Abstract
Rapid phenotypic diversification during biological invasions can either arise by adaptation to alternative environments or by adaptive phenotypic plasticity. Where experimental evidence for adaptive plasticity is common, support for evolutionary diversification is rare. Here, we performed a controlled laboratory experiment using full-sib crosses between ecologically divergent threespine stickleback populations to test for a genetic basis of adaptation. Our populations are from two very different habitats, lake and stream, of a recently invaded range in Switzerland and differ in ecologically relevant morphological traits. We found that in a lake-like food treatment lake fish grow faster than stream fish, resembling the difference among wild type individuals. In contrast, in a stream-like food treatment individuals from both populations grow similarly. Our experimental data suggest that genetically determined diversification has occurred within less than 140 years after the arrival of stickleback in our studied region.
Highlights
Numerous cases of rapid phenotypic diversification during biological invasions are known [1,2,3]
Many are thought to have arisen through adaptive phenotypic plasticity as a consequence of different selection pressures experienced during range expansion
We find that in the lakelike food treatment lake fish grow faster than stream fish
Summary
Numerous cases of rapid phenotypic diversification during biological invasions are known [1,2,3]. Many are thought to have arisen through adaptive phenotypic plasticity as a consequence of different selection pressures experienced during range expansion. Plasticity provides the possibility for rapid colonisation of new niches by expressing adapted phenotypes readily in different environments [2,3,4]. Genetic divergence between populations based on alternative alleles of genes underlying ecologically relevant phenotypes can arise rapidly through natural divergent selection and such divergence can itself be enhanced by plasticity. Controlled laboratory experiments in which treatments differ in one or more key factors with all other conditions being the same, provide a powerful method to distinguish between genetically based divergence and plasticity in phenotypically differentiated populations [6,9,10,11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
