Rapid Evolution in the Wild: Changes in Body Size, Life-History Traits, and Behavior in Hunted Populations of the Japanese Mamushi Snake

Predation is a major source of mortality in the early life stages of fishes and a driving force in shaping fish populations. Theoretical, modeling, and laboratory studies have generated hypotheses that larval fish size, age, growth rate, and development rate affect their susceptibility to predation. Empirical data on predator selection in the wild are challenging to obtain, and most selective mortality studies must repeatedly sample populations of survivors to indirectly examine survivorship. While valuable on a population scale, these approaches can obscure selection by particular predators. In May 2018, along the coast of Washington, USA, we simultaneously collected juvenile quillback rockfish Sebastes maliger from both the environment and the stomachs of juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch. We used otolith microstructure analysis to examine whether juvenile coho salmon were age-, size-, and/or growth-selective predators of juvenile quillback rockfish. Our results indicate that juvenile rockfish consumed by salmon were significantly smaller, slower growing at capture, and younger than surviving (unconsumed) juvenile rockfish, providing direct evidence that juvenile coho salmon are selective predators on juvenile quillback rockfish. These differences in early life history traits between consumed and surviving rockfish are related to timing of parturition and the environmental conditions larval rockfish experienced, suggesting that maternal effects may substantially influence survival at this stage. Our results demonstrate that variability in timing of parturition and sea surface temperature leads to tradeoffs in early life history traits between growth in the larval stage and survival when encountering predators in the pelagic juvenile stage.

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Hormones and Behavior

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioral Endocrinology ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190649739.013.2 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 11-26

Author(s):

Maren N. Vitousek ◽

Laura A. Schoenle

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Life Histories ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Developmental Plasticity ◽

Endocrine System ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Social Environments ◽

Trade Offs ◽

And Behavior

Hormones mediate the expression of life history traits—phenotypic traits that contribute to lifetime fitness (i.e., reproductive timing, growth rate, number and size of offspring). The endocrine system shapes phenotype by organizing tissues during developmental periods and by activating changes in behavior, physiology, and morphology in response to varying physical and social environments. Because hormones can simultaneously regulate many traits (hormonal pleiotropy), they are important mediators of life history trade-offs among growth, reproduction, and survival. This chapter reviews the role of hormones in shaping life histories with an emphasis on developmental plasticity and reversible flexibility in endocrine and life history traits. It also discusses the advantages of studying hormone–behavior interactions from an evolutionary perspective. Recent research in evolutionary endocrinology has provided insight into the heritability of endocrine traits, how selection on hormone systems may influence the evolution of life histories, and the role of hormonal pleiotropy in driving or constraining evolution.

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Differential effects on life history traits and body size of two anuran species inhabiting an environment related to fluorite mine

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.04.065 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 36-44 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Manuel A. Otero ◽

Favio E. Pollo ◽

Pablo R. Grenat ◽

Nancy E. Salas ◽

Adolfo L. Martino

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Differential Effects ◽

Anuran Species

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Absence of strong heterosis for life span and other life history traits in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/134.2.465 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 134 (2) ◽

pp. 465-474 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T E Johnson ◽

E W Hutchinson

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Life Span ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Environmental Variation ◽

F1 Hybrids ◽

Wild Type ◽

Wild Strains ◽

And Behavior ◽

Type Strains

Abstract We have examined crosses between wild-type strains of Caenorhabditis elegans for heterosis effects on life span and other life history traits. Hermaphrodites of all wild strains had similar life expectancies but males of two strains had shorter life spans than hermaphrodites while males of two other strains lived longer than hermaphrodites. F1 hermaphrodite progeny showed no heterosis while some heterosis for longer life span was detected in F1 males. F1 hybrids of crosses between two widely studied wild-type strains, N2 (var. Bristol) and Berg BO (var. Bergerac), were examined for rate of development, hermaphrodite fertility, and behavior; there was no heterosis for these life history traits. Both controlled variation of temperature and uncontrolled environmental variation affected the length of life of all genotypes. Significant G x E effects on life span were observed in comparisons of N2 and Berg BO hermaphrodites, or N2 hermaphrodites and males, or N2 and a Ts mutant strain (DH26). Nevertheless, within an experiment, environmental variation was minimal and life spans were quite replicable.

