Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics
; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
; Evolutionary Biology
英文摘要:
Phenotypic plasticity-one individual's capacity tor phenotypic variation under different environments-is critical for organisms facing fluctuating conditions within their lifetime. North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) experience drastic among year fluctuations in conspecific density. This shapes juvenile competition over vacant territories and overwinter survival. To help young cope with competition at high densities, mothers can increase offspring growth rates via a glucocorticoid-mediated maternal effect. However, this effect is only adaptive under high densities, and faster growth often comes at a cost to longevity. While red squirrels can adjust hormones in response to fluctuating density, the degree to which mothers differ in glucocorticoid plasticity across changing densities remains unknown. Findings from our reaction norm approach revealed significant individual variation not only in a female red squirrel's mean endocrine phenotype but also in endocrine plasticity in response to changes in local density. Future work on proximate and ultimate drivers of variation in endocrine plasticity and maternal effects is needed, particularly in free-living animals experiencing fluctuating environments.
1.Univ Guelph, Dept Integrat Biol, Guelph, ON, Canada 2.Univ Michigan, Dept Psychol, Ann Arbor, MI USA 3.Univ Michigan, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA 4.Univ Vet Med, Dept Biomed Sci, Vienna, Austria 5.Univ Toronto Scarborough, Dept Biol Sci, Scarborough, ON, Canada 6.Univ Alberta, Dept Biol Sci, Edmonton, AB, Canada 7.Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Biol, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Recommended Citation:
Guindre-Parker, Sarah,Mcadam, Andrew G.,van Kesteren, Freya,et al. Individual variation in phenotypic plasticity of the stress axis[J]. BIOLOGY LETTERS,2019-01-01,15(7)