Fine‐scale genetic correlates to condition and migration in a wild cervid

Northrup, Joseph M.; Shafer, Aaron B. A.; Anderson, Charles R.; Coltman, David W.; Wittemyer, George

doi:10.1111/eva.12189

Cited by 23 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 88 publications

(202 reference statements)

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“…; Northrup et al . ), our results and work on other taxa suggest that the null hypothesis should be that ungulates can, and do, switch between migratory strategies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 48%

“…Nelson (1998) clearly showed that migratory behaviour can change from that learned from one's mother in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by following marked mother-daughter pairs over multiple years. Combined with no evidence for genetic determinism for migratory behaviour in ungulates (Barnowe-Meyer et al 2013;Northrup et al 2014), our results and work on other taxa suggest that the null hypothesis should be that ungulates can, and do, switch between migratory strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 42%

“…; Northrup et al . ). Only recently are studies starting to highlight the behavioural flexibility of migration in large herbivores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In part, this is because the long life spans of most large herbivores increase the difficulty of conducting long-term studies on marked individuals. There is also no evidence that migration is genetically determined as in some insect or avian taxa (Barnowe-Meyer et al 2013;Northrup et al 2014). Only recently are studies starting to highlight the behavioural flexibility of migration in large herbivores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavioural flexibility in migratory behaviour in a long‐lived large herbivore

Eggeman

Hebblewhite

Bohm

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology

111

248

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Migratory animals are predicted to enhance lifetime fitness by obtaining higher quality forage and/or reducing predation risk compared to non-migratory conspecifics. Despite evidence for behavioural flexibility in other taxa, previous research on large mammals has often assumed that migratory behaviour is a fixed behavioural trait. Migratory behaviour may be plastic for many species, although few studies have tested for individual-level flexibility using long-term monitoring of marked individuals, especially in large mammals such as ungulates. We tested variability in individual migratory behaviour using a 10-year telemetry data set of 223 adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) in the partially migratory Ya Ha Tinda population in Alberta, Canada. We used net squared displacement (NSD) to classify migratory strategy for each individual elk-year. Individuals switched between migrant and resident strategies at a mean rate of 15% per year, and migrants were more likely to switch than residents. We then tested how extrinsic (climate, elk/wolf abundance) and intrinsic (age) factors affected the probability of migrating, and, secondly, the decision to switch between migratory strategies. Over 630 individual elk-years, the probability of an individual elk migrating increased following a severe winter, in years of higher wolf abundance, and with increasing age. At an individual elk level, we observed 148 switching events of 430 possible transitions in elk monitored at least 2 years. We found switching was density-dependent, where migrants switched to a resident strategy at low elk abundance, but residents switched more to a migrant strategy at high elk abundance. Precipitation during the previous summer had a weak carryover effect, with migrants switching slightly more following wetter summers, whereas residents showed the opposite pattern. Older migrant elk rarely switched, whereas resident elk switched more frequently to migrate at older ages. Our results show migratory behaviour in ungulates is an individually variable trait that can respond to intrinsic, environmental and density-dependent forces. Different strategies had opposing responses to density-dependent and intrinsic drivers, providing a stabilizing mechanism for the maintenance of partial migration and demographic fitness in this population.

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“…; Northrup et al . ), our results and work on other taxa suggest that the null hypothesis should be that ungulates can, and do, switch between migratory strategies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 48%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 42%

“…; Northrup et al . ). Only recently are studies starting to highlight the behavioural flexibility of migration in large herbivores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Behavioural flexibility in migratory behaviour in a long‐lived large herbivore

Eggeman

Hebblewhite

Bohm

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology

111

248

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Despite these difficulties, first attempts to associate the distribution of natural genetic variation with migration traits under selection are emerging (Northrup et al . ; Toews et al . ; Delmore et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disruptive selection without genome‐wide evolution across a migratory divide

2016

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Transcontinental migration is a fascinating example of how animals can respond to climatic oscillation. Yet, quantitative data on fitness components are scarce, and the resulting population genetic consequences are poorly understood. Migratory divides, hybrid zones with a transition in migratory behaviour, provide a natural setting to investigate the micro-evolutionary dynamics induced by migration under sympatric conditions. Here, we studied the effects of migratory programme on survival, trait evolution and genome-wide patterns of population differentiation in a migratory divide of European barn swallows. We sampled a total of 824 individuals from both allopatric European populations wintering in central and southern Africa, respectively, along with two mixed populations from within the migratory divide. While most morphological characters varied by latitude consistent with Bergmann's rule, wing length co-varied with distance to wintering grounds. Survival data collected during a 5-year period provided strong evidence that this covariance is repeatedly generated by disruptive selection against intermediate phenotypes. Yet, selection-induced divergence did not translate into genome-wide genetic differentiation as assessed by microsatellites, mtDNA and >20 000 genome-wide SNP markers; nor did we find evidence of local genomic selection between migratory types. Among breeding populations, a single outlier locus mapped to the BUB1 gene with a role in mitotic and meiotic organization. Overall, this study provides evidence for an adaptive response to variation in migration behaviour continuously eroded by gene flow under current conditions of nonassortative mating. It supports the theoretical prediction that population differentiation is difficult to achieve under conditions of gene flow despite measurable disruptive selection.

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