Environmental conditions as proximate cues of predation risk inducing defensive response in Daphnia pulex

Pleistocene water bodies have been studied using the paleolimnological approach, which traces environmental changes using particular subfossils as ecological proxies, rather than analysis of the paleocommunities themselves. Within a given taphocoenosis, the presence and quantity of animals are related to environmental conditions rather than to community types where relationships between taxa are stabilized during their long-term co-occurrence and are (at least partially) more important than the particular environmental conditions at the time of deposition, which may have experienced significant seasonal and inter-seasonal variations. Here, we analyze Branchiopoda (Crustacea) of two paleolocalities in the Transbaikalian Region of Russia: Urtuy (MIS3) and Nozhiy (older than 1.5 million years). Cladocerans Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) magna, D. (C.) similis, D. (Daphnia) pulex, Ceriodaphnia pulchella-reticulata, C. laticaudata, Simocephalus sp., Moina cf. brachiata, M. macropopa clade, Chydorus cf. sphaericus, Capmtocercus sp. and anostracans Branchinecta cf. paludosa, and Streptocephalus (Streptocephalus) sp. are found in two localities. With the exception of the last taxon, which now occurs in the southern Holarctic, all other taxa inhabit the Transbaikalian Region. Within Eurasia, the steppe zone has the greatest diversity of large branchiopods and a high diversity of some cladocerans, such as subgenus Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) and Moina sp. Here we demonstrated that the branchiopod community in shallow steppe water bodies has been unchanged since at least the Pleistocene, demonstrating long-term morphological and ecological stasis.

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Predation selects for smaller eye size in a vertebrate: effects of environmental conditions and sex

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2018.2625 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 286 (1897) ◽

pp. 20182625 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Richard Svanbäck ◽

Frank Johansson

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Retinal Image ◽

The Other ◽

Eye Size ◽

Fish Predators ◽

Resource Levels

Increased eye size in animals results in a larger retinal image and thus improves visual acuity. Thus, larger eyes should aid both in finding food as well as detecting predators. On the other hand, eyes are usually very conspicuous and several studies have suggested that eye size is associated with predation risk. However, experimental evidence is scant. In this study, we address how predation affects variation in eye size by performing two experiments using Eurasian perch juveniles as prey and either larger perch or pike as predators. First, we used large outdoor tanks to compare selection due to predators on relative eye size in open and artificial vegetated habitats. Second, we studied the effects of both predation risk and resource levels on phenotypic plasticity in relative eye size in indoor aquaria experiments. In the first experiment, we found that habitat altered selection due to predators, since predators selected for smaller eye size in a non-vegetated habitat, but not in a vegetated habitat. In the plasticity experiment, we found that fish predators induced smaller eye size in males, but not in females, while resource levels had no effect on eye size plasticity. Our experiments provide evidence that predation risk could be one of the driving factors behind variation in eye size within species.

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Nocturnal activity by the primarily diurnal Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) in relation to environmental conditions, resource abundance and predation risk

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467408005804 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 211-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Thomas D. Lambert ◽

Roland W. Kays ◽

Patrick A. Jansen ◽

Enzo Aliaga-Rossel ◽

Martin Wikelski

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Central American ◽

Nocturnal Activity ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Resource Abundance ◽

Gain Access

An animal's fitness is in part based on its ability to manage the inherent risks (foraging costs, predation, exposure to disease) with the benefits (resource gain, access to mates, social interactions) of activity (Abrams 1991, Altizer et al. 2003, Lima & Bednekoff 1999, Rubenstein & Hohmann 1989, Wikelski et al. 2001). Thus, understanding an animal's pattern of activity is key to understanding behavioural and ecological processes. However, while numerous laboratory methodologies are available to continuously quantify activity over long periods of time, logistical difficulties have greatly hindered activity studies of animals in the field (DeCoursey 1990).

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Phenotypic plasticity of senescence in Daphnia under predation impact: no ageing acceleration when the perceived risk decreases with age

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.191382 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 191382 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barbara Pietrzak ◽

Max Rabus ◽

Maciej Religa ◽

Christian Laforsch ◽

Maciej J. Dańko

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Life History Theory ◽

Prey Size ◽

Daphnia Pulex ◽

Adaptive Responses ◽

Invertebrate Predators ◽

Triops Cancriformis ◽

Tadpole Shrimp

Recognising the nature of the predation risk, and responding to it accurately, is crucial to fitness. Yet, even the most accurate adaptive responses to predation risk usually entail costs, both immediate and lifelong. Rooting in life-history theory, we hypothesize that an animal can perceive the nuances of prey size and age selectivity by the predator and modulate its life history accordingly. We test the prediction that—contrary to the faster or earlier senescence under predation risk that increases with prey size and age—under predation risk that decreases with prey size and age either no senescence acceleration or even its deceleration is to be observed. We use two species of indeterminate growers, small crustaceans of the genus Daphnia , Daphnia Pulex and Daphnia magna , as the model prey, and their respective gape-limited invertebrate predators, a dipteran, midge larva Chaoborus flavicans , and a notostracan, tadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis . We analyse age-specific survival, mortality and fertility rates, and find no senescence acceleration, as predicted. With this study, we complete the picture of the expected non-consumptive phenotypic effects of perceived predation pressure of different age-dependence patterns.

