Low Competitive Environment Research Articles

Experimental evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to colistin in spatially confined microdroplets identifies evolutionary trajectories consistent with adaptation in microaerobic lung environments.

Antibiotic resistance remains one of the great challenges confronting public health in the world today. Individuals with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions are often at an increased for bacterial infections. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) produce thick mucus that clogs airways and provides a very favorable environment for infection by bacteria that further decrease lung function and, ultimately, mortality. CF patients are often infected by bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa early in life and experience a series of chronic infections that, over time, become increasingly difficult to treat due to increased antibiotic resistance. Colistin is a major antibiotic used to treat CF patients. Clinical and laboratory studies have identified PmrA/PmrB and PhoP/PhoQ as responsible for increased resistance to colistin. Both have been identified in CF patient lungs, but why, in some cases, is it one and not the other? In this study, we show that distinct evolutionary trajectories to colistin resistance may be favored by the microaerobic partitioning found within the damaged CF lung.

The Influence of Dynamic and Adaptive Marketing Capabilities on the Performance of Portuguese SMEs in the B2B International Market

The present investigation aims study the sustainability of the business model of the Portuguese SMEs operating in the B2B International market analyzing the influence of dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities in their international marketing performance. It will also analyze the moderating effects of Competitive Intensity within this international scenario. A quantitative study was developed, using a questionnaire as a research method. In total, 335 valid responses were collected from Portuguese SMEs in June 2020. To test the hypotheses, multiple hierarchical regressions were performed. As for the analyzes involving Competitive Intensity environments, namely low and high intensity, dummies were developed to evaluate the different effects produced by the capacities in the International Marketing Performance. This study shows the positive impact of the dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities on the international marketing performance of the surveyed companies, essentially from the product development management, supply chain management, vigilant market learning and open marketing. when in a low competitive intensity environment only dynamic marketing capabilities had a positive effect on performance, but in a high, competitive, intensity environment both dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities showed positive effects in relation to performance. This study innovates by bringing international marketing, through two marketing capacities, from the perspective of SMEs that perform B2B activities.

Competition induces silver spoon effects in developing anuran larvae

Early life conditions can have lifelong impacts on survival and fitness. Silver spoon effects occur when favorable early life conditions provide advantages through adulthood, even if conditions worsen. Alternatively, compensatory growth allows organisms initially reared in unfavorable conditions to grow more quickly than expected should conditions improve. We examined these possibilities in the American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, by rearing larvae in low and high competition environments and then transferring them to either high- or low-resource levels. We measured growth one-week post-transfer and toadlet size after metamorphosis. We also dissected larvae and toadlets from each treatment to examine effects on organ size. Before transfer, larvae reared with low competition grew significantly faster than those reared with high competition. Consistent with the silver spoon hypothesis, these larvae ate significantly more food, continued to grow faster post-transfer, and metamorphosed into larger toadlets with smaller livers and larger guts than those initially reared with high competition, despite having the same food availability within a resource level. Overall, our study demonstrates that larvae initially reared in favorable conditions maintain a growth advantage through metamorphosis even if resource levels decline. Future studies should explore the effects of this advantage post-metamorphosis and into adulthood.

Pure or ambidextrous strategy? A study of responsive and proactive market orientations in industrial firms

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental conditions (i.e. competitive intensity) under which a pure strategy or an ambidextrous strategy of implementing responsive market orientations (RMOs) and/or proactive market orientations (PMOs) is more advantageous for firm’s performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the market orientation (MO) and strategy literatures, the authors test the study’s model empirically using a sample of 308 US-based firms operating in industrial markets. All measurement items are taken from the widely used maturity scale which has been confirmed in the literature.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that when the competitive intensity is high, pursuing a purity strategy of RMO while decreasing PMO is the best course of action. On the other hand, balancing between RMO and PMO (implementing a strategy of ambidexterity) can increase firm’s performance in a low competitive intensity environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis study aims to contribute to the existing MO literature in several ways: first, this study advances the MO literature by emphasizing the moderating role of competitive intensity on the effects of different MO strategies (purity or ambidextrous MO strategy); second, this study focuses on the firms operating in industrial markets and informs managers on how to adopt RMO and PMO under different level of competitive intensity; third, this study is the extended research of the prior study published in this journal (Wang et al., 2013), which examined the environmental antecedents of adopting RMO and PMO.Practical implicationsFirst, firms operating in industrial markets should increase RMO, while at the same time decrease PMO, in a highly competitive intensity environment. Second, companies should pursue both RMO and PMO at the same time in a low competitive intensity environment. Balancing between RMO and PMO can improve firms’ performance in a low competitive intensity environment.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the industrial business and marketing literature by sharpening the theoretical understanding of the impact of RMOs and PMOs on firm’s performance. It also offers practical insights to managers of industrial firms on when to adopt RMOs and/or PMOs under different levels of competitive intensity.

