Direct and Indirect Induction of a Compensatory Phenotype that Alleviates the Costs of an Inducible Defense

Organisms often exhibit phenotypic plasticity in multiple traits in response to impending environmental change. Multiple traits phenotypic plasticity is complex syndrome brought on by causal relations in ecological and physiological context. Larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus exhibit inducible phenotypic plasticity of two traits, when at risk of predation by dragonfly larvae. One induced phenotype is an adaptive defense behaviour, i.e., stasis at the bottom of water column, directly triggered by the predation risk. Another one is a compensatory phenotype, i.e., enlarged external gills, for an unavoidable cost (hypoxia) associated with the induced defense. We identified two ways by which this compensatory phenotype could be induced. The compensatory phenotype is induced in response to not only the associated hypoxic conditions resulting from the induced defense but also the most primary but indirect cause, presence of the predator

Costs of Inducible Defence along a Resource Gradient

In addition to having constitutive defence traits, many organisms also respond to predation by phenotypic plasticity. In order for plasticity to be adaptive, induced defences should incur a benefit to the organism in, for example, decreased risk of predation. However, the production of defence traits may include costs in fitness components such as growth, time to reproduction, or fecundity. To test the hypothesis that the expression of phenotypic plasticity incurs costs, we performed a common garden experiment with a freshwater snail, Radix balthica, a species known to change morphology in the presence of molluscivorous fish. We measured a number of predator-induced morphological and behavioural defence traits in snails that we reared in the presence or absence of chemical cues from fish. Further, we quantified the costs of plasticity in fitness characters related to fecundity and growth. Since plastic responses may be inhibited under limited resource conditions, we reared snails in different densities and thereby levels of competition. Snails exposed to predator cues grew rounder and thicker shells, traits confirmed to be adaptive in environments with fish. Defence traits were consistently expressed independent of density, suggesting strong selection from predatory molluscivorous fish. However, the expression of defence traits resulted in reduced growth rate and fecundity, particularly with limited resources. Our results suggest full defence in predator related traits regardless of resource availability, and costs of defence consequently paid in traits related to fitness

A geographic cline induced by negative frequency-dependent selection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Establishment of geographic morph frequency clines is difficult to explain in organisms with limited gene flow. Balancing selection, such as negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), is instead suggested to establish a morph frequency cline on a geographic scale at least theoretically. Here we tested whether a large-scale smooth cline in morph frequency is established by NFDS in the female-dimorphic damselfly, <it>Ischnura senegalensis</it>, where andromorphs and gynomorphs are maintained by NFDS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a large-scale latitudinal cline in the morph frequency: andromorph frequency ranged from 0.05 (South) to 0.79 (North). Based on the empirical data on the numbers of eggs, the number of ovariole, abdomen length and latitude, the potential fitness of andromorphs was estimated to be lower than that of gynomorphs in the south, and higher in the north, suggesting the gene-by-environment interaction. From the morph-specific latitudinal cline in potential fitness, the frequency of andromorphs was expected to shift from 0 to 1 without NFDS, because a morph with higher potential fitness wins completely and the two morphs will switch at some point. In contrast, NFDS led to the coexistence of two morphs with different potential fitness in a certain geographic range along latitude due to rare morph advantage, and resulted in a smooth geographic cline of morph frequency.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results provide suggestive evidence that the combination of NFDS and gene-by-environment interaction, i.e., multi-selection pressure on color morphs, can explain the geographic cline in morph frequency in the current system.</p

Non-lethal presence of predators modifies morphology and movement rates in Euplotes

Many species are able to modify aspects of their behaviour and morphology in the presence of predators. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the expression of morphological and behavioural defences according to the framework proposed by DeWitt et al (1999). Experiments were carried out using hypotrich ciliates of the genus Euplotes as prey and turbellarians of the genus Stenostomum as predators. The smaller species Euplotes octocarinatus showed a greater proportional increase in width, a reduction in foraging movement rates and an increase in maximum movement rates following exposure to predator cues. The larger Euplotes aediculatus induced lesser changes in width, similar reductions in movement during foraging and no change in maximum speed following predator exposure. These results provide evidence of a cospecialised relationship between morphological and behavioural defences. Despite substantial differences in the absence of predators, movement rates and lateral body width were similar in both species following predator exposure. The observed changes may be considered adaptive, gape limited flatworm predators are unable to ingest large Euplotes and a reduction in movement rates during foraging reduces predator encounter rates, while an increase in maximal movement rates increases chances of predator evasion. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Stronger inducible defences enhance persistence of intraguild prey

1. Intraguild predation is widespread in nature despite its potentially destabilizing effect on food web dynamics. 2. Anti-predator inducible defences affect both birth and death rates of populations and have the potential to substantially modify food web dynamics and possibly increase persistence of intaguild prey. 3. In a chemostat experiment, we investigated the long-term effects of inducible defences on the dynamics of aquatic microbial food webs consisting of an intraguild predator, intraguild prey, and a basal resource. We controlled environmental conditions and selected strains of intraguild prey that varied in the strength of expressed inducible defences. 4. We found that intraguild prey with a stronger tendency to induce an anti-predator morphology persist for significantly longer periods of time. In addition, model selection analysis implied that flexibility in defensive phenotype (inducibility itself) is most likely the factor responsible for the enhanced persistence. 5. As patterns at the community level often emerge as a result of the life-history traits of individuals, we propose that inducible defences increase the persistence of populations and may contribute to the widespread occurrence of theoretically unstable intraguild predation systems in nature. © 2010 TheAuthors. Journal compilation