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Impact of food concentration on diel vertical migration behaviour of Daphnia pulex under fish predation risk

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/s10750-008-9516-8 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 614 (1) ◽

pp. 321-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Meryem Beklioglu ◽

Ayse Gul Gozen ◽

Feriha Yıldırım ◽

Pelin Zorlu ◽

Sertac Onde

Keyword(s):

Predation Risk ◽

Vertical Migration ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Daphnia Pulex ◽

Fish Predation ◽

Food Concentration ◽

Migration Behaviour

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Inbreeding depression in adaptive plasticity under predation risk in a freshwater snail

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2009.0726 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 222-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Josh R. Auld ◽

Rick A. Relyea

Keyword(s):

Phenotypic Plasticity ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Inbreeding Depression ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Freshwater Snail ◽

Adaptive Plasticity ◽

Plastic Response ◽

Physa Acuta

While much attention has been paid to the effects of inbreeding on fitness, this has mostly come from a genetic perspective. Consequently, the interaction between inbreeding and the environment is less well understood. To understand the effects of inbreeding in natural populations where environmental conditions are variable, we need to examine not only how the effects of inbreeding change among environments but also how inbreeding may affect the ability to respond to environmental conditions (i.e. phenotypic plasticity). We reared selfed and outcrossed hermaphroditic snails ( Physa acuta ) in the presence and absence of chemical cues from predatory crayfish and quantified expression of an inducible defence, an adaptively plastic response to predation risk. Overall, inbred snails exhibited reduced defences, but more importantly, inbreeding reduced the expression of predator-induced adaptive plasticity. Inbreeding depression in defensive morphology was 26 per cent and inbreeding depression in the plasticity of this trait was 48 per cent. Inbreeding depression in adaptive plasticity may be important to understanding the effects of inbreeding in nature.

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An optimisation model of the diel vertical migration of northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) in the Clyde Sea and the Kattegat

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f00-171 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 57 (S3) ◽

pp. 38-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Geraint Tarling ◽

Michael Burrows ◽

Jack Matthews ◽

Reinhard Saborowski ◽

Friedrich Buchholz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Predation Risk ◽

Vertical Migration ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Diel Vertical Migration ◽

Energy Gain ◽

Minor Effect ◽

Risk Of Predation ◽

Meganyctiphanes Norvegica ◽

Optimisation Model ◽

Clyde Sea

An optimisation model was developed to examine the effect of predation risk and environmental conditions on the diel vertical migration (DVM) of adult northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica). Model predictions were compared in two locations with contrasting environmental conditions, the Clyde Sea and the Kattegat. The model was constructed from a combination of parameterised functions and empirical field data obtained during summer conditions. Parameter matrices were set up to cover the entire water column over a 24-h period. The first matrix contained values for "net energy gain," which incorporated empirical data on temperature-dependent respiration, copepod and phytoplankton abundance, and a functional response model for feeding rate. The second matrix expressed the risk of encountering a generalised visual (fish) predator as a function of light levels. The optimisation procedure sought a path through depth and time such that the energy gain was equal to the amount necessary to grow, produce eggs, and moult, while the risk of predation was minimised. The model predicted DVM in both the Clyde Sea and the Kattegat. Sensitivity analyses showed that the predicted DVM pattern was mainly driven by food and predation risk, with temperature effects on metabolic costs having a minor effect.

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Acute temperature and oxygen stress among genotypes of Daphnia pulex and Simocephalus vetulus (Cladocera, Daphniidae) in relation to environmental conditions

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z90-314 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 68 (11) ◽

pp. 2257-2263 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

S. LaBerge ◽

B. J. Hann

Keyword(s):

Oxygen Saturation ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Daphnia Pulex ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Temperature Tolerance ◽

Ovary Development ◽

Genotypic Differences ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

High Genetic Diversity ◽

Simocephalus Vetulus

The interactions among the genetics, physiology, and ecology of Daphnia pulex and Simocephalus vetulus inhabiting an ephemeral pond were studied. Electrophoretic analysis of four loci revealed high genetic diversity and genotypic coexistence within each species. In a total of 227 D. pulex individuals, 92 unique genotypes were found, and for 112 S. vetulus individuals, there were 18 unique genotypes. Daphnis pulex inhabited the pond early in the summer, but later there was a shift to S. vetulus as the primary cladoceran inhabitant. Biweekly sampling through the open water period allowed us to monitor environmental parameters such as water temperature and oxygen saturation, as well as the condition of the animals under study by assessing egg number, lipid content and ovary development, carapace length, and haemoglobin content. In laboratory experiments, S. vetulus was found to be more tolerant of both high temperature and low oxygen saturation than D. pulex. In addition to these interspecific tolerance differences, there were genotypic differences within each species in temperature tolerance. We have related these laboratory-determined genetic and physiological differences within and between species to the temporal variation in environmental conditions experienced directly in the pond. Thus, the rapid changes in pond conditions appear to play a large role in determining the species and genotypes able to exist in such an unpredictable environment.

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