| 1. |
- Culina, Antica, et al.
(author)
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Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies : The SPI-Birds data hub
- 2021
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In: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 90:9, s. 2147-2160
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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 individually 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 ()-a large-scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of individually 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 individual 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.
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| 2. |
- Sniegula, Szymon, et al.
(author)
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Photoperiod and variation in life history traits in core and peripheral populations in the damselfly Lestes sponsa
- 2014
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In: Ecological Entomology. - : Wiley. - 0307-6946 .- 1365-2311. ; 39:2, s. 137-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In order to predict evolutionary responses to environmental changes one needs to identify the evolutionary potential in terms of genetic variation of traits and of the traits' plasticity. We studied genetic variance in life history traits and their reaction norms in response to manipulated photoperiods in central, northern, and northernmost peripheral populations of the damselfly Lestes sponsa (Hansemann). After the central-marginal hypothesis, it is predicted that central populations will express the highest genetic variance. Northern and northernmost populations showed the highest development and growth rates. All populations expressed shorter development and accelerated growth when raised in a northern compared with a central latitude photoperiod. The slopes of reaction norms differed between regions resulting in a region-by-photoperiod interaction. There was genetic variation in development time; however, it did not differ across regions. There was no genetic variation in growth rate or in the plasticity of development time and growth rate to photoperiod. Results did not support the central-marginal hypothesis. However, evidence was found that the development time has the potential to evolve at similar rates across study regions. In contrast, the growth rate seems to be genetically constrained for further evolution, probably because of a strong past directional selection on this trait. The presence of low genetic variation in the slope of the reaction norms could be a result of stabilising selection imposed by seasonality.
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| 3. |
- Sniegula, Szymon, et al.
(author)
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Seasonal time constraints reduce genetic variation in life-history traits along a latitudinal gradient
- 2016
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In: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 85:1, s. 187-198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1. 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. 2. The aim was to estimate life-history traits and their genetic variation in an obligately univoltine damselfly along a latitudinal gradient of 2730 km. 3. Populations were grown in the laboratory at temperatures and photoperiods simulating those at their place of origin. In a complementary experiment, individuals from the same families were grown in constant temperature and photoperiod that mimicked average conditions across the latitude. 4. 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 individuals were grown in constant rather than simulated and naturally variable conditions. 5. 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.
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| 4. |
- Sniegula, Szymon, et al.
(author)
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The genetic variance but not the genetic covariance of life-history traits changes towards the north in a time-constrained insect
- 2018
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In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. - : WILEY. - 1010-061X .- 1420-9101. ; 31:6, s. 853-865
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
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| 5. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
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Benefits of extra-pair mating may depend on environmental conditions-an experimental study in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
- 2013
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In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5443 .- 1432-0762. ; 67:11, s. 1809-1815
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Extra-pair mating constitutes a relatively common reproductive strategy in many socially monogamous bird species. This strategy may considerably improve reproductive success of males, but female benefits from extra-pair matings still remain unclear and empirical evidence is scarce. This may be because genetic benefits of extra-pair mating are not always revealed. It is possible that they are shown only in unfavourable environmental conditions and hence problems arise with detecting differences between within- and extra-pair offspring whose performance is measured under favourable conditions. In order to test this prediction, we manipulated environmental conditions by altering brood sizes of blue tits and compared phenotypic characteristics of within- and extra-pair offspring in mixed-paternity broods. We found that extra-pair young exhibited a higher response to phytohemagglutinin in comparison to within-pair young, but this was only observed among nestlings from experimentally enlarged broods. These results indicate that genetic benefits may interact with the environment, and thus benefits of extra-pair mating are likely to become visible only when conditions are relatively unfavourable.
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| 6. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
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Effects of elevated nest box temperature on incubation behaviour and offspring fitness-related traits in the Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis
- 2022
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In: Journal of Ornithology. - : Springer Nature. - 2193-7192 .- 2193-7206. ; 163, s. 263-272
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ambient temperature experienced by an animal during development or subsequently as an adult can affect many aspects of its behaviour and life-history traits. In birds, egg incubation is a vital component of reproduction and parental care. Several studies have suggested that environmental factors (such as nest microclimate) can influence the ability of incubating parents to maintain suitable conditions for embryo development. Here, we manipulated the developmental conditions of embryos through a modification of nest box thermal microclimate to investigate female incubation behaviour and its impact on offspring fitness-related traits in a wild population of the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). The temperature in experimental nests was increased using a heat-pack placed under the roof of a nest box, resulting in an average temperature increase of 2.5 degrees C, which corresponds to projected climate change scenarios. We demonstrated that females from nests with elevated temperature spent less time in the nest box during egg incubation and had more off-bouts than females from control nests. Moreover, we found that offspring from the experimentally heated nests had larger body mass at fledging in comparison to the control ones. Our study indicates that nest microclimate during the incubation period affects female incubation behaviour and offspring quality, indicating that environmental variation in nest temperature early in ontogeny can have important and long-lasting fitness consequences.
