Search results for "EPR"
showing 10 items of 13377 documents
Age is not just a number—Mathematical model suggests senescence affects how fish populations respond to different fishing regimes
2021
Abstract Senescence is often described as an age‐dependent increase in natural mortality (known as actuarial senescence) and an age‐dependent decrease in fecundity (known as reproductive senescence), and its role in nature is still poorly understood. Based on empirical estimates of reproductive and actuarial senescence, we used mathematical simulations to explore how senescence affects the population dynamics of Coregonus albula, a small, schooling salmonid fish. Using an empirically based eco‐evolutionary model, we investigated how the presence or absence of senescence affects the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of a fish population during pristine, intensive harvest, and recovery phases. Our si…
Evolutionary significance of antiparasite, antipredator and learning phenotypes of avian nest defence.
2018
AbstractAvian nest defence, which is expected to serve both antiparasite and antipredator functions, may benefit or be detrimental to birds, although selective forces that potentially operate on nest defence have not been quantified as a whole. Together with fitness values, we analysed two traits of nest defence, intensity and plasticity, in two distantly related passerine species, yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) in North America and reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) in Europe, both favourite host species for brood parasites. Breeders that escaped parasitism were the most vocal among reed warblers, whereas there was no specific defence phenotype that predicted prevention of parasit…
Predicting the effectiveness of oil recovery strategies in the marine polluted environment
2018
Abstract Many recent studies have focused their attention on the physiological stress experienced by marine organisms in measuring ecotoxicological responses. Here we suggest a new approach for investigating the effects of an anthropogenic pollutant on Life-History (LH) traits of marine organisms, to provide stakeholders and policy makers an effective tool to evaluate the best environmental recovery strategies and plans. A Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB), coupled with a biophysical model was used to predict the effects of a six-month oil spill on Mytilus galloprovincialis' LH traits and to test two potential recovery strategies in the central Mediterranean Sea. Oxygen consumption rates were use…
Distribution of sea urchins living near shallow water CO2 vents is dependent upon species acid-base and ion-regulatory abilities.
2013
To reduce the negative effect of climate change on Biodiversity, the use of geological CO2 sequestration has been proposed; however leakage from underwater storages may represent a risk to marine life. As extracellular homeostasis is important in determining species' ability to cope with elevated CO2, we investigated the acid-base and ion regulatory responses, as well as the density, of sea urchins living around CO2 vents at Vulcano, Italy. We conducted in situ transplantation and field-based laboratory exposures to different pCO2/pH regimes. Our results confirm that sea urchins have some ability to regulate their extracellular fluid under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, we show that even in cl…
Life-cycle switching and coexistence of species with no niche differentiation.
2011
The increasing evidence of coexistence of cryptic species with no recognized niche differentiation has called attention to mechanisms reducing competition that are not based on niche-differentiation. Only sex-based mechanisms have been shown to create the negative feedback needed for stable coexistence of competitors with completely overlapping niches. Here we show that density-dependent sexual and diapause investment can mediate coexistence of facultative sexual species having identical niches. We modelled the dynamics of two competing cyclical parthenogens with species-specific density-dependent sexual and diapause investment and either equal or different competitive abilities. We show th…
Escaping the evolutionary trap: Can size-related contest advantage compensate for juvenile mortality disadvantage when parasitoids develop in unnatur…
2021
Abstract The quality of hosts for a parasitoid wasp may be influenced by attributes such as host size or species, with high quality for successful development usually coincident with high quality for larger offspring. This is not always the case: for the Scelionid wasp Trissolcus basalis, oviposition in eggs of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys, rather than of the normal host, the Southern Green Stink Bug, Nezara viridula, leads to lower offspring survival, but survivors can be unusually large. Adult female T. basalis engage in contests for host access. As larger contestants are typically favoured in contests between parasitoids, the larger size of surviving offspring may co…
Environmental Variability and Semelparity vs. Iteroparity as Life Histories
2002
Research on the evolution of life histories addresses the topic of fitness trade-offs between semelparity (reproducing once in a lifetime) and iteroparity (repeated reproductive bouts per lifetime). Bulmer (1994) derived the relationship v+P(A)<1 (P(A) is the adult survival;vb(S) and b(S) are the offspring numbers for iteroparous and semelparous breeding strategies, respectively), under which a resident semelparous population cannot be invaded by an iteroparous mutant when the underlying population dynamics are stable. We took Bulmer's population dynamics, and added noise in juvenile and adult survival and in offspring numbers. Long-term coexistence of the two strategies is possible in much…
Seed Bank in Annuals: Competition Between Banker and Non-banker Morphs
2002
Seed bank is a plant life history strategy against the unpredictability of the biotic and the abiotic environment. We simulated competition between a seed banking and a non-banking morph of an annual plant. A constant fraction of the banker morph seeds was allocated to the seed bank, where they had a constant mortality and germination rate. All surviving seeds of the non-banker morph germinated in the next generation. The seedlings of both morphs experienced similar density-dependent mortality. Whether one of the morphs wins or the morphs coexist was evaluated from parameter space plots and statistically with logistic regression analysis. All parameters of the model had a significant, nonli…
Reinforcement targets sexual or postmating prezygotic reproductive barriers depending on species abundance and population history
2018
AbstractThe impact of different reproductive barriers on species or population isolation may vary in different stages of speciation depending on evolutionary forces acting within species and through species’ interactions. Genetic incompatibilities between interacting species are expected to reinforce prezygotic barriers in sympatric populations and create character displacement between conspecific populations living within and outside the area of sympatry. The outcome of reinforcement has been suggested to be affected by the strength of postzygotic barriers, the history of species coexistence, and the impact of species abundancies on females’ discrimination against heterospecific males. We …
Differences in time and space use between two sympatric Acrocephalus warblers with similar diets
2016
Capsule: We found high diet overlap and different uses of space and time between Moustached Warblers Acrocephalus melanopogon and Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus breeding in sympatry at a marshland in Spain. Aims: To study the degree of diet overlap between both species, their space use on a local scale and their breeding phenologies. Methods: We studied the breeding phenologies of the two species by standardized ringing activity. Spatial distribution was investigated by point counts. We determined diet composition from emetic samples and we collected invertebrates by standardized sweep-netting to estimate food availability. Results: Diet and prey selection were similar among species.…