Mismatch Between Birth Date and Vegetation Phenology Slows the Demography of Roe Deer

Plard, Floriane; Gaillard, Jean‐Michel; Coulson, Tim; Hewison, A. J. Mark; Delorme, Daniel; Warnant, Claude; Bonenfant, Christophe

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001828

Cited by 174 publications

(227 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…For example, in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the reproductive phenotype is shaped during the preceding autumn rut, but selection occurs during the following spring when the mother lactates, which should be the time when there is plenty of young grass. If the timing of the upcoming spring is not accurately predicted by autumnal photoperiod, this species can suffer severe losses of fitness [136,137].…”

Section: Converging Key Concepts Of Both Fields: Plasticity and Chronmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Helm

Visser

Schwartz

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

199

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Most processes within organisms, and most interactions between organisms and their environment, have distinct time profiles. The temporal coordination of such processes is crucial across levels of biological organization, but disciplines differ widely in their approaches to study timing. Such differences are accentuated between ecologists, who are centrally concerned with a holistic view of an organism in relation to its external environment, and chronobiologists, who emphasize internal timekeeping within an organism and the mechanisms of its adjustment to the environment. We argue that ecological and chronobiological perspectives are complementary, and that studies at the intersection will enable both fields to jointly overcome obstacles that currently hinder progress. However, to achieve this integration, we first have to cross some conceptual barriers, clarifying prohibitively inaccessible terminologies. We critically assess main assumptions and concepts in either field, as well as their common interests. Both approaches intersect in their need to understand the extent and regulation of temporal plasticity, and in the concept of 'chronotype', i.e. the characteristic temporal properties of individuals which are the targets of natural and sexual selection. We then highlight promising developments, point out open questions, acknowledge difficulties and propose directions for further integration of ecological and chronobiological perspectives through Wild Clock research.

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Section: Converging Key Concepts Of Both Fields: Plasticity and Chronmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Helm

Visser

Schwartz

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

199

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, many prey species show a distinct seasonal peak in their abundance, on which predators depend for energy-demanding activities such as breeding [9,14]. Similarly, herbivores may depend on certain phases of plant growth when plant nutritional value is highest [15,16]. As the timing of these favourable conditions is directly or indirectly determined by climatic variables, which show substantial year-toyear variation in timing, phenological traits are generally phenotypically plastic in response to these climatic variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why climate change will invariably alter selection pressures on phenology

2014

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The seasonal timing of lifecycle events is closely linked to individual fitness and hence, maladaptation in phenological traits may impact population dynamics. However, few studies have analysed whether and why climate change will alter selection pressures and hence possibly induce maladaptation in phenology. To fill this gap, we here use a theoretical modelling approach. In our models, the phenologies of consumer and resource are ( potentially) environmentally sensitive and depend on two different but correlated environmental variables. Fitness of the consumer depends on the phenological match with the resource. Because we explicitly model the dependence of the phenologies on environmental variables, we can test how differential (heterogeneous) versus equal (homogeneous) rates of change in the environmental variables affect selection on consumer phenology. As expected, under heterogeneous change, phenotypic plasticity is insufficient and thus selection on consumer phenology arises. However, even homogeneous change leads to directional selection on consumer phenology. This is because the consumer reaction norm has historically evolved to be flatter than the resource reaction norm, owing to time lags and imperfect cue reliability. Climate change will therefore lead to increased selection on consumer phenology across a broad range of situations.

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“…1). early survival (Plard et al 2014a) and the highest yearling body mass, which is highly positively correlated to yearling survival in ungulates (Gaillard et al 2000b). For early-life-stage traits, we investigated the short-term influence of individual birth date on early survival (survival from birth to 8 months old) and yearling survival, and yearling body mass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We tested the following hypotheses: (1) as predicted from the match between early growth and resource availability (Rutberg 1987), early-born fawns should survive better and have higher early body growth than late-born fawns because the former benefit from high quality resources (Plard et al 2014a), (2) early-born individuals should be heavier when adults, gain higher annual reproductive success, and live longer than late-born individuals because early conditions have the potential to generate ''silver spoon'' effects (Grafen 1988). We tested the following hypotheses: (1) as predicted from the match between early growth and resource availability (Rutberg 1987), early-born fawns should survive better and have higher early body growth than late-born fawns because the former benefit from high quality resources (Plard et al 2014a), (2) early-born individuals should be heavier when adults, gain higher annual reproductive success, and live longer than late-born individuals because early conditions have the potential to generate ''silver spoon'' effects (Grafen 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of birth date via body mass on individual fitness in a long‐lived mammal

Plard

Gaillard

Coulson

et al. 2015

Ecology

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The timing of birth has marked impacts on early life and early development of newborns in many species. In seasonal environments, early-born offspring often survive and grow better than late-born offspring, but despite the long-lasting effects of early conditions on life history traits, the influence of birth date on fitness has rarely been investigated for longlived species. In this study, we analyzed both the short-and long-term effects of birth date on individual life history traits and explored its subsequent impact on individual fitness in a population of roe deer. We considered both the direct effects, as well as the indirect effects of birth date mediated through the effects of body mass, on demographic parameters. We found that in addition to short-term effects on early body growth and survival, birth date generates ''silver spoon'' effects on adult life history traits of female roe deer. Birth date had long-lasting effects on female adult body mass such that early-born females were, on average, 3 kg heavier as adults than late-born females, although female adult survival was similar between these categories. Based on the observed relationships between birth date, body mass, and demographic parameters, we built an integral projection model describing the simultaneous distributions of birth date and body mass to quantify the fitness consequences of birth date. We found that the fitness of early-born females was higher than that of late-born females. These long-lasting effects of birth date on fitness were mostly mediated through the influence of birth date on recruitment and adult body mass. By determining development of newborns during the early stages of life, birth date has a critical influence on each step of an individual's subsequent life history trajectory.

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Mismatch Between Birth Date and Vegetation Phenology Slows the Demography of Roe Deer

Abstract: This study of a French deer population reveals the demographic costs associated with the failure of a herbivore to modify its life cycle timing to respond to a warming world.

Cited by 174 publications

References 62 publications

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Why climate change will invariably alter selection pressures on phenology

The influence of birth date via body mass on individual fitness in a long‐lived mammal

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