Temporal changes in kin structure through a population cycle in a territorial bird, the red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus

Populations of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) undergo regular multiannual cycles in abundance. The 'kinship hypothesis' posits that such cycles are caused by changes in kin structure among territorial males producing delayed density-dependent changes in aggressiveness, which in turn influence recruitment and regulate density. The kinship hypothesis makes several specific predictions about the levels of kinship, aggressiveness and recruitment through a population cycle: (i) kin structure will build up during the increase phase of a cycle, but break down prior to peak density; (ii) kin structure influences aggressiveness, such that there will be a negative relationship between kinship and aggressiveness over the years; (iii) as aggressiveness regulates recruitment and density, there will be a negative relationship between aggressiveness in one year and both recruitment and density in the next; (iv) as kin structure influences recruitment via an affect on aggressiveness, there will be a positive relationship between kinship in one year and recruitment the next. Here we test these predictions through the course of an 8-year cycle in a natural population of red grouse in northeast Scotland, using microsatellite DNA markers to resolve changing patterns of kin structure, and supra-orbital comb height of grouse as an index of aggressiveness. Both kin structure and aggressiveness were dynamic through the course of the cycle, and changing patterns were entirely consistent with the expectations of the kinship hypothesis. Results are discussed in relation to potential drivers of population regulation and implications of dynamic kin structure for population genetics.This work was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the European Union, University of Aberdeen and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.Peer reviewe

Rising water temperature in rivers: Ecological impacts and future resilience

Rising water temperatures in rivers due to climate change are already having observable impacts on river ecosystems. Warming water has both direct and indirect impacts on aquatic life, and further aggravates pervasive issues such as eutrophication, pollution, and the spread of disease. Animals can survive higher temperatures through physiological and/or genetic acclimation, behavioral and phenological change, and range shifts to more suitable locations. As such, those animals that are adapted to cool-water regions typically found in high altitudes and latitudes where there are fewer dispersal opportunities are most at risk of future extinction. However, sub-lethal impacts on animal physiology and phenology, body-size, and trophic interactions could have significant population-level effects elsewhere. Rivers are vulnerable to warming because historic management has typically left them exposed to solar radiation through the removal of riparian shade, and hydrologically disconnected longitudinally, laterally, and vertically. The resilience of riverine ecosystems is also limited by anthropogenic simplification of habitats, with implications for the dispersal and resource use of resident organisms. Due to the complex indirect impacts of warming on ecosystems, and the species-specific physiological and behavioral response of organisms to warming, predicting how river ecosystems will change in the future is challenging. Restoring rivers to provide connectivity and heterogeneity of conditions would provide resilience to a range of expected co-occurring pressures, including warming, and should be considered a priority as part of global strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation. This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems

[Portrait of John Andrews examining a model of the proposed Intelsat building with his partners, Mr John Simpson, centre, and Mr Peter Courtney, 1980] [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer from accompanying material.; Condition: good.; Part of a collection of photographs depicting Australian architect John Andrews and buildings he has designed.; "AIS photograph by Robert Maccoll, P80/201, 9/5/80/3" --accompanying notes

[Portrait of John Andrews, 1980] [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer from accompanying material.; Condition: good.; Part of a collection of photographs depicting Australian architect John Andrews and buildings he has designed.; "AIS photograph by Robert Maccoll, P80/201, 9/5/80/2" --accompanying notes.; Inscriptions: "Hamilton John Andrews, AIS" --in pen/pencil on reverse

Professor Arthur Delbridge, holding dictionary with, from left, David Blair, John Bernard and Sue Butler, 1981 [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer from accompanying information.; Part of the Australian Information Service collection.; Inscriptions: "Professor Arthur Delbridge, professor of English and linguistics at Macquarie University in Sydney holds a copy of the new dictionary. With him are members of the production team, from left, Mr David Blair, senior tutor in linguistics at the university; Associate Professor John Bernard, of the university's School of English and Linguistics; and Sue Butler, the dictionary's executive editor. Australian Information Service photograph by Robert Maccoll. P81/196; 28/9/81/2; Publications - Miscellaneous"--Typewritten caption in accompanying material.; Accompanying material includes a history of the project to publish the Macquarie Dictionary.; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn4729401

[American Express Tower, a 28 storey office building in Sydney designed in 1971 by John Andrews] [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer from accompanying material.; Condition: good.; Part of a collection of photographs depicting Australian architect John Andrews and buildings he has designed.; "AIS photograph by Robert Maccoll, P80/201, 9/5/80/7" --accompanying notes