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Grasshopper ontogeny in relation to time constraints: adaptive divergence and stasis
Daniel Berner1, Wolf U Blanckenhorn
1Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Reckenholzstr. 191, CH-8046 Zürich, Switzerland. daniel.berner@fal.admin.ch
The Journal of Animal Ecology
|August 15, 2006
Summary
High-altitude grasshoppers evolved faster development, not faster growth, to cope with short seasons. This life history adaptation involved trade-offs with body size and female fecundity.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Life history theory
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Life history theory predicts a trade-off between rapid juvenile development and large adult size, assuming constant growth rates.
- This assumption of invariant growth rates has rarely been tested in natural populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ontogenetic patterns and evolutionary responses to time constraints in Omocestus viridulus grasshoppers.
- To test the assumption of invariant growth rates in relation to altitude and seasonal time constraints.
- To explore the developmental basis of phenotypic evolution in life history traits.
Main Methods:
- Studied ontogeny in 13 populations of Omocestus viridulus grasshoppers under common garden conditions.
- Compared growth rates, development times, and body size across populations from different altitudes.
- Analyzed differences in juvenile stages and size thresholds between sexes and populations.
Main Results:
- High-altitude grasshoppers exhibited faster development but similar growth rates compared to low-altitude conspecifics.
- An altitudinal size cline was observed, with trade-offs between body size and female fecundity.
- Females from high altitudes lacked an extra juvenile stage, suggesting evolved lower size thresholds for development.
- Males showed significantly lower growth rates than females, potentially due to selection for protandry and smaller male size.
- Within populations, larger individuals developed faster, indicating genetic variation in growth rates.
Conclusions:
- Different time constraints, such as seasonal limitations and protandry selection, can drive distinct evolutionary responses in intrinsic growth and development.
- Intrapopulation correlations in ontogenetic traits do not reliably predict interpopulation life history adaptations.
- Comparing ontogenetic patterns provides insights into the developmental mechanisms underlying evolutionary changes in life history traits.
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