchers in evolutionary ecology thus becomes untenable. Second, if differences among individuals in competitive ability are underpinned by heritable traits, competition results in both genotype–environment correlations and an expectation of indirect genetic effects (IGEs) on resource‐dependent life‐history traits. Theory tells us that these IGEs will act as (partial) constraints, reducing the amount of genetic variance available to facilitate evolutionary adaptation. Failure to recognise this will lead to systematic overestimation of the adaptive potential of populations. To understand the importance of these issues for ecological and evolutionary processes in natural populations we therefore need to identify and quantify competition‐induced phenotype–environment correlations in our study systems. We conclude that both fundamental and applied research will benefit from an improved understanding of when and how social competition causes non‐random distribution of phenotypes, and genotypes, across heterogeneous environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rienk W Fokkema
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Konsequenz 45, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany.,Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Konsequenz 45, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany.,Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Korsten
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Konsequenz 45, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany
| | - Tim Schmoll
- Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Konsequenz 45, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter (Penryn Campus), Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
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12
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Richardson J, Smiseth PT. Separating differential allocation by females from direct effects of male condition in a beetle. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Differential allocation is the adjustment of reproductive allocation, typically by a female, in response to the quality of her male partner. A recent theoretical model suggests that differential allocation may influence trade-offs between reproductive traits within a breeding attempt. Furthermore, it is often difficult to distinguish differential allocation from direct effects of male condition. We address these gaps using a novel cross-fostering design to exclude direct effects of male condition and to test whether differential allocation affects trade-offs between and within breeding attempts. This design detects differential allocation as effects of a female’s mating partner and direct effects of male condition as effects of the larvae’s sire. We used the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, a species which adjusts reproductive allocation by culling some larvae after hatching. We used food deprivation to manipulate the nutritional condition of both the female’s mating partner and the larvae’s sire. We find clear evidence for differential allocation as females mating with food-deprived males had fewer larvae than females mating with control males. There was a trade-off between number and size of larvae when females mated with control males, but a positive relationship when females mated with food-deprived males. Thus, differential allocation influenced relationships between reproductive traits within a breeding attempt, but not necessarily through trade-offs. Instead, we suggest that there may be cryptic heterogeneity in quality among females or their mating partners that was only exposed when females mated with a male in poor condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Richardson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Per T Smiseth
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh, UK
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13
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Monteith KL, Monteith KB, Jenks JA, Jakopak RP. One in the Hand Worth Two in the Bush? Reproductive Effort of Young Males Is Not Affected by the Presence of Adult Males. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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14
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Winkler DW, Hallinger KK, Pegan TM, Taff CC, Verhoeven MA, Chang van Oordt D, Stager M, Uehling JJ, Vitousek MN, Andersen MJ, Ardia DR, Belmaker A, Ferretti V, Forsman AM, Gaul JR, Llambias PE, Orzechowski SC, Shipley JR, Wilson M, Yoon HS. Full lifetime perspectives on the costs and benefits of lay-date variation in tree swallows. Ecology 2020; 101:e03109. [PMID: 32455498 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Animals must balance various costs and benefits when deciding when to breed. The costs and benefits of breeding at different times have received much attention, but most studies have been limited to investigating short-term season-to-season fitness effects. However, breeding early, versus late, in a season may influence lifetime fitness over many years, trading off in complex ways across the breeder's lifespan. In this study, we examined the complete life histories of 867 female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) breeding in Ithaca, New York, between 2002 and 2016. Earlier breeders outperformed later breeders in short-term measures of reproductive output and offspring quality. Though there were weak indications that females paid long-term future survival costs for breeding early, lifetime fledgling output was markedly higher overall in early-breeding birds. Importantly, older females breeding later in the season did not experience compensating life history advantages that suggested an alternative equal-fitness breeding strategy. Rather, most or all of the swallows appear to be breeding as early as they can, and differences in lay dates appear to be determined primarily by differences in individual quality or condition. Lay date had a significant repeatability across breeding attempts by the same female, and the first lay date of females fledged in our population was strongly influenced by the first lay date of their mothers, indicating the potential for ongoing selection on lay date. By examining performance over the entire lifespan of a large number of individuals, we were able to clarify the relationship between timing of breeding and fitness and gain new insight into the sources of variability in this important life history trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Winkler
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Kelly K Hallinger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Teresa M Pegan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48014, USA
| | - Conor C Taff
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Mo A Verhoeven
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, Groningen, 9700 CC, The Netherlands
| | - David Chang van Oordt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Maria Stager
- Ecology and Evolution, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Jennifer J Uehling
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Maren N Vitousek
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Vertebrates, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA.,Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York, 14850, USA
| | - Michael J Andersen
- Museum of Southwestern Biology & Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, USA
| | - Daniel R Ardia
- Department of Biology, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17603, USA
