Search results for "adaptation"
showing 10 items of 1775 documents
An electrochemical analysis suggests role of gynodioecy in adaptation to stress in Cortaderia selloana
2018
Cortaderia selloana is an invasive, gynodioecious species prevalent in Mediterranean area which contains both female and hermaphrodite specimens in the wild population. Using voltammetric data we show that the female and hermaphrodite specimens exhibit differential electrochemical response. Cortaderia selloana leaves from two different provenances in the Valencia Mediterranean area, Sueca and Cullera (Comunitat Valenciana, Spain), in the surroundings of the Albufera Natural Park, a peculiar ecosystem containing unspoilt dune beaches and forests, were studied to determine correlation of flower morphology with the plant's ability to adapt to stress conditions. Our data suggests that gynodioec…
Effects of photoperiod on life-history and thermal stress resistance traits across populations of Drosophila subobscura
2019
Introduction Organisms use environmental cues to match their phenotype with the future availability of resources and environmental conditions. Changes in the magnitude and frequency of environmental cues such as photoperiod and temperature along latitudes can be used by organisms to predict seasonal changes. While the role of temperature variation on the induction of plastic and seasonal responses is well established, the importance of photoperiod for predicting seasonal changes is less explored. Materials and methods Here we studied changes in life‐history and thermal stress resistance traits in Drosophila subobscura in response to variation in photoperiod (6:18, 12:12 and 18:6 light:dark …
Camouflage accuracy in Sahara–Sahel desert rodents
2020
1. Camouflage helps animals to hide from predators and is therefore key to survival. Although widespread convergence of animal phenotypes to their natural environment is well-established, there is a lack of knowledge about how species compromise camouflage accuracy across different background types in their habitat.2. Here we tested how background matching has responded to top–down selection by avian and mammalian predators using Sahara–Sahel desert rodents in North Africa.3. We show that the fur colouration of several species has become an accurate match to different types of desert habitats. This is supported by a correlation analysis of colour and pattern metrics, investigation of animal…
Atlantic cod recovery from the Allee effect zone : contrasting ecological and evolutionary rescue
2020
The ability of a population to recover from disturbances is fundamental for its persistence. Impaired population recovery might be associated with a demographic Allee effect. Immigration from adjacent populations could accelerate the recovery not only by promoting population growth beyond the Allee effect threshold but also by bringing in advantageous genotypes. We explore the nature and role of ecological and evolutionary rescue in an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua Gadidae) population fished below its Allee effect threshold. We utilize an eco-evolutionary model and simulate scenarios, where the target population evolves in response to selective fishing and sample immigrants from (a) a source p…
Anhydrobiosis: Inside yeast cells
2018
International audience; Under natural conditions yeast cells as well as other microorganisms are regularly subjected to the influence of severe drought, which leads to their serious dehydration. The dry seasons are then changed by rains and there is a restoration of normal water potential inside the cells. To survive such seasonal changes a lot of vegetative microbial cells, which belong to various genera and species, may be able to enter into a state of anhydrobiosis, in which their metabolism is temporarily and reversibly suspended or delayed. This evolutionarily developed adaptation to extreme conditions of the environment is widely used for practical goals - for conservation of microorg…
Adaptive radiation in the fossil record: a case study among Jurassic ammonoids
2013
15 pages; International audience; Evolutionary radiations have been extensively studied especially in the fossil record and in the context of postcrisis recoveries. The concept of adaptive radiation that emerges from this very broad topic explicitly involves the effect of adaptation driven by ecological opportunity and is considered to be of the foremost importance. It is essential to be able to detect adaptive radiation because it points up factors that predispose a clade to radiate. Adaptive radiation has received much attention in recent decades based mostly on studies dealing with recent clades, but data from the fossil record are still scarce. This study begins to fill this gap with th…
Phenotypic plasticity in growth and fecundity induced by strong population fluctuations affects reproductive traits of female fish
2016
Fish are known for their high phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits in relation to environmental variability, and this is particularly pronounced among salmonids in the Northern Hemisphere. Resource limitation leads to trade-offs in phenotypic plasticity between life-history traits related to the reproduction, growth, and survival of individual fish, which have consequences for the age and size distributions of populations, as well as their dynamics and productivity. We studied the effect of plasticity in growth and fecundity of vendace females on their reproductive traits using a series of long-term incubation experiments. The wild parental fish originated from four separate populat…
Adaptation to climate change of the French wine industry: a systemic approach – Main outcomes of the project LACCAVE
2018
Présenté au 12. Congreso Internacional Terroir; Taking into account the major economical role and specificities of the French wine industry, adaptation to climate change is a very challenging issue. In 2011, 23 research teams launched a systemic and multidisciplinary program to analyze the impacts from the vine to the region, to define adaptation strategies combining technical, spatial and organizational options and to evaluate the perception by the actors and consumers of climate change issues. Thermal variability was studied at local scale to develop high resolution atmospheric models which better simulate future climate trends. Impacts on growth/developmental conditions and vine response…
European catfish (Silurus glanis) as a freshwater apex predator drives ecosystem via its diet adaptability
2017
AbstractApex predators play a key role in ecosystem stability across environments but their numbers in general are decreasing. By contrast, European catfish (Silurus glanis), the European freshwater apex predator, is on the increase. However, studies concerning apex predators in freshwaters are scarce in comparison to those in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The present study combines stomach content and stable isotope analyses with diet preferences of catfish to reveal its impact on the ecosystem since stocking. Catfish niche width is extremely wide in comparison to the typical model predator, Northern pike (Esox lucius). Catfish and pike have different individual dietary specialization…
The Strategic Reference Gene: an organismal theory of inclusive fitness
2019
How to define and use the concept of inclusive fitness is a contentious topic in evolutionary theory. Inclusive fitness can be used to calculate selection on a focal gene, but it is also applied to whole organisms. Individuals are then predicted to appear designed as if to maximise their inclusive fitness, provided that certain conditions are met (formally when interactions between individuals are 'additive'). Here we argue that applying the concept of inclusive fitness to organisms is justified under far broader conditions than previously shown, but only if it is appropriately defined. Specifically, we propose that organisms should maximise the sum of their offspring (including any accrued…