Dynamic Capabilities for Opportunity Exploration: Insights from an Explorative Case Study

Digital technologies offer organizations new opportunities. However, unlike well-defined problem-response strategies (e.g., Lean Management), it remains elusive how to identify and leverage opportunities, particularly for public sector organizations. As extant knowledge lacks corresponding theory-guided and empirically validated opportunity management prac-tices, this study provides insights on opportunity management practices through an exploratory case study. The case of interest is Queensland Urban Utilities, a utility provider which developed a strong focus on opportunity exploration despite operating in a low-competition environment. Building upon organizational ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities as theoretical lenses, we present a conceptual framework distinguishing two opportunity types, namely core and new business opportunities. Along this framework, we present 15 practice areas and actionable practices, supported by real-life examples. Thereby, we identify two facets of exploration demanding divergent capabilities to sense and seize opportunities. Our study contributes to the understanding of exploration capabilities and supports practitioners in developing opportunity management practices.

Corporate social responsibility, product market competition, and firm value

This study empirically examines if and how product market competition influences the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value using a panel data set for the period 2003–2015. It explicitly recognizes the endogeneity of CSR and uses instrumental variable (IV-GMM) estimation regressions. Results indicate that CSR is positively associated with market value of a firm measured by industry adjusted Tobin’s Q. However, this relation is influenced by product market competition and product fluidity. Specifically, CSR has no impact on firm value in firms that operate in low product competition environments or face low product fluidity. Furthermore, results show that the effect of CSR is driven by CSR strengths as CSR concerns have no effect on firm value. Additional tests show that community, diversity and environment dimensions are the main contributors to the total effect of CSR.

Evolution of increased Medicaco polymorpha size during invasion does not result in increased competitive ability.

Species invading new habitats experience novel selection pressures that can lead to rapid evolution, which may contribute to invasion success and/or increased impact on native community members. Many studies have hypothesized that plants in the introduced range will be larger than those in the native range, leading to increases in competitive ability. There is mixed support for evolution of larger sizes in the introduced range, but few studies have explicitly tested whether evolutionary changes result in decreased competitive responses or increased competitive effects on other species in the community. Here, we show that introduced Medicago polymorpha genotypes produced 14% more aboveground and 41% more belowground biomass than genotypes from the native range, suggesting that evolutionary changes in size occurred after introduction. However, these size differences were only observed in the absence of competition. The competitive effects of introduced and native range genotypes on three species that commonly co-occur with Medicago in invaded regions were remarkably similar. These results suggest that evolutionary increases in size during biological invasions do not necessarily alter the competitive effects of the invader on other community members, but may increase invasion success in disturbed or low competition environments.

Ecological Farming in Slovakia and Its Regional Disparities

Abstract The paper points at the origin and development of ecological farming in Slovakia from 1991 to 2015. As the positive aspect of this period can be considered the increasing area of ecologically farmed agricultural land, as well as increasing number of farmers and a slight increase in the number of processors of ecological production. The increased interest of farmers in ecological farming on land occurred mainly after Slovakia's accession to the EU. The next part of the paper is dedicated to the regional disparities in ecological production at NUTS III (Slovak regions). To analyze spatial disparities at the regional level, we used the most widely applied statistical methods - standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The largest localization of ecological production is in northern Slovakia - in Žilina and Prešov region, in central Slovakia in Banská Bystrica region. In these regions, there are higher acreage of ecological farmland. Despite the slight increase of processors of ecological produce, they still lack in Slovakia. Processors of ecological products operate mainly in the regions of western and eastern Slovakia and north of the country. With the lack of ecological production, there is relatively underdeveloped distribution of products of ecological production and its lower consumption in the domestic market. Offers of bio-products is relatively low and weak competitive environment does not create the pressure to still reduce still high prices of ecological production.

