scholarly journals Life history evolution in response to changes in metapopulation structure in an arthropod herbivore

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelies De Roissart ◽  
Nicky Wybouw ◽  
David Renault ◽  
Thomas Van Leeuwen ◽  
Dries Bonte
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Metapopulation Structure ◽  
Significant Divergence ◽  
Adaptive Stress Response ◽  
Resource Shortage ◽  
Dynamics Of Populations

The persistence and dynamics of populations largely depends on the way they are configured and integrated into space and the ensuing eco-evolutionary dynamics. We manipulated spatial and temporal variation in patch size in replicated experimental metapopulations of the herbivore mite Tetranychus urticae. Evolution over approximately 30 generations in the spatially and spatiotemporally variable metapopulations induced a significant divergence in life history traits, physiological endpoints and gene expression, but also a remarkable convergence relative to the stable reference patchy metapopulation in traits related to size and fecundity and in its transcriptional regulation. The observed evolutionary dynamics are tightly linked to demographic changes, more specifically frequent episodes of resource shortage, and increased the reproductive performance of mites on tomato, a challenging host plant. This points towards a general, adaptive stress response in stable spatial variable and spatiotemporal variable metapopulations that pre-adapts a herbivore arthropod to novel environmental stressors.

scholarly journals Spatial selection and local adaptation jointly shape life-history evolution during range expansion

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrien Van Petegem ◽  
Jeroen Boeye ◽  
Robby Stoks ◽  
Dries Bonte
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Spatial Selection ◽  
History Evolution

In the context of climate change and species invasions, range shifts increasingly gain attention because the rates at which they occur in the Anthropocene induce fast shifts in biological assemblages. During such range shifts, species experience multiple selection pressures. Especially for poleward expansions, a straightforward interpretation of the observed evolutionary dynamics is hampered because of the joint action of evolutionary processes related to spatial selection and to adaptation towards local climatic conditions. To disentangle the effects of these two processes, we integrated stochastic modeling and empirical approaches, using the spider mite Tetranychus urticae as a model species. We demonstrate considerable latitudinal quantitative genetic divergence in life-history traits in T. urticae, that was shaped by both spatial selection and local adaptation. The former mainly affected dispersal behavior, while development was mainly shaped by adaptation to the local climate. Divergence in life-history traits in species shifting their range poleward can consequently be jointly determined by fast local adaptation to the environmental gradient and contemporary evolutionary dynamics resulting from spatial selection. The integration of modeling with common garden experiments provides a powerful tool to study the contribution of these two evolutionary processes on life-history evolution during range expansion.

scholarly journals Loci, genes, and gene networks associated with life history variation in a model ecological organism,Daphnia pulex(complex)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob W. Malcom ◽  
Thomas E. Juenger ◽  
Mathew A. Leibold
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Life History ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Daphnia Pulex ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Trait Variation

ABSTRACTBackgroundIdentifying the molecular basis of heritable variation provides insight into the underlying mechanisms generating phenotypic variation and the evolutionary history of organismal traits. Life history trait variation is of central importance to ecological and evolutionary dynamics, and contemporary genomic tools permit studies of the basis of this variation in non-genetic model organisms. We used high density genotyping, RNA-Seq gene expression assays, and detailed phenotyping of fourteen ecologically important life history traits in a wild-caught panel of 32Daphnia pulexclones to explore the molecular basis of trait variation in a model ecological species.ResultsWe found extensive phenotypic and a range of heritable genetic variation (~0 < H2< 0.44) in the panel, and accordingly identify 75-261 genes—organized in 3-6 coexpression modules—associated with genetic variation in each trait. The trait-related coexpression modules possess well-supported promoter motifs, and in conjunction with marker variation at trans- loci, suggest a relatively small number of important expression regulators. We further identify a candidate genetic network with SNPs in eight known transcriptional regulators, and dozens of differentially expressed genes, associated with life history variation. The gene-trait associations include numerous un-annotated genes, but also support several a priori hypotheses, including an ecdysone-induced protein and several Gene Ontology pathways.ConclusionThe genetic and gene expression architecture ofDaphnialife history traits is complex, and our results provide numerous candidate loci, genes, and coexpression modules to be tested as the molecular mechanisms that underlieDaphniaeco-evolutionary dynamics.