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Life history and habitat do not mediate temporal changes in body size due to climate warming in rodents

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9792 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9792

Author(s):

Aluwani Nengovhela ◽

Christiane Denys ◽

Peter J. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Climate Warming ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Reproductive Rate ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

Temporal Response ◽

Extrinsic Factors ◽

African Species

Temporal changes in body size have been documented in a number of vertebrate species, with different contested drivers being suggested to explain these changes. Among these are climate warming, resource availability, competition, predation risk, human population density, island effects and others. Both life history traits (intrinsic factors such as lifespan and reproductive rate) and habitat (extrinsic factors such as vegetation type, latitude and elevation) are expected to mediate the existence of a significant temporal response of body size to climate warming but neither have been widely investigated. Using examples of rodents, we predicted that both life history traits and habitat might explain the probability of temporal response using two tests of this hypothesis. Firstly, taking advantage of new data from museum collections spanning the last 106 years, we investigated geographical and temporal variation in cranial size (a proxy for body size) in six African rodent species of two murid subfamilies (Murinae and Gerbillinae) of varying life history, degree of commensality, range size, and habitat. Two species, the commensal Mastomys natalensis, and the non-commensal Otomys unisulcatus showed significant temporal changes in body size, with the former increasing and the latter decreasing, in relation with climate warming. Commensalism could explain the increase in size with time due to steadily increasing food availability through increased agricultural production. Apart from this, we found no general life history or habitat predictors of a temporal response in African rodents. Secondly, in order to further test this hypothesis, we incorporated our data into a meta-analysis based on published literature on temporal responses in rodents, resulting in a combined dataset for 50 species from seven families worldwide; among these, 29 species showed no significant change, eight showed a significant increase in size, and 13 showed a decline in size. Using a binomial logistic regression model for these metadata, we found that none of our chosen life history or habitat predictors could significantly explain the probability of a temporal response to climate warming, reinforcing our conclusion based on the more detailed data from the six African species.

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Sexual dimorphism in body size and life‐history traits in a population ofTriturus alpestris alpestris

Italian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1080/11250000409356620 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 71 (sup2) ◽

pp. 117-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elena Marzona ◽

Daniele Seglie ◽

Cristina Giacoma

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Life History Traits

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Do females preferentially associate with males given a better start in life?

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.1106 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 362-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Andrew T. Kahn ◽

Julianne D. Livingston ◽

Michael D. Jennions

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Food Intake ◽

Compensatory Growth ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Adult Life ◽

Gambusia Holbrooki ◽

Developmental History ◽

Restricted Diet ◽

Adult Body

A poor start in life owing to a restricted diet can have readily detectable detrimental consequences for many adult life-history traits. However, some costs such as smaller adult body size are potentially eliminated when individuals modify their development. For example, male mosquitofish ( Gambusia holbrooki ) that have reduced early food intake undergo compensatory growth and delay maturation so that they eventually mature at the same size as males that develop normally. But do subtle effects of a poor start persist? Specifically, does a male's developmental history affect his subsequent attractiveness to females? Females prefer to associate with larger males but, controlling for body length, we show that females spent less time in association with males that underwent compensatory growth than with males that developed normally.

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Determinants of life-history traits in a fish ectoparasite: a hierarchical analysis

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s003118201100014x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 138 (7) ◽

pp. 848-857 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

G. LOOT ◽

N. POULET ◽

S. BROSSE ◽

L. TUDESQUE ◽

F. THOMAS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Egg Size ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Trade Off ◽

Individual Fitness ◽

Parasite Number ◽

Egg Number

SUMMARYObjective. Unravelling the determinants of parasite life-history traits in natural settings is complex. Here, we deciphered the relationships between biotic, abiotic factors and the variation in 4 life-history traits (body size, egg presence, egg number and egg size) in the fish ectoparasite Tracheliastes polycolpus. We then determined the factors affecting the strength of the trade-off between egg number and egg size. Methods. To do so, we used 4-level (parasite, microhabitat, host and environment) hierarchical models coupled to a field database. Results. Variation in life-history traits was mostly due to individual characteristics measured at the parasite level. At the microhabitat level (fins of fish hosts), parasite number was positively related to body size, egg presence and egg number. Higher parasite number on fins was positively associated with individual parasite fitness. At the host level, host body size was positively related to the individual fitness of the parasite; parasites were bigger and more fecund on bigger hosts. In contrast, factors measured at the environmental level had a weak influence on life-history traits. Finally, a site-dependent trade-off between egg number and egg size existed in this population. Conclusion. Our study illustrates the importance of considering parasite life-history traits in a hierarchical framework to decipher complex links between biotic, abiotic factors and parasite life-history traits.

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