ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8101-6247
Current Organisations
Jagiellonian University
,
University of New South Wales
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Life Histories | Behavioural Ecology | Evolutionary Biology | Biological Adaptation
Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Climate Change Adaptation Measures |
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 03-10-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2016
DOI: 10.1111/EVO.12898
Abstract: Female choice based on multiple male traits, rather than on any single one, has been reported in many species and may well be a rule rather than an exception. However, the implications this has for selection acting on choosiness itself remain underappreciated. We argue that this constitutes one of the important impediments to our understanding of the evolution of mate choice. We discuss this issue primarily in the context of the Fisherian model of sexual selection. We review theory and empirical data, showing how the crucial parameter of the model-genetic variation in male attractiveness-can be estimated when attractiveness is a function of multiple traits. Based on the reviewed theory, we show how relying on in idual male traits, instead of overall attractiveness, can produce biased estimates of Fisherian benefits of female choice. This bias can be substantial, especially when many traits contribute to male attractiveness. We discuss a number of methodological issues that, we hope, will stimulate future studies and help resolving the long-standing mystery of mate choice.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-09-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-11-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S13750-021-00245-9
Abstract: Over the last few decades, we increasingly see ex les of parental environmental experiences influencing offspring health and fitness. More recently, it has become clear that some non-genetic effects can be conferred across multiple generations. This topic has attracted research from a ersity of disciplines such as toxicology, biomedical sciences, and ecology, due to its importance for environmental and health issues, as well as ecological and evolutionary processes, with implications for environmental policies. The rapid accumulation of primary research has enabled researchers to perform systematic reviews (SRs), including meta-analyses, to investigate the generality of and sources of variation in non-genetic effects. However, different disciplines ask different questions and SRs can vary substantially in scope, quality, and terminology usage. This ersity in SRs makes it difficult to assess broad patterns of non-genetic effects across disciplines as well as determine common areas of interest and gaps in the literature. To clarify research patterns within the SR literature on non-genetic inheritance, we plan to create a map of systematic reviews as well as conduct bibliometric mapping (referred to as ‘research weaving’). We will address four key questions: first, what are the broad research patterns unifying the SR literature on non-genetic inheritance across disciplines? Second, are there discipline-specific research patterns, including terminology use, between disciplines? Third, how are authors of the SR literature connected? Fourth, what is the reliability of the SR literature? We will systematically collect reviews within the SR ‘family’ that examine non-genetic inheritance arising from parental and ancestral environment by searching databases for journal articles and grey literature, as well as conducting backwards and forwards searching. Search hits will be double screened using ‘decision trees’ that represent the inclusion criteria. All relevant data elements on the review’s topic, as well as a critical appraisal of the review’s approach and reporting, will be extracted into Excel flat sheets. Bibliometric data will be directly extracted from Scopus. We will then query all relevant data elements to address our objectives and present outcomes in easily interpretable tables and figures, accompanied by a narrative description of results.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-10-2014
DOI: 10.1111/EEN.12076
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 19-08-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-08-2021
Abstract: Climate change is putting the fate of ectothermic animals at stake because their body temperature closely tracks environmental temperatures. The ability to adjust thermal limits and preference through acclimation (i.e. acclimation capacity) may compensate for temperature changes. However, although necessary for forecasting the future of ectotherms in a changing climate, knowledge on the factors modulating these plastic responses is fragmentary. For instance, the influence of an animal's sex in driving acclimation capacity has been underappreciated. Here, we present the first systematic review and meta‐analysis on sex differences in thermal acclimation capacity. Using 239 effect sizes from 37 studies and 44 species, we revealed that males and females did not differ significantly in their overall capacity to acclimate their thermal limits and preference. However, in some instances, females expressed significantly greater plastic responses than males. In wild animals, females had a greater heat tolerance plasticity than males. In addition, females had a greater cold tolerance plasticity in terrestrial habitats, but the strength and direction of this sexual dimorphism was associated with the duration of acclimation. We also found a negative correlation between body mass and plasticity. Finally, we demonstrated that the capacity for each sex to adjust their thermal tolerance and preference was remarkably limited. It is important to acknowledge that the above effects were weak and heterogeneous. Hence, in the species we investigated, minor differences in acclimation capacity may not translate into major ecological mismatch between sexes with climate change. Our systematic review also revealed that over 75% of the studies we identified either did not report or confounded the sex of the animals. This under‐reporting may cause to overlook ecologically relevant sex differences in plasticity in ectothermic taxa. We stress the need for further research on sex‐based responses to temperatures. Our synthesis provides additional evidence that the capacity for ectotherms to acclimate to temperatures is limited, and likely insufficient to compensate for the impacts of climate change. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLCMelville, New York
Date: 22-12-2021
DOI: 10.1063/9780735423664_006
Abstract: Tissue mechanical properties determine the relationship between an applied mechanical load and the resulting deformation of the s le. In optical coherence elastography (OCE), the objective is to spatially resolve tissue mechanical properties from often incomplete and noisy measurements of the load and deformation. This is achieved by solving an inverse problem, using a model of elasticity that reasonably describes the behavior of tissue. Incorporating more parameters into the model (such as heterogeneity, anisotropy, nonlinearity, or viscoelasticity) than are needed in a given application can unnecessarily complicate the inverse problem. Also, how the load is applied can enhance certain tissue responses, and the validity of an elasticity model, and, thus, allow for the characterization of tissue in different regimes. A successful OCE technique offers a good match between the load application method, and the tissue mechanical properties of interest, and employs a reasonably complete but simplified mechanical model that provides a noise-robust inversion. OCE techniques can be classified into two broad categories: those inducing and subsequently tracking propagating mechanical waves, and those applying and assuming a uniaxial load, and tracking the deformation in response. With a brief introduction to the former, this chapter focuses on the latter group, describes the most prominent of these techniques, and presents an overview of studies that have successfully extracted mechanical properties in tissue-like media.
