Abstract
AbstractWhile there is evidence of genetic and phenotypic responses to climate change, few studies have demonstrated change in functional traits with a known genetic basis.Here we present evidence for an evolutionary adaptive response to elevated temperatures in freshwater populations of the threespine sticklebackGasterosteus aculeatus.Using a unique set of historical data and museum specimens, in combination with contemporary samples, we fitted a Bayesian spatial model to identify a population‐level decline in the number of lateral bony plates, comprising anti‐predator armour, in multiple populations of sticklebacks over the last 91 years in Poland.Armor loss was predicted by elevated temperatures and is proposed to be a correlated response to selection for reduced body size.This study demonstrates a change in a functional trait of known genetic basis in response to elevated temperature, and illustrates the utility of the threespine stickleback as a model for measuring the evolutionary and ecological impacts of environmental change across the northern hemisphere.A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Highlights
The central assumption of evolutionary theory is that natural selection drives phenotypic adaptation of populations to local environmental conditions through changes in the genetic composition of the population
Armor loss was predicted by elevated temperatures and is proposed to be a correlated response to selection for reduced body size
This study demonstrates a change in a functional trait of known genetic basis in response to elevated temperature, and illustrates the utility of the threespine stickleback as a model for measuring the evolutionary and ecological impacts of environmental change across the northern hemisphere
Summary
The central assumption of evolutionary theory is that natural selection drives phenotypic adaptation of populations to local environmental conditions through changes in the genetic composition of the population. Marine populations of the threespine stickleback have repeatedly invaded freshwater habitats These invasions are characterized by rapid reduction in the extent of anti-predator ‘armour’, comprising lateral bony plates, pelvic girdle and spines, and dorsal spines, as well as other aspects of their biology (Bell & Foster, 1994; Wootton, 1976, 2009). The association between environmental temperature and variation in threespine stickleback lateral plate number provides an opportunity to investigate whether large-scale climate trends can drive phenotypic change in lateral plate number among stickleback populations. Their wide distribution, tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions and striking phenotypic variability make the threespine stickleback an ideal model for investigating selective forces underpinning climate change. Given the association between lateral plate number and temperature, we predicted a decrease in the lateral plate number of threespine sticklebacks over the past nine decades, corresponding with increasing environmental temperatures while controlling for the effects of concomitant changes in body size and spatial dependency
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