| 1. |
- Hettyey, Attila, et al.
(författare)
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Interactions between the information content of different chemical cues affect induced defences in tadpoles
- 2010
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 119:11, s. 1814-1822
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animals often alter their behaviour, morphology and physiology in the presence of predators. These induced defences can be fine-tuned by a variety of environmental factors such as predator species, acute predation risk or food availability. It has, however, remained unclear what cues influence the extent and quality of induced defences and how the information content of these cues interact to determine the development of antipredator defences. We performed an experiment to study the significance of direct chemical cues, originating from the predators themselves, and indirect cues, released by attacked or consumed prey, for phenotypic responses in Rana dalmatina tadpoles. We reared tadpoles in the presence of caged predators (Triturus vulgaris, Aeshna cyanea) fed either one or three tadpoles every other day outside the tadpole-rearing tanks. Fifteen hours after food provisioning, predators were put back into the tanks containing focal tadpoles either after washing (direct + digestion-released cues) or with the water containing remnants of the prey (direct + all types of indirect cues). Our results suggest that direct cues together with digestion-released cues can be sufficient to induce strong antipredator responses. Induced defences depended on both direct cues, affecting predator-specific responses, and the quantity of indirect cues, resulting in graded responses to differences in predation threat. Moreover, direct and indirect cues interacted in behaviour, resulting in predator-specific graded responses. We also observed a decrease in the extent of predator-induced responses in large tadpoles as compared to small ones. Our results, thus, suggest that prey integrate multiple cues about predators to optimize induced defences and that this process changes during ontogeny.
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| 2. |
- Orizaola, German, et al.
(författare)
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Compensating for delayed hatching across consecutive life-history stages in an amphibian
- 2010
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 119:6, s. 980-987
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental conditions experienced early in the ontogeny can have a strong impact on individual fitness and performance later in life. Organisms may counteract the negative effects of poor developmental conditions by developing compensatory responses in growth and development. However, previous studies on compensatory responses have largely ignored the effects that poor embryonic conditions could have during the later life stages. In this study, we examined the effects of artificially delayed development in early life over two later life history transitions by investigating the compensatory growth of larval moor frogs Rana arvalis in response to temperature variation during embryonic development, and the associated costs during the larval 'and postmetamorphic stages. Low temperature during embryonic stage lead to delayed hatching at smaller size. The groups with delayed embryonic development showed strong compensatory growth during the larval stage, and reached similar metamorphic size than the controls in a shorter time. However, the most strongly delayed group was not able to fully catch up the total development time. These compensatory responses were found in the absence of photoperiod cues indicating that the delay in embryonic development was sufficient to initiate the compensatory response in larval growth and development. No apparent costs of compensatory growth were detected in terms of morphology or locomotor performance at the juvenile stage. We found that compensatory responses can be activated as early as at the embryonic stage and extend over several consecutive life history transitions, mitigating the effects of poor conditions experienced early in development. Potential short-term costs in natural environments and the occurrence of long-term costs, which prevent the generalisation of a faster larval life style, are discussed.
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| 3. |
- Orizaola, Germa, et al.
(författare)
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Reversibility of predator-induced plasticity and its effect at a life-history switch point
- 2012
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 121:1, s. 44-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In natural systems, organisms are frequently exposed to spatial and temporal variation in predation risk. Prey organisms are known to develop a wide array of plastic defences to avoid being eaten. If inducible plastic defences are costly, prey living under fluctuating predation risk should be strongly selected to develop reversible plastic traits and adjust their defences to the current predation risk. Here, we studied the induction and reversibility of antipredator defences in common frog Rana temporaria tadpoles when confronted with a temporal switch in predation risk by dragonfly larvae. We examined the behaviour and morphology of tadpoles in experimental treatments where predators were added or withdrawn at mid larval development, and compared these to treatments with constant absence or presence of predators. As previous studies have overlooked the effects that developing reversible anti-predator responses could have later in life (e.g. at life history switch points), we also estimated the impact that changes in antipredator responses had on the timing of and size at metamorphosis. In the presence of predators, tadpoles reduced their activity and developed wider bodies, and shorter and wider tails. When predators were removed tadpoles switched their behaviour within one hour to match that found in the constant environments. The morphology matched that in the constant environments in one week after treatment reversal. All these responses were highly symmetrical. Short time lags and symmetrical responses for the induction/reversal of defences suggest that a strategy with fast switches between phenotypes could be favoured in order to maximise growth opportunities even at the potential cost of phenotypic mismatches. We found no costs of developing reversible responses to predators in terms of life-history traits, but a general cost of the induction of the defences for all the individuals experiencing predation risk during some part of the larval development (delayed metamorphosis). More studies examining the reversibility of plastic defences, including other type of costs (e.g. physiological), are needed to better understand the adaptive value of these flexible strategies.