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 08-03-2022
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.243225
Abstract: Meta-analysis is a powerful tool used to generate quantitatively informed answers to pressing global challenges. By distilling data from broad sets of research designs and study systems into standardised effect sizes, meta-analyses provide physiologists with opportunities to estimate overall effect sizes and understand the drivers of effect variability. Despite this ambition, research designs in the field of comparative physiology can appear, at the outset, as being vastly different to each other because of ‘nuisance heterogeneity’ (e.g. different temperatures or treatment dosages used across studies). Methodological differences across studies have led many to believe that meta-analysis is an exercise in comparing ‘apples with oranges’. Here, we dispel this myth by showing how standardised effect sizes can be used in conjunction with multilevel meta-regression models to both account for the factors driving differences across studies and make them more comparable. We assess the prevalence of nuisance heterogeneity in the comparative physiology literature – showing it is common and often not accounted for in analyses. We then formalise effect size measures (e.g. the temperature coefficient, Q10) that provide comparative physiologists with a means to remove nuisance heterogeneity without the need to resort to more complex statistical models that may be harder to interpret. We also describe more general approaches that can be applied to a variety of different contexts to derive new effect sizes and s ling variances, opening up new possibilities for quantitative synthesis. By using effect sizes that account for components of effect heterogeneity, in combination with existing meta-analytic models, comparative physiologists can explore exciting new questions while making results from large-scale data sets more accessible, comparable and widely interpretable.
Publisher: Biology Centre, AS CR
Date: 05-04-2016
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 25-07-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2022
Abstract: The health of coral reef ecosystems is declining. As research examining this decline has grown, review articles (secondary literature) have emerged. Secondary literature can include narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and bibliometric analyses. Synthesizing secondary literature can influence research directions, as syntheses visualize both the current state of knowledge and trends in research. Therefore, we propose to use the combination of bibliometric mapping and systematic mapping techniques to synthesize the secondary literature on coral health and coral reef decline. We will examine secondary literature on coral health published in peer‐reviewed journals and indexed in Scopus or Web of Science databases. After screening the title, abstract, and keywords of each paper, we will extract information that encompasses the type and purpose of the review, the identified factors affecting coral health, and the health‐related outcomes on coral reefs. We will also conduct a critical appraisal using the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence Synthesis Assessment Tool (CEESAT) criteria for papers that are self‐reported to be systematic reviews. We will also extract bibliometric data to identify author affiliations, collaboration networks, and journals. We will communicate our results from systematic and bibliometric mapping using visualizations and tabulations. Our systematic map aims to reveal gaps and clusters of topics in review articles on coral health. These findings can guide future research into coral health in both primary and secondary literature. Our critical appraisal will evaluate the robustness of systematic reviews, informing researchers on how to identify and conduct high‐quality reviews. Our bibliometric map will uncover the extent and connectivity of researchers synthesizing evidence on coral health, highlighting the ersity (or lack thereof) of those engaging in coral health research.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 23-01-2023
DOI: 10.32942/X2HP4P
Abstract: Coral reefs are under threat from disease as climate change alters environmental conditions. Rising temperatures exacerbate coral disease, but this relationship is likely complex as other factors also influence coral disease prevalence. To better understand this relationship, we meta-analytically examined 108 studies for changes in global coral disease over time alongside temperature, expressed using average summer sea surface temperature (SST) and cumulative heat stress as weekly sea surface temperature anomalies (WSSTAs). We found both rising average summer SST and WSSTA were associated with global increases in the mean and variability in coral disease prevalence. We showed global coral disease prevalence reached 9.92% compared to 3.16% in 1992, and the effect of ‘year’ became more stable (i.e., has lower variance), contrasting to the effects of the two temperature stressors. Regional patterns erged over time and differed in response to average summer SST. Our model predicted that, under the same trajectory, 76.8% of corals would be diseased globally by 2100, even assuming moderate average summer SST and WSSTA. These results highlight the need for urgent action to mitigate coral disease. Mitigating the impact of rising ocean temperatures on coral disease alone is a complex challenge requiring global discussion and further study.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-02-2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-10-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-022-01704-9
Abstract: Rising temperatures represent a significant threat to the survival of ectothermic animals. As such, upper thermal limits represent an important trait to assess the vulnerability of ectotherms to changing temperatures. For instance, one may use upper thermal limits to estimate current and future thermal safety margins (i.e., the proximity of upper thermal limits to experienced temperatures), use this trait together with other physiological traits in species distribution models, or investigate the plasticity and evolvability of these limits for buffering the impacts of changing temperatures. While datasets on thermal tolerance limits have been previously compiled, they sometimes report single estimates for a given species, do not present measures of data dispersion, and are biased towards certain parts of the globe. To overcome these limitations, we systematically searched the literature in seven languages to produce the most comprehensive dataset to date on hibian upper thermal limits, spanning 3,095 estimates across 616 species. This resource will represent a useful tool to evaluate the vulnerability of hibians, and ectotherms more generally, to changing temperatures.
