Natural selection in novel environments: predation selects for background matching in the body colour of a land fish

Morgans, Courtney; Ord, Terry J.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.027

Cited by 26 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…To this end, the intensity of red of the dorsal fin was measured relative to the amount of red exhibited in the body (variation in body colouration was more likely to reflect differences in diet and less likely to be a direct target of sexual selection; NB: although the body had very little red in its colouration generally, there was still variation in body colouration among populations – [28]).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Findings of Morgans and Ord [28] showed the most accurate estimate of predation was provided by category 4 because it was only found on model blennies and never on controls and was clearly the result of predatory attempts rather than scavenging animals. Category 5 was exempt from analysis as it probably resulted from wave action or human interference with the stimuli.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny

2014

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BackgroundDivergence between populations in reproductively important features is often vital for speciation. Many studies attempt to identify the cause of population differentiation in phenotype through the study of a specific selection pressure. Holistic studies that consider the interaction of several contrasting forms of selection are more rare. Most studies also fail to consider the history of connectivity among populations and the potential for genetic drift or gene flow to facilitate or limit phenotypic divergence. We examined the interacting effects of natural selection, sexual selection and the history of connectivity on phenotypic differentiation among five populations of the Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum), a land fish endemic to the island of Guam.ResultsWe found key differences among populations in two male ornaments—the size of a prominent head crest and conspicuousness of a coloured dorsal fin—that reflected a trade-off between the intensity of sexual selection (male biased sex ratios) and natural selection (exposure to predators). This differentiation in ornamentation has occurred despite evidence suggesting extensive gene flow among populations, which implies that the change in ornament expression has been recent (and potentially plastic).ConclusionsOur study provides an early snapshot of divergence in reproductively important features that, regardless of whether it reflects genetic or plastic changes in phenotype, could ultimately form a reproductive barrier among populations.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny

2014

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“…Within this family, there are species that remain in the ancestral marine environment, species that exhibit varying degrees of amphibious behaviour, and species that spend their entire adult life out of the water on rocks in the splash zone (Patzner et al 2009;Hsieh 2010;Ord and Hsieh 2011;Morgans and Ord 2013). In the latter case of land blennies, these fish are exceptional in their degree of terrestrially: they are highly agile on land (Hsieh 2010), actively avoid immersion and track changes in tide level to remain above the waterline (Ord and Hsieh 2011), and appear to spend the vast majority of their adult life out on the rocks in the splash zone (Ord and Hsieh 2011).…”

Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the number of species examined, and their overall distribution across the blenny phylogeny as a whole (e.g. see Morgans and Ord 2013), made the estimate of phylogenetic structure in the data poor and essentially meaningless (e.g. the estimated phylogenetic signal in data converged on zero in all cases; see Table S4, Online Resource).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specimens examined and reported in Table S1 (Online Resource) comprised juveniles, immature females and mature females; this emphasis on females was because they were the sex most likely to exhibit the strongest tradeoff between growth and reproduction. Categorization of lifestyle (degree of terrestriality) was based on detailed observations of behaviour during this study (see also Morgans and Ord 2013). The predominantly marine species (Istiblennius spp.)…”

Section: Specimen Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land colonisation by fish is associated with predictable changes in life history

2016

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The colonisation of new environments is a central evolutionary process, yet why species make such transitions often remains unknown because of the difficulty in empirically investigating potential mechanisms. The most likely explanation for transitions to new environments is that doing so conveys survival benefits, either in the form of an ecological release or new ecological opportunity. Life history theory makes explicit predictions about how traits linked to survival and reproduction should change with shifts in age-specific mortality. We used these predictions to examine whether a current colonisation of land by fishes might convey survival benefits. We found that blenny species with more terrestrial lifestyles exhibited faster reproductive development and slower growth rates than species with more marine lifestyles; a life history trade off that is consistent with the hypothesis that mortality has become reduced in younger life stages on land. A plausible explanation for such a shift is that an ecological release or opportunity on land has conveyed survival benefits relative to the ancestral marine environment. More generally, our study illustrates how life history theory can be leveraged in novel ways to formulate testable predictions on why organisms might make transitions into novel environments.

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Morphological and life‐history trait plasticity of two Daphnia species induced by fish kairomones

Jin,

Wang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Daphnia can avoid predation by sensing fish kairomones and producing inducible defenses by altering the phenotype. In this study, the results showed that the morphological and life‐history strategies of two Daphnia species (Daphnia pulex and Daphnia sinensis) exposed to Aristichthys nobilis kairomones. In the presence of fish kairomones, the two Daphnia species exhibited significantly smaller body length at maturity, smaller body length of offspring at the 10th instar, and longer relative tail spine of offspring. Nevertheless, other morphological and life‐history traits of the two Daphnia species differed. D. pulex showed a significantly longer relative tail spine length and earlier age at maturity after exposure to fish kairomones. The total offspring number of D. sinensis exposed to fish kairomones was significantly higher than that of the control group, whereas that of D. pulex was significantly lower. These results suggest that the two Daphnia species have different inducible defense strategies (e.g., morphological and life‐history traits) during prolonged exposure to A. nobilis kairomones, and their offspring also develop morphological defenses to avoid predation. It will provide reference for further exploring the adaptive evolution of Daphnia morphology and life‐history traits in the presence of planktivorous fish.

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Natural selection in novel environments: predation selects for background matching in the body colour of a land fish

Cited by 26 publications

References 38 publications

How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny

How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny

Land colonisation by fish is associated with predictable changes in life history

Morphological and life‐history trait plasticity of two Daphnia species induced by fish kairomones

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