Search results for "Evolutionary Physiology"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
The integrative and evolutionary biology of gas-binding copper proteins: an introduction.
2011
This article summarizes the contributions given at the symposium "The Benefits of Gas-binding Proteins. Integrative and Evolutionary Physiology of Copper Proteins: Molecules to Organisms and their Environment," presented at the First International Congress of Respiratory Biology, August 14-16, at Bad Honnef/Bonn, Germany.
Context dependent variation in corticosterone and phenotypic divergence of Rana arvalis populations along an acidification gradient
2022
Background Physiological processes, as immediate responses to the environment, are important mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity and can influence evolution at ecological time scales. In stressful environments, physiological stress responses of individuals are initiated and integrated via the release of hormones, such as corticosterone (CORT). In vertebrates, CORT influences energy metabolism and resource allocation to multiple fitness traits (e.g. growth and morphology) and can be an important mediator of rapid adaptation to environmental stress, such as acidification. The moor frog, Rana arvalis, shows adaptive divergence in larval life-histories and predator defense traits along an acidi…
Adaptive radiation along a thermal gradient: preliminary results of habitat use and respiration rate divergence among whitefish morphs.
2014
Adaptive radiation is considered an important mechanism for the development of new species, but very little is known about the role of thermal adaptation during this process. Such adaptation should be especially important in poikilothermic animals that are often subjected to pronounced seasonal temperature variation that directly affects metabolic function. We conducted a preliminary study of individual lifetime thermal habitat use and respiration rates of four whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) morphs (two pelagic, one littoral and one profundal) using stable carbon and oxygen isotope values of otolith carbonate. These morphs, two of which utilized pelagic habitats, one littoral and one …
The association between body mass, metabolic rates and survival of bank voles
2009
Summary 1Many studies have been performed in an attempt to explain physiological, ecological and evolutionary factors behind inter- and intraspecific variation in basal metabolic rate (BMR) and maximum aerobic metabolic rate (VO2max). However, very little is known about the association between the traits and fitness components in populations of free-living animals. 2We studied the association between body size and the metabolic rates of bank voles Myodes (= Clethrionomys) glareolus and their survival, measured by repeated trappings across 2 years in an isolated, island population. All measured traits (body mass, BM; head width, HW; VO2max and BMR) were significantly repeatable over short (m…
Spatial variation in the evolutionary potential and constraints of basal metabolic rate and body mass in a wild bird
2023
An organism's energy budget is strongly related to resource consumption, performance, and fitness. Hence, understanding the evolution of key energetic traits, such as basal metabolic rate (BMR), in natural populations is central for understanding life-history evolution and ecological processes. Here we used quantitative genetic analyses to study evolutionary potential of BMR in two insular populations of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). We obtained measurements of BMR and body mass (Mb) from 911 house sparrows on the islands of Leka and Vega along the coast of Norway. These two populations were the source populations for translocations to create an additional third, admixed ‘common ga…
Sexual and natural selection on body mass and metabolic rates in free-living bank voles
2010
Summary 1. Because energy is a crucial resource, adaptive significance of variation in the rate of energy metabolism, and especially in basal (BMR) and maximum aerobic (VO2max) metabolic rates, is a popular theme in evolutionary and ecological physiology. However, little is known about the association of these traits with fitness components in populations of free-living animals. 2. We studied the association between body size, the metabolic rates, and reproductive success in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in an isolated, small island population. Correlation analyses were performed for two measures of reproductive performance: mating success (the number of partners with which an individual ha…