Climate-induced reaction norms for life-history traits in pythons
(2011) In Ecology 92(9). p.1858-1864- Abstract
- Climate change modelers predict increasingly frequent "extreme events," so it is critical to quantify whether organismal responses (such as reproductive output) measured over the range of usual climatic conditions can predict responses under more extreme conditions. In a 20-year field study on water pythons (Liasis fuscus), we quantified the effects of climatically driven annual variation in food supply on demographic traits of female pythons (feeding rate, body size, body mass, and reproductive output). Reaction norms linking food supply to feeding rates and residual body mass were broadly linear, whereas norms linking food supply to female body size became curvilinear when a dramatic (flooding-induced) famine reduced the mean body size... (More)
- Climate change modelers predict increasingly frequent "extreme events," so it is critical to quantify whether organismal responses (such as reproductive output) measured over the range of usual climatic conditions can predict responses under more extreme conditions. In a 20-year field study on water pythons (Liasis fuscus), we quantified the effects of climatically driven annual variation in food supply on demographic traits of female pythons (feeding rate, body size, body mass, and reproductive output). Reaction norms linking food supply to feeding rates and residual body mass were broadly linear, whereas norms linking food supply to female body size became curvilinear when a dramatic (flooding-induced) famine reduced the mean body size at sexual maturity. Thus, the reaction norms recorded over 16 years of "normal" (albeit highly variable) climatic conditions gave little insight into the population's response to a more extreme nutritional crisis. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2161434
- author
- Ujvari, Beata ; Shine, Richard ; Luiselli, Luca and Madsen, Thomas LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- dusky rat, extreme climatic events, food supply, Liasis fuscus, life-history plasticity, phenotypic plasticity, Rattus colletti, reaction norms, snake, tropical Australia, water python
- in
- Ecology
- volume
- 92
- issue
- 9
- pages
- 1858 - 1864
- publisher
- Ecological Society of America
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000294152800017
- scopus:80051892951
- ISSN
- 0012-9658
- DOI
- 10.1890/11-0129.1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1d763c15-e8b1-4461-8b03-47c7ee526523 (old id 2161434)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:10:19
- date last changed
- 2022-04-21 20:13:04
@article{1d763c15-e8b1-4461-8b03-47c7ee526523,
abstract = {{Climate change modelers predict increasingly frequent "extreme events," so it is critical to quantify whether organismal responses (such as reproductive output) measured over the range of usual climatic conditions can predict responses under more extreme conditions. In a 20-year field study on water pythons (Liasis fuscus), we quantified the effects of climatically driven annual variation in food supply on demographic traits of female pythons (feeding rate, body size, body mass, and reproductive output). Reaction norms linking food supply to feeding rates and residual body mass were broadly linear, whereas norms linking food supply to female body size became curvilinear when a dramatic (flooding-induced) famine reduced the mean body size at sexual maturity. Thus, the reaction norms recorded over 16 years of "normal" (albeit highly variable) climatic conditions gave little insight into the population's response to a more extreme nutritional crisis.}},
author = {{Ujvari, Beata and Shine, Richard and Luiselli, Luca and Madsen, Thomas}},
issn = {{0012-9658}},
keywords = {{dusky rat; extreme climatic events; food supply; Liasis fuscus; life-history plasticity; phenotypic plasticity; Rattus colletti; reaction norms; snake; tropical Australia; water python}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{9}},
pages = {{1858--1864}},
publisher = {{Ecological Society of America}},
series = {{Ecology}},
title = {{Climate-induced reaction norms for life-history traits in pythons}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/11-0129.1}},
doi = {{10.1890/11-0129.1}},
volume = {{92}},
year = {{2011}},
}