Publisher: W. Szafer Institute of Botany Polish Academy of Sciences
Date: 12-2014
Abstract: Persicaria nepalensis (L.) Mill. is an annual herb occurring natively in South, East and Southeast Asia, having a range extending from Oceania to East Africa. Here we report the first Polish stand of this species, found in 2011 near Baligród (Western Bieszczady Mountains), followed by the discovery of two more stands in the surrounding area up to 2013. The floristic composition of vegetation impacted by P. nepalensis is presented, and the invasive potential and pathways of introduction of the species are briefly discussed.
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 12-05-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1621546/V1
Abstract: Shared genetic architecture between males and females may constrain independent evolutionary responses to sexually antagonistic selection (SAS), limiting the evolution of sexual dimorphism (SD) and imposing negative fitness consequences in each sex. Environmental change may also directly affect the expression of SD and underlying sex-specific genetic architectures. Here, we estimated the degree of SD and cross-sex genetic (co)variances in life history traits (development time, mass and growth rate until emergence) in progressively more seasonally time-stressed populations of the obligate univoltine damselfly Lestes sponsa originating from low-, central- and high-latitude sites. Populations were cross-reared in a common garden laboratory experiment mimicking the seasonal change in temperature and photoperiod at the latitude of each s led population. This experimental design allowed us to test the influence of thermo-photoperiod on the genetic and environmental components of SD. Low-latitude populations showed greater SD in mass at emergence and growth rate in support of condition-dependent expression of SD. The thermo-photoperiod did not affect SD in any of the three life-history traits. All traits showed a strong cross-sex genetic correlation, suggesting constraints on optimal trait expression in the presence of SAS. Nevertheless, a trend for the thermo-photoperiod to affect sex-specific genetic variance in development time and growth rate was observed, suggesting a potential for the evolution of SD in response to changing seasonality. These results underline the importance of considering not only population-specific SD in life history traits but also the degree to which the environment affects genetic constraints on sex-specific adaptation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-02-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JEB.13046
Abstract: Life history theory is an essential framework to understand the evolution of reproductive allocation. It predicts that in iduals of long-lived species favour their own survival over current reproduction, leading in iduals to refrain from reproducing under harsh conditions. Here we test this prediction in a long-lived bird species, the Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus. Long-term data revealed that females rarely refrain from breeding, but lay smaller clutches in unfavourable years. Neither offspring body size, female survival nor offspring survival until the next year was influenced by annual condition, habitat quality, clutch size, female age or female phenotype. Given that many nests failed due to nest predation, the variance in the number of fledglings was higher than the variance in the number of eggs and female survival. An experimental challenge with a novel pathogen before egg laying largely replicated these patterns in two consecutive years with contrasting conditions. Challenged females refrained from breeding only in the unfavourable year, but no downstream effects were found in either year. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that condition-dependent reproductive allocation may serve to maintain female survival and offspring quality, supporting patterns found in long-lived mammals. We discuss avenues to develop life history theory concerning strategies to offset reproductive costs.
