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How predation shaped fish: the impact of fin spines on body form evolution across teleosts.

ABSTRACT: It is well known that predators can induce morphological changes in some fish: individuals exposed to predation cues increase body depth and the length of spines. We hypothesize that these structures may evolve synergistically, as together, these traits will further enlarge the body dimensions of the fish that gape-limited predators must overcome. We therefore expect that the orientation of the spines will predict which body dimension increases in the presence of predators. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we tested this prediction on the macroevolutionary scale across 347 teleost families, which display considerable variation in fin spines, body depth and width. Consistent with our predictions, we demonstrate that fin spines on the vertical plane (dorsal and anal fins) are associated with a deeper-bodied optimum. Lineages with spines on the horizontal plane (pectoral fins) are associated with a wider-bodied optimum. Optimal body dimensions across lineages without spines paralleling the body dimension match the allometric expectation. Additionally, lineages with longer spines have deeper and wider body dimensions. This evolutionary relationship between fin spines and body dimensions across teleosts reveals functional synergy between these two traits and a potential macroevolutionary signature of predation on the evolutionary dynamics of body shape.

SUBMITTER: Price SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685802 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How predation shaped fish: the impact of fin spines on body form evolution across teleosts.

Price S A SA Friedman S T ST Wainwright P C PC

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20151101 1819

It is well known that predators can induce morphological changes in some fish: individuals exposed to predation cues increase body depth and the length of spines. We hypothesize that these structures may evolve synergistically, as together, these traits will further enlarge the body dimensions of the fish that gape-limited predators must overcome. We therefore expect that the orientation of the spines will predict which body dimension increases in the presence of predators. Using phylogenetic co ...[more]

PMID: 26559954

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Project description:BackgroundSocial insect colonies routinely face large vertebrate predators, against which they need to mount a collective defence. To do so, honeybees use an alarm pheromone that recruits nearby bees into mass stinging of the perceived threat. This alarm pheromone is carried directly on the stinger; hence, its concentration builds up during the course of the attack. We investigate how bees react to different alarm pheromone concentrations and how this evolved response pattern leads to better coordination at the group level.ResultsWe first present a dose-response curve to the alarm pheromone, obtained experimentally. This data reveals two phases in the bees' response: initially, bees become more likely to sting as the alarm pheromone concentration increases, but aggressiveness drops back when very high concentrations are reached. Second, we apply Projective Simulation to model each bee as an artificial learning agent that relies on the pheromone concentration to decide whether to sting or not. Individuals are rewarded based on the collective performance, thus emulating natural selection in these complex societies. By also modelling predators in a detailed way, we are able to identify the main selection pressures that shaped the response pattern observed experimentally. In particular, the likelihood to sting in the absence of alarm pheromone (starting point of the dose-response curve) is inversely related to the rate of false alarms, such that bees in environments with low predator density are less likely to waste efforts responding to irrelevant stimuli. This is compensated for by a steep increase in aggressiveness when the alarm pheromone concentration starts rising. The later decay in aggressiveness may be explained as a curbing mechanism preventing worker loss.ConclusionsOur work provides a detailed understanding of alarm pheromone responses in honeybees and sheds light on the selection pressures that brought them about. In addition, it establishes our approach as a powerful tool to explore how selection based on a collective outcome shapes individual responses, which remains a challenging issue in the field of evolutionary biology.

Dataset Information

How predation shaped fish: the impact of fin spines on body form evolution across teleosts.

Publications

How predation shaped fish: the impact of fin spines on body form evolution across teleosts.

Similar Datasets

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