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| 4. |
- Burraco, Pablo, et al.
(författare)
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Limits to compensatory responses to altered phenology in amphibian larvae
- 2021
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 130:2, s. 231-239
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes in phenology are among the most pervasive effects of current climate change. Modifications in the timing of life-cycle events can affect the behavior, physiology and life-history of wildlife. However, organisms can develop compensatory strategies in order to reduce the costs of phenological alterations. Here, we examine the extent and limits of compensatory developmental responses in amphibian larvae exposed to variation in hatching timing. Using a common-garden experiment, we analyze how changes in temperature and food conditions alter compensatory responses to hatching delay, paying particular attention at how adverse environmental conditions can constrain these responses. We found that under benign conditions (warm temperature, unrestricted food) larvae fully compensate for the hatching delay, without cost in mass. However, under detrimental conditions (cold temperature and restricted food) these responses were prevented, and the combination of adverse conditions with long hatching delay completely disrupt compensatory responses. This study highlights the need of examining ecological responses to climate variation across a broad spectrum of environmental conditions in order to accurately predict the putative effect that climatic alterations can have on the life-histories and survival of wildlife.
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| 5. |
- Griesser, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Experience buffers extrinsic mortality in a group-living bird species
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 126:9, s. 1258-1268
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Extrinsic mortality has a strong impact on the evolution of life-histories, prey morphology and behavioural adaptations, but for many animals the causes of mortality are poorly understood. Predation is an important driver of extrinsic mortality and mobile animals form groups in response to increased predation risk. Furthermore, in many species juveniles suffer higher mortality than older individuals, which may reflect a lower phenotypic quality, lower competitiveness, or a lack of antipredator or foraging skills. Here we assessed the causes of mortality for 371 radio tagged Siberian jays. This sedentary bird species lives in family groups that contain a breeding pair as well as related and unrelated non-breeders. Ninety-five percent of death were due to predation (n = 59 out of 62 individuals) and most individuals were killed by Accipiter hawks. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models showed that non-breeders had a lower survival than breeders, but only in territories in managed forest with little visual cover. Examining breeders, only sex influenced survival with males having a lower survival than females. For non-breeders, juveniles had lower survival than older non-breeders, and those on managed territories had lower survival than those on unmanaged territories. Additionally, a low feather quality reduced the survival probability of non-breeders only. Thus, living on managed territories and having a low feature quality affected only non-breeders, particularly juveniles. These findings add to previous research demonstrating that juvenile Siberian jays acquire critical antipredator skills from experienced group members. Thus, experience can buffer extrinsic mortality, highlighting that group living not only provides safety in numbers, but also provide social opportunities to learn critical life-skills.
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| 6. |
- Murillo-Rincon, Andrea P., et al.
(författare)
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Compensating for delayed hatching reduces offspring immune response and increases life-history costs
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 126:4, s. 565-571
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Organisms are exposed to multiple sources of stress in nature. When confronted with a stressful period affecting growth and development, compensatory responses allow the restoration of individual fitness, providing an important buffering mechanism against climatic and other environmental variability. However, tradeoffs between increased growth/development and other physiological traits are predicted to prevent these high growth and development rates from becoming constitutive. Here, we investigated how compensatory responses in growth and development affect immune responses. By using low temperature to stop embryonic development, we exposed moor frog Rana arvalis tadpoles to two levels of time-constraints: non-delayed hatching and 12-day delayed hatching. In a common garden experiment, we recorded larval growth and development, as well as their immune response, measured as the inflammatory reaction after the injection of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Tadpoles originating from delayed hatching treatments had a lower immune response to PHA challenge than those from the non-delayed hatching treatment. In general, tadpoles from the delayed hatching treatment reached metamorphosis faster and at a smaller size than control tadpoles. However, immune-challenged tadpoles were not able to accelerate their development in response to delayed hatching. Our results indicate that 1) the innate immune response can be reduced in organisms undergoing compensatory developmental responses in growth and development and 2) compensatory capacity can be reduced when organisms are immunologically challenged. These dual findings reveal the complexity of handling multiple stressors and highlight the importance of examining the costs and limits of mounting an immune response in the context of increasing phenological instability ascribed to climate change.
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