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.228387
Abstract: The costs associated with the production and maintenance of colour patches is thought to maintain their honesty. Although considerable research on sexual selection has focused on structurally coloured plumage ornaments, the proximate mechanisms of their potential condition-dependence, and thus their honesty, is rarely addressed, particularly in an experimental context. Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nestlings have UV-blue structurally coloured tail feathers, providing a unique opportunity for investigation of the causes of variation in their colour. Here, we examined the influence of early growing conditions on reflectance and structural properties of UV-blue coloured tail feathers of blue tit nestlings. We applied a two-stage brood size manipulation to determine which stage of development more strongly impacts the quality of tail feather colouration and microstructure. We used small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and electron microscopy to characterize nano- and micro-scale structure of tail feather barbs. Nestlings from the broods enlarged at a later stage of growth showed a sex-specific rectrix development delay, with males being more sensitive to this manipulation. Contrary to predictions, treatment affected neither the quality of the barb's nanostructures nor the brightness and UV chroma of feathers. However, at the micro-scale, barb's keratin characteristics were impaired in late-enlarged broods. Our results suggest that nanostructure quality, which determines UV-blue colour in tail feathers, is not sensitive to early rearing conditions. Furthermore, availability of resources during feather growth seems to impact the quality of feather microstructure more than body condition, which is likely determined at an earlier stage of nestling growth.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 29-01-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-09-2014
DOI: 10.1111/JEB.12479
Abstract: Telomeres have recently been suggested to play important role in ageing and are considered to be a reliable ageing biomarkers. The life history theory predicts that costs of reproduction should be expressed in terms of accelerated senescence, and some empirical studies do confirm such presumption. Thus, a link between reproductive effort and telomere dynamics should be anticipated. Recent studies have indeed demonstrated that reproduction may trigger telomere loss, but actual impact of reproductive effort has not received adequate attention in experimental studies. Here, we experimentally manipulated reproductive effort by increasing the brood size in the wild blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). We show that parents attending enlarged broods experienced larger yearly telomere decay in comparison to control birds attending unaltered broods. In addition, we demonstrate that the change in telomere length differs between sexes, but this effect was independent from our treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental study in the wild revealing that telomere dynamics may be linked to reproductive effort. Thus, telomere shortening may constitute one of the potential proximate mechanisms mediating the costs of reproduction.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-01-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.00599
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.01840
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-06-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.14266
Abstract: Coral reefs are under threat from disease as climate change alters environmental conditions. Rising temperatures exacerbate coral disease, but this relationship is likely complex as other factors also influence coral disease prevalence. To better understand this relationship, we meta‐analytically examined 108 studies for changes in global coral disease over time alongside temperature, expressed using average summer sea surface temperature (SST) and cumulative heat stress as weekly sea surface temperature anomalies (WSSTAs). We found that both rising average summer SST and WSSTA were associated with global increases in the mean and variability in coral disease prevalence. Global coral disease prevalence tripled, reaching 9.92% in the 25 years examined, and the effect of ‘year’ became more stable (i.e. prevalence has lower variance over time), contrasting the effects of the two temperature stressors. Regional patterns erged over time and differed in response to average summer SST. Our model predicted that, under the same trajectory, 76.8% of corals would be diseased globally by 2100, even assuming moderate average summer SST and WSSTA. These results highlight the need for urgent action to mitigate coral disease. Mitigating the impact of rising ocean temperatures on coral disease is a complex challenge requiring global discussion and further study.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2016
DOI: 10.1111/EVO.12827
Abstract: Respiratory gas exchange in insects occurs via a branching tracheal system. The entrances to the air-filled tracheae are the spiracles, which are gate-like structures in the exoskeleton. The open or closed state of spiracles defines the three possible gas exchange patterns of insects. In resting insects, spiracles may open and close over time in a repeatable fashion that results in a discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) pattern characterized by periods of zero organism-to-environment gas exchange. Several adaptive hypotheses have been proposed to explain why insects engage in DGE, but none have attracted overwhelming support. We provide support for a previously untested hypothesis that posits that DGE minimizes the risk of infestation of the tracheal system by mites and other agents. Here, we analyze the respiratory patterns of 15 species of ground beetle (Carabidae), of which more than 40% of in iduals harbored external mites. Compared with mite-free in iduals, infested one's engaged significantly more often in DGE. Mite-free in iduals predominantly employed a cyclic or continuous gas exchange pattern, which did not include complete spiracle closure. Complete spiracle closure may prevent parasites from invading, clogging, or transferring pathogens to the tracheal system or from foraging on tissue not protected by thick chitinous layers.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 18-08-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-12-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.JTHERBIO.2015.04.002
Abstract: Temperature has profound effects on biological functions at all levels of organization. In ectotherms, body size is usually negatively correlated with ambient temperature during development, a phenomenon known as The Temperature-Size Rule (TSR). However, a growing number of studies have indicated that temperature fluctuations have a large influence on life history traits and the implications of such fluctuations for the TSR are unknown. Our study investigated the effect of different constant and fluctuating temperatures on the body mass and development time of red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum Herbst, 1797) we also examined whether the sexes differed in their responses to thermal conditions. We exposed the progeny of half-sib families of a T. castaneum laboratory strain to one of four temperature regimes: constant 30°C, constant 25°C, fluctuating with a daily mean of 30°C, or fluctuating with a daily mean of 25°C. Sex-specific development time and body mass at emergence were determined. Beetles developed the fastest and had the greatest body mass upon emergence when they were exposed to a constant temperature of 30°C. This pattern was reversed when beetles experienced a constant temperature of 25°C: slowest development and lowest body mass upon emergence were observed. Fluctuations changed those effects significantly - impact of temperature on development time was smaller, while differences in body mass disappeared completely. Our results do not fit TSR predictions. Furthermore, regardless of the temperature regime, females acquired more mass, while there were no differences between sexes in development time to eclosion. This finding fails to support one of the explanations for smaller male size: that selection favors the early emergence of males. We found no evidence of genotype × environment interactions for selected set of traits.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 23-02-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-04-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12915-021-01006-3
