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Ecological specialization, variability in activity patterns and response to environmental change.

ABSTRACT: Differences in temporal patterns of activity can modulate the ambient conditions to which organisms are exposed, providing an important mechanism for responding to environmental change. Such differences may be particularly relevant to ecological generalists, which are expected to encounter a wider range of environmental conditions. Here, we compare temporal patterns of activity for partially sympatric populations of a generalist (the lodgepole chipmunk, Tamias speciosus) and a more specialized congener (the alpine chipmunk, Tamias alpinus) that have displayed divergent responses to the past century of environmental change. Although mean activity budgets were similar between species, analyses of individual-level variation in locomotion revealed that T. alpinus exhibited a narrower range of activity patterns than Tspeciosus Further analyses revealed that T. alpinus was more active earlier in the day, when temperatures were cooler, and that activity patterns for both species changed with increased interspecific co-occurrence. These results are consistent with the greater responsiveness of T. alpinus to changes in environmental conditions. In addition to highlighting the utility of accelerometers for collecting behavioural data, our findings add to a growing body of evidence, suggesting that the greater phenotypic variability displayed by ecological generalists may be critical to in situ responses to environmental change.

SUBMITTER: Hammond TT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6030591 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ecological specialization, variability in activity patterns and response to environmental change.

Hammond Talisin T TT Palme Rupert R Lacey Eileen A EA

Biology letters 20180601 6

Differences in temporal patterns of activity can modulate the ambient conditions to which organisms are exposed, providing an important mechanism for responding to environmental change. Such differences may be particularly relevant to ecological generalists, which are expected to encounter a wider range of environmental conditions. Here, we compare temporal patterns of activity for partially sympatric populations of a generalist (the lodgepole chipmunk, <i>Tamias speciosus</i>) and a more specia ...[more]

PMID: 29950317

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Project description:Large swaths of the nutrient-poor surface ocean are dominated numerically by cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus), cyanobacterial viruses (cyanophage), and alphaproteobacteria (SAR11). How these groups thrive in the diverse physicochemical environments of different oceanic regions remains poorly understood. Comparative metagenomics can reveal adaptive responses linked to ecosystem-specific selective pressures. The Red Sea is well-suited for studying adaptation of pelagic-microbes, with salinities, temperatures, and light levels at the extreme end for the surface ocean, and low nutrient concentrations, yet no metagenomic studies have been done there. The Red Sea (high salinity, high light, low N and P) compares favorably with the Mediterranean Sea (high salinity, low P), Sargasso Sea (low P), and North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (high light, low N). We quantified the relative abundance of genetic functions among Prochlorococcus, cyanophage, and SAR11 from these four regions. Gene frequencies indicate selection for phosphorus acquisition (Mediterranean/Sargasso), DNA repair and high-light responses (Red Sea/Pacific Prochlorococcus), and osmolyte C1 oxidation (Red Sea/Mediterranean SAR11). The unexpected connection between salinity-dependent osmolyte production and SAR11 C1 metabolism represents a potentially major coevolutionary adaptation and biogeochemical flux. Among Prochlorococcus and cyanophage, genes enriched in specific environments had ecotype distributions similar to nonenriched genes, suggesting that inter-ecotype gene transfer is not a major source of environment-specific adaptation. Clustering of metagenomes using gene frequencies shows similarities in populations (Red Sea with Pacific, Mediterranean with Sargasso) that belie their geographic distances. Taken together, the genetic functions enriched in specific environments indicate competitive strategies for maintaining carrying capacity in the face of physical stressors and low nutrient availability.

Dataset Information

Ecological specialization, variability in activity patterns and response to environmental change.

Publications

Ecological specialization, variability in activity patterns and response to environmental change.

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