| | - Amos Belmaker
- The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6901127, Israel
| | - Valentina Ferretti
- Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, CONICET, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, C1428EGA CABA, Argentina
| | - Anna M Forsman
- Department of Biology, Genomics & Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, 32816, USA
| | - Jennifer R Gaul
- International High School at La Guardia Community College, Long Island City, New York, 11101, USA
| | - Paulo E Llambias
- Biología de Aves - IADIZA-CONICET, Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martin, Mendoza, 5500, Argentina
| | - Sophia C Orzechowski
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA
| | | | - Maya Wilson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061, USA
| | - Hyun Seok Yoon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
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15
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Westrick SE, Taylor RW, Boutin S, Lane JE, McAdam AG, Dantzer B. Attentive red squirrel mothers have faster growing pups and higher lifetime reproductive success. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02856-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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16
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Forage availability and maternal characteristics affect costs of reproduction in a large marsupial. Oecologia 2020; 193:97-107. [PMID: 32306115 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04653-5] [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] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Life history theory predicts trade-offs in allocation between survival, maintenance, growth, and reproduction, especially when resources are scarce. Individual variation in resource acquisition can affect trade-offs, but is often unaccounted for. We quantified the fitness costs of reproduction, accounting for environmental conditions, maternal characteristics and individual variation. We analyzed 10 years of data from marked kangaroos to evaluate how reproductive allocation affected annual mass change and skeletal growth, subsequent fecundity and weaning success, and survival, accounting for maternal mass or size and forage availability. Through repeated measurements of 76-91 females, we investigated how trade-offs varied within and between individuals, assessing whether individual variation could mask population-level trade-offs. In poor environments, females that weaned an offspring lost mass. Females that nursed an offspring for > 7 months had reduced skeletal growth. Females that did not gain mass over the previous 12 months rarely reproduced, especially if they had nursed an offspring for > 7 months the previous year. Reproductive allocation had no effect on weaning success, which was very low, and did not affect maternal survival, suggesting a conservative strategy. Disentangling within- and between-individual responses revealed trade-offs within individuals, but because individuals did not vary in their responses to earlier effort, these trade-offs did not drive population trends. The interacting effects of environmental conditions, maternal characteristics and individual variation on allocation trade-offs demonstrate the importance of long-term monitoring for understanding life history variations in changing environments.
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17
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Badger JJ, Bowen WD, den Heyer CE, Breed GA. Variation in individual reproductive performance amplified with population size in a long‐lived carnivore. Ecology 2020; 101:e03024. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janelle J. Badger
- Department of Biolog y and Wildlife University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska756100 USA
| | - W. Don Bowen
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Bedford Institute of Oceanography 1 Challenger Dr Dartmouth Nova Scotia Canada
| | - Cornelia E. den Heyer
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Bedford Institute of Oceanography 1 Challenger Dr Dartmouth Nova Scotia Canada
| | - Greg A. Breed
- Department of Biolog y and Wildlife University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska756100 USA
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska757000 USA
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18
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Horváth G, Rodríguez‐Ruiz G, Martín J, López P, Herczeg G. Maternal diet affects juvenile Carpetan rock lizard performance and personality. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14476-14488. [PMID: 31938534 PMCID: PMC6953655 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in both stable and labile state variables are known to affect the emergence and maintenance of consistent interindividual behavioral variation (animal personality or behavioral syndrome), especially when experienced early in life. Variation in environmental conditions experienced by gestating mothers (viz. nongenetic maternal effects) is known to have significant impact on offspring condition and behavior; yet, their effect on behavioral consistency is not clear. Here, by applying an orthogonal experimental design, we aimed to study whether increased vitamin D3 content in maternal diet during gestation (vitamin-supplemented vs. vitamin control treatments) combined with corticosterone treatment (corticosterone-treated vs. corticosterone control treatments) applied on freshly hatched juveniles had an effect on individual state and behavioral consistency of juvenile Carpetan rock lizards (Iberolacerta cyreni). We tested the effect of our treatments on (a) climbing speed and the following levels of behavioral variation, (b) strength of animal personality (behavioral repeatability), (c) behavioral type (individual mean behavior), and (d) behavioral predictability (within-individual behavioral variation unrelated to environmental change). We found higher locomotor performance of juveniles from the vitamin-supplemented group (42.4% increase), irrespective of corticosterone treatment. While activity personality was present in all treatments, shelter use personality was present only in the vitamin-supplemented × corticosterone-treated treatment and risk-taking personality was present in corticosterone control treatments. Contrary to our expectations, behavioral type was not affected by our treatments, indicating that individual quality can affect behavioral strategies without affecting group-level mean behavior. Behavioral predictability decreased in individuals with low climbing speed, which could be interpreted as a form of antipredator strategy. Our results clearly demonstrate that maternal diet and corticosterone treatment have the potential to induce or hamper between-individual variation in different components of boldness, often in interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
| | | | - José Martín
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Pilar López
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
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19
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Oosthuizen WC, Postma M, Altwegg R, Nevoux M, Pradel R, Bester MN, Bruyn PJN. Individual heterogeneity in life‐history trade‐offs with age at first reproduction in capital breeding elephant seals. POPUL ECOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/1438-390x.12015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- W. Chris Oosthuizen