Population dynamics of the non-indigenous hydrozoan Clytia hummelincki (Hydrozoa: Campanulariidae) in two contrasting Mediterranean habitats

ABSTRACTThe non-indigenous hydrozoan Clytia hummelincki, recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea in 1996, has now become established on barren grounds where conditions of low diversity, high grazing pressure and low levels of competition occur. The mechanisms of persistence of this species, as well as its population dynamics in this habitat and in species-rich, algae-dominated shallow rocky communities were investigated in situ at four sampling sites in the Northern Ionian Sea from October 2012 to September 2014. Multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the differences in population dynamics of this species in both contrasting habitats. Clytia hummelincki reached peak abundance during summer, with numerous reproductive structures observed in August and September. A remarkable regression period was evident in the cold season, when colonies were largely reduced to dormant tissue in the coenosarc of the hydrorhiza and were often covered by encrusting algae. Both regeneration of colonies from resting hydrorhizae and recruitment of new planulae are involved in the maintenance of the populations. Colonies regrew from hydrorhizae less than half of the time. Population dynamics in sea-urchin barren grounds and algae-dominated communities did not differ significantly, suggesting that populations of this hydrozoan are now well established in the central Mediterranean Sea. This species is no longer confined to low diversity, highly grazed, low competition environments.

Exposure time to rivals and sensory cues affect how quickly males respond to changes in sperm competition threat

Phenotypic plasticity can increase fitness in rapidly changeable environments, but may be limited if the underlying mechanisms cause a lag between environmental change and individual response or if the information individuals receive is unreliable. Hence to understand the evolution of plasticity we need to assess whether individuals respond to fine-scale variation in environmental cues. In this study we used a Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly model to investigate factors that determine how quickly males alter their behaviour in response to changes in sperm competition cues. Male D. melanogaster respond to exposure to rival males prior to mating by extending mating duration and increasing ejaculate investment. We have previously shown that to build-up the response, males need about 24 h exposure to a rival. We reasoned that this time lag was necessary to increase ejaculate production, but this physiological limitation should not apply when moving from high- to low-competition environments; hence we predicted that males should immediately decrease their investment when competition is removed. Here we tested this by measuring how long rival-exposed males maintained an extended mating duration after removal of the rival. We assessed how exposure time and sensory information affected the speed of change in behavioural state. Males maintained extended mating duration for hours after a rival was removed, but this was dependent on time of exposure to a rival. Furthermore, although sensory-impaired males were able to respond to rivals, the time required for the response to build and diminish depended on males possessing their full sensory repertoire. Our results suggest that males use exposure time and multiple sensory cues to assess whether the threat of sperm competition is transient (so unlikely to translate into realized competition) or sustained (requiring a response). Therefore, time lags between environmental changes and responses may buffer animals against making hasty decisions in fluctuating environments.

The Effect of Exhibitors' Brand Equity on Visitors' Purchase Decision: Moderating Role of Exhibition's Competitive Intensity

This study explores the effect of exhibitors' brand equity on visitors' purchase intention, purchase postponement, and switching intention in an international industrial fair, as well as examines the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the above relationships. This study surveyed visitors of the famous International Woodworking Machine Fair in Jakarta, Indonesia. Of the 200 surveys distributed, 138 valid questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 69.00%. Analytical results show that higher exhibitors' brand equity is associated with visitors' higher purchase intention, more prevalent purchase postponement, and stronger switching intention. Also, in a high competitive intensity environment, the level of visitors' purchase postponement and switching intention of high brand equity products is similar. In a low competitive intensity exhibition, visitors are unlikely to postpone purchase of low brand equity products but are more likely to postpone purchase of high brand equity products. Lastly, in a low competitive intensity environment, visitors are less inclined to switch low brand equity suppliers but more likely to switch high brand equity suppliers. According to the research results, recommendations and limitations of this study are proposed.

Inconsistent changes of biomass and species richness along a precipitation gradient in temperate steppe

Biomass and species richness are two important indicators of ecosystem stability. The relationship between biomass and species richness along precipitation gradient in semi-arid regions is significant for prediction of ecosystem stability under the estimated climatic drying in the future. In this study, we investigated species richness, aboveground biomass and cover of temperate steppe along a mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient in central Inner Mongolian of China. We also measured water use efficiency (WUE) of selected species and overall communities. Our results showed that biomass almost remained unchanged in the moist half of the gradient, but species richness decreased markedly with decreasing MAP. Species richness further showed a negligible decrease, whereas a much sharper drop was detected in biomass towards the arid end with decreasing MAP. Vegetation cover shared a similar pattern with biomass and dropped sharply towards the arid end, which may create a strong light and low competition environment favoring C4 plants. The increment of C4 species richness could prevent a more intensive decline of species richness under severe arid conditions by raising overall community water use efficiency. Thus, plant communities experiencing water deficiency could also maintain species richness with the occurrence of C4 plants.

