Echinoderms Display Morphological and Behavioural Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Their Trophic Environment
نویسندگان
چکیده
The trophic interactions of sea urchins are known to be the agents of phase shifts in benthic marine habitats such as tropical and temperate reefs. In temperate reefs, the grazing activity of sea urchins has been responsible for the destruction of kelp forests and the formation of 'urchin barrens', a rocky habitat dominated by crustose algae and encrusting invertebrates. Once formed, these urchin barrens can persist for decades. Trophic plasticity in the sea urchin may contribute to the stability and resilience of this alternate stable state by increasing diet breadth in sea urchins. This plasticity promotes ecological connectivity and weakens species interactions and so increases ecosystem stability. We test the hypothesis that sea urchins exhibit trophic plasticity using an approach that controls for other typically confounding environmental and genetic factors. To do this, we exposed a genetically homogenous population of sea urchins to two very different trophic environments over a period of two years. The sea urchins exhibited a wide degree of phenotypic trophic plasticity when exposed to contrasting trophic environments. The two populations developed differences in their gross morphology and the test microstructure. In addition, when challenged with unfamiliar prey, the response of each group was different. We show that sea urchins exhibit significant morphological and behavioural phenotypic plasticity independent of their environment or their nutritional status.
منابع مشابه
The phenotypic plasticity of the aquatic invertebrate Caenis latipennis in response to environmental conditions in the Kheirood Kenar River, Iran
Phenotypic plasticity is the capability of an organism to change its shape in response to the environmental condition. The present study aimed to investigate the phenotypic plasticity of the aquatic invertebrate Caenis latipennis using outline analysis. Samples were collected from up- and downstream of the Kheirood Kenar River, identified to the species level and photographed using a digital ca...
متن کاملP5: Memory and Talent
A person, who is talented, performs in a certain capacity above the norm. Talent is different from intelligence which is a response to a circumstance using knowledge and skill. The attributes of talent are exceptional memory, rapid processing speed, and high motivation, an affinity for learning, creativity and optimal cognition. There is some proof suggests that certain aspects of talent are re...
متن کاملPhenotypic plasticity: its role in trophic radiation and explosive speciation in cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae)
Phenotypic plasticity is the capacity of an organism’s phenotype to vary in different environments. Although diet-induced phenotypic plasticity has been documented in New World cichlids, it has been hypothesised that this type of plasticity would be limited in certain Old World cichlids, because of the morphological constraints on the jaw imposed by mouth-brooding. This hypothesis was experimen...
متن کاملThe effect of food type on phenotypic plasticity of sword tail, Xiphophurus helleri, during early ontogeny
Phenotypic plasticity is an important mechanism of phenotypic adaptation in response to environmental conditions. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of food type on the body shape of swordtail, Xiphoohurus helleri, during early development using geometric morphometric method. For this purpose, two treatments including feed by Artemia naupli and commercial Biomar diet were used i...
متن کاملThe role of phenotypic plasticity in driving genetic evolution.
Models of population divergence and speciation are often based on the assumption that differences between populations are due to genetic factors, and that phenotypic change is due to natural selection. It is equally plausible that some of the differences among populations are due to phenotypic plasticity. We use the metaphor of the adaptive landscape to review the role of phenotypic plasticity ...
متن کامل