Local Adaptation to Winter Conditions in a Passerine Spreading North: A Common-Garden Approach

Broggi, Juli; Hohtola, Esa; Orell, Markku; Nilsson, Jan‐Åke

doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb01810.x

Cited by 54 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…These observations are consistent with Weathers' [14]'s finding that avian BMR increases with increasing latitude, Wiersma et al's [12] observation that tropical birds have lower BMRs than their temperate counterparts, as well as with the negative correlation between temperature and BMR in mammals [10]. A negative effect of Temp avg on avian BMR has also been demonstrated to explain intraspecific variation [16], [56]. Moreover, numerous studies of thermal acclimation or acclimatization have found that birds adjust BMR in response to changing thermoregulatory demands [21]–[23], [25], [50], [57], [58].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Environment, Migratory Tendency, Phylogeny and Basal Metabolic Rate in Birds

2008

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Basal metabolic rate (BMR) represents the minimum maintenance energy requirement of an endotherm and has far-reaching consequences for interactions between animals and their environments. Avian BMR exhibits considerable variation that is independent of body mass. Some long-distance migrants have been found to exhibit particularly high BMR, traditionally interpreted as being related to the energetic demands of long-distance migration. Here we use a global dataset to evaluate differences in BMR between migrants and non-migrants, and to examine the effects of environmental variables. The BMR of migrant species is significantly higher than that of non-migrants. Intriguingly, while the elevated BMR of migrants on their breeding grounds may reflect the metabolic machinery required for long-distance movements, an alternative (and statistically stronger) explanation is their occupation of predominantly cold high-latitude breeding areas. Among several environmental predictors, average annual temperature has the strongest effect on BMR, with a 50% reduction associated with a 20°C gradient. The negative effects of temperature variables on BMR hold separately for migrants and non-migrants and are not due their different climatic associations. BMR in migrants shows a much lower degree of phylogenetic inertia. Our findings indicate that migratory tendency need not necessarily be invoked to explain the higher BMR of migrants. A weaker phylogenetic signal observed in migrants supports the notion of strong phenotypic flexibility in this group which facilitates migration-related BMR adjustments that occur above and beyond environmental conditions. In contrast to the findings of previous analyses of mammalian BMR, primary productivity, aridity or precipitation variability do not appear to be important environmental correlates of avian BMR. The strong effects of temperature-related variables and varying phylogenetic effects reiterate the importance of addressing both broad-scale and individual-scale variation for understanding the determinants of BMR.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Environment, Migratory Tendency, Phylogeny and Basal Metabolic Rate in Birds

2008

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“…Thus, BMR was measured in terms of oxygen consumption during the night in an open-circuit respirometer in a dark climate cabinet at a constant temperature of 25°C, which is within the thermoneutral zone for winter acclimatized great tits (own unpublished data). Both the respirometer and data extraction procedures have been described in detail in previous studies (Broggi et al 2004(Broggi et al , 2005. After one night of measurements, birds were released at the location of capture.…”

Section: Metabolic Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our main analysis concerns the great tit population in Oulu, northern Finland but also some data from a population close to Lund, southern Sweden is analyzed. Furthermore, as these two populations have intrinsic differences in their BMR level (Broggi et al 2004(Broggi et al , 2005, we predict that the rate of a possible age-dependent decline in BMR should differ between the two populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Idle slow as you grow old: longitudinal age-related metabolic decline in a wild passerine

et al. 2009

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Physiological changes due to aging are intensively studied as they have farreaching implications for the mechanistic and evolutionary theories of senescence. In this respect, metabolic rate has been suggested to play a role for the deterioration and damage of cells and tissues with age, partly due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. To mitigate such damage, individuals can be predicted to reduce basal metabolic rate (BMR) with age. This prediction has been verified in humans and some laboratory animals but never in wild animal populations. We analyzed the change in BMR within individuals across years in two wild populations of great tit (Parus major) differing in BMR. Great tits, living under stressful conditions towards the northern limit of their distribution, decreased their BMR as they aged whereas no such decrease was found in a southern population. Thus, we found a clear decline only in the population with the highest BMR levels. This study provides the first evidence of an age-related decline in BMR for a wild homeotherm.

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“…Garant et al (2005) discovered that the mean fledgling mass (and breeding value) of great tits decreased in one part of Wytham woods. A significant genetic component to variation in these fitness or fitnesslinked traits was documented in both studies (see also Broggi et al, 2005). These findings were possible because of intensive demographic studies, with populations studied for up to 35 years, detailed pedigrees and the ability to mark, recapture and measure hundreds of individuals.…”

Section: Neutral Versus Fitness Traits In the Great Titmentioning

confidence: 67%

Ecological exchangeability versus neutral molecular markers: the case of the great tit

Zink

2007

Animal Conservation

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Neutral genetic markers, such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences, are commonly used to discover independently evolving groups of populations in nature. These groups are often considered to be units of conservation because they preserve distinct organismal histories. However, because of the time lag between the isolation of populations and the evolution of diagnostic neutral markers, adaptive traits could be unrepresented by units defined by neutral markers. The concept of ecological exchangeability potentially provides a way to preserve populations possessing local adaptations that lack diagnostic neutral markers. Populations are surveyed for differences in fitness traits, either directly, or by examining morphological or genetic traits that could indirectly serve as proxies for them. The purpose of this paper is to compare the nature of units of conservation defined by neutral gene surveys and ecological exchangeability, using data recently available for the great tit Parus major, a wide-ranging Palearctic species. mtDNA surveys reveal a lack of differentiation across thousands of kilometer. In contrast, studies of body size and clutch size show locally adapted differences between populations separated by a few kilometer, meaning that these populations could be classified as ecologically in exchangeable. These two types of markers have dramatically different consequences for the geographic and evolutionary scale of conservation units. The concept of ecological exchangeability might be an inappropriate way to diagnose units of conservation in birds owing to the time required to document local adaptations and their potential ubiquity. Neutral genetic markers continue to provide a theoretically sound way of identifying units of conservation, and these units ought to be integrated into conservation plans without delay.

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Local Adaptation to Winter Conditions in a Passerine Spreading North: A Common-Garden Approach

Cited by 54 publications

References 35 publications

Environment, Migratory Tendency, Phylogeny and Basal Metabolic Rate in Birds

Environment, Migratory Tendency, Phylogeny and Basal Metabolic Rate in Birds

Idle slow as you grow old: longitudinal age-related metabolic decline in a wild passerine

Ecological exchangeability versus neutral molecular markers: the case of the great tit

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