Adaptation to climate change through dispersal and inherited timing in an avian migrant
(2023) In Nature Ecology and Evolution 7(11). p.1869-1877- Abstract
Many organisms fail to adjust their phenology sufficiently to climate change. Studies have concentrated on adaptive responses within localities, but little is known about how latitudinal dispersal enhances evolutionary potential. Rapid adaptation is expected if dispersers from lower latitudes have improved synchrony to northern conditions, thereby gain fitness and introduce genotypes on which selection acts. Here we provide experimental evidence that dispersal in an avian migrant enables rapid evolutionary adaptation. We translocated Dutch female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) and eggs to Sweden, where breeding phenology is ~15 days later. Translocated females bred earlier, and their fitness was 2.5 times higher than local... (More)
Many organisms fail to adjust their phenology sufficiently to climate change. Studies have concentrated on adaptive responses within localities, but little is known about how latitudinal dispersal enhances evolutionary potential. Rapid adaptation is expected if dispersers from lower latitudes have improved synchrony to northern conditions, thereby gain fitness and introduce genotypes on which selection acts. Here we provide experimental evidence that dispersal in an avian migrant enables rapid evolutionary adaptation. We translocated Dutch female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) and eggs to Sweden, where breeding phenology is ~15 days later. Translocated females bred earlier, and their fitness was 2.5 times higher than local Swedish flycatchers. We show that between-population variation in timing traits is highly heritable, and hence immigration of southern genotypes promotes the necessary evolutionary response. We conclude that studies on adaptation to large-scale environmental change should not just focus on plasticity and evolution based on standing genetic variation but should also include phenotype–habitat matching through dispersal as a viable route to adjust.
(Less)
- author
- Lamers, Koosje P. ; Nilsson, Jan Åke LU ; Nicolaus, Marion and Both, Christiaan
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Nature Ecology and Evolution
- volume
- 7
- issue
- 11
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37710043
- scopus:85171185964
- ISSN
- 2397-334X
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41559-023-02191-w
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bed80948-d939-428a-b19c-f4b8354f6bbb
- date added to LUP
- 2023-12-28 08:19:18
- date last changed
- 2024-04-26 15:13:45
@article{bed80948-d939-428a-b19c-f4b8354f6bbb,
abstract = {{<p>Many organisms fail to adjust their phenology sufficiently to climate change. Studies have concentrated on adaptive responses within localities, but little is known about how latitudinal dispersal enhances evolutionary potential. Rapid adaptation is expected if dispersers from lower latitudes have improved synchrony to northern conditions, thereby gain fitness and introduce genotypes on which selection acts. Here we provide experimental evidence that dispersal in an avian migrant enables rapid evolutionary adaptation. We translocated Dutch female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) and eggs to Sweden, where breeding phenology is ~15 days later. Translocated females bred earlier, and their fitness was 2.5 times higher than local Swedish flycatchers. We show that between-population variation in timing traits is highly heritable, and hence immigration of southern genotypes promotes the necessary evolutionary response. We conclude that studies on adaptation to large-scale environmental change should not just focus on plasticity and evolution based on standing genetic variation but should also include phenotype–habitat matching through dispersal as a viable route to adjust.</p>}},
author = {{Lamers, Koosje P. and Nilsson, Jan Åke and Nicolaus, Marion and Both, Christiaan}},
issn = {{2397-334X}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{11}},
pages = {{1869--1877}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{Nature Ecology and Evolution}},
title = {{Adaptation to climate change through dispersal and inherited timing in an avian migrant}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02191-w}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41559-023-02191-w}},
volume = {{7}},
year = {{2023}},
}