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Martin Postma
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Res Altwegg
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
- African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
| | - Marie Nevoux
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
- UMRESE, Ecology and Ecosystem Health, Agrocampus Ouest, INRA Rennes France
| | - Roger Pradel
- Biostatistics and Population Biology Group, CEFE, CNRS, University of Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Marthán N. Bester
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - P. J. Nico Bruyn
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
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20
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Eckbo N, Le Bohec C, Planas-Bielsa V, Warner NA, Schull Q, Herzke D, Zahn S, Haarr A, Gabrielsen GW, Borgå K. Individual variability in contaminants and physiological status in a resident Arctic seabird species. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2019; 249:191-199. [PMID: 30889502 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
While migratory seabirds dominate ecotoxicological studies within the Arctic, there is limited knowledge about exposure and potential effects from circulating legacy and emerging contaminants in species who reside in the high-Arctic all year round. Here, we focus on the case of the Mandt's Black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) breeding at Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (79.00°N, 11.66°E) and investigate exposure to legacy and emerging contaminants in relation to individual physiological status, i.e. body condition, oxidative stress and relative telomere length. Despite its benthic-inshore foraging strategy, the Black guillemot displayed overall similar contaminant concentrations in blood during incubation (∑PCB11 (15.7 ng/g w.w.) > ∑PFAS5 (9.9 ng/g w.w.) > ∑Pesticides9 (6.7 ng/g w.w.) > ∑PBDE4 (2.7 ng/g w.w.), and Hg (0.3 μg/g d.w.) compared to an Arctic migratory seabird in which several contaminant-related stress responses have been observed. Black guillemots in poorer condition tended to display higher levels of contaminants, higher levels of reactive oxygen metabolites, lower plasmatic antioxidant capacity, and shorter telomere lengths; however the low sample size restrict any strong conclusions. Nevertheless, our data suggests that nonlinear relationships with a threshold may exist between accumulated contaminant concentrations and physiological status of the birds. These findings were used to build a hypothesis to be applied in future modelling for describing how chronic exposure to contaminants may be linked to telomere dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norith Eckbo
- University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, Problemveien 7, 0315, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Céline Le Bohec
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 23 rue Becquerel, F-67000, Strasbourg, France; Centre Scientifique de Monaco - Département de Biologie Polaire, 8, quai Antoine 1er, MC 98000, Monaco, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé LIA 647 BioSensib (CSM-CNRS-Unistra), 8, quai Antoine 1er, MC 98000, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Victor Planas-Bielsa
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco - Département de Biologie Polaire, 8, quai Antoine 1er, MC 98000, Monaco, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé LIA 647 BioSensib (CSM-CNRS-Unistra), 8, quai Antoine 1er, MC 98000, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Nicholas A Warner
- NILU, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Fram Centre, Hjalmar Johansens Gate 14, 9007, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Quentin Schull
- MARBEC, Ifremer, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Avenue Jean Monnet CS 30171, 34203, Sète, France
| | - Dorte Herzke
- NILU, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Fram Centre, Hjalmar Johansens Gate 14, 9007, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Sandrine Zahn
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 23 rue Becquerel, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Ane Haarr
- University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, Problemveien 7, 0315, Oslo, Norway
| | - Geir W Gabrielsen
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Hjalmar Johansens Gate 14, 9007, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Katrine Borgå
- University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, Problemveien 7, 0315, Oslo, Norway
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21
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Douhard M, Festa-Bianchet M, Hamel S, Nussey DH, Côté SD, Pemberton JM, Pelletier F. Maternal longevity and offspring sex in wild ungulates. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20181968. [PMID: 30963926 PMCID: PMC6408606 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In species with sexual size dimorphism, the offspring of the larger sex usually have greater energy requirements and may lead to greater fitness costs for parents. The effects of offspring sex on maternal longevity, however, have only been tested in humans. Human studies produced mixed results and considerable debate mainly owing to the difficulty of distinguishing the effects of sexual dimorphism from sociocultural factors. To advance this debate, we examined how the relative number of sons influenced maternal longevity in four species of free-living ungulates (Soay sheep Ovis aries; bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis; red deer, Cervus elaphus; mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus), with high male-biased sexual size dimorphism but without complicating sociocultural variables. We found no evidence for a higher cumulative cost of sons than of daughters on maternal longevity. For a given number of offspring, most females with many sons in all four populations lived longer than females with few sons. The higher cost of sons over daughters on maternal lifespan reported by some human studies may be the exception rather than the rule in long-lived iteroparous species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Douhard
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, CanadaJ1K 2R1
| | - Marco Festa-Bianchet
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, CanadaJ1K 2R1
| | - Sandra Hamel
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Daniel H. Nussey
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Steeve D. Côté
- Département de Biologie et Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Quebec, CanadaG1V 0A6
| | | | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, CanadaJ1K 2R1
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22
