Growing as slow as a turtle: Unexpected maturational differences in a small, long-lived species

Turtle body size is associated with demographic and other traits like mating success, reproductive output, maturity, and survival. As such, growth analyses are valuable for testing life history theory, demographic modeling, and conservation planning. Two important but unsettled research areas relate to growth after maturity and growth rate variation. If individuals exhibit indeterminate growth after maturity, older adults may have an advantage in fecundity, survival, or both over younger/smaller adults. Similarly, depending on how growth varies, a portion of the population may mature earlier, grow larger, or both. We used 23-years of capture-mark-recapture data to study growth and maturity in the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata), a species suffering severe population declines and for which demographic data are needed for development of effective conservation and management strategies. There was strong support for models incorporating sex as a factor, with the interval growth model reparametrized for capture-mark-recapture data producing later mean maturation estimates than the age-based growth model. We found most individuals (94%) continued growing after maturity, but the instantaneous relative annual plastral growth rate was low. We recommend future studies examine the possible contribution of such slow, continued adult growth to fecundity and survival. Even seemingly negligible amounts of annual adult growth can have demographic consequences affecting the population vital rates for long-lived species.

Download Full-text

Beyond demographic buffering: Context dependence in demographic strategies across animals

10.1101/2021.06.08.447594 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Omar Lenzi ◽

Arpat Ozgul ◽

Roberto Salguero-Gomez ◽

Maria Paniw

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Population Growth ◽

Temporal Variation ◽

Population Growth Rate ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Environmental Context ◽

Context Dependence ◽

Vital Rate ◽

Rate Variation ◽

Vital Rates

Temporal variation in vital rates (e.g., survival, reproduction) can decrease the long-term mean performance of a population. Species are therefore expected to evolve demographic strategies that counteract the negative effects of vital rate variation on the population growth rate. One key strategy, demographic buffering, is reflected in a low temporal variation in vital rates critical to population dynamics. However, comparative studies in plants have found little evidence for demographic buffering, and little is known about the prevalence of buffering in animal populations. Here, we used vital rate estimates from 31 natural populations of 29 animal species to assess the prevalence of demographic buffering. We modeled the degree of demographic buffering using a standard measure of correlation between the standard deviation of vital rates and the sensitivity of the population growth rate to changes in such vital rates across populations. We also accounted for the effects of life-history traits, i.e., age at first reproduction and spread of reproduction across the life cycle, on these correlation measures. We found no strong or consistent evidence of demographic buffering across the study populations. Instead, key vital rates could vary substantially depending on the specific environmental context populations experience. We suggest that it is time to look beyond concepts of demographic buffering when studying natural populations towards a stronger focus on the environmental context-dependence of vital-rate variation.

Download Full-text

Long-term mark-recapture and growth data for large-sized migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta) from Lake Mjøsa, Norway

10.1101/544825 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Jannicke Moe ◽

Chloé R. Nater ◽

Atle Rustadbakken ◽

L. Asbjørn Vøllestad ◽

Espen Lund ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brown Trout ◽

Salmo Trutta ◽

Population Level ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Data Series ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Growth Data ◽

Mark Recapture ◽

Adult Growth

AbstractBackgroundLong-term data from marked animals provide a wealth of opportunities for studies with high relevance to both basic ecological understanding and successful management in a changing world. The key strength of such data is that they allow to quantify individual variation in vital rates (e.g. survival, growth, reproduction) and then link it mechanistically to dynamics at the population level. However, maintaining the collection of individual-based data over long time periods comes with large logistic efforts and costs, and studies spanning over decades are therefore rare. This is the case particularly for migratory aquatic species, many of which are in decline despite their high ecological, cultural, and economical value.New informationThis paper describes two unique publicly available time series of individual-based data originating from a 51-year mark-recapture study of a land-locked population of large-sized migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Norway: the Hunder trout. In the period 1966-2015, nearly 14,000 adult Hunder trout have been captured and individually marked during their spawning migration from Lake Mjøsa to the river Gubrandsdalslågen. Almost a third of those individuals were later recaptured alive during a later spawning run and/or captured by fishermen and reported dead or alive. This has resulted in the first data series: a mark-recapture-recovery dataset spanning half a century and more than 18,000 capture records. The second data series consists of additional data on juvenile and adult growth and life-history schedules from half of the marked individuals, obtained by means of scale sample analysis. The two datasets offer a rare long-term perspective on individuals and population dynamics and provide unique opportunities to gain insights into questions surrounding management, conservation, and restoration of migratory salmonid populations and freshwater ecosystems.