Daphnia as a Model for Eco-evolutionary Dynamics

2018 ◽  
pp. 403-424
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Walsh ◽  
Michelle Packer ◽  
Shannon Beston ◽  
Collin Funkhouser ◽  
Michael Gillis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
History Evolution ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
The Many

Much research has shown that variation in ecological processes can drive rapid evolutionary changes over periods of years to decades. Such contemporary adaptation sets the stage for evolution to have reciprocal impacts on the properties of populations, communities, and ecosystems, with ongoing interactions between ecological and evolutionary forces. The importance and generality of these eco-evolutionary dynamics are largely unknown. In this chapter, we promote the use of water fleas (Daphnia sp.) as a model organism in the exploration of eco-evolutionary interactions in nature. The many characteristics of Daphnia that make them suitable for laboratory study in conjunction with their well-known ecological importance in lakes, position Daphnia to contribute new and important insights into eco-evolutionary dynamics. We first review the influence of key environmental stressors in Daphnia evolution. We then highlight recent work documenting the pathway from life history evolution to ecology using Daphnia as a model. This review demonstrates that much is known about the influence of ecology on Daphnia life history evolution, while research exploring the genomic basis of adaptation as well as the influence of Daphnia life history traits on ecological processes is beginning to accumulate.

scholarly journals Individual variability in life-history traits drives population size stability

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ned A. Dochtermann ◽  
C. M. Gienger
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Sceloporus Undulatus ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Size Stability ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Dynamics Of Populations

Abstract Understanding how population sizes vary over time is a key aspect of ecological research. Unfortunately, our understanding of population dynamics has historically been based on an assumption that individuals are identical with homogenous life-history properties. This assumption is certainly false for most natural systems, raising the question of what role individual variation plays in the dynamics of populations. While there has been an increase of interest regarding the effects of within population variation on the dynamics of single populations, there has been little study of the effects of differences in within population variation on patterns observed across populations. We found that life-history differences (clutch size) among individuals explained the majority of the variation observed in the degree to which population sizes of eastern fence lizards Sceloporus undulatus fluctuated. This finding suggests that differences across populations cannot be understood without an examination of differences at the level of a system rather than at the level of the individual [Current Zoology 58 (2): 358–362, 2012].

scholarly journals Life‐history evolution in response to changes in metapopulation structure in an arthropod herbivore

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1408-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelies De Roissart ◽  
Nicky Wybouw ◽  
David Renault ◽  
Thomas Van Leeuwen ◽  
Dries Bonte
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Metapopulation Structure ◽  
History Evolution

Mutational divergence of life-history traits in an obligate parthenogen

Genome ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anna Toline ◽  
Michael Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Other ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Adaptive Changes ◽  
Significant Divergence ◽  
Polygenic Variation

Three lines of obligately parthenogenetic Daphnia were allowed to diverge for a 4-year period (approximately 150 generations) with mutation as the sole source of variability. Life-history traits and morphological characters were then surveyed for between-line differences. Significant divergence was found with respect to both number and size of offspring, with no difference in total offspring biomass. No significant differences were found in any of the other characters. These results confirm the hypothesis that purely asexual lines can accumulate enough polygenic variation via mutation to support potentially adaptive changes on a microevolutionary time scale.Key words: Daphnia, life-history trait, mutational divergence, microevolution.

scholarly journals What Drives Life-History Variation in the Livebearing Fish Poeciliopsis prolifica? An Assessment of Multiple Putative Selective Agents

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea J. Roth-Monzón ◽  
Mark C. Belk ◽  
J. Jaime Zúñiga-Vega ◽  
Jerald B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Interspecific Competition ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Embryo Size ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Livebearing Fish

