Abstract
Phenotype and life history traits of an individual are a product of environmental conditions and the genome. Environment can be current or past, which complicates the distinction between environmental and heritable effects on the phenotype in wild animals. We studied genome–environment interactions on phenotype and life history traits by transplanting bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from northern and southern populations, originating from low or high population cycle phases, to common garden conditions in large outdoor enclosures. The first experiment focused on the persistence of body traits in autumn-captured overwintering populations. The second experiment focused on population growth and body traits in spring-captured founder voles and F1 generation. This experiment lasted the breeding season and subsequent winter. We verified phase-dependent differences in body size at capture. In the common environment, adult voles kept their original body size differences both over winter and during the breeding season. In addition, the first generation born in the common environment kept the size distribution of their parent population. The increase phase population maintained a more rapid growth potential, while populations from the decline phase of the cycle grew slower. After winter, the F1 generation of the increasing northern population matured later than the F1 of the southern declining ones. Our results suggest a strong role of heredity or early life conditions, greater than that of current juvenile and adult environmental conditions. Environmental conditions experienced by the parents in their early life can have inter-generational effects that manifest in offspring performance.
Highlights
An individual’s phenotype is the result of both genes and environment
Voles for the first experiment were captured in autumn 2008 when bank voles of the North population were in the low phase and those from South in the peak phase (Fig. 2)
The interaction between Origin and Sex was statistically significant. When tested both sexes separately, there was no difference in the body mass of the females (N 32 from South and 15 from North) between origin but males from North low population were 3.2 g (N = 32*) lighter than South peak population males (N = 17, Fig. 3)
Summary
An individual’s phenotype is the result of both genes and environment. It is often difficult to evaluate the relative roles of these in wild populations. One way to get a partial answer is to relocate individuals and observe whether the traits evolved in the original environment are changing in Communicated by Roland A. Short-lived northern voles face very different environmental conditions depending on when they have been born.
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