Download Full-text

Demographic compensation does not rescue populations at a trailing range edge

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1715899115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (10) ◽

pp. 2413-2418 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Seema Nayan Sheth ◽

Amy Lauren Angert

Keyword(s):

Environmental Gradients ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Species Range ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Population Declines ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

Population Growth Rates ◽

Range Edge ◽

Outstanding Question

Species’ geographic ranges and climatic niches are likely to be increasingly mismatched due to rapid climate change. If a species’ range and niche are out of equilibrium, then population performance should decrease from high-latitude “leading” range edges, where populations are expanding into recently ameliorated habitats, to low-latitude “trailing” range edges, where populations are contracting from newly unsuitable areas. Demographic compensation is a phenomenon whereby declines in some vital rates are offset by increases in others across time or space. In theory, demographic compensation could increase the range of environments over which populations can succeed and forestall range contraction at trailing edges. An outstanding question is whether range limits and range contractions reflect inadequate demographic compensation across environmental gradients, causing population declines at range edges. We collected demographic data from 32 populations of the scarlet monkeyflower (Erythranthe cardinalis) spanning 11° of latitude in western North America and used integral projection models to evaluate population dynamics and assess demographic compensation across the species’ range. During the 5-y study period, which included multiple years of severe drought and warming, population growth rates decreased from north to south, consistent with leading-trailing dynamics. Southern populations at the trailing range edge declined due to reduced survival, growth, and recruitment, despite compensatory increases in reproduction and faster life-history characteristics. These results suggest that demographic compensation may only delay population collapse without the return of more favorable conditions or the contribution of other buffering mechanisms such as evolutionary rescue.

Download Full-text

Effects of territorial status and life history on Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) population dynamics in south-central Wisconsin, USA

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2018-0135 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 112-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael E. Wheeler ◽

Jeb A. Barzen ◽

Shawn M. Crimmins ◽

Timothy R. Van Deelen

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Population Growth ◽

Population Growth Rate ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Bird Species ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Management Actions ◽

South Central ◽

Sandhill Cranes

Population growth rate in long-lived bird species is often most sensitive to changes in adult survival. Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758)) have long life spans, small broods, and delayed first reproduction. Only territorial adult Sandhill Cranes participate in breeding, and territory acquisition reflects the interplay between the availability of suitable territories and the variation in mortality of adult birds occupying those territories. We estimated vital rates of a population at equilibrium using long-term resightings data (2000–2014; n = 451 marked individuals) in a multistate mark–resight model and used a stage-structured projection matrix to assess how strongly territorial adult survival affects population growth rate. Elasticity analysis indicated territorial birds surviving and retaining territories had a 2.58 times greater impact on population growth compared with the next most important transition rate (survival of nonterritorial adults remaining nonterritorial). Knowing how changes in vital rates of various stage classes will differentially impact population growth rate allows for targeted management actions including encouraging growth in recovering populations, assessing opportunity for recreational harvest, or maintaining populations at a desired level. This study also highlights the value of collecting demographic data for all population segments, from which one can derive reproductive output or growth rate.