Life-history traits are directly linked to fitness, and therefore, can be highly adaptive. Livebearers have been used as models for understanding the evolution of life histories due to their wide diversity in these traits. Several different selective pressures, including population density, predation, and resource levels, can shape life-history traits. However, these selective pressures are usually considered independently in livebearers and we lack a clear understanding of how they interact in shaping life-history evolution. Furthermore, selective pressures such as interspecific competition are rarely considered as drivers of life-history evolution in poeciliids. Here we test the simultaneous effects of several potential selective pressures on life-history traits in the livebearing fish Poeciliopsis prolifica. We employ a multi-model inference approach. We focus on four known agents of selection: resource availability, stream velocity, population density, and interspecific competition, and their effect on four life-history traits: reproductive allocation, superfetation, number of embryos, and individual embryo size. We found that models with population density and interspecific competition alone were strongly supported in our data and, hence, indicated that these two factors are the most important selective agents for most life-history traits, except for embryo size. When population density and interspecific competition increase there is an increase in each of the three life-history traits (reproductive allocation, superfetation, and number of embryos). For individual embryo size, we found that all single-agent models were equivalent and it was unclear which selective agent best explained variation. We also found that models that included population density and interspecific competition as direct effects were better supported than those that included them as indirect effects through their influence on resource availability. Our study underscores the importance of interspecific competitive interactions on shaping life-history traits and suggests that these interactions should be considered in future life-history studies.

scholarly journals Life history and dispersal timing evolve in response to metapopulation connectedness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Masier ◽  
Dries Bonte
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Demographic Traits ◽  
Local Selection ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Interpatch Distance ◽  
Dispersal Evolution

AbstractDispersal evolution impacts the fluxes of individuals and hence, connectivity in metapopulations. Connectivity is therefore decoupled from the structural connectedness of the patches within the spatial network. Because of demographic feedbacks, local selection can additionally steer the evolution of other life history traits. We investigated how different levels of connectedness affect dispersal and life history evolution by varying the interpatch distance in replicated experimental metapopulations of the two-spotted spider. We implemented a shuffling treatment to separate local- and metapopulation-level selection.With lower metapopulation connectedness, an increased starvation resistance and delayed dispersal evolved. Intrinsic growth rates evolved at the local level by transgenerational plasticity or epigenetic processes. Changes in patch connectedness thus induce the genetic and non-genetic evolution of dispersal costs and demographic traits at both the local and metapopulation level. These trait changes are anticipated to impact metapopulations eco-evolutionary dynamics, and hence, the persistence and performance of spatially structured populations.

scholarly journals Isolation and predation drive gecko life-history evolution on islands

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 618-629
Author(s):  
Rachel Schwarz ◽  
Yuval Itescu ◽  
Antonis Antonopoulos ◽  
Ioanna-Aikaterini Gavriilidi ◽  
Karin Tamar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Predation Pressure ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Island Syndrome ◽  
Insular Populations

Abstract Insular animals are thought to be under weak predation pressure and increased intraspecific competition compared with those on the mainland. Thus, insular populations are predicted to evolve ‘slow’ life histories characterized by fewer and smaller clutches of larger eggs, a pattern called the ‘island syndrome’. To test this pattern, we collected data on egg volume, clutch size and laying frequency of 31 Aegean Island populations of the closely related geckos of the Mediodactylus kotschyi species complex. We tested how predation pressure, resource abundance, island area and isolation influenced reproductive traits. Isolation and predation were the main drivers of variation in life-history traits. Higher predator richness seemed to promote faster life histories, perhaps owing to predation on adults, whereas the presence of boas promoted slower life histories, perhaps owing to release from predation by rats on the eggs of geckos. Insular geckos followed only some of the predictions of the ‘island syndrome’. Predation pressure seemed to be more complex than expected and drove life histories of species in two opposing directions. Our results highlight the importance of considering the identity of specific predators in ecological studies.

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