Dataset Information

Local adaptation in transgenerational responses to predators.

ABSTRACT: Environmental signals can induce phenotypic changes that span multiple generations. Along with phenotypic responses that occur during development (i.e. 'within-generation' plasticity), such 'transgenerational plasticity' (TGP) has been documented in a diverse array of taxa spanning many environmental perturbations. New theory predicts that temporal stability is a key driver of the evolution of TGP. We tested this prediction using natural populations of zooplankton from lakes in Connecticut that span a large gradient in the temporal dynamics of predator-induced mortality. We reared more than 120 clones of Daphnia ambigua from nine lakes for multiple generations in the presence/absence of predator cues. We found that temporal variation in mortality selects for within-generation plasticity while consistently strong (or weak) mortality selects for increased TGP. Such results provide us the first evidence for local adaptation in TGP and argue that divergent ecological conditions select for phenotypic responses within and across generations.

SUBMITTER: Walsh MR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4795015 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Local adaptation in transgenerational responses to predators.

Walsh Matthew R MR Castoe Todd T Holmes Julian J Packer Michelle M Biles Kelsey K Walsh Melissa M Munch Stephan B SB Post David M DM

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20160101 1823

Environmental signals can induce phenotypic changes that span multiple generations. Along with phenotypic responses that occur during development (i.e. 'within-generation' plasticity), such 'transgenerational plasticity' (TGP) has been documented in a diverse array of taxa spanning many environmental perturbations. New theory predicts that temporal stability is a key driver of the evolution of TGP. We tested this prediction using natural populations of zooplankton from lakes in Connecticut that ...[more]

PMID: 26817775

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Dataset Information

Local adaptation in transgenerational responses to predators.

Publications

Local adaptation in transgenerational responses to predators.

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