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Adaptive individual variation in phenological responses to perceived predation levels
Robin N Abbey-Lee1,2, Niels J Dingemanse3
1Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Str., 82319, Seewiesen, Germany.
Nature Communications
|April 10, 2019
Summary
Individual variation in breeding timing is key for adaptive evolution. This study reveals alternative behavioral strategies explain phenological variation and plasticity, crucial for evolution amid environmental change.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Adaptive evolution of breeding phenology relies on individual variation in phenotypic plasticity.
- Understanding the processes generating this variation is a significant ecological question.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how perceived predation levels influence phenological plasticity and alternative behavioral strategies in an avian system.
- To determine if these strategies offer equal fitness payoffs.
Main Methods:
- Multi-year experimental manipulations of perceived predation levels (PPL) were conducted in an avian predator-prey system.
- Phenotypic plasticity in the timing of breeding was assessed in relation to behavioral strategies.
Main Results:
- Phenotypic plasticity in phenology was identified as a component of alternative behavioral strategies with equal fitness.
- Under low PPL, faster-exploring birds bred later, while slower-exploring birds bred earlier; this pattern reversed under high PPL.
- Breeding synchrony decreased under high PPL.
Conclusions:
- Alternative behavioral strategies explain variation in phenology and plasticity of reproductive behavior.
- These findings have implications for understanding evolution in response to anthropogenic environmental change.
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