The Evolution of Annual and Perennial Plant Life Histories: Ecological Correlates and Genetic Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 461-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannice Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Developmental Genetics ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Perennial Plant ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
One Year

Flowering plants exhibit two principal life-history strategies: annuality (living and reproducing in one year) and perenniality (living more than one year). The advantages of either strategy depend on the relative benefits of immediate reproduction balanced against survivorship and future reproduction. This trade-off means that life-history strategies are associated with particular environments, with annuals being found more often in unpredictable habitats. Annuality and perenniality are the outcome of developmental genetic programs responding to their environment, with perennials being distinguished by their delayed competence to flower and reversion to growth after flowering. Evolutionary transitions between these strategies are frequent and have consequences for mating systems and genome evolution, with perennials being more likely to outcross with higher inbreeding depression and lower rates of molecular evolution. Integrating expectations from life-history theory with knowledge of the developmental genetics of flowering and seasonality is required to understand the mechanisms involved in the evolution of annual and perennial life histories.

scholarly journals Between semelparity and iteroparity: empirical evidence for a continuum of modes of parity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. William Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Theoretical Biology ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Molecular Evidence

ABSTRACTThe number of times an organism reproduces (i.e. its mode of parity) is a fundamental life-history character, and evolutionary and ecological models that compare the relative fitness of strategies are common in life history theory and theoretical biology. Despite the success of mathematical models designed to compare intrinsic rates of increase between annual-semelparous and perennial-iteroparous reproductive schedules, there is widespread evidence that variation in reproductive allocation among semelparous and iteroparous organisms alike is continuous. This paper reviews the ecological and molecular evidence for the continuity and plasticity of modes of parity––that is, the idea that annual-semelparous and perennial-iteroparous life histories are better understood as endpoints along a continuum of possible strategies. I conclude that parity should be understood as a continuum of different modes of parity, which differ by the degree to which they disperse or concentrate reproductive effort in time. I further argue that there are three main implications of this conclusion: (1) That seasonality should not be conflated with parity; (2) that mathematical models purporting to explain the evolution of semelparous life histories from iteroparous ones (or vice versa) should not assume that organisms can only display either an annual-semelparous life history or a perennial-iteroparous one; and (3) that evolutionary ecologists should examine the physiological or molecular basis of traits underlying different modes of parity, in order to obtain a general understanding of how different life history strategies can evolve from one another.

Divergent life histories and other ecological adaptations: Examples of social-class differences in attention, cognition, and attunement to others

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Grossmann ◽  
Michael E. W. Varnum
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life History ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Ecological Adaptations

AbstractMany behavioral and psychological effects of socioeconomic status (SES), beyond those presented by Pepper & Nettle cannot be adequately explained by life-history theory. We review such effects and reflect on the corresponding ecological affordances and constraints of low- versus high-SES environments, suggesting that several ecology-specific adaptations, apart from life-history strategies, are responsible for the behavioral and psychological effects of SES.

scholarly journals Drought frequency predicts life history strategies in Heliophila

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Grey Monroe ◽  
Brian Gill ◽  
Kathryn Turner ◽  
John K McKay
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Perennial Species ◽  
Drought Frequency ◽  
Occurrence Records

Explaining variation in life history strategies is a long-standing goal of evolutionary biology. For plants, annual and perennial life histories are thought to reflect adaptation to environments that differ in the frequency of stress events such as drought. Here we test this hypothesis in Heliophila (Brassicaceae), a diverse genus of flowering plants native to Africa, by integrating 34 years of satellite-based drought measurements with 2192 herbaria occurrence records. Consistent with predictions from classic life history theory, we find that perennial Heliophila species occur in environments where droughts are significantly less frequent compared to annuals. These associations are predictive while controlling for phylogeny, lending support to the hypothesis that drought related natural selection has influenced the distributions of these strategies. Additionally, the collection dates of annual and perennial species indicate that annuals escape drought prone seasons during the seed phase of their life cycle. Together, these findings provide empirical support for classic hypotheses about the drivers of life history strategy in plants - that perennials out compete annuals in environments with less frequent drought and that annuals are adapted to environments with more frequent drought by escaping drought prone seasons as seeds.