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| 7. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
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Extra-pair paternity in Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) depends on the combination of social partners' age
- 2022
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In: Ibis. - : Wiley. - 0019-1019 .- 1474-919X. ; 164:2, s. 388-395
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is growing evidence that engaging in extra-pair copulations may be a strategy by which females can modify their initial mate choice if they are constrained by primary choice of the social mate. Several factors such as genetic similarity and adult phenotypic traits can affect extra-pair paternity (EPP) patterns, but the relative importance of these factors may vary among species. Moreover, interactive effects of male and female characteristics have rarely been considered. Here, we aimed to study how multiple parameters characterizing a breeding pair (i.e. genetic similarity between mates, partners’ age and laying date) predict the occurrence of EPP at the brood level. The study uses 4 years of data from a wild population of Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus. Contrary to predictions of the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis, we did not find a positive relationship between the occurrence of EPP and the relatedness of social mates. We also found that the probability of EPP was unrelated to laying date. However, EPP was predicted by an interaction of social partners' ages. Specifically, EPP was less likely when old females were paired with old males in comparison to old females paired to young males. Our study suggests that the occurrence of EPP may be the result of behavioural interactions in which both male and female age are important for determining the outcome. Our results confirm the importance of considering the interactions of male and female characteristics in studies investigating EPP patterns.
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| 8. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
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Heterozygosity-fitness correlations in blue tit nestlings (Cyanistis caeruleus) under contrasting rearing conditions
- 2017
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In: Evolutionary Ecology. - : SPRINGER. - 0269-7653 .- 1573-8477. ; 31:5, s. 803-814
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding the relation between genetic variation and fitness remains a key question in evolutionary biology. Although heterozygosity has been reported to correlate with many fitness-related traits, the strength of the heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) is usually weak and it is still difficult to assess the generality of these associations in natural populations. It has been suggested that HFCs may become meaningful only under particular environmental conditions. Moreover, existing evidence suggests that HFCs may also differ between sexes. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between heterozygosity in neutral markers (microsatellites) and fitness-related traits in a natural population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Additionally, we tested whether sex and environmental conditions may influence the magnitude and direction of HFCs. We found a positive relationship between heterozygosity and body mass of 14 days post-hatching nestlings, but only among females. Our results suggest that the correlation between heterozygosity and nestling body mass observed among female offspring could be attributed to within-brood effects. We failed to find any evidence that environmental conditions as simulated by brood size manipulation affect HFCs.
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| 9. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
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Parental genetic similarity and offspring performance in blue tits in relation to brood size manipulation
- 2019
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : WILEY. - 2045-7758. ; 9:18, s. 10085-10091
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In birds, as in many other taxa, higher genetic similarity of mates has long been known to reduce offspring fitness. To date, the majority of avian studies have focused on examination whether the genetic similarity of social mates predicts hatching success. Yet, increased genetic similarity of mates may also reduce offspring fitness during later life stages, including the nestling period and beyond. Here, we investigated whether parental genetic similarity influences offspring performance using data from free-living blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) collected across three breeding seasons. Additionally, we tested whether brood size manipulation affects the magnitude and direction of the relationship between genetic similarity of mates and offspring performance. Sixteen microsatellite markers were used to measure genetic similarity between biological parents. We found that the genetic similarity of parents negatively affects offspring immune response and this effect was independent of the experimental brood size manipulation.
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| 10. |
- Arct, Aneta, et al.
(author)
-
Temperature variability is associated with the occurrence of extrapair paternity in blue tits
- 2024
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In: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press. - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 35:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In birds, extrapair paternity (EPP) constitutes an alternative mating strategy, with potentially important fitness consequences for both males and females and their offspring. Several factors have been identified that can influence the occurrence of EPP, but the role of environmental variability has so far received relatively little attention. Using long-term data set from a wild population of the blue tit (Cyanistes cearuleus), we assess the importance of ambient temperature in modulating the levels of extrapair paternity. Here, we showed that the variability of local thermal conditions affects the occurrence of EPP. Specifically, we found that the probability of EPP increased with rising variability in ambient temperature experienced by females prior to egg laying. This pattern is consistent with an idea of plastic female responses to unpredictable environments. Our results suggest that extrapair mating may represent an adaptive behavioral strategy to compensate for the potential negative effects of unstable environmental conditions.
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