Download Full-text

A Long-Term Demographic Analysis of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) in Illinois Using Matrix Models

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d11120226 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 226

Author(s):

Christina Y. Feng ◽

Jason P. Ross ◽

David Mauger ◽

Michael J. Dreslik

Keyword(s):

Population Growth ◽

Matrix Models ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Adult Survival ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Population Declines ◽

Mark Recapture ◽

Adult Age ◽

Clemmys Guttata ◽

Spotted Turtle

Matrix models and perturbation analyses provide a useful framework for evaluating demographic vital rates crucial to maintaining population growth. Determining which vital rates most influence population growth is necessary for effective management of long-lived organisms facing population declines. In Illinois, the state-endangered Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) occurs in two distinct populations, and management can benefit from an understanding of its demographic behavior. We conducted a mark–recapture study on both populations in 2015 and 2016 and used historical mark–recapture data from 1988 to 2010 to determine female age-specific survival and fecundity rates. Survival increased significantly with age, and age-specific reproductive output and fecundity were >1.0. However, both populations exhibited net reproductive rates below replacement levels, and one population had a negative growth rate. Summed elasticities for all adult age classes indicate adult survival has the highest proportional impact on population growth. We found evidence of demographic divergence between the two populations, and thus the prioritization of vital rates varied somewhat between sites, with a relatively higher emphasis on juvenile and young adult survival for one population. We recommend conservation actions such as habitat management and predator control, which will have positive impacts across stage classes.

Download Full-text

Long-term mark-recapture and growth data for large-sized migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta) from Lake Mjøsa, Norway

Biodiversity Data Journal ◽

10.3897/bdj.8.e52157 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

S. Jannicke Moe ◽

Chloé Nater ◽

Atle Rustadbakken ◽

L. Asbjørn Vøllestad ◽

Espen Lund ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brown Trout ◽

Salmo Trutta ◽

Population Level ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Data Series ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Growth Data ◽

Mark Recapture ◽

Adult Growth

Long-term data from marked animals provide a wealth of opportunities for studies with high relevance to both basic ecological understanding and successful management in a changing world. The key strength of such data is that they allow us to quantify individual variation in vital rates (e.g. survival, growth, reproduction) and then link it mechanistically to dynamics at the population level. However, maintaining the collection of individual-based data over long time periods comes with large logistic efforts and costs and studies spanning over decades are therefore rare. This is the case particularly for migratory aquatic species, many of which are in decline despite their high ecological, cultural and economical value. This paper describes two unique publicly available time series of individual-based data originating from a 51-year mark-recapture study of a land-locked population of large-sized migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Norway: the Hunder trout. In the period 1966-2015, nearly 14,000 adult Hunder trout have been captured and individually marked during their spawning migration from Lake Mjøsa to the river Gubrandsdalslågen. Almost a third of those individuals were later recaptured alive during a later spawning run and/or captured by fishermen and reported dead or alive. This has resulted in the first data series: a mark-recapture-recovery dataset spanning half a century and more than 18,000 capture records. The second data series consists of additional data on juvenile and adult growth and life-history schedules from half of the marked individuals, obtained by means of scale-sample analysis. The two datasets offer a rare long-term perspective on individuals and population dynamics and provide unique opportunities to gain insights into questions surrounding management, conservation and restoration of migratory salmonid populations and freshwater ecosystems.

Download Full-text

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ПЕРЕХОДНОГО СЛОЯ ALN НА ТЕМПЛЕЙТАХ 3С-SIC/SI(111) МЕТОДОМ АММИАЧНОЙ МОЛЕКУЛЯРНО-ЛУЧЕВОЙ ЭПИТАКСИИ

Nanoindustry Russia ◽

10.22184/1993-8578.2020.13.3s.148.153 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 96 (3s) ◽

pp. 148-153

Author(s):

С.Д. Федотов ◽

А.В. Бабаев ◽

В.Н. Стаценко ◽

К.А. Царик ◽

В.К. Неволин

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Growth Rate ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Surface Morphology ◽