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Vincenzi S, Jesenšek D, Garza JC, Crivelli AJ. Stronger effects of heterozygosity on survival in harsher environments. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2018; 93:1102-1106. [PMID: 30281157 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The hypothesis that the effects of heterozygosity vary with environmental conditions was tested using six populations of marble trout Salmo marmoratus from western Slovenia as a model system. The hypotheses tested were: stronger effects of heterozygosity on survival in populations characterized by low average survival; no effects of heterozygosity on probability of surviving flash floods owing to their largely non-selective effects across traits; stronger effects of heterozygosity on survival for fish born after floods than fish born before. A significant effect of heterozygosity on survival was found in populations characterized by low average survival. There were no effects of heterozygosity on probability of surviving flash floods, but in one population a positive correlation between heterozygosity and survival for fish born after the extreme events was found, probably because crowding in a small section of the stream caused more intense competition for resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Vincenzi
- Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
- Fisheries Ecology Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | | | - John C Garza
- Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
- Fisheries Ecology Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz, California, USA
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23
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Richardson J, Smiseth PT. Effects of variation in resource acquisition during different stages of the life cycle on life-history traits and trade-offs in a burying beetle. J Evol Biol 2018; 32:19-30. [PMID: 30311711 PMCID: PMC7379983 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Individual variation in resource acquisition should have consequences for life‐history traits and trade‐offs between them because such variation determines how many resources can be allocated to different life‐history functions, such as growth, survival and reproduction. Since resource acquisition can vary across an individual's life cycle, the consequences for life‐history traits and trade‐offs may depend on when during the life cycle resources are limited. We tested for differential and/or interactive effects of variation in resource acquisition in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We designed an experiment in which individuals acquired high or low amounts of resources across three stages of the life cycle: larval development, prior to breeding and the onset of breeding in a fully crossed design. Resource acquisition during larval development and prior to breeding affected egg size and offspring survival, respectively. Meanwhile, resource acquisition at the onset of breeding affected size and number of both eggs and offspring. In addition, there were interactive effects between resource acquisition at different stages on egg size and offspring survival. However, only when females acquired few resources at the onset of breeding was there evidence for a trade‐off between offspring size and number. Our results demonstrate that individual variation in resource acquisition during different stages of the life cycle has important consequences for life‐history traits but limited effects on trade‐offs. This suggests that in species that acquire a fixed‐sized resource at the onset of breeding, the size of this resource has larger effects on life‐history trade‐offs than resources acquired at earlier stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon Richardson
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Per T Smiseth
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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24
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Plard F, Schindler S, Arlettaz R, Schaub M. Sex-Specific Heterogeneity in Fixed Morphological Traits Influences Individual Fitness in a Monogamous Bird Population. Am Nat 2018; 191:106-119. [DOI: 10.1086/694823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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26
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Wang D, Forstmeier W, Kempenaers B. No mutual mate choice for quality in zebra finches: Time to question a widely held assumption. Evolution 2017; 71:2661-2676. [PMID: 28857165 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Studies of mate choice typically assume that individuals prefer high quality mates and select them based on condition-dependent indicator traits. In species with biparental care, mutual mate choice is expected to result in assortative mating for quality. When assortment is not perfect, the lower quality pair members are expected to compensate by increased parental investment to secure their partner (positive differential allocation). This framework has been assumed to hold for monogamous species like the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), but progress has been hampered by the difficulty to define individual quality. By combining multiple measures of causes (inbreeding, early nutrition) and consequences (ornaments, displays, fitness components) of variation in quality into a single principal component, we here show that quality variation can be quantified successfully. We further show that variation in quality indeed predicts individual pairing success, presumably because it reflects an individual's vigor or ability to invest in reproduction. However, despite high statistical power, we found no evidence for either assortative mating or for positive differential allocation. We suggest that zebra finch ornaments and displays are not sufficiently reliable for the benefits of choosiness to exceed the costs of competition for the putative best partner. To assess the generality of these findings unbiased quantification of signal honesty and preference strength is required, rather than selective reporting of significant results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiping Wang
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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27
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Fay R, Barbraud C, Delord K, Weimerskirch H. From early life to senescence: individual heterogeneity in a long-lived seabird. ECOL MONOGR 2017; 88:60-73. [PMID: 30122788 PMCID: PMC6084314 DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Although population studies have long assumed that all individuals of a given sex and age are identical, ignoring among‐individual differences may strongly bias our perception of eco‐evolutionary processes. Individual heterogeneity, often referred to as individual quality, has received increasing research attention in the last decades. However, there are still substantial gaps in our current knowledge. For example, there is little information on how individual heterogeneity influences various life‐history traits simultaneously, and studies describing individual heterogeneity in wild populations are generally not able to jointly identify possible sources of this variation. Here, based on a mark–recapture data set of 9,685 known‐aged Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans), we investigated the existence of individual quality over the entire life cycle of this species, from early life to senescence. Using finite mixture models, we investigated the expression of individual heterogeneity in various demographic traits, and examined the origin of these among‐individual differences by considering the natal environmental conditions. We found that some individuals consistently outperformed others during most of their life. In old age, however, the senescence rate was stronger in males that showed high demographic performance at younger ages. Variation in individual quality seemed strongly affected by extrinsic factors experienced during the ontogenetic period. We found that individuals born in years with high population density tended to have lower performances during their lifespan, suggesting delayed density dependence effects through individual quality. Our study showed that among‐individual differences could be important in structuring individual life history trajectories, with substantial consequences at higher ecological levels such as population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Fay