Abstract: Unreliable research programmes waste funds, time, and even the lives of the organisms we seek to help and understand. Reducing this waste and increasing the value of scientific evidence require changing the actions of both in idual researchers and the institutions they depend on for employment and promotion. While ecologists and evolutionary biologists have somewhat improved research transparency over the past decade (e.g. more data sharing), major obstacles remain. In this commentary, we lift our gaze to the horizon to imagine how researchers and institutions can clear the path towards more credible and effective research programmes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2020
Abstract: The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long‐term studies of in idually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad‐scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long‐term studies of birds, we have created the SPI‐Birds Network and Database ( www.spibirds.org )—a large‐scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of in idually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI‐Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million in idual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI‐Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community‐derived data and meta‐data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta‐data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI‐Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI‐Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community‐specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much‐needed large‐scale ecological data integration.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 07-12-2022
DOI: 10.32942/X22S39
Abstract: Behavioural phenotyping is often time and labour-intensive, which can come at a cost to s le size and statistical precision. This is particularly a concern given that behaviours are often highly variable within and between in iduals, so naturally requires a larger s le size. Drosophila melanogaster is a common model system in many research fields, and behavioural observations are frequently required. While D. melanogaster has a rapid lifecycle that enables large numbers of flies to be reared for experiments, they are still subject to methodological bottlenecks for behavioural observations. Additionally, their small and delicate bodies make it difficult to observe certain behaviours in real-time, for ex le, in movement tracking or when performing repeated assays on the same in iduals. Here, we present a method, pilot data, custom data processing and analysis scripts for high-throughput behavioural phenotyping in D. melanogaster, as well as general remarks for future studies. We used automatic tracking units to measure three behaviours in the same in iduals: locomotor activity, exploratory behaviour in a Y-maze, and habituation to a startle response stimulus. We then examined between-in idual variation and trait correlations using our pilot data. Through this, we show that these behaviours are amenable to high-throughput automated tracking, with locomotor activity generating the most straightforward and high-quality data. These methods can be used to free up time and labour to allocate to increasing s le sizes and can be used to address a range of biological questions in ecology, evolution, and beyond.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-11-2022
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.02829
Abstract: Microbiome constitutes an important axis of in idual variation that, together with genes and the environment, influences an in idual's physiology and fitness. Microbiomes are dependent not only on an in idual's body condition but also on external factors, such as diet or stress levels, and as such can be involved into feedbacks between the external ecological factors and internal physiology. In our study, we used a wild population of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus to investigate the impact of external habitat composition on the microbiome of adult birds. We hypothesized that – through differences in plant composition, potentially affecting diet complexity – habitat type may impact the ersity and structure of the gut microbiome. Blue tits breeding in dense deciduous forests tended to have more erse microbiomes and be significantly different in terms of microbiome composition from birds breeding in open, sparsely forested hay meadows. Distinct study plots also tended to differ in a number of parameters describing microbiome ersity. We observed no microbiome differentiation according to in idual characteristics such as sex or age. The study emphasizes that external environment is one of the important modulators of microbiome ersity and calls for more such studies in wild animal populations.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-12-2019
DOI: 10.1101/2019.12.18.880682
Abstract: A classical prediction of the traditional evolutionary theories of ageing (tETA) is that longevity should be positively correlated with survival early on in life. However, large and unexplained variation exists in juvenile survival-longevity combinations. Here, we provide the first comparative study investigating the life-history, ecological and social correlates of juvenile survival, longevity and their combinations in 204 bird species. Overall, both measurements were positively correlated, but multiple survivals’ combinations evolved, some in accordance with tETA (“positive JS-L combinations”) while others contrasting it (“JS-L mismatches”). Positive JS-L combinations covaried with the pace of life proxies, whereas mismatching combinations covaried with the growing season length, where long growing seasons promoted juvenile survival, while short growing seasons promoted longevity. Interestingly, sociality explained only positive combinations, while life-history and ecological traits explained both positive and mismatching combinations. Overall, these findings challenge a main prediction of the tETA, and identify key evolutionary forces driving the coevolution between juvenile survival and longevity.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-12-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-02-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2017.09.004
