Rapid evolution of body fluid regulation following independent invasions into freshwater habitats

Colonizations from marine to freshwater environments constitute among the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in the history of life. Colonizing dilute environments poses great challenges for acquiring essential ions against steep concentration gradients. This study explored the evolution of body fluid regulation following freshwater invasions by the copepod Eurytemora affinis. The goals of this study were to determine (1) whether invasions from saline to freshwater habitats were accompanied by evolutionary shifts in body fluid regulation (hemolymph osmolality) and (2) whether parallel shifts occurred during independent invasions. We measured hemolymph osmolality for ancestral saline and freshwater invading populations reared across a range of common-garden salinities (0.2-25 PSU). Our results revealed the evolution of increased hemolymph osmolality (by 16-31%) at lower salinities in freshwater populations of E. affinis relative to their saline ancestors. Moreover, we observed the same evolutionary shifts across two independent freshwater invasions. Such increases in hemolymph osmolality are consistent with evidence of increased ion uptake in freshwater populations at low salinity, found in a previous study, and are likely to entail increased energetic costs upon invading freshwater habitats. Our findings are consistent with the evolution of increased physiological regulation accompanying transitions into stressful environments.