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
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28
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Richard Q, Toïgo C, Appolinaire J, Loison A, Garel M. From gestation to weaning: Combining robust design and multi‐event models unveils cost of lactation in a large herbivore. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1497-1509. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Richard
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune SauvageUnité Faune de Montagne Gières France
| | - Carole Toïgo
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune SauvageUnité Faune de Montagne Gières France
| | - Joël Appolinaire
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune SauvageUnité Faune de Montagne Gières France
| | - Anne Loison
- Laboratoire d’Écologie AlpineCNRS UMR5553Université de Savoie Le Bourget‐du‐Lac France
| | - Mathieu Garel
- Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune SauvageUnité Faune de Montagne Gières France
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Debeffe L, Poissant J, McLoughlin PD. Individual quality and age but not environmental or social conditions modulate costs of reproduction in a capital breeder. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:5580-5591. [PMID: 28811876 PMCID: PMC5552958 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Revised: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Costs associated with reproduction are widely known to play a role in the evolution of reproductive tactics with consequences to population and eco-evolutionary dynamics. Evaluating these costs as they pertain to species in the wild remains an important goal of evolutionary ecology. Individual heterogeneity, including differences in individual quality (i.e., among-individual differences in traits associated with survival and reproduction) or state, and variation in environmental and social conditions can modulate the costs of reproduction; however, few studies have considered effects of these factors simultaneously. Taking advantage of a detailed, long-term dataset for a population of feral horses (Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada), we address the question of how intrinsic (quality, age), environmental (winter severity, location), and social conditions (group size, composition, sex ratio, density) influence the costs of reproduction on subsequent reproduction. Individual quality was measured using a multivariate analysis on a combination of four static and dynamic traits expected to depict heterogeneity in individual performance. Female quality and age interacted with reproductive status of the previous year to determine current reproductive effort, while no effect of social or environmental covariates was found. High-quality females showed higher probabilities of giving birth and weaning their foal regardless of their reproductive status the previous year, while those of lower quality showed lower probabilities of producing foals in successive years. Middle-aged (prime) females had the highest probability of giving birth when they had not reproduced the year before, but no such relationship with age was found among females that had reproduced the previous year, indicating that prime-aged females bear higher costs of reproduction. We show that individual quality and age were key factors modulating the costs of reproduction in a capital breeder but that environmental or social conditions were not, highlighting the importance of considering multiple factors when studying costs of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Debeffe
- Department of Biology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK Canada.,Present address: Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Department of Biosciences University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Jocelyn Poissant
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK
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30
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Galván I, Alonso-Alvarez C. Individual quality via sensitivity to cysteine availability in a melanin-based honest signaling system. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:2825-2833. [PMID: 28546507 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.160333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 05/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of honest animal communication is mostly understood through the handicap principle, which is intrinsically dependent on the concept of individual quality: low-quality individuals are prevented from producing high-quality signals because, if they did so, they would pay greater production costs than high-quality individuals. We tested an alternative explanation for the black bib size of male house sparrows, Passer domesticus, an honest signal of quality the expression of which is negatively related to levels of the pigment pheomelanin in the constituent feathers. We previously showed that experimental depletion of cysteine, which participates in pheomelanogenesis, improves the phenotype (bibs larger than in controls) of high-quality males (birds with largest bibs initially) only. Here, we conducted an experiment under opposite conditions, increasing the availability of dietary cysteine, and obtained opposite results: deteriorated phenotypes (bibs smaller than in controls) were only expressed by high-quality birds. Some birds were also treated with the pro-oxidant diquat dibromide, and we found that the cellular resistance to free radicals of high-quality birds benefited more from the antioxidant activity of cysteine against diquat than that of low-quality birds. These findings support the existence of a mechanism uncoupling cysteine and pheomelanin in low-quality birds that confers on them a low sensitivity to variations in cysteine availability. This constitutes an explanation for the evolution of signal honesty that overcomes the limitations of the handicap principle, because it provides a specific definition of individual quality and because costs are no longer required to prevent low-quality individuals from producing large signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Galván
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay 91405 Cedex, France
| | - Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, National Museum of Natural Sciences - CSIC, Madrid 28006, Spain
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31
