Plasticity rates and capacities differ across traits and temperatures: Insights from physiological responses of aquatic organisms to salinity change

Functional Ecology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: April 24, 2025

Abstract Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to track changing trait optima under environmental variation. To what extent this is achieved will be jointly determined by the rate of and capacity for plasticity. Despite potential fitness implications these two components phenotypic plasticity, a quantitative understanding their variance across types conditions lacking. Here, we address knowledge gap compiling data from time‐course experiments that describe how range physiological traits aquatic ectotherms changes in response shift salinity. We then build upon recent analytical advances produce estimates each experiment are comparable traits. A total 324 originating 59 species fishes, sharks crustaceans were available analyses. For experiment, was assigned one five categories. Bivariate meta‐analyses used quantify temperature effects on rates capacities Our analyses show plastic responses change salinity differ among categories, interactive effect category differs capacity. Temperature more consistent than capacity, with higher temperatures being associated faster hormones, metabolites metabolic osmoregulatory enzymes. positive only found Within observed temperatures, hormones had consistently fastest predicted salinity, whereas categories enzymes relatively slow comparison. Plastic substantially those previously reported thermal tolerance. study adds growing evidence has important axes Further progress can deal fluctuating environments likely benefit increased theoretical empirical efforts within field research. Read free Plain Language Summary article Journal blog.

Language: Английский

Phenotypic and dispersal plasticity are not alternative strategies for organisms to face thermal changes

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 292(2045)

Published: April 1, 2025

To buffer the effects of local environmental changes, organisms may modify their phenotypic traits (i.e. plasticity) or disperse towards other potential habitats dispersal plasticity). Despite extensive work studying either ‘local plasticity’ ‘dispersal independently, little is known about covariation and interplay. These strategies are classically viewed as alternatives. However, this expectation has been challenged by theoretical suggesting that they instead evolve together under some contexts. Here, we experimentally quantified morphological, movement plasticity in response to thermal changes 12 strains ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila . We showed not alternative strategies, with half expressing simultaneously all dimensions changes. Furthermore, extent morphological weakly but significantly differed between residents dispersers. Interestingly, found no these different dimensions, which pleads for contexts favour evolution each. The fact affect expression one another opens interesting perspectives joint consequences

Language: Английский

Phenotypic plasticity and the effects of thermal fluctuations on specialists and generalists

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 291(2025)

Published: June 1, 2024

Classical theories predict that relatively constant environments should generally favour specialists, while fluctuating be selected for generalists. However, theoretical and empirical results have pointed out generalist organisms might, on the contrary, perform poorly under fluctuations. In particular, if generalism is underlaid by phenotypic plasticity, performance of generalists modulated temporal characteristics environmental Here, we used experiments in microcosms Tetrahymena thermophila ciliates a mathematical model to test whether period or autocorrelation thermal fluctuations mediate links between level experiment, consistently impeded compared with conditions. intensity this effect depended generalism: more specialist strains performed better fast negatively autocorrelated fluctuations, plastic slow positively Our suggests these effects organisms’ may result from time delay expression restricting its benefits enough This study points need further investigate dynamics plasticity fitness consequences

Language: Английский