scholarly journals Dimensionality and modularity of adaptive variation: Divergence in threespine stickleback from diverse environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant E. Haines ◽  
Louis Moisan ◽  
Alison M. Derry ◽  
Andrew P. Hendry
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
Phenotypic Divergence ◽  
Multiple Phenotype ◽  
Effective Dimensionality ◽  
Plastic Responses ◽  
Trait Covariance

In nature, populations are subjected to a wide variety of environmental conditions that affect fitness and induce adaptive or plastic responses in traits, resulting in phenotypic divergence between populations. The dimensionality of that divergence, however, remains contentious. At the extremes, some contend that populations diverge along a single axis of trait covariance with greatest availability of heritable variation, even if this does not lead a population directly to its fitness optimum. Those at the other extreme argue that selection can push populations towards their fitness optima along multiple phenotype axes simultaneously, resulting in divergence in numerous dimensions. Here, we address this debate using populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in the Cook Inlet region of southern Alaska from lakes with contrasting ecological conditions. We calculated effective dimensionality of divergence in several trait suites (defensive, swimming, and trophic) thought to be under correlated selection pressures, as well as across all traits. We also tested for integration among the trait suites and between each trait suite and the environment. We found that populations in the Cook Inlet radiation exhibit dimensionality of phenotype high enough to preclude a single axis of divergence.

Prolactin and survival in deionized water of the marine form (trachurus) of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 989-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Leatherland ◽  
T. J. Lam
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Deionized Water ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Response Relationship ◽  
Dose Response Relationship ◽  
Optimum Range

The marine form (trachurus) of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) showed rapid mortality in deionized water in the early winter, and prolactin injection could significantly reduce this mortality although it could not completely prevent it. A single prolactin injection 24 h before transfer of fish to deionized water was apparently as effective as three prior injections (on alternate days). There was no obvious dose–response relationship. However, there appears to be an optimum range since both a low dose of 1 μg/g and a high dose of 30 μg/g were less effective than the intermediate doses which did not differ significantly amongst themselves.On the other hand, prolactin was ineffective when the fish were transferred to deionized water only 3 h after the injection. Both the solvent-injected and prolactin-injected fish in this case showed a more rapid mortality rate than the uninjected fish.When the fish were transferred 48 h after the injection, prolactin appeared to be even more effective than when the fish were transferred 24 h after the injection, but in this case slightly larger doses were apparently required.

Body-size and growth-rate divergence among populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (11) ◽  
pp. 877-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Rollins
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Size Frequency

Body size is one of the most perceptible traits of organisms and is an important fitness proxy in evolutionary studies. Oceanic threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L., 1758) have colonized and adapted to numerous freshwater habitats throughout the Holarctic since the most recent glacial retreat, giving us natural “replicates” of both convergent and divergent evolution. I observed considerable body-size variation among 22 threespine stickleback populations within a small region surrounding Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA. Larger bodied populations tended to have bimodal size-frequency distributions, whereas most smaller bodied populations had unimodal distributions. Bimodal distributions suggested the presence of at least two age classes within large-bodied populations. I used a Bayesian approach to infer mean size of presumed age-1 and age-2+ fish from bimodal size-frequency distributions; I found significant differences in size among populations within ages and sexes, suggesting significant divergence in growth rate among populations. I did not find significant correlations between growth rates (age-specific size) and geographic distances among populations, drainage affiliation, or distance to the sea. Thus, historical processes like isolation by distance, gene flow, or recent common ancestry did not explain differences in growth among populations, suggesting a role for local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity in size divergence.

scholarly journals Genetic divergence outpaces phenotypic evolution among threespine stickleback populations in old freshwater habitats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C Currey ◽  
Susan L Bassham ◽  
William A Cresko
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Divergence ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Phenotypic Divergence ◽  
Freshwater Habitats

