Growing large and bulky in the presence of the enemy: Daphnia magna gradually switches the mode of inducible morphological defences

Abstract

Summary1. Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits has been proven to be effective in ecosystems with frequently changing predator regimes. However, if a single dominant predator exerts predation pressure on each ontogenetic stage, prey should adapt by developing defensive traits for each life stage within a cost-benefit framework. This may require a change of defensive mechanisms between juvenile and adult life stages. 2. In this study, we examined the morphological defences of the cladoceran Daphnia magna Strauss induced by the tadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis Bosc. We tested for the induction of morphological defences by directly exposing daphnids to the predator and conducted a life span experiment to determine if the expression of the induced morphological defences varies throughout the life span of D. magna. In addition, we studied the adaptive value, i.e. the effectiveness, of the Triops-induced morphological defences in D. magna by conducting predation trials. 3. We found that, in D. magna, the expression of an array of inducible morphological defences, which act synergistically to provide effective protection, changes during the daphnids lifetime in response to the tadpole shrimp T. cancriformis. This gradual switch in the protective function of single traits between juvenile and adult stages represents a novel functionality and complexity of inducible defences. Both direct contact with the predator and chemical cues (kairomones) released by T. cancriformis induce an increased body length, body width and an elongation of the tail spine in D. magna. This study is the first to show that kairomones released by a predator can induce 'bulkiness' as a defensive mechanism in Daphnia. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the Triops-induced morphological defences (i.e. an elongated tail spine and increased bulkiness) by conducting predation trials. 4. Our study provides rare evidence for morphological defences in D. magna, and in addition shows that prey species gradually switch between plastic traits to maintain effective defences throughout their entire lifetime. Hence, our results help to shed light on the mechanisms governing phenotypic plasticity within natural populations.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Sex-Biased Gene Expression in the Cyclical ParthenogeneticDaphnia galeata

“…The lines were maintained for at least eight months and up to two years at 20 °C and a constant 15:9 hour light-dark photoperiod prior to the start of the present study. The semi-artificial media (based on ultrapure and spring water, trace elements and phosphate buffer (Rabus and Laforsch 2011) was regularly changed, and the Daphnia were fed every other day with a suspension of the unicellular algae Acutodesmus obliquus . The species identity was checked by sequencing a fragment of the 12S mitochondrial locus and 10 microsatellite markers, following protocols by Taylor et al (1996) and Yin et al (2010), respectively.…”

Fighting parasites and predators: How to deal with multiple threats?

“…[23,24]]. The applied Triops density is lower to that found in natural concentrations of this predator (up to 2500 Triops/m² in natural ponds, [38]) and adequate for defence induction in D. magna [31]. The predators were fed with a commercial fish food (preliminary experiments showed no effect of the fish food on the defence expression in Daphnia , CL, unpublished data); the same amount of fish food was added daily to the kairomone-free treatments.…”

Convergent evolution of alternative developmental trajectories associated with diapause in African and South American killifish

“…Yet, several recent studies indicate that embryos may be just as responsive to environmental conditions or cues, and this can lead to an adaptive matching between phenotype and the (expected) future environment via effects on post-embryonic behaviour [47] or morphology [48]. Alternative developmental trajectories, or developmental plasticity in general, can induce post-hatching phenotypic differences that have large effects on fitness and are adaptive given predicted future environments [49], but rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org Proc. R. Soc.…”