The developmental environment influences a wide variety of phenotypic traits in the adults of many vertebrates (i.e., developmental plasticity). In this study, we test to see if developmental environment (E DEV) interacts with the adult behavioral environment (E BEHAV) in determining behavioral phenotypes. We reared Zebrafish (Danio rerio) from eggs in either continuously hypoxic or normoxic conditions. We then tested aggression and avoidance (i.e., hiding) levels of fish from each developmental treatment in both environments. Developmental environment was a significant source of variation in avoidance behavior while the stimulus environment did not influence avoidance. Without a period of acclimation we found that E BEHAV and an E DEV X E BEHAV interaction were both significant sources of variation. However, when the fish were allowed to physiologically acclimate to the environment for 16 h, aggression level was highest for fish tested in the environment in which they developed. In that case the E DEV X E BEHAV interaction was the only significant source of variation. These results demonstrate that a more complete understanding of phenotypic response can be gained by incorporating environmental conditions across multiple time scales.
Background Forest and nonforest ecosystems of the western United States are experiencing major transformations in response to land-use change, climate warming, and their interactive effects with wildland fire. Some ecosystems are transitioning to persistent alternative types, hereafter called “vegetation type conversion” (VTC). VTC is one of the most pressing management issues in the southwestern US, yet current strategies to intervene and address change often use trial-and-error approaches devised after the fact. To better understand how to manage VTC, we gathered managers, scientists, and practitioners from across the southwestern US to collect their experiences with VTC challenges, management responses, and outcomes. Results Participants in two workshops provided 11 descriptive case studies and 61 examples of VTC from their own field observations. These experiences demonstrate the extent and complexity of ecological reorganization across the region. High-severity fire was the predominant driver of VTC in semi-arid coniferous forests. By a large margin, these forests converted to shrubland, with fewer conversions to native or non-native herbaceous communities. Chaparral and sagebrush areas nearly always converted to non-native grasses through interactions among land use, climate, and fire. Management interventions in VTC areas most often attempted to reverse changes, although we found that these efforts cover only a small portion of high-severity burn areas undergoing VTC. Some areas incurred long (>10 years) observational periods prior to initiating interventions. Efforts to facilitate VTC were rare, but could cover large spatial areas. Conclusions Our findings underscore that type conversion is a common outcome of high-severity wildland fire in the southwestern US. Ecosystem managers are frontline observers of these far-reaching and potentially persistent changes, making their experiences valuable in further developing intervention strategies and research agendas. As its drivers increase with climate change, VTC appears increasingly likely in many ecological contexts and may require management paradigms to transition as well. Approaches to VTC potentially include developing new models of desired conditions, the use of experimentation by managers, and broader implementation of adaptive management strategies. Continuing to support and develop science-manager partnerships and peer learning groups will help to shape our response to ongoing rapid ecological transformations.
The central mudminnow ( Umbra limi (Kirtland, 1841)) is a continuous, facultative air-breathing freshwater fish found in swamps of central Canada and northeastern USA. The first goal of this field and laboratory-based study was to characterize the physicochemical conditions of mudminnow habitat during the summer. Our second goal was to determine the metabolic, stress response, and nitrogen excretion strategies of this fish following variations in water temperature, dissolved oxygen, external ammonia, and short-term periods of air exposure. We report profound diurnal fluctuations in water temperature (13–31 °C), dissolved oxygen (2%–159% air saturation), and ammonia levels (10–240 μmol·L−1) in habitat of central mudminnow measured on three dates at six different sites over 24 h. The central mudminnow does not induce urea synthesis as a mechanism of ammonia detoxification, either in response to emersion (6 or 20 h) or elevated external ammonia (10 mmol·L–1). Acute exposure to high temperature (~31 °C), aquatic hypoxia, or air resulted in significant increases in blood glucose and liver heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 and hypoxia also caused an increased reliance on anaerobic metabolism. This is the first description of the heat shock response in a facultative air-breathing fish following either hypoxia or air exposure. These metabolic and molecular responses are part of a strategy that allows the mudminnow to thrive in extremely variable freshwater environments.
Four male and four female zebra fish were crossed in all possible combinations, resulting in 389 offspring. These offspring were divided among four treatments: normoxia for 90 d, hypoxia for 90 d, normoxia for 30 d followed by hypoxia for 60 d, and hypoxia for 30 d followed by normoxia for 60 d. The effects of early oxygen environment, later oxygen environment, and genotype were then assessed with respect to zebra fish behavior, size, and blood glucose. Fish were tested in an arena where they could shoal with conspecifics before, during, and after the introduction of a novel stimulus. Blood glucose and size were also measured. Early oxygen environment influenced fish size, time spent swimming, and reactivity to a novel stimulus. Environmentally induced plasticity was predominate, with little evidence of among-sire variation for any of the measured parameters.
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