The physiology of movement

Abstract

Movement, from foraging to migration, is known to be under the influence of the environment. The translation of environmental cues to individual movement decision making is determined by an individual's internal state and anticipated to balance costs and benefits. General body condition, metabolic and hormonal physiology mechanistically underpin this internal state. These physiological determinants are tightly, and often genetically linked with each other and hence central to a mechanistic understanding of movement. We here synthesise the available evidence of the physiological drivers and signatures of movement and review (1) how physiological state as measured in its most coarse way by body condition correlates with movement decisions during foraging, migration and dispersal, (2) how hormonal changes underlie changes in these movement strategies and (3) how these can be linked to molecular pathways. We reveale that a high body condition facilitates the efficiency of routine foraging, dispersal and migration. Dispersal decision making is, however, in some cases stimulated by a decreased individual condition. Many of the biotic and abiotic stressors that induce movement initiate a physiological cascade in vertebrates through the production of stress hormones. Movement is therefore associated with hormone levels in vertebrates but also insects, often in interaction with factors related to body or social condition. The underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms are currently studied in few model species, and show-in congruence with our insights on the role of body condition-a central role of energy metabolism during glycolysis, and the coupling with timing processes during migration. Molecular insights into the physiological basis of movement remain, however, highly refractory. We finalise this review with a critical reflection on the importance of these physiological feedbacks for a better mechanistic understanding of movement and its effects on ecological dynamics at all levels of biological organization.

Sediment availability provokes a shift from Brownian to Lévy‐like clonal expansion in a dune building grass

“…Mobile organisms can perceive and respond to their environment, moving towards beneficial or avoiding hostile conditions, while simultaneously balancing energetic costs of movement with expected benefits. This means that how, where and when an organism moves depends both on the environmental conditions in time and space, and the physiological state of the individual (Dickinson et al ., 2000; Nathan et al ., 2008; Halsey, 2016; Goossens et al ., 2020). Although the processes underlying movement are complex, the emerging spatiotemporal movement patterns can be predictable.…”

Transgenerational Plasticity and Bet-Hedging: A Framework for Reaction Norm Evolution

“…Bet-hedging can be achieved by avoiding risky investments (conservative bet-hedging), or by spreading the risk among one's offspring (diversified bet-hedging), i.e., producing offspring with varying phenotypes (Seger and Brockmann, 1987;Starrfelt and Kokko, 2012). Although empirical evidence is difficult to obtain (Simons, 2011), bet-hedging is a likely explanation for high trait variance or unexpected trait means in many systems, such as the seed dormancy of desert annuals (Cohen, 1966), diapausing strategies of insects (Hopper, 1999) and annual killifish (Furness et al, 2015), wing dimorphisms (Grantham et al, 2016), facultative sexual reproduction (Gerber and Kokko, 2018), dispersal and partial migration (Goossens et al, 2020).…”

The long-distance flight behavior ofDrosophilasuggests a general model for wind-assisted dispersal in insects

“…In some insect species, dispersal is a distinct behavioral syndrome accompanied by morphological specializations, such as increased wing length, that are triggered during ontogeny (30). Even in species in which dispersal is not associated with distinct morphological changes, it may be anticipated by physiological modifications (31). There is no evidence that Drosophila exhibit distinct morphological changes associated with a dispersal state, although photoperiod and temperature do alter physiology and body size (32,33).…”