Single Crystal ◽

Root Mean Square Roughness ◽

Rate Variation ◽

Mean Square ◽

Nucleation Layer ◽

Low Temperature Epitaxy

Представлены результаты изучения морфологии поверхности и структуры слоев AlN, сформированных аммиачной МЛЭ на темплейтах 3C-SiC/Si(111) on-axis- и 4° off-axis-разориентации. Опробован технологический режим низкотемпературной эпитаксии зародышевого слоя AlN на поверхности 3C-SiC(111). Среднеквадратичная шероховатость поверхности (5 х 5 мкм) слоев AlN толщиной 150 ± 50 нм составила 2,5-3,5 нм на темплейтах 3C-SiC/Si(111) on-axis и 3,3-3,5 нм на 4° off-axis. Показано уменьшение шероховатости смачивающего слоя AlN при изменении скорости роста. Получены монокристаллические слои AlN(0002) со значениями FWHM (ω-геометрия) 1,4-1,6°. The paper presents the surface morphology and crystal structure of AlN layers formed by ammonia MBE on 3C-SiC/Si(111) on-axis and 4° off-axis disorientation. It offers the technological approach of low-temperature epitaxy of the AlN nucleation layer on the 3C-SiC (111) surface. Root mean square roughness (5 х 5 |xm) of AlN layers with thickness of 150 ± 50 nm was 2,5-3,5 nm onto on-axis templates and 3.3-3.5 nm onto 4° off-axis. It appears that the RMS roughness of the AlN surface is changing with the growth rate variation. Single-crystal AlN(0002) layers with FWHM values (ω-geometry) of 1.4-1.6° have been obtained.

Download Full-text

Demographic effects of interacting species: exploring stable coexistence under increased climatic variability in a semiarid shrub community

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82571-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ana I. García-Cervigón ◽

Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio ◽

Adrián Escudero ◽

Merari E. Ferrer-Cervantes ◽

Ana M. Sánchez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

Species Coexistence ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Climatic Fluctuations ◽

Demographic Models ◽

Shrub Community

AbstractPopulation persistence is strongly determined by climatic variability. Changes in the patterns of climatic events linked to global warming may alter population dynamics, but their effects may be strongly modulated by biotic interactions. Plant populations interact with each other in such a way that responses to climate of a single population may impact the dynamics of the whole community. In this study, we assess how climate variability affects persistence and coexistence of two dominant plant species in a semiarid shrub community on gypsum soils. We use 9 years of demographic data to parameterize demographic models and to simulate population dynamics under different climatic and ecological scenarios. We observe that populations of both coexisting species may respond to common climatic fluctuations both similarly and in idiosyncratic ways, depending on the yearly combination of climatic factors. Biotic interactions (both within and among species) modulate some of their vital rates, but their effects on population dynamics highly depend on climatic fluctuations. Our results indicate that increased levels of climatic variability may alter interspecific relationships. These alterations might potentially affect species coexistence, disrupting competitive hierarchies and ultimately leading to abrupt changes in community composition.

Download Full-text

Robustness of life histories to environmental variability in complex versus simple life cycles

Theoretical Ecology ◽

10.1007/s12080-021-00501-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Annie Jonsson

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Life Histories ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Relative Advantage ◽

Complex Life Cycle ◽

Life Stages ◽

Vital Rates ◽

Habitat Separation ◽

Simple Life

AbstractMost animal species have a complex life cycle (CLC) with metamorphosis. It is thus of interest to examine possible benefits of such life histories. The prevailing view is that CLC represents an adaptation for genetic decoupling of juvenile and adult traits, thereby allowing life stages to respond independently to different selective forces. Here I propose an additional potential advantage of CLCs that is, decreased variance in population growth rate due to habitat separation of life stages. Habitat separation of pre- and post-metamorphic stages means that the stages will experience different regimes of environmental variability. This is in contrast to species with simple life cycles (SLC) whose life stages often occupy one and the same habitat. The correlation in the fluctuations of the vital rates of life stages is therefore likely to be weaker in complex than in simple life cycles. By a theoretical framework using an analytical approach, I have (1) derived the relative advantage, in terms of long-run growth rate, of CLC over SLC phenotypes for a broad spectrum of life histories, and (2) explored which life histories that benefit most by a CLC, that is avoid correlation in vital rates between life stages. The direction and magnitude of gain depended on life history type and fluctuating vital rate. One implication of our study is that species with CLCs should, on average, be more robust to increased environmental variability caused by global warming than species with SLCs.

Download Full-text