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Authier M, Aubry LM, Cam E. Wolf in sheep's clothing: Model misspecification undermines tests of the neutral theory for life histories. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:3348-3361. [PMID: 28515871 PMCID: PMC5433986 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Revised: 01/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the processes behind change in reproductive state along life‐history trajectories is a salient research program in evolutionary ecology. Two processes, state dependence and heterogeneity, can drive the dynamics of change among states. Both processes can operate simultaneously, begging the difficult question of how to tease them apart in practice. The Neutral Theory for Life Histories (NTLH) holds that the bulk of variations in life‐history trajectories is due to state dependence and is hence neutral: Once previous (breeding) state is taken into account, variations are mostly random. Lifetime reproductive success (LRS), the number of descendants produced over an individual's reproductive life span, has been used to infer support for NTLH in natura. Support stemmed from accurate prediction of the population‐level distribution of LRS with parameters estimated from a state dependence model. We show with Monte Carlo simulations that the current reliance of NTLH on LRS prediction in a null hypothesis framework easily leads to selecting a misspecified model, biased estimates and flawed inferences. Support for the NTLH can be spurious because of a systematic positive bias in estimated state dependence when heterogeneity is present in the data but ignored in the analysis. This bias can lead to spurious positive covariance between fitness components when there is in fact an underlying trade‐off. Furthermore, neutrality implied by NTLH needs a clarification because of a probable disjunction between its common understanding by evolutionary ecologists and its translation into statistical models of life‐history trajectories. Irrespective of what neutrality entails, testing hypotheses about the dynamics of change among states in life histories requires a multimodel framework because state dependence and heterogeneity can easily be mistaken for each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Authier
- Observatoire PELAGIS UMS-CNRS 3462 Université de la Rochelle La Rochelle France
| | - Lise M Aubry
- Wildland Resources Department & the Ecology Center Utah State University Logan UT USA
| | - Emmanuelle Cam
- Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique UMR 5174 Université Toulouse III CNRS ENSFEA IRD, Toulouse Cedex 9 France
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32
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Cam E, Aubry LM, Authier M. The Conundrum of Heterogeneities in Life History Studies. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:872-886. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Revised: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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33
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The influence of iridescent coloration directionality on male tree swallows’ reproductive success at different breeding densities. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2164-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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34
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce E. Byers
- Department of Biology University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Michael E. Akresh
- Department of Environmental Conservation University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - David I. King
- U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
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35
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Horváth G, Martín J, López P, Garamszegi LZ, Bertók P, Herczeg G. Blood Parasite Infection Intensity Covaries with Risk-Taking Personality in Male Carpetan Rock Lizards (Iberolacerta cyreni). Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology Group; Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology; Eötvös Loránd University; Budapest Hungary
| | - José Martín
- Departmento de Ecología Evolutiva; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; CSIC; Madrid Spain
| | - Pilar López
- Departmento de Ecología Evolutiva; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; CSIC; Madrid Spain
| | | | - Péter Bertók
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences; Szent István University; Budapest Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group; Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology; Eötvös Loránd University; Budapest Hungary
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36
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Jenouvrier S, Péron C, Weimerskirch H. Extreme climate events and individual heterogeneity shape life-history traits and population dynamics. ECOL MONOGR 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1834.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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37
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Reed TE, Harris MP, Wanless S. Skipped breeding in common guillemots in a changing climate: restraint or constraint? Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
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Barnett CA, Suzuki TN, Sakaluk SK, Thompson CF. Mass-based condition measures and their relationship with fitness: in what condition is condition? J Zool (1987) 2015; 296:1-5. [PMID: 26019406 DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Mass or body-size measures of 'condition' are of central importance to the study of ecology and evolution, and it is often assumed that differences in condition measures are positively and linearly related to fitness. Using examples drawn from ecological studies, we show that indices of condition frequently are unlikely to be related to fitness in a linear fashion. Researchers need to be more explicit in acknowledging the limitations of mass-based condition measures and accept that, under some circumstances, they may not relate to fitness as traditionally assumed. Any relationship between a particular condition measure and fitness should first be empirically validated before condition is used as a proxy for fitness. In the absence of such evidence, researchers should explicitly acknowledge that assuming such a relationship may be unrealistic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Toshitaka N Suzuki
- Department of Life Science, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan ; Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Charles F Thompson
- Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
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Bajer K, Horváth G, Molnár O, Török J, Garamszegi LZ, Herczeg G. European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) personalities: Linking behavioural types to ecologically relevant traits at different ontogenetic stages. Behav Processes 2014; 111:67-74. [PMID: 25475912 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2014] [Revised: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Consistent individual differences within (animal personality) and across (behavioural syndrome) behaviours became well recognized during the past decade. Nevertheless, our knowledge about the evolutionary and developmental mechanisms behind the phenomena is still incomplete. Here, we explored if risk-taking and exploration were consistent and linked to different ecologically relevant traits in wild-caught adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis) and in their 2-3 weeks old laboratory-reared offspring. Both adults and juveniles displayed animal personality, consistency being higher in juveniles. We found correlation between risk-taking and exploration (suggestive of a behavioural syndrome) only in adults. Juveniles were more explorative than adults. Large or ectoparasite-free adult males were more explorative than small or parasitized males. Juvenile females tended to be more risk-taking than males. Behaviour of fathers and their offspring did not correlate. We conclude that European green lizards show high behavioural consistency and age is an important determinant of its strength and links to traits likely affecting fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Bajer