scholarly journals Experimentally constrained early reproduction shapes life history trajectories and behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Canal ◽  
Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez ◽  
László Zsolt Garamszegi
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Resource Limitations ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Previous Phase

AbstractThe trade-off between current and future reproduction is a cornerstone of life history theory, but the role of within-individual plasticity on life history decisions and its connections with overall fitness and behaviour remains largely unknown. By manipulating available resources for oviposition at the beginning of the reproductive period, we experimentally constrained individual life history trajectories to take different routes in a laboratory study system, the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, and investigated its causal effects on fecundity, survival and behaviour. Compared to females without resource limitations, females experiencing restricted conditions for oviposition had reduced fecundity early in life but increased fecundity when resources became plentiful (relative to both the previous phase and the control group) at the expense of longevity. Constrained reproduction in early life also affected behaviour, as movement activity changed differently in the two experimental groups. Experiencing reproductive constraints has, therefore, consequences for future reproduction investments and behaviour, which may lead individuals to follow different life history strategies.

Sexual size dimorphism and life history traits in an island-mainland system: an overview of the lizard genus Microlophus

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Ken S. Toyama ◽  
Christopher K. Boccia
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
South America ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Galápagos Islands ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Rensch's Rule ◽  
Comprehensive Compilation

Abstract Opposing life history strategies are a common result of the different ecological settings experienced by insular and continental species. Here we present a comprehensive compilation of data on sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and life history traits of Microlophus, a genus of lizards distributed in western South America and the Galápagos Islands, and test for differences between insular and continental species under life history theory expectations. Contrary to our predictions, we found no differences in SSD between localities or evidence that Microlophus follows Rensch’s rule. However, as expected, head dimensions and maturity sizes were significantly larger in insular species while continental species had larger clutches. Our results show that Microlophus exhibits some of the patterns expected from an island-mainland system, but unexplained patterns will only be resolved through future ecological, morphological and behavioural studies integrating both faunas.

A Primer of Life Histories

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Sustainable Exploitation ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Opportune Time

Life histories describe how genotypes schedule their reproductive effort throughout life in response to factors that affect their survival and fecundity. Life histories are solutions that selection has produced to solve the problem of how to persist in a given environment. These solutions differ tremendously within and among species. Some organisms mature within months of attaining life, others within decades; some produce few, large offspring as opposed to numerous, small offspring; some reproduce many times throughout their lives while others die after reproducing just once. The exponential pace of life-history research provides an opportune time to engage and re-engage new generations of students and researchers on the fundamentals and applications of life-history theory. Chapters 1 through 4 describe the fundamentals of life-history theory. Chapters 5 through 8 focus on the evolution of life-history traits. Chapters 9 and 10 summarize how life-history theory and prediction has been applied within the contexts of conservation and sustainable exploitation. This primer offers an effective means of rendering the topic accessible to readers from a broad range of academic experience and research expertise.

Parental allocation of additional food to own health and offspring growth in a variable environment

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Karell ◽  
Hannu Pietiäinen ◽  
Heli Siitari ◽  
Tuomo Pihlaja ◽  
Pekka Kontiainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Variable Environment ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Food Conditions

Life-history theory predicts increased investment in current reproduction when future reproduction is uncertain and a more balanced investment in current and future reproduction when prospects for both are good. The outcome of the balance in parental allocation depends on which life-history component maximizes the fitness benefits. In our study system, a 3-year vole cycle generates good prospects of current and future reproduction for Ural owls ( Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771) in increase vole phases and uncertain prospects in decrease vole phases. We supplementary-fed Ural owls during the nestling period in 2002 (an increase phase) and 2003 (a decrease phase), and measured offspring growth, parental effort, and physiological health by monitoring haematocrit, leucocyte profiles, intra- and inter-celluar blood parasites, and (in 2003) humoral antibody responsiveness. Food supplementation reduced parental feeding rate in both years, but improved a female parent’s health only in 2002 (an increase phase) and had no effects on males in either year. Nevertheless, supplementary-fed offspring reached higher asymptotic mass and fledged earlier in both years. Furthermore, early fledging reduced offspring exposure to blood-sucking black flies (Diptera, Simuliidae) in the nest. We discuss how parental allocation of resources to current and future reproduction may vary under variable food conditions.

