Search results for " life-history"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Sex-allocation conflict and sexual selection throughout the lifespan of eusocial colonies.
2018
AbstractModels of sex allocation conflict are central to evolutionary biology but have mostly assumed static decisions, where resource allocation strategies are constant over colony lifespan. Here, we develop a model to study how the evolution of dynamic resource allocation strategies is affected by the queen-worker conflict in annual eusocial insects. We demonstrate that the time of dispersal of sexuals affects the sex allocation ratio through sexual selection on males. Furthermore, our model provides three predictions that depart from established results of classic static allocation models. First, we find that the queen wins the sex allocation conflict, while the workers determine the max…
Moving Toward a Strategy for Addressing Climate Displacement of Marine Resources: A Proof-of-Concept
2020
Realistic predictions of climate change effects on natural resources are central to adaptation policies that try to reduce these impacts. However, most current forecasting approaches do not incorporate species-specific, process-based biological information, which limits their ability to inform actionable strategies. Mechanistic approaches, incorporating quantitative information on functional traits, can potentially predict species- and population-specific responses that result from the cumulative impacts of small-scale processes acting at the organismal level, and can be used to infer population-level dynamics and inform natural resources management. Here we present a proof-of-concept study…
Handbook of protocols for standardized measurement of terrestrial invertebrate functional traits
2017
Trait-based approaches are increasingly being used to test mechanisms underlying species assemblages and biotic interactions across a wide range of organisms including terrestrial arthropods and to investigate consequences for ecosystem processes. Such an approach relies on the standardized measurement of functional traits that can be applied across taxa and regions. Currently, however, unified methods of trait measurements are lacking for terrestrial arthropods and related macroinvertebrates (terrestrial invertebrates hereafter). Here, we present a comprehensive review and detailed protocol for a set of 29 traits known to be sensitive to global stressors and to affect ecosystem processes a…
Resilience of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica following pulse-type disturbance.
2020
Understanding the response of species to disturbance and the ability to recover is crucial for preventing their potential collapse and ecosystem phase shifts. Explosive submarine activity, occurring in shallow volcanic vents, can be considered as a natural pulse disturbance, due to its suddenness and high intensity, potentially affecting nearby species and ecosystems. Here, we present the response of Posidonia oceanica, a long-lived seagrass, to an exceptional submarine volcanic explosion, which occurred in the Aeolian Archipelago (Italy, Mediterranean Sea) in 2002, and evaluate its resilience in terms of time required to recover after such a pulse event. The study was carried out in 2011 i…
Predicting biological invasions in marine habitats through eco-physiological mechanistic models: a case study with the bivalveBrachidontes pharaonis
2013
Aim We used a coupled biophysical ecology (BE)-physiological mechanistic modelling approach based on the Dynamic Energy Budget theory (DEB, Dynamic energy budget theory for metabolic organisation, 2010, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; DEB) to generate spatially explicit predictions of physiological performance (maximal size and reproductive output) for the invasive mussel, Brachidontes pharaonis. Location We examined 26 sites throughout the central Mediterranean Sea. Methods We ran models under subtidal and intertidal conditions; hourly weather and water temperature data were obtained from the Italian Buoy Network, and monthly CHL-a data were obtained from satellite imagery. Results …
A colloquio con Gaspare Spatuzza. Un racconto di vita, una storia di stragi
2016
C’è un periodo della storia del nostro Paese che avremmo potuto raccontare come fosse il momento si sono aperte le porte dell’inferno. Questo sono state le stragi di mafia dei primi anni Novanta, con i lutti e le distruzioni provocate dall’attacco allo Stato da parte di Cosa Nostra e di altri poteri occulti. Si tratta di vicende narrate e indagate in tanti modi. La novità di questo studio è la strada, il percorso attraverso cui il lettore può esplorare la quotidianità di Cosa Nostra, quell’inferno dei vivi che – dopo aver tentato di fare guerra allo Stato – ancora oggi brucia vite umane, tiene sotto giogo interi quartieri, città, economie nazionali e internazionali. Il libro è il racconto d…
Data from: Pace-of-life in a social insect: behavioral syndromes in ants shift along a climatic gradient
2017
Behavioral syndromes are correlations between behavioral traits, but their selective advantage under different environmental conditions is not well understood. Here, we used the pace-of-life hypothesis to predict how behavioral syndromes could vary along climatic gradients. This hypothesis states that populations experiencing different ecological conditions should differ in suites of physiological characteristics associated with behavioral and life-history traits. We examined the persistence of behavioral syndromes at multiple levels in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus along a climatic gradient in north-eastern USA. “Across populations”, we predicted that proactive phenotypes, which show h…
Frequency and Density-Dependent Selection on Life-History Strategies - A Field Experiment
2008
Negative frequency-dependence, which favors rare genotypes, promotes the maintenance of genetic variability and is of interest as a potential explanation for genetic differentiation. Density-dependent selection may also promote cyclic changes in frequencies of genotypes. Here we show evidence for both density-dependent and negative frequency-dependent selection on opposite life-history tactics (low or high reproductive effort, RE) in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Densitydependent selection was evident among the females with low RE, which were especially favored in low densities. Instead, both negative frequency-dependent and density-dependent selection were shown in females with high RE…
The relationships between urbanization and bird functional traits across the streetscape
2023
Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors The urbanization process leads to changes in bird communities’ taxonomic and functional compositions. Highly urbanized areas generally exhibit a reduced number of bird species sharing few functional traits. However, most urban bird studies focused on vegetation patches in temperate cities. In this study, we investigate how urban environmental attributes – noise, height of buildings, and urban vegetation characteristics – modulate species occurrences and the distribution of functional traits across the streetscape of a tropical metropolis. We predicted diverse trait-environment relationships, but that highly urbanized contexts (e.g., noisy streets with…