Different developmental environments reveal multitrait plastic responses in South American Anostomidae fish

Abstract

Complex phenotypes result from developmental processes integrating genetic, epigenetic, and environmental information. Although changing environments combine several signals that may induce multitrait plastic responses, literature often decodes developmental plasticity into single trait variation as a function of isolated environmental signals. To address the multivariate nature of developmental plasticity, we evaluated how different combinations of environmental signals influence the development of morphological and behavioral traits. We raised Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Anostomidae) in four different developmental environments, and found that foraging position and structural complexity during development induced different morphotypes, which overlapped with behavioral patterns. Foraging position induced distinct patterns of mouth and fin positioning and overall body shape, which were accentuated by structural complexity. Moreover, fish most often chose conditions similar to their developmental environments. Combined signals during development, therefore, revealed environment‐specific phenotypic patterns associating morphology and behavior. Such results endorse the ability of developmental processes to influence the variation present in natural populations. Implications of addressing the multivariate essence of developmental plasticity transcend the evolutionary theory and inspire applications in several fields.

Developmental plasticity reveals hidden fish phenotypes and enables morphospace diversification

“…2017; structural complexity: Bonini‐Campos et al. 2019), making these organisms especially suitable for studies on developmental plasticity. Ancestral developmental plasticity apparently contributed for adaptive radiation in Stickleback fish, where marine ancestral lineages (e.g., Gasterosteus aculeatus ) retain a potential for expressing plastic benthic and limnetic ecotypes that evolved in derived freshwater populations, a capacity also identified in some specialized freshwater populations (Wund et al.…”

“…Developmental processes underlying differences among head morphotypes remain obscure, and we are unaware of descriptions for plasticity or polyphenism in natural populations of Anostomidae; only recently the first report of experimentally induced plastic responses in Anostomidae has been published, and authors used M. macrocephalus as the study system (Bonini‐Campos et al. 2019).…”

“…2016; Bonini‐Campos et al. 2019), substrate complexity (e.g., Price et al. 2013; Bonini‐Campos et al.…”

“…2013; Bonini‐Campos et al. 2019; Amen et al. 2020), and water flow (e.g., Pakkasmaa and Piironen 2000; Langerhans 2008; Kelley et al.…”

Variação intraespecífica e efeito da temperatura no estabelecimento do fenótipo durante a ontogenia de Astyanax lacustris (Lütken, 1875) (Osteichthyes: Characidae)

“…Outra questão importante a ser discutida sobre os sinais ambientais é que apesar das representações gráficas normalmente avaliarem a relação entre um sinal ambiental isolado e a resposta plástica em um traço fenotípico específico, os processos de desenvolvimento que ocorrem ao longo do estabelecimento são altamente integrados (Forsman, 2015 (Stillwell et al, 2007;Bonini-Campos et al, 2019).…”