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; Laboratório de Biogeografia e Macroecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Ecologia e Zoologia, Campus Universitário - Lagoa Nova, 59078-900 Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Orsolya Molnár
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Sciences, Darthmouth College, Life Sciences Center, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03766, USA
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, c/Americo Vespucio, s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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40
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Cam E. The evolutionary significance of latent reproductive rate in a long-lived vertebrate. J Anim Ecol 2014; 83:1003-6. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Cam
- UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique); CNRS, ENFA; Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier; 118 route de Narbonne 31062 Toulouse CEDEX 9 France
- CNRS; Université Toulouse 3; UMR 5174 EDB 31062 Toulouse CEDEX 9 France
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41
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Lim JN, Senior AM, Nakagawa S. Heterogeneity in individual quality and reproductive trade-offs within species. Evolution 2014; 68:2306-18. [PMID: 24820133 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Interspecifically, a reasonable body of evidence supports a trade-off between offspring size and number. However, at the intraspecific level, a whole manner of phenotypic correlations between offspring size and number are observed. These correlations may be predicted when heterogeneity in resource availability, or quality, is considered. Making the assumption that maternal size is a proxy for resource availability, we meta-analytically quantified four phenotypic reproductive correlations within numerous species: (1) maternal size and offspring size, (2) maternal size and offspring number, (3) offspring number and offspring size, and (4) offspring number and offspring size after controlling for maternal size. Within species, maternal size showed a positive correlation with both offspring size and number. Despite this consistency, no correlation between offspring size and number was found. After controlling for maternal size, however, offspring size and number showed a significant negative correlation. A phylogenetic component of our analysis accounted for little heterogeneity in the data, suggesting that our findings show remarkable consistency across taxa. Overall, our results support an observable phenotypic trade-off between offspring size and number. However, this analysis also highlights the importance of considering quality when examining trade-offs, a task that is not always straightforward as quality is context dependant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui N Lim
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, 340 Great King Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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42
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Chambert T, Rotella JJ, Garrott RA. An evolutionary perspective on reproductive individual heterogeneity in a marine vertebrate. J Anim Ecol 2014; 83:1158-68. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Chambert
- Department of Ecology; Montana State University; Bozeman MT 59717 USA
| | - Jay J. Rotella
- Department of Ecology; Montana State University; Bozeman MT 59717 USA
| | - Robert A. Garrott
- Department of Ecology; Montana State University; Bozeman MT 59717 USA
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43
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Pitcher BJ, Briefer EF, Vannoni E, McElligott AG. Fallow bucks attend to vocal cues of motivation and fatigue. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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44
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Germain RR, Arcese P. Distinguishing individual quality from habitat preference and quality in a territorial passerine. Ecology 2014; 95:436-45. [PMID: 24669736 DOI: 10.1890/13-0467.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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45
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Legagneux P, Harms NJ, Gauthier G, Chastel O, Gilchrist HG, Bortolotti G, Bêty J, Soos C. Does feather corticosterone reflect individual quality or external stress in arctic-nesting migratory birds? PLoS One 2013; 8:e82644. [PMID: 24391720 PMCID: PMC3877000 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of environmental perturbations or stressors on individual states can be carried over to subsequent life stages and ultimately affect survival and reproduction. The concentration of corticosterone (CORT) in feathers is an integrated measure of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal activity during the molting period, providing information on the total baseline and stress-induced CORT secreted during the period of feather growth. Common eiders and greater snow geese replace all flight feathers once a year during the pre-basic molt, which occurs following breeding. Thus, CORT contained in feathers of pre-breeding individuals sampled in spring reflects the total CORT secreted during the previous molting event, which may provide insight into the magnitude or extent of stress experienced during this time period. We used data from multiple recaptures to disentangle the contribution of individual quality vs. external factors (i.e., breeding investment or environmental conditions) on feather CORT in arctic-nesting waterfowl. Our results revealed no repeatability of feather CORT within individuals of either species. In common eiders, feather CORT was not affected by prior reproductive investment, nor by pre-breeding (spring) body condition prior to the molting period. Individual feather CORT greatly varied according to the year, and August-September temperatures explained most of the annual variation in feather CORT. Understanding mechanisms that affect energetic costs and stress responses during molting will require further studies either using long-term data or experiments. Although our study period encompassed only five years, it nonetheless provides evidence that CORT measured in feathers likely reflects responses to environmental conditions experienced by birds during molt, and could be used as a metric to study carry-over effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Legagneux
- Département de biologie & Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - N. Jane Harms
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Département de biologie & Centre d'études nordiques, Pavillon Vachon, Université Laval Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-UPR 1934, Carrefour de la Canauderie, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - H. Grant Gilchrist
- Environment Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gary Bortolotti
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Joël Bêty
- Département de biologie & Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Catherine Soos
