Influence of flood frequency, temperature and population density on migration of Fundulus heteroclitus in semi-isolated marsh pond habitats

Hunter, Karen L.; Fox, Michael G.; Able, Kenneth W.

doi:10.3354/meps08211

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…This is the first study to characterize continuous changes in pond temperatures and salinities across tide stages and seasons. Water temperatures averaged across tide stages in the PIE‐LTER ponds (Table ) were similar to summertime values in New Jersey marsh ponds [ Hunter et al , ] but slightly cooler than in Virginia ponds during summer and fall [ Layman et al , ]. Salinities were similar across tide stages in the PIE‐LTER ponds (Table ) but increased during tidally isolated periods in several Texas marsh ponds [ Miller et al , ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Shallow ponds are heterogeneous habitats within a temperate salt marsh ecosystem

et al. 2017

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Integrating spatial heterogeneity into assessments of salt marsh biogeochemistry is becoming increasingly important because disturbances that reduce plant productivity and soil drainage may contribute to an expansion of shallow ponds. These permanently inundated and sometimes prominent landscape features can exist for decades, yet little is known about pond biogeochemistry or their role in marsh ecosystem functioning. We characterized three ponds in a temperate salt marsh (MA, USA) over alternating periods of tidal isolation and flushing, during summer and fall, by evaluating the composition of plant communities and organic matter pools and measuring surface water oxygen, temperature, and conductivity. The ponds were located in the high marsh and had similar depths, temperatures, and salinities. Despite this, they had different levels of suspended particulate, dissolved, and sediment organic matter and abundances of phytoplankton, macroalgae, and Ruppia maritima. Differences in plant communities were reflected in pond metabolism rates, which ranged from autotrophic to heterotrophic. Integrating ponds into landcover‐based estimates of marsh metabolism resulted in slower rates of net production (−8.1 ± 0.3 to −15.7 ± 0.9%) and respiration (−2.9 ± 0.5 to −10.0 ± 0.4%), compared to rates based on emergent grasses alone. Seasonality had a greater effect on pond water chemistry, organic matter pools, and algal abundances than tidal connectivity. Alternating stretches of tidal isolation and flushing did not affect pond salinities or algal communities, suggesting that exchange between ponds and nearby creeks was limited. Overall, we found that ponds are heterogeneous habitats and future expansion could reduce landscape connectivity and the ability of marshes to capture and store carbon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Shallow ponds are heterogeneous habitats within a temperate salt marsh ecosystem

et al. 2017

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“…Similarly, potential cryptic environmental variables among ponds may be of similar, or higher, importance as the documented temperature and dissolved oxygen differences. For example, Hunter et al [50, 51] demonstrated that tidal pond flooding frequency is significantly, positively correlated with female F. heteroclitus gonadosomatic index. The authors suggest that increased nutrient availability, introduced by frequent tidal flooding, may allow for higher reproductive allocation, a key life-history and fitness related trait.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Estuaries inhabited by F. heteroclitus consist of multiple niches with contrasting environmental parameters. In addition, cryptic differences among seemingly similar niches further exacerbate environmental heterogeneity [49–51,64]. Given this patchy landscape and annual panmictic breeding, it is possible that both the significant temporal allele frequency changes as well as spatial divergence observed in the F. heteroclitus system could be explained by Levene’s model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Secondly, relative fitness within niches outweighs imbalanced antagonism in global fitness if niches are resource-limited [83, 90]. This seems to be the case in the small bodies of water inhabited by F. heteroclitus [50,51,56,64]. Hence, the relative contribution of an allele to the next generation is proportional to the carrying capacity of its matching niche, not relative global fitness [83, 90].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If antagonistic alleles are deleterious recessive [93, 94], or pleiotropic [94], which is likely the case for redundant alleles affecting complex traits, dominance reversal can be readily achieved. Finally, while F. heteroclitus does not fulfil the stabilizing requirement of negligible migration among habitat patches [44, 51], intermediate levels of migration can potentially exacerbate local adaptation. If migration is deterministic, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid polygenic selection generates fine spatial structure among ecological niches in a well-mixed population

Ehrlich

Wagner

Oleksiak

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Evolution by natural selection may be effective enough to allow for recurrent, rapid adaptation to distinct niche environments within a well-mixed population. For this to occur, selection must act on standing genetic variation such that mortality i.e. genetic load, is minimized while polymorphism is maintained. Selection on multiple, redundant loci of small effect provides a potentially inexpensive solution. Yet, demonstrating adaptation via redundant, polygenic selection in the wild remains extremely challenging because low per-locus effect sizes and high genetic redundancy severely reduce statistical power. One approach to facilitate identification of loci underlying polygenic selection is to harness natural replicate populations experiencing similar selection pressures that harbor high within-, yet negligible among-population genetic variation. Such populations can be found among the teleost Fundulus heteroclitus. F. heteroclitus inhabits salt marsh estuaries that are characterized by high environmental heterogeneity e.g. tidal ponds, creeks, coastal basins. Here, we sample four of these heterogeneous niches (one coastal basin and three replicate tidal ponds) at two time points from among a single, panmictic F. heteroclitus population. We identify 10,861 single nucleotide polymorphisms using a genotyping-by-sequencing approach and quantify temporal allele frequency change within, as well as spatial divergence among subpopulations residing in these niches. We find a significantly elevated number of concordant allele frequency changes among all subpopulations, suggesting ecosystem-wide adaptation to a common selection pressure. Remarkably, we also find an unexpected number of temporal allele frequency changes that generate fine-scale divergence among subpopulations, suggestive of local adaptation to distinct niche environments. Both patterns are characterized by a lack of large-effect loci yet an elevated total number of significant loci. Adaptation via redundant, polygenic selection offers a likely explanation for these patterns as well as a potential mechanism for polymorphism maintenance in the F. heteroclitus system.Author SummaryEvolution by adaptation to local environmental conditions may occur more rapidly than previously thought. Recent studies show that natural selection is extremely effective when acting on, not one, but multiple genetic variants that are already present in a population. Here, we show that polygenic selection can lead to adaptation within a single generation by studying a wild, well-mixed population of mud minnows inhabiting environmentally distinct locations or niches (i.e. tidal ponds and coastal basins). We monitor allele proportions at over 10,000 genetic variants over time within a single generation and find a significant number to be changing substantially in every niche, suggestive of natural selection. We further demonstrate this genetic change to be non-random, generating mild, yet significant divergence between residents inhabiting distinct niches, indicative of local adaptation. We corroborate a previous study which discovered similar genetic divergence among niches during a different year, suggesting that local adaptation via natural selection occurs every generation. We show polygenic selection on standing genetic variation to be an effective and evolutionarily inexpensive mechanism, allowing organisms to rapidly adapt to their environments even at extremely short time scales. Our study provides valuable insights into the rate of evolution and the ability of organisms to respond to environmental change.

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Habitat Use and Connectivity

Able¹,

Simenstad²,

Strydom³

et al. 2022

Fish and Fisheries in Estuaries

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Influence of flood frequency, temperature and population density on migration of Fundulus heteroclitus in semi-isolated marsh pond habitats

Cited by 17 publications

References 59 publications

Shallow ponds are heterogeneous habitats within a temperate salt marsh ecosystem

Shallow ponds are heterogeneous habitats within a temperate salt marsh ecosystem

Rapid polygenic selection generates fine spatial structure among ecological niches in a well-mixed population

Habitat Use and Connectivity

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