Abstract: Sexual dimorphism in prenatal development is widespread among vertebrates, including birds. Its mechanism remains unclear, although it has been attributed to the effect of maternal steroid hormones. The aim of this study was to investigate how increased levels of steroid hormones in the eggs influence early embryonic development of male and female offspring. We also asked whether maternal hormones take part in the control of sex-specific expression of the genes involved in prenatal development. We experimentally manipulated hormones' concentrations in the egg yolk by injecting zebra finch females prior to ovulation with testosterone or corticosterone. We assessed growth rate and expression levels of CDK7, FBP1 and GHR genes in 37h-old embryos. We found faster growth and higher expression of two studied genes in male compared to female embryos. Hormonal treatment, despite clearly differentiating egg steroid levels, had no effect on the sex-specific pattern of the embryonic gene expression, even though we confirmed expression of receptors of androgens and glucocorticoids at such an early stage of development. Thus, our study shows high stability of the early sex differences in the embryonic development before the onset of sexual differentiation and indicates their independence of maternal hormones in the egg.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 2019
Abstract: Lifetime reproductive success (LRS) is what counts in terms of evolution, but investments in reproduction entail costs for an organism. The idea that telomere dynamics may be shaped in response to such costs is already established however, we still lack information on whether this relation translates to overall fitness. Here, we quantified LRS (number of fledged young) and longitudinal telomere dynamics of small passerine birds—the blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus ). We found that in idual telomere erosion rate was positively associated with lifetime fledgling number. Birds with more fledged young experienced increased telomere attrition. We show that telomere attrition rate, but not telomere length, is related to in idual fitness and suggest that telomere dynamics may underlie reproductive costs experienced by animals as a consequence of prioritizing their lifetime fitness. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to provide evidence that more pronounced telomere erosion is associated with higher fitness gain.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 21-01-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/BRV.12406
Abstract: Steroid hormones are important mediators of prenatal maternal effects in animals. Despite a growing number of studies involving experimental manipulation of these hormones, little is known about the impact of methodological differences among experiments on the final results expressed as offspring traits. Using a meta-analytical approach and a representative s le of experimental studies performed on birds, we tested the effect of two types of direct hormonal manipulations: manipulation of females (either by implantation of hormone pellets or injection of hormonal solutions) and manipulation of eggs by injection. In both types of manipulation we looked at the effects of two groups of hormones: corticosterone and androgens in the form of testosterone and androstenedione. We found that the average effect on offspring traits differed between the manipulation types, with a well-supported positive effect of egg manipulation and lack of a significant effect of maternal manipulation. The observed average positive effect for egg manipulation was driven mainly by androgen manipulations, while corticosterone manipulations exerted no overall effect, regardless of manipulation type. Detailed analyses revealed effects of varying size and direction depending on the specific offspring traits e.g., egg manipulation positively affected physiology and behaviour (androgens), and negatively affected future reproduction (corticosterone). Effect size was negatively related to the dose of androgen injected into the eggs, but unrelated to timing of manipulation, offspring developmental stage at the time of measuring their traits, solvent type, the site of egg injection and maternal hormone delivery method. Despite the generally acknowledged importance of maternal hormones for offspring development in birds, the overall effect of their experimental elevation is rather weak, significantly heterogeneous and dependent on the hormone and type of manipulation. We conclude by providing general recommendations as to how hormonal manipulations should be performed in order to standardize their impact and the results achieved. We also emphasize the need for research on free-living birds with a focus on fitness-related and other long-term effects of maternal hormones.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.13420
Abstract: Kin recognition is a critical element to kin cooperation, and in vertebrates, it is primarily based on associative learning. Recognition of socially unfamiliar kin occurs rarely, and it is reported only in vertebrate species where promiscuity prevents recognition of first-order relatives. However, it is unknown whether the recognition of socially unfamiliar kin can evolve in monogamous species. Here, we investigate whether genetic relatedness modulates aggression among group members in Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus). This bird species is genetically and socially monogamous and lives in groups that are formed through the retention of offspring beyond independence, and the immigration of socially unfamiliar nonbreeders. Observations on feeders showed that genetic relatedness modulated aggression of breeders towards immigrants in a graded manner, in that they chased most intensely the immigrant group members that were genetically the least related. However, cross-fostering experiments showed that breeders were equally tolerant towards their own and cross-fostered young swapped as nestlings. Thus, breeders seem to use different mechanisms to recognize socially unfamiliar in iduals and own offspring. As Siberian jays show a high degree of nepotism during foraging and predator encounters, inclusive fitness benefits may play a role for the evolution of fine-scale kin recognition. More generally, our results suggest that fine-graded kin recognition can evolve independently of social familiarity, highlighting the evolutionary importance of kin recognition for social species.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S10336-014-1058-4
Abstract: Parasite species are usually specialists utilising specific host species, but parasite assemblages may differ substantially even between populations of the same species and show seasonal and annual fluctuations. Host characteristics such as in idual age and sex may also affect parasite species composition and abundance. Here, we report the occurrence of malaria parasites in the Blue Tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) inhabiting Gotland (Sweden) across 5 years. Using PCR-based techniques, we found eight cytochrome b lineages belonging to genus Plasmodium (pTURUD1, pBT7, pSGS1, pSW2, pGRW11) and Haemoproteus (hPARUS1, hPHSIB1, hWW2) with the overall prevalence of 65 %. The Plasmodium infections predominated (prevalence of 49.5 %), whereas Haemoproteus infection rate was much lower (prevalence of 16.5 %). We showed significant differences in infection status between study years and age classes when all parasite lineages were analysed together or the two most common lineages were analysed separately. Overall, older birds showed higher prevalence. A significant interaction between year and genus effect significantly explained variation in infection intensity. This interaction stems from a significant yearly variation of the infection intensity with Plasmodium , while such an effect is not present for Haemoproteus infections. More importantly, the intensity of infection with Haemoproteus was significantly higher than with Plasmodium in 3 out of the 4 study years with data.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 03-07-2022