- Environment Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Chambert T, Rotella JJ, Higgs MD, Garrott RA. Individual heterogeneity in reproductive rates and cost of reproduction in a long-lived vertebrate. Ecol Evol 2013; 3:2047-60. [PMID: 23919151 PMCID: PMC3728946 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2013] [Revised: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 04/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual variation in reproductive success is a key feature of evolution, but also has important implications for predicting population responses to variable environments. Although such individual variation in reproductive outcomes has been reported in numerous studies, most analyses to date have not considered whether these realized differences were due to latent individual heterogeneity in reproduction or merely random chance causing different outcomes among like individuals. Furthermore, latent heterogeneity in fitness components might be expressed differently in contrasted environmental conditions, an issue that has only rarely been investigated. Here, we assessed (i) the potential existence of latent individual heterogeneity and (ii) the nature of its expression (fixed vs. variable) in a population of female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), using a hierarchical modeling approach on a 30-year mark–recapture data set consisting of 954 individual encounter histories. We found strong support for the existence of latent individual heterogeneity in the population, with “robust” individuals expected to produce twice as many pups as “frail” individuals. Moreover, the expression of individual heterogeneity appeared consistent, with only mild evidence that it might be amplified when environmental conditions are severe. Finally, the explicit modeling of individual heterogeneity allowed us to detect a substantial cost of reproduction that was not evidenced when the heterogeneity was ignored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Chambert
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University Bozeman, Montana, 59717
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48
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Plard F, Bonenfant C, Delormeb D, Gaillard JM. Modeling reproductive trajectories of roe deer females: fixed or dynamic heterogeneity? Theor Popul Biol 2013; 82:317-28. [PMID: 23316493 DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2012.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The relative role of dynamic and fixed heterogeneity in shaping the individual heterogeneity observed in most life-history traits remains difficult to quantify. In a recent work, Tuljapurkar et al. (2009) suggested modeling individual heterogeneity in lifetime reproductive success by a null model building reproductive trajectories from a first-order Markov chain. According to this model, among-individual differences in reproductive trajectories would be generated by the stochastic transitions among reproductive states (such as breeder and non-breeder) due to dynamic heterogeneity. In this work, we analyze the individual variation in three reproductive metrics (reproductive status, fecundity, and reproductive success) in two populations of roe deer intensively monitored using Tuljapurkar et al. (2009)’s dynamic model. Moreover, we challenge the Tuljapurkar model previously used as a biological null model to test whether the observed distribution of reproductive success over the lifetime was generated by a stochastic process by modifying two steps of the previous model to build a full stochastic model. We show that a distribution generated by the full dynamic model proposed by Tuljapurkar et al. (2009) can be consistently interpreted as only generated from a stochastic biological process provided that the probabilities of transition among reproductive states used are independent of the current reproductive state and that the positive covariation that usually occurs between survival and reproduction among individuals is removed. Only the reproductive status of roe deer females could be restricted to a stochastic process described by the full stochastic model, probably because most females (>90%) were breeders in a given year. The fecundity of roe deer females could not be adequately described by the full dynamic and full stochastic model, and the observed distribution of female reproductive success differed from the one generated by a full dynamic model in which each individual reproductive trajectory was independent of the individual lifespan (second step of the full dynamic model changed). While there was clear evidence that dynamic heterogeneity occurred and accounted for a large part of the observed among-individual variation in reproductive trajectories of roe deer females, a stochastic process did not provide a suitable model for all reproductive metrics. Consequently, models including additional fixed and dynamic traits need to be built in order to separate the relative role of fixed and dynamic heterogeneities in generating reproductive trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Plard
- Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon, France
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49
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Wilson AJ. Competition as a source of constraint on life history evolution in natural populations. Heredity (Edinb) 2013; 112:70-8. [PMID: 23443060 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2013.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2012] [Accepted: 01/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition among individuals is central to our understanding of ecology and population dynamics. However, it could also have major implications for the evolution of resource-dependent life history traits (for example, growth, fecundity) that are important determinants of fitness in natural populations. This is because when competition occurs, the phenotype of each individual will be causally influenced by the phenotypes, and so the genotypes, of competitors. Theory tells us that indirect genetic effects arising from competitive interactions will give rise to the phenomenon of 'evolutionary environmental deterioration', and act as a source of evolutionary constraint on resource-dependent traits under natural selection. However, just how important this constraint is remains an unanswered question. This article seeks to stimulate empirical research in this area, first highlighting some patterns emerging from life history studies that are consistent with a competition-based model of evolutionary constraint, before describing several quantitative modelling strategies that could be usefully applied. A recurrent theme is that rigorous quantification of a competition's impact on life history evolution will require an understanding of the causal pathways and behavioural processes by which genetic (co)variance structures arise. Knowledge of the G-matrix among life history traits is not, in and of itself, sufficient to identify the constraints caused by competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
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Vindenes Y, Sæther BE, Engen S. Effects of demographic structure on key properties of stochastic density-independent population dynamics. Theor Popul Biol 2012; 82:253-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2011.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2011] [Revised: 10/12/2011] [Accepted: 10/17/2011] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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