Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations
Abstract Background Adaptive plasticity is essential for many species to cope with environmental heterogeneity. In particular, developmental plasticity allows organisms with complex life cycles to adaptively adjust the timing of ontogenetic switch points. Size at and time to metamorphosis are reliab...
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ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3820399 2023-05-15T17:45:10+02:00 Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations Burraco, Pablo ValdĂŠs, Ana Johansson, Frank Gomez-Mestre, Ivan 2017 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3820399 https://figshare.com/collections/Physiological_mechanisms_of_adaptive_developmental_plasticity_in_Rana_temporaria_island_populations/3820399 unknown Figshare https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1004-1 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Genetics FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Developmental Biology Collection article 2017 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3820399 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1004-1 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Abstract Background Adaptive plasticity is essential for many species to cope with environmental heterogeneity. In particular, developmental plasticity allows organisms with complex life cycles to adaptively adjust the timing of ontogenetic switch points. Size at and time to metamorphosis are reliable fitness indicators in organisms with complex cycles. The physiological machinery of developmental plasticity commonly involves the activation of alternative neuroendocrine pathways, causing metabolic alterations. Nevertheless, we have still incomplete knowledge about how these mechanisms evolve under environments that select for differences in adaptive plasticity. In this study, we investigate the physiological mechanisms underlying divergent degrees of developmental plasticity across Rana temporaria island populations inhabiting different types of pools in northern Sweden. Methods In a laboratory experiment we estimated developmental plasticity of amphibian larvae from six populations coming from three different island habitats: islands with only permanent pools, islands with only ephemeral pools, and islands with a mixture of both types of pools. We exposed larvae of each population to either constant water level or simulated pool drying, and estimated their physiological responses in terms of corticosterone levels, oxidative stress, and telomere length. Results We found that populations from islands with only temporary pools had a higher degree of developmental plasticity than those from the other two types of habitats. All populations increased their corticosterone levels to a similar extent when subjected to simulated pool drying, and therefore variation in secretion of this hormone does not explain the observed differences among populations. However, tadpoles from islands with temporary pools showed lower constitutive activities of catalase and glutathione reductase, and also showed overall shorter telomeres. Conclusions The observed differences are indicative of physiological costs of increased developmental plasticity, suggesting that the potential for plasticity is constrained by its costs. Thus, high levels of responsiveness in the developmental rate of tadpoles have evolved in islands with pools at high but variable risk of desiccation. Moreover, the physiological alterations observed may have important consequences for both short-term odds of survival and long term effects on lifespan. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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Genetics FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Developmental Biology |
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Genetics FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Developmental Biology Burraco, Pablo ValdĂŠs, Ana Johansson, Frank Gomez-Mestre, Ivan Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
topic_facet |
Genetics FOS Biological sciences Evolutionary Biology 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified FOS Earth and related environmental sciences Ecology 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Developmental Biology |
description |
Abstract Background Adaptive plasticity is essential for many species to cope with environmental heterogeneity. In particular, developmental plasticity allows organisms with complex life cycles to adaptively adjust the timing of ontogenetic switch points. Size at and time to metamorphosis are reliable fitness indicators in organisms with complex cycles. The physiological machinery of developmental plasticity commonly involves the activation of alternative neuroendocrine pathways, causing metabolic alterations. Nevertheless, we have still incomplete knowledge about how these mechanisms evolve under environments that select for differences in adaptive plasticity. In this study, we investigate the physiological mechanisms underlying divergent degrees of developmental plasticity across Rana temporaria island populations inhabiting different types of pools in northern Sweden. Methods In a laboratory experiment we estimated developmental plasticity of amphibian larvae from six populations coming from three different island habitats: islands with only permanent pools, islands with only ephemeral pools, and islands with a mixture of both types of pools. We exposed larvae of each population to either constant water level or simulated pool drying, and estimated their physiological responses in terms of corticosterone levels, oxidative stress, and telomere length. Results We found that populations from islands with only temporary pools had a higher degree of developmental plasticity than those from the other two types of habitats. All populations increased their corticosterone levels to a similar extent when subjected to simulated pool drying, and therefore variation in secretion of this hormone does not explain the observed differences among populations. However, tadpoles from islands with temporary pools showed lower constitutive activities of catalase and glutathione reductase, and also showed overall shorter telomeres. Conclusions The observed differences are indicative of physiological costs of increased developmental plasticity, suggesting that the potential for plasticity is constrained by its costs. Thus, high levels of responsiveness in the developmental rate of tadpoles have evolved in islands with pools at high but variable risk of desiccation. Moreover, the physiological alterations observed may have important consequences for both short-term odds of survival and long term effects on lifespan. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Burraco, Pablo ValdĂŠs, Ana Johansson, Frank Gomez-Mestre, Ivan |
author_facet |
Burraco, Pablo ValdĂŠs, Ana Johansson, Frank Gomez-Mestre, Ivan |
author_sort |
Burraco, Pablo |
title |
Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
title_short |
Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
title_full |
Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
title_fullStr |
Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria island populations |
title_sort |
physiological mechanisms of adaptive developmental plasticity in rana temporaria island populations |
publisher |
Figshare |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3820399 https://figshare.com/collections/Physiological_mechanisms_of_adaptive_developmental_plasticity_in_Rana_temporaria_island_populations/3820399 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1004-1 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3820399 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1004-1 |
_version_ |
1766147960269176832 |