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Multiple-batch spawning as a bet-hedging strategy in highly stochastic environments: An exploratory analysis of
Sara Hočevar1, Jeffrey A Hutchings1,2,3,4, Anna Kuparinen1
1Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland.
Evolutionary Applications
|August 25, 2021
Summary
Multiple-batch spawning in Atlantic cod acts as a bet-hedging strategy, increasing fitness in unpredictable environments by spreading reproductive risk across batches. This eco-evolutionary model provides evidence for this risk-spreading adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Ecology
- Life-history theory
Background:
- Stochastic environments drive the evolution of life-history traits.
- Risk-spreading strategies, like bet-hedging, are hypothesized but rarely empirically confirmed.
- Tracking fitness across generations is a major challenge in studying bet-hedging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if multiple-batch spawning in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) functions as a bet-hedging strategy.
- To evaluate the fitness benefits of multiple-batch versus single-batch spawning under environmental variability.
- To demonstrate a flexible modeling approach for assessing risk-spreading strategies.
Main Methods:
- Parameterized an eco-evolutionary model using empirical data on Atlantic cod reproductive and survival traits.
- Simulated populations with multiple-batch and single-batch spawning strategies.
- Quantified arithmetic and geometric mean fitness across varying levels of environmental stochasticity.
Main Results:
- Multiple-batch spawning significantly increases fitness in fluctuating environmental conditions.
- The bet-hedging advantage of multiple-batch spawning is most pronounced in exceptionally unpredictable environments.
- The study provides a proof of principle for multiple-batch spawning as a bet-hedging strategy.
Conclusions:
- Multiple-batch spawning is an adaptive bet-hedging strategy for Atlantic cod in stochastic environments.
- Life-history modeling offers a powerful tool to explore the fitness consequences of risk-spreading.
- Understanding life-history diversity is enhanced by evolutionary applications.
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