Abstract Species such as threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) that inhabit divergent selective environments and that have diversified on different time scales can be of value for understanding evolutionary processes. Here we synthesize high-resolution genotypic and phenotypic data to explore a largely unstudied distribution of threespine stickleback populations living in oceanic and freshwater habitats along coastal and inland regions of Oregon. Many inland aquatic habitats of Oregon remained unglaciated during the last ice age, meaning that some extant Oregon lake and river stickleback may have descended from freshwater populations established long before more well-studied, post-glacial freshwater populations. To address the degree of congruence between genetic and phenotypic divergence, we directly compared Oregon stickleback to much younger (post-glacial) Alaskan populations. We found phenotypic variation in Oregon stickleback to be primarily partitioned between oceanic and freshwater habitats, as has been documented in other stickleback systems. However, the main axis of genetic divergence was between coastal and inland regions regardless of habitat type. Furthermore, when comparing patterns between Oregon and Alaska we found similar levels of phenotypic divergence, but much greater genetic divergence among Oregon’s populations. The Oregon stickleback system therefore appears well suited for future studies linking genotypic and phenotypic change, further extending the utility of this small fish to provide general insights into evolutionary processes.

scholarly journals The relationship between intraspecific assortative mating and reproductive isolation between divergent populations

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel I. Bolnick ◽  
Mark Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Darwin's Finches ◽  
Phenotypic Divergence ◽  
Darwin’S Finches ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The term ‘assortative mating’ has been applied to describe two very different phenomena: (1) the tendency for individuals to choose phenotypically similar mates from among conspecifics; or (2) the tendency to prefer conspecific over hete-rospecific mates (behavioral reproductive isolation). Both forms of assortative mating are widespread in nature, but the relationship between these behaviors remains unclear. Namely, it is plausible that a preference for phenotypically similar conspecifics incidentally reduces the probability of mating with phenotypically divergent heterospecifics. We present a model to calculate how the level of reproductive isolation depends on intraspecific assortative mating and the phenotypic divergence between species. For empirically reasonable levels of intraspecific assortment on a single trait axis, we show that strong reproductive isolation requires very substantial phenotypic divergence. We illustrate this point by applying our model to empirical data from threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus and Darwin’s Finches (Geospiza spp). We conclude that typical levels of intraspecific assortment cannot generally be extrapolated to explain levels of interspecific reproductive isolation. Instead, reproductive isolation between species likely arises from different mate choice behaviors, or multivariate assortative mating.

STIMULUS-SPECIFIC AND RESPONSE-SPECIFIC HABITUATION IN COURTING STICKLEBACK: DEVELOPMENTAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Behaviour ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 933-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jenkins ◽  
William Rowland
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Gravid Female ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
The Other ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Direct Attack ◽  
Over Time

AbstractMale threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, from a marine population on Long Island, New York were presented simultaneously with two dummies, one simulating a normally distended ('thinner') gravid female and the other a highly distended ('fatter') one. Males initially courted the dummies much as they do real females, but showed stimulus-specific and response-specific habituation to the dummies. Males initially courted the fatter dummy slightly more than the thinner one but showed clear signs of habituation toward the thinner dummy after about 4 min while courtship to the fatter one continued throughout the 1 hr presentation period. Thus, within 12 min males were directing a much greater proportion of courtship to the fatter dummy, and this difference increased over time. Males also attacked both dummies and, in contrast to their courtship response, divided biting equally between the two dummies. Moreover, bite rates to the thinner and the fatter dummy doubled within the first 12 min and then fluctuated around that level for the remainder of the trial. The stimulusspecific and response-specific nature of habituation may be adaptive for male mating success because it leads the male to focus courtship on the preferred female and to direct attack against the fish presenting a greater threat to the nest but a lower potential reproductive payoff.

scholarly journals Recent evolution of extreme cestode growth suppression by a vertebrate host

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse N. Weber ◽  
Natalie C. Steinel ◽  
Kum Chuan Shim ◽  
Daniel I. Bolnick
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Growth Suppression ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Vertebrate Host ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
F1 Hybrid ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus

AbstractParasites can be a major cause of natural selection on hosts, which consequently evolve a variety of strategies to avoid, eliminate, or tolerate infection. When ecologically similar host populations present disparate infection loads, this natural variation can reveal immunological strategies underlying adaptation to infection and population divergence. For instance, the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus persistently infects between 0% to 80% of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lakes on Vancouver Island. To test whether these heterogeneous infection rates are due to evolved differences in immunity, we experimentally exposed lab-reared fish from high-and low-infection populations, which are not known to differ in natural exposure risk, to controlled doses of Schistocephalus. We observed heritable between-population differences in several immune traits: fish from the naturally uninfected population initiated a stronger granulocyte response to Schistocephalus infection, and their granulocytes constitutively generated threefold more reactive oxygen species (ROS). Despite these immunological differences, Schistocephalus was equally successful at establishing initial infections in both host populations. However, the low-infection fish dramatically suppressed tapeworm growth relative to high-infection fish, and parasite size was intermediate in F1 hybrid hosts. Our results show that stickleback recently evolved heritable variation in their capacity to suppress helminth growth. Comparative data from many from natural populations indicate that growth suppression is widespread but not universal and, when present, is associated with reduced infection prevalence. Host suppression of helminth somatic growth may be an important immune strategy that aids in parasite clearance, or in mitigating the fitness costs of persistent infection.SignificanceLarge parasites remain a persistent source of morbidity and mortality in humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife. Hosts are subject to strong natural selection to eliminate or tolerate these parasite infections. Here, we document the recent evolution of a striking form of resistance by a vertebrate host (threespine stickleback) against its cestode parasite (Schistocephalus solidus). After Pleistocene glacial retreat, marine stickleback colonized freshwater lakes, encountered Schistocephalus, and evolved varying levels of resistance to it. We show that a heavily-and a rarely-infected population of stickleback have similar resistance to Schistocephalus colonization, but rarely-infected fish suppress parasite growth by orders of magnitude. These populations represent ends of a natural continuum of cestode growth suppression, which is associated with reduced infection prevalence.

scholarly journals Diversity and sexual dimorphism in the head lateral line system in North Sea populations of threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae)

Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Lateral Line ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

AbstractThe mechanosensory lateral line of fishes is a flow sensing system and supports a number of behaviors, e.g. prey detection, schooling or position holding in water currents. Differences in the neuromast pattern of this sensory system reflect adaptation to divergent ecological constraints. The threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is known for its ecological plasticity resulting in three major ecotypes, a marine type, a migrating anadromous type and a resident freshwater type. We provide the first comparative study of the pattern of the head lateral line system of North Sea populations representing these three ecotypes including a brackish spawning population. We found no distinct difference in the pattern of the head lateral line system between the three ecotypes but significant differences in neuromast numbers. The anadromous and the brackish populations had distinctly less neuromasts than their freshwater and marine conspecifics. This difference in neuromast number between marine and anadromous threespine stickleback points to differences in swimming behavior. We also found sexual dimorphism in neuromast number with males having more neuromasts than females in the anadromous, brackish and the freshwater populations. But no such dimorphism occurred in the marine population. Our results suggest that the head lateral line of the three ecotypes is under divergent hydrodynamic constraints. Additionally, sexual dimorphism points to divergent niche partitioning of males and females in the anadromous and freshwater but not in the marine populations. Our findings imply careful sampling as an important prerequisite to discern especially between anadromous and marine threespine sticklebacks.

Responses of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus, L) transcriptome to hypoxia

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Leveelahti ◽  
P. Leskinen ◽  
E.H. Leder ◽  
W. Waser ◽  
M. Nikinmaa
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback

scholarly journals Heritability of DNA methylation in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juntao Hu ◽  
Sara J S Wuitchik ◽  
Tegan N Barry ◽  
Heather A Jamniczky ◽  
Sean M Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Genetic Architecture ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
Cpg Sites ◽  
Cis And Trans ◽  
Methylation Variation

Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic change are hypothesized to contribute to population persistence and adaptation in the face of environmental change. To date, few studies have explored the heritability of intergenerationally stable methylation levels in natural populations, and little is known about the relative contribution of cis- and trans-regulatory changes to methylation variation. Here, we explore the heritability of DNA methylation, and conduct methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) analysis to investigate the genetic architecture underlying methylation variation between marine and freshwater ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We quantitatively measured genome-wide DNA methylation in fin tissue using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing of F1 and F2 crosses, and their marine and freshwater source populations. We identified cytosines (CpG sites) that exhibited stable methylation levels across generations. We found that additive genetic variance explained an average of 24–35% of the methylation variance, with a number of CpG sites possibly autonomous from genetic control. We also detected both cis- and trans-meQTLs, with only trans-meQTLs overlapping with previously identified genomic regions of high differentiation between marine and freshwater ecotypes. Finally, we identified the genetic architecture underlying two key CpG sites that were differentially methylated between ecotypes. These findings demonstrate a potential role for DNA methylation in facilitating adaptation to divergent environments and improve our understanding of the heritable basis of population epigenomic variation.

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