Sexual dimorphism in a top predator (Notophthalmus viridescens) drives aquatic prey community assembly
(2018) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences 285(1890).- Abstract
Intraspecific variation can have important consequences for the structure and function of ecological communities, and serves to link community ecology to evolutionary processes. Differences between the sexes are an overwhelmingly common form of intraspecific variation, but its community-level consequences have never been experimentally investigated. Here, we manipulate the sex ratio of a sexually dimorphic predacious newt in aquatic mesocosms, then track their impact on prey communities. Female and male newts preferentially forage in the benthic and pelagic zones, respectively, causing corresponding reductions in prey abundances in those habitats. Sex ratio differences also explained a large proportion (33%) of differences in the... (More)
Intraspecific variation can have important consequences for the structure and function of ecological communities, and serves to link community ecology to evolutionary processes. Differences between the sexes are an overwhelmingly common form of intraspecific variation, but its community-level consequences have never been experimentally investigated. Here, we manipulate the sex ratio of a sexually dimorphic predacious newt in aquatic mesocosms, then track their impact on prey communities. Female and male newts preferentially forage in the benthic and pelagic zones, respectively, causing corresponding reductions in prey abundances in those habitats. Sex ratio differences also explained a large proportion (33%) of differences in the composition of entire pond communities. Ultimately, we demonstrate the impact of known patterns of sexual dimorphism in a predator on its prey, uncovering overlooked links between evolutionary adaptation and the structure of contemporary communities. Given the extreme prevalence of sexual dimorphism, we argue that the independent evolution of the sexes will often have important consequences for ecological communities.
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- author
- Start, Denon and De Lisle, Stephen LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018-11-07
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- amphibian, aquatic, character displacement, intraspecific variation, sexual selection
- in
- Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
- volume
- 285
- issue
- 1890
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85056403771
- pmid:30404874
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2018.1717
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9403dd87-b0ed-49a4-9056-c841a6144134
- date added to LUP
- 2018-11-22 09:09:37
- date last changed
- 2024-04-01 15:55:13
@article{9403dd87-b0ed-49a4-9056-c841a6144134,
abstract = {{<p>Intraspecific variation can have important consequences for the structure and function of ecological communities, and serves to link community ecology to evolutionary processes. Differences between the sexes are an overwhelmingly common form of intraspecific variation, but its community-level consequences have never been experimentally investigated. Here, we manipulate the sex ratio of a sexually dimorphic predacious newt in aquatic mesocosms, then track their impact on prey communities. Female and male newts preferentially forage in the benthic and pelagic zones, respectively, causing corresponding reductions in prey abundances in those habitats. Sex ratio differences also explained a large proportion (33%) of differences in the composition of entire pond communities. Ultimately, we demonstrate the impact of known patterns of sexual dimorphism in a predator on its prey, uncovering overlooked links between evolutionary adaptation and the structure of contemporary communities. Given the extreme prevalence of sexual dimorphism, we argue that the independent evolution of the sexes will often have important consequences for ecological communities.</p>}},
author = {{Start, Denon and De Lisle, Stephen}},
issn = {{1471-2954}},
keywords = {{amphibian; aquatic; character displacement; intraspecific variation; sexual selection}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
number = {{1890}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Sexual dimorphism in a top predator (Notophthalmus viridescens) drives aquatic prey community assembly}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1717}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2018.1717}},
volume = {{285}},
year = {{2018}},
}