Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Predation risk and the evolution of a vertebrate stress response : Parallel evolution of stress reactivity and sexual dimorphism

Vinterstare, Jerker LU orcid ; Ekelund Ugge, Gustaf M.O. LU orcid ; Hulthén, Kaj LU ; Hegg, Alexander LU ; Brönmark, Christer LU ; Nilsson, Per Anders LU orcid ; Zellmer, Ursula Ronja ; Lee, Marcus LU orcid ; Pärssinen, Varpu LU and Sha, Yongcui LU , et al. (2021) In Journal of evolutionary biology 34(10). p.1554-1567
Abstract

Predation risk is often invoked to explain variation in stress responses. Yet, the answers to several key questions remain elusive, including the following: (1) how predation risk influences the evolution of stress phenotypes, (2) the relative importance of environmental versus genetic factors in stress reactivity and (3) sexual dimorphism in stress physiology. To address these questions, we explored variation in stress reactivity (ventilation frequency) in a post-Pleistocene radiation of live-bearing fish, where Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabit isolated blue holes that differ in predation risk. Individuals of populations coexisting with predators exhibited similar, relatively low stress reactivity as compared to... (More)

Predation risk is often invoked to explain variation in stress responses. Yet, the answers to several key questions remain elusive, including the following: (1) how predation risk influences the evolution of stress phenotypes, (2) the relative importance of environmental versus genetic factors in stress reactivity and (3) sexual dimorphism in stress physiology. To address these questions, we explored variation in stress reactivity (ventilation frequency) in a post-Pleistocene radiation of live-bearing fish, where Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabit isolated blue holes that differ in predation risk. Individuals of populations coexisting with predators exhibited similar, relatively low stress reactivity as compared to low-predation populations. We suggest that this dampened stress reactivity has evolved to reduce energy expenditure in environments with frequent and intense stressors, such as piscivorous fish. Importantly, the magnitude of stress responses exhibited by fish from high-predation sites in the wild changed very little after two generations of laboratory rearing in the absence of predators. By comparison, low-predation populations exhibited greater among-population variation and larger changes subsequent to laboratory rearing. These low-predation populations appear to have evolved more dampened stress responses in blue holes with lower food availability. Moreover, females showed a lower ventilation frequency, and this sexual dimorphism was stronger in high-predation populations. This may reflect a greater premium placed on energy efficiency in live-bearing females, especially under high-predation risk where females show higher fecundities. Altogether, by demonstrating parallel adaptive divergence in stress reactivity, we highlight how energetic trade-offs may mould the evolution of the vertebrate stress response under varying predation risk and resource availability.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
bahamas mosquitofish, poeciliidae, predation risk, predator-prey interactions, resource availability, sexual dimorphism, stress physiology, stress response, trade-offs, ventilation frequency
in
Journal of evolutionary biology
volume
34
issue
10
pages
1554 - 1567
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • pmid:34464014
  • scopus:85114666168
ISSN
1010-061X
DOI
10.1111/jeb.13918
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society for Evolutionary Biology.
id
f5b5838f-bf00-4d6c-a0f1-6d1c44c629bd
date added to LUP
2021-10-13 14:55:00
date last changed
2024-04-20 13:10:18
@article{f5b5838f-bf00-4d6c-a0f1-6d1c44c629bd,
  abstract     = {{<p>Predation risk is often invoked to explain variation in stress responses. Yet, the answers to several key questions remain elusive, including the following: (1) how predation risk influences the evolution of stress phenotypes, (2) the relative importance of environmental versus genetic factors in stress reactivity and (3) sexual dimorphism in stress physiology. To address these questions, we explored variation in stress reactivity (ventilation frequency) in a post-Pleistocene radiation of live-bearing fish, where Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabit isolated blue holes that differ in predation risk. Individuals of populations coexisting with predators exhibited similar, relatively low stress reactivity as compared to low-predation populations. We suggest that this dampened stress reactivity has evolved to reduce energy expenditure in environments with frequent and intense stressors, such as piscivorous fish. Importantly, the magnitude of stress responses exhibited by fish from high-predation sites in the wild changed very little after two generations of laboratory rearing in the absence of predators. By comparison, low-predation populations exhibited greater among-population variation and larger changes subsequent to laboratory rearing. These low-predation populations appear to have evolved more dampened stress responses in blue holes with lower food availability. Moreover, females showed a lower ventilation frequency, and this sexual dimorphism was stronger in high-predation populations. This may reflect a greater premium placed on energy efficiency in live-bearing females, especially under high-predation risk where females show higher fecundities. Altogether, by demonstrating parallel adaptive divergence in stress reactivity, we highlight how energetic trade-offs may mould the evolution of the vertebrate stress response under varying predation risk and resource availability.</p>}},
  author       = {{Vinterstare, Jerker and Ekelund Ugge, Gustaf M.O. and Hulthén, Kaj and Hegg, Alexander and Brönmark, Christer and Nilsson, Per Anders and Zellmer, Ursula Ronja and Lee, Marcus and Pärssinen, Varpu and Sha, Yongcui and Björnerås, Caroline and Zhang, Huan and Gollnisch, Raphael and Herzog, Simon D. and Hansson, Lars Anders and Škerlep, Martin and Hu, Nan and Johansson, Emma and Langerhans, Randall Brian}},
  issn         = {{1010-061X}},
  keywords     = {{bahamas mosquitofish; poeciliidae; predation risk; predator-prey interactions; resource availability; sexual dimorphism; stress physiology; stress response; trade-offs; ventilation frequency}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  pages        = {{1554--1567}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Journal of evolutionary biology}},
  title        = {{Predation risk and the evolution of a vertebrate stress response : Parallel evolution of stress reactivity and sexual dimorphism}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13918}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/jeb.13918}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}