Life History Strategies

2018 ◽  
pp. 95-126
Author(s):  
Marco Del Giudice
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Extended Model ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Basic Model

The chapter introduces the basics of life history theory, the concept of life history strategy, and the fast–slow continuum of variation. After reviewing applications to animal behavior and physiology, the chapter reviews current theory and evidence on individual differences in humans as manifestations of alternative life history strategies. The chapter first presents a “basic model” of human life history–related traits, then advances an “extended model” that identifies multiple cognitive-behavioral profiles within fast and slow strategies. Specifically, it is proposed that slow strategies comprise prosocial/caregiving and skilled/provisioning profiles, whereas fast strategies comprise antisocial/exploitative and seductive/creative profiles. The chapter also reviews potential neurobiological markers of life history variation and considers key methodological issues in this area.

scholarly journals Evolution of Divergent Life History Strategies in Marine Alphaproteobacteria

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiwei Luo ◽  
Miklós Csűros ◽  
Austin L. Hughes ◽  
Mary Ann Moran
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Carbon Mineralization ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacterioplankton ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Eukaryotic Phytoplankton ◽  
Microbial Groups

ABSTRACT Marine bacteria in the Roseobacter and SAR11 lineages successfully exploit the ocean habitat, together accounting for ~40% of bacteria in surface waters, yet have divergent life histories that exemplify patch-adapted versus free-living ecological roles. Here, we use a phylogenetic birth-and-death model to understand how genome content supporting different life history strategies evolved in these related alphaproteobacterial taxa, showing that the streamlined genomes of free-living SAR11 were gradually downsized from a common ancestral genome only slightly larger than the extant members (~2,000 genes), while the larger and variably sized genomes of roseobacters evolved along dynamic pathways from a sizeable common ancestor (~8,000 genes). Genome changes in the SAR11 lineage occurred gradually over ~800 million years, whereas Roseobacter genomes underwent more substantial modifications, including major periods of expansion, over ~260 million years. The timing of the first Roseobacter genome expansion was coincident with the predicted radiation of modern marine eukaryotic phytoplankton of sufficient size to create nutrient-enriched microzones and is consistent with present-day ecological associations between these microbial groups. We suggest that diversification of red-lineage phytoplankton is an important driver of divergent life history strategies among the heterotrophic bacterioplankton taxa that dominate the present-day ocean. IMPORTANCE One-half of global primary production occurs in the oceans, and more than half of this is processed by heterotrophic bacterioplankton through the marine microbial food web. The diversity of life history strategies that characterize different bacterioplankton taxa is an important subject, since the locations and mechanisms whereby bacteria interact with seawater organic matter has effects on microbial growth rates, metabolic pathways, and growth efficiencies, and these in turn affect rates of carbon mineralization to the atmosphere and sequestration into the deep sea. Understanding the evolutionary origins of the ecological strategies that underlie biochemical interactions of bacteria with the ocean system, and which scale up to affect globally important biogeochemical processes, will improve understanding of how microbial diversity is maintained and enable useful predictions about microbial response in the future ocean.

Dimensionless numbers and the assembly rules for life histories

1991 ◽  
Vol 332 (1262) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Assembly Rules ◽  
Dimensionless Numbers ◽  
Age Of Maturity

This paper reviews recent efforts to use certain dimensionless numbers (DLNs) to classify life histories in plants and animals. These DLNs summarize the relation between growth, mortality and maturation, and several groups of animals show interesting patterns with respect to their numeric values. Finally we focus on one DLN, the product of the age of maturity and the adult instantaneous mortality, to show how evolutionary life history theory may be used to predict the value of the DLN, which differs greatly between major groups of animals.

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