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 08-01-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-07-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-07-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-03-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.01108
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-10-2016
Abstract: Time constraints cause strong selection on life-history traits, because populations need to complete their life cycles within a shorter time. We therefore expect lower genetic variation in these traits in high- than in low-latitude populations, since the former are more time-constrained. The aim was to estimate life-history traits and their genetic variation in an obligately univoltine damselfly along a latitudinal gradient of 2730 km. Populations were grown in the laboratory at temperatures and photoperiods simulating those at their place of origin. In a complementary experiment, in iduals from the same families were grown in constant temperature and photoperiod that mimicked average conditions across the latitude. Development time and size was faster and smaller, respectively, and growth rate was higher at northern latitudes. Additive genetic variance was very low for life-history traits, and estimates for egg development time and larval growth rate showed significant decreases towards northern latitudes. The expression of genetic effects in life-history traits differed considerably when in iduals were grown in constant rather than simulated and naturally variable conditions. Our results support strong selection by time constraints. They also highlight the importance of growing organisms in their native environment for correct estimates of genetic variance at their place of origin. Our results also suggest that the evolutionary potential of life-history traits is very low at northern compared to southern latitudes, but that changes in climate could alter this pattern.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-05-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.1558-5646.2012.01654.X
Abstract: Female preferences for specific male phenotypes have been documented across a wide range of animal taxa, including numerous species where males contribute only gametes to offspring production. Yet, selective pressures maintaining such preferences are among the major unknowns of evolutionary biology. Theoretical studies suggest that preferences can evolve if they confer genetic benefits in terms of increased attractiveness of sons ("Fisherian" models) or overall fitness of offspring ("good genes" models). These two types of models predict, respectively, that male attractiveness is heritable and genetically correlated with fitness. In this meta-analysis, we draw general conclusions from over two decades worth of empirical studies testing these predictions (90 studies on 55 species in total). We found evidence for heritability of male attractiveness. However, attractiveness showed no association with traits directly associated with fitness (life-history traits). Interestingly, it did show a positive correlation with physiological traits, which include immunocompetence and condition. In conclusion, our results support "Fisherian" models of preference evolution, while providing equivocal evidence for "good genes." We pinpoint research directions that should stimulate progress in our understanding of the evolution of female choice.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-04-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JEB.13269
Abstract: Seasonal time constraints are usually stronger at higher than lower latitudes and can exert strong selection on life-history traits and the correlations among these traits. To predict the response of life-history traits to environmental change along a latitudinal gradient, information must be obtained about genetic variance in traits and also genetic correlation between traits, that is the genetic variance-covariance matrix, G. Here, we estimated G for key life-history traits in an obligate univoltine damselfly that faces seasonal time constraints. We exposed populations to simulated native temperatures and photoperiods and common garden environmental conditions in a laboratory set-up. Despite differences in genetic variance in these traits between populations (lower variance at northern latitudes), there was no evidence for latitude-specific covariance of the life-history traits. At simulated native conditions, all populations showed strong genetic and phenotypic correlations between traits that shaped growth and development. The variance-covariance matrix changed considerably when populations were exposed to common garden conditions compared with the simulated natural conditions, showing the importance of environmentally induced changes in multivariate genetic structure. Our results highlight the importance of estimating variance-covariance matrixes in environments that mimic selection pressures and not only trait variances or mean trait values in common garden conditions for understanding the trait evolution across populations and environments.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 13-05-2016
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182016000779
Abstract: Haemosporidian parasites infecting birds show distinct heterogeneity in their distribution among host species. However, despite numerous studies on the prevalence and ersity of parasite communities across species, very little is known on patterns of differences between them. Such data is lacking because up to date the majority of studies explored the patterns of variation in infections in different years, different time of s ling within a year or a breeding cycle, different study sites or was based on a small s le size, all of which may affect the estimates of prevalence and parasite ersity. Here, the prevalence, richness and ersity of haemosporidian parasites from the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus were studied in two closely related non-migratory hole-nesting passerines: Great Tits and Blue Tits. Birds were s led in sympatrically breeding populations during two seasons at the same stage of their breeding cycle – late nestling care. Great Tits were more prevalently infected with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus parasites (97·1 vs 71·2%), harboured a higher proportion of multiple infections (26·2 vs 3·2%) and had a more erse parasite community (11 vs 5 parasite lineages) than Blue Tits. Observed differences between two host species are discussed with reference to their breeding densities and immunological and behavioural characteristics.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-05-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1420-9101.2010.01993.X
Abstract: Here, we aimed at estimating sex-specific heritabilities of cell-mediated immune response (CMI) in the blue tit nestlings (Cyanistes caeruleus). To separate genetic and environmental components of the phenotypic variance in CMI (measured using phytohaemagglutinin assay), we performed a cross-fostering experiment. Additionally, controlled environmental variation was introduced by enlarging some broods. Our analyses revealed a significant genetic component (as approximated by the nest-of-origin term) of the phenotypic variance in immune response. More importantly, these genetic effects differed between sexes and experimentally manipulated brood sizes, as indicated by significant genotype-by-sex and genotype-by-environment interactions. We discuss possible causes of such sexual dimorphism in gene expression and suggest that sex- and environment-specific genetic interactions may contribute to the maintenance of genetic variability in traits related to immune functions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-01-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3908
