Empirical evidence of plasticity in life-history characteristics across climatic and fish density gradients

Abstract

Understanding how environmental productivity and resource competition influence somatic growth rates and plasticity in life-history traits is a critical component of population ecology. However, evolutionary effects often confound the relationship between plasticity in life-history characteristics and environmental productivity. We used a unique set of experimentally stocked populations of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to empirically test predictions from life-history theory relating to patterns in immature growth rates, age- and size-at-maturity, and the energy allocated into reproduction across climatic and fish density gradients. Our results support theoretical predictions that plasticity in life-history characteristics is a function of environmental variables. In particular, we demonstrate that immature growth rates are best explained by climatic and density-dependent competition effects and that age-at-maturity and the energy allocated to reproduction depends on juvenile growth conditions. Empirical evidence of these relationships helps to improve our understanding of optimal life-history strategies of fish populations.