Fitness and fur colouration: Testing the camouflage and thermoregulation hypotheses in an Arctic mammal

Bernardi, Cecilia Di; Thierry, Anne-Mathilde; Eide, Nina E.; Bowler, Diana E.; Rød‐Eriksen, Lars; Blumentrath, Stefan; Tietgen, Lukas; Sandercock, Brett K.; Flagstad, Øystein; Landa, Arild

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13457

Cited by 10 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Although the proximate factors driving these trends are likely complex and not well understood (e.g. camouflage, thermoregulation, immune response and genetic rescue effects) [19,37], our results suggest that brown-on white mismatch does not significantly penalize or outweigh the potential benefits of the blue morph phenotype [19,38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colour moult phenology and camouflage mismatch in polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes

et al. 2022

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Species that seasonally moult from brown to white to match snowy backgrounds become conspicuous and experience increased predation risk as snow cover duration declines. Long-term adaptation to camouflage mismatch in a changing climate might occur through phenotypic plasticity in colour moult phenology and or evolutionary shifts in moult rate or timing. Also, adaptation may include evolutionary shifts towards winter brown phenotypes that forgo the winter white moult. Most studies of these processes have occurred in winter white populations, with little attention to polymorphic populations with sympatric winter brown and winter white morphs. Here, we used remote camera traps to record moult phenology and mismatch in two polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes in Sweden over 2 years. We found that the colder, more northern population moulted earlier in the autumn and later in the spring. Next, foxes moulted earlier in the autumn and later in the spring during colder and snowier years. Finally, white foxes experienced relatively low camouflage mismatch while blue foxes were mismatched against snowy backgrounds most of the autumn through the spring. Because the brown-on-white mismatch imposes no evident costs, we predict that as snow duration decreases, increasing blue morph frequencies might help facilitate species persistence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colour moult phenology and camouflage mismatch in polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes

et al. 2022

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“…Evolutionary mechanisms underlying Arctic fox fur coloration are not well studied and the main difference between the colour morphs is thought to be their camouflage value in different habitats [ 34 ]. Recently, Di Bernardi et al [ 69 ] also showed fitness advantages in Norwegian blue foxes. However, the performance of the two colour morphs was not differentially affected by the tested climatic variables (snow cover and winter temperature), except for a weak indication of thermal advantage of blue juveniles, with a tendency of higher survival in colder winter temperatures compared to white juveniles [ 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Di Bernardi et al [ 69 ] also showed fitness advantages in Norwegian blue foxes. However, the performance of the two colour morphs was not differentially affected by the tested climatic variables (snow cover and winter temperature), except for a weak indication of thermal advantage of blue juveniles, with a tendency of higher survival in colder winter temperatures compared to white juveniles [ 69 ]. Overall, they did not find consistent evidence that these advantages are owing to differences in camouflage or thermoregulation [ 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fur colour in the Arctic fox: genetic architecture and consequences for fitness

et al. 2021

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Genome-wide association studies provide good opportunities for studying the genetic basis of adaptive traits in wild populations. Yet, previous studies often failed to identify major effect genes. In this study, we used high-density single nucleotide polymorphism and individual fitness data from a wild non-model species. Using a whole-genome approach, we identified the MC1R gene as the sole causal gene underlying Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus fur colour. Further, we showed the adaptive importance of fur colour genotypes through measures of fitness that link ecological and evolutionary processes. We found a tendency for blue foxes that are heterozygous at the fur colour locus to have higher fitness than homozygous white foxes. The effect of genotype on fitness was independent of winter duration but varied with prey availability, with the strongest effect in years of increasing rodent populations. MC1R is located in a genomic region with high gene density, and we discuss the potential for indirect selection through linkage and pleiotropy. Our study shows that whole-genome analyses can be successfully applied to wild species and identify major effect genes underlying adaptive traits. Furthermore, we show how this approach can be used to identify knowledge gaps in our understanding of interactions between ecology and evolution.

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“…Furthermore, camera traps might be used to study the presence of predators and prey of the leucistic carnivores, making it possible to infer how hunting success and survival might differ in populations with leucistic individuals compared to populations without. Lastly, camera traps can be used to monitor badger sets to study the number of offspring and offspring survival of sets with or without leucistic badgers, to derive estimates of fitness consequences of fur coloration (Bernardi et al., 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Camera trap records of leucistic Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in central Norway

Hofmeester

Thorsen

Linnell

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Coat coloration plays an important adaptive role in mammals, functioning as camouflage and in both intra-and interspecific communication (Caro, 2005). Coloration anomalies due to a deficit or excess of the production of melanin, such as albinism, leucism, erythrism, and melanism, are relatively rare in wild mammals, with only a few records of single individuals for some species (Abreu et al., 2013;Łopucki & Mróz, 2010). Melanism is characterized by an excess of melanin resulting in a darker than normal coat coloration, while albinism and leucism are characterized by a deficit of melanin, where albinos are distinguished by the total lack of pigmentation including in the eyes, resulting in a lighter-than-normal coat coloration (Sage, 1962). Erythrism is also characterized by a deficit of melanin, but with an abundance of reddish color resulting in a lighter and more red appearance compared with the normal phenotype (Laacke et al., 2006). These colorations often occur in isolated and genetically homogenous populations as they are caused by single mutations in specific genes (Hubbard et al., 2010). There are some studies showing the adaptive advantage of coat color mutations (e.g., Linnen et al., 2009), but these studies are rare (Hubbard et al.

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Fitness and fur colouration: Testing the camouflage and thermoregulation hypotheses in an Arctic mammal

Abstract: This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

Cited by 10 publications

References 79 publications

Colour moult phenology and camouflage mismatch in polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes

Colour moult phenology and camouflage mismatch in polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes

Fur colour in the Arctic fox: genetic architecture and consequences for fitness

Camera trap records of leucistic Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in central Norway

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