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125 results for “fitness consequences”

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dryad36/100

Recovery from heat-induced infertility: A study of reproductive tissue responses and fitness consequences in male Drosophila melanogaster

The predicted temperature increase caused by climate change is a threat to biodiversity. Across animal taxa, male reproduction is often sensitive to elevated temperatures leading to fertility loss and in more adverse scenarios, this can result in sterility when males reach their upper thermal fertility limit. Here we investigate temperature-induced changes in reproductive tissues, fertility reduction, sterility, and the associated fitness loss during the subsequent recovery phase in male Drosophila melanogaster. We heat-stressed males during development and either allowed them to recover or not in early adulthood, while measuring several determinants of male reproductive success. We found significant differences in recovery rate, organ sizes, sperm production, and other key reproductive traits among males from our different temperature treatments. Sperm maturation was impaired before reaching the upper thermal sterility threshold. While some effects were reversible, this did not compensate for the fitness loss due to damage imposed during development. Surprisingly, developmental heat stress was damaging to accessory gland growth, and female post-mating responses mediated by seminal fluid proteins were impaired regardless of the possibility of recovery. We suggest that sub-lethal thermal sterility and the subsequent fertility reduction is caused by a combination of inefficient functionality of both the accessory gland and testes.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Correlates of early reproduction and apparent fitness consequences in male Soay sheep

Life history trade-offs are ubiquitous across species and place constraints on the timing of life history events, including the optimal age at first reproduction. However, studies on lifetime breeding success of male mammals are rare due to sex-biased dispersal and the requirement for genetic paternity inferences. We studied the correlates and apparent fitness consequences of early-life reproduction among males in a free-living population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries) on St Kilda, Scotland. We investigated the factors associated with early breeding success and the apparent consequences of early success for survival and future reproduction. We used genetic paternity inferences, population data and individual morphology measurements collected over 30 years. We found that individuals born in years with low-density population size had the highest early-life breeding success, and singletons were more likely to be successful than twins. Individuals that bred successfully at seven months were more likely to survive their first winter. For individuals that survived their first winter, early breeding success was not associated with later breeding success. Since individual heterogeneity affects breeding success, we believe that variation in individual quality masks costs of early reproduction in this population. Our findings provide no evidence for selection for delayed age at reproduction in male Soay sheep.

opencc-zeroApr 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Short-term fitness consequences of parasitism depend on host genotype and within-host parasite community

Multi-parasite communities inhabiting individual hosts are common and often consist of parasites from multiple taxa. The effects of parasite community composition and complexity on host fitness are critical for understanding how host-parasite coevolution is affected by parasite diversity. To test how naturally-occurring parasites affect host fitness of multiple host genotypes, we performed a common-garden experiment where we inoculated four genotypes of host plant Plantago lanceolata with six microbial parasite treatments: three single parasite treatments, a fungal mixture, a viral mixture, and a cross-kingdom treatment. Seed production was affected by both host genotype and parasite treatment, and their interaction jointly determined growth of the hosts. Fungal parasites had more consistent negative effects than viruses in both single mixed parasite treatments. These results demonstrate that parasite communities have the potential to affect the evolution and ecology of host populations through their effects on host growth and reproduction. Moreover, the results highlight the importance of accounting for the diversity of parasites as well as host genotypes when aiming to predict the consequences of parasites for epidemics as the effects of multi-parasitism are not necessarily additive of single parasite effects, nor uniform across all host genotypes.

opencc-zeroMay 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Humidity stress and its consequences for male pre- and post-copulatory fitness traits in an insect

Global declines in insect abundance are of significant concern. While there is evidence that climate change is contributing to insect declines, we know little of the direct mechanisms responsible for these declines. Male fertility is compromised by increasing temperatures, and the thermal limit to fertility has been implicated as an important factor in the response of insects to climate change. However, climate change is affecting both temperature and hydric conditions, and the effects of water availability on male fertility have rarely been considered. Here we exposed male crickets Teleogryllus oceanicus to either low- or high-humidity environments while holding temperature constant. We measured water loss and the expression of both pre- and post-mating reproductive traits. Males exposed to a low-humidity environment lost more water than males exposed to a high-humidity environment. A male's cuticular hydrocarbon profile (CHC) did not affect the amount of water lost, and males did not adjust the composition of their CHC profiles in response to hydric conditions. Males exposed to a low-humidity environment were less likely to produce courtship song or produced songs of low quality. Their spermatophores failed to evacuate and their ejaculates contained sperm of reduced viability. The detrimental effects of low humidity on male reproductive traits will compromise male fertility and population persistence. We argue that limits to insect fertility based on temperature alone are likely to underestimate the true effects of climate change on insect persistence, and that the explicit incorporation of water regulation into our modelling will yield more accurate predictions of the effects of climate change on insect declines.

opencc-zeroJun 2023View details →

dryad36/100