Abstract: Identifying the environmental drivers of variation in fitness‐related traits is a central objective in ecology and evolutionary biology. Temporal fluctuations of these environmental drivers are often synchronized at large spatial scales. Yet, whether synchronous environmental conditions can generate spatial synchrony in fitness‐related trait values (i.e., correlated temporal trait fluctuations across populations) is poorly understood. Using data from long‐term monitored populations of blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus , n = 31), great tits ( Parus major , n = 35), and pied flycatchers ( Ficedula hypoleuca , n = 20) across Europe, we assessed the influence of two local climatic variables (mean temperature and mean precipitation in February–May) on spatial synchrony in three fitness‐related traits: laying date, clutch size, and fledgling number. We found a high degree of spatial synchrony in laying date but a lower degree in clutch size and fledgling number for each species. Temperature strongly influenced spatial synchrony in laying date for resident blue tits and great tits but not for migratory pied flycatchers. This is a relevant finding in the context of environmental impacts on populations because spatial synchrony in fitness‐related trait values among populations may influence fluctuations in vital rates or population abundances. If environmentally induced spatial synchrony in fitness‐related traits increases the spatial synchrony in vital rates or population abundances, this will ultimately increase the risk of extinction for populations and species. Assessing how environmental conditions influence spatiotemporal variation in trait values improves our mechanistic understanding of environmental impacts on populations.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 24-09-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-01-2018
DOI: 10.1111/IBI.12568
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-08-2022
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.14083
Abstract: Understanding the factors affecting thermal tolerance is crucial for predicting the impact climate change will have on ectotherms. However, the role developmental plasticity plays in allowing populations to cope with thermal extremes is poorly understood. Here, we meta-analyse how thermal tolerance is initially and persistently impacted by early (embryonic and juvenile) thermal environments by using data from 150 experimental studies on 138 ectothermic species. Thermal tolerance only increased by 0.13°C per 1°C change in developmental temperature and substantial variation in plasticity (~36%) was the result of shared evolutionary history and species ecology. Aquatic ectotherms were more than three times as plastic as terrestrial ectotherms. Notably, embryos expressed weaker but more heterogenous plasticity than older life stages, with numerous responses appearing as non-adaptive. While developmental temperatures did not have persistent effects on thermal tolerance overall, persistent effects were vastly under-studied, and their direction and magnitude varied with ontogeny. Embryonic stages may represent a critical window of vulnerability to changing environments and we urge researchers to consider early life stages when assessing the climate vulnerability of ectotherms. Overall, our synthesis suggests that developmental changes in thermal tolerance rarely reach levels of perfect compensation and may provide limited benefit in changing environments.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 23-06-2010
Abstract: The differential allocation theory predicts that females should invest more in offspring produced with attractive partners, and a number of studies support this prediction in birds. Females have been shown to increase reproductive investment when mated to males showing elaborated sexual traits. However, mate attractiveness might also depend on the interaction between male and female genotypes. Accordingly, females should invest more in offspring sired by in iduals that are genetically dissimilar or carry superior alleles. Here, we show in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ) that pairs of unfamiliar genetic brothers and sisters are less likely to reproduce in comparison with randomly mated pairs. Among the brother–sister pairs, those that attempted to breed laid smaller clutches and of lower total clutch mass. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that females adjust their reproductive effort in response to the genetic similarity of their partners. Importantly, these results imply a female ability to assess relatedness of a social mate without prior association.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-01-2014
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2015
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 21-06-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2015
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 16-08-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.16.252379
Abstract: The phenology of many species shows strong sensitivity to climate change however, with few large scale intra-specific studies it is unclear how such sensitivity varies over a species’ range. We document large intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity to temperature using laying date information from 67 populations of two European songbirds covering a large part of their breeding range. Populations inhabiting deciduous habitats showed stronger phenological sensitivity compared with those in evergreen and mixed habitats. Strikingly, however, the lowest sensitivity was seen in populations that had experienced the greatest change in climate. Therefore, we predict that the strongest phenological advancement will not occur in those populations with the highest sensitivity. Our results show that to effectively assess the impact of climate change on phenology across a species range it will be necessary to account for intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity, climate change exposure, and the ecological characteristics of a population.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-04-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-29635-4
Abstract: The phenology of many species shows strong sensitivity to climate change however, with few large scale intra-specific studies it is unclear how such sensitivity varies over a species’ range. We document large intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity to temperature using laying date information from 67 populations of two co-familial European songbirds, the great tit ( Parus major ) and blue tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ), covering a large part of their breeding range. Populations inhabiting deciduous habitats showed stronger phenological sensitivity than those in evergreen and mixed habitats. However, populations with higher sensitivity tended to have experienced less rapid change in climate over the past decades, such that populations with high phenological sensitivity will not necessarily exhibit the strongest phenological advancement. Our results show that to effectively assess the impact of climate change on phenology across a species’ range it will be necessary to account for intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity, climate change exposure, and the ecological characteristics of a population.
Start Date: 05-2019
End Date: 12-2022
Amount: $365,058.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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