((( ) (Study of Development Prospects and Conditions of Functioning of Regional Banks (on Example of CFA))

Russian Abstract: Малые и средние банки составляют небольшую долю в совокупных активах банковской системы, однако эти банки являются участниками регионального рынка банковских услуг, играя важную роль в социально-экономической жизни регионов. Малые банки обеспечивают непосредственную близость к региональному сектору экономики и способность наиболее компетентно и оперативно решать проблемы на местном уровне.Ежемесячные отчеты, направляемые кредитными организациями в Центральный Банк РФ, ориентированы на выполнение нормативов и часто скрывают реальное положение дел в секторе. В данной работе представлено исследование, проведенное на основе данных анкетирования представителей региональных банков Центрального федерального округа. С этой целью была разработана анкета, вопросы которой были ориентированы на выявление видения представителей данного сектора наиболее перспективных направлений развития рынка банковских услуг в текущее десятилетие, возможных структурных изменений в финансовом секторе, а также реализации мер, направленных на достижения большей стабильности как в банковской системе, так и на региональных рынках банковских услуг.Ключевой вывод по результатам анкетирования - неопределенность стратегии развития региональных банков России. В целом структура ответов отражает все недостатки современной банковской системы России – низкую капитализацию, высокие риски, низкий уровень конкурентной среды. В качестве основных конкурентных преимуществ рассматривается так называемый «административный ресурс» - доступ к государственным ресурсам и ограничения присутствия на рыночных сегментах.English Abstract: Small and medium-sized banks make up a large share of the total assets of the banking system, but these banks are members of the regional banking market playing an important role in the socio-economic life of the region. Small banks provide close proximity to the regional sector of the economy and the ability of the most competent and solve problems at the local level.Monthly reports sent by credit institutions to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, focused on the implementation of standards and often hide the real situation in the sector. This paper presents a study based on data from the survey of representatives of regional banks in the Central Federal District. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed, questions which were aimed at identifying the vision representatives of the sector the most promising directions of development of the banking market in the current decade, the possible structural changes in the financial sector, as well as the implementation of measures aimed at achieving greater stability in the banking system, and regional banking markets.Key findings of the survey - the uncertainty of the development strategy of Regional Banks of Russia. In general, the structure of the responses reflect all the shortcomings of modern Russian banking system - low capitalization, high risk, low competitive environment. The main competitive advantage is considered the so-called administrative - access to public resources and limited presence in the market segments.

Does experience with competition matter? Effects of source competitive environment on mean and plastic trait expression in Erodium cicutarium

Abstract Interspecific competition is likely to act as an agent for selection on local scales, although evidence in plants is sparse so far. We hypothesize that in annual shade-avoiding grassland species, heterogeneity in the intensity of aboveground competition for light may shape patterns of genetic variation and induce phenotypic plasticity in traits affecting competitive ability. We collected maternal seed families of Erodium cicutarium from replicated high and low competition environments and exposed them to different levels of aboveground competition in a glasshouse. We examined effects of seed source and competition treatment on expression of plant traits related to competitive ability and fitness. Source environments with high levels of competition were significantly more heterogeneous in competition intensity at both intermediate (approx. 10 m) and small (approx. 0.1 m) spatial scales. Seed source and competition treatment both had highly significant effects on trait expression. Greater intensity of competition experienced by maternal plants was coupled with lower vegetative biomass production and slower growth rates, and at the same time lower abortion rates in the offspring. We interpret these findings as an indication of greater reproductive efficiency in the next generation, in response to competition experienced by parents. There was higher total phenotypic variability in the plants from high competition source sites, but equivalent levels of phenotypic plasticity across source-site competition levels; no costs of phenotypic plasticity were detected. We concluded that differences in competition intensity can lead to trait differentiation in the next generation. For E. cicutarium , experience with competition matters: it leads to substantial phenotypic differences and more total variability in the offspring generation.

Competition level determines compensatory growth abilities

In many animal taxa, size-selective predation favors fast growth early in life. However, same-aged juveniles can diverge in size due to differences in genotype, environmental conditions, and parental effects and thus may vary in competitive ability. Under food scarcity, competitively inferior juveniles may suffer suppressed growth, whereas under benign conditions, small juveniles may exhibit growth compensation and perform as well as large ones. However, studies testing this while controlling for parental effects are lacking. Here, we hand-raised cichlids, Simochromis pleurospilus, from a wide range of egg sizes and manipulated their size by differential feeding. Afterward, high- and low-ration siblings were kept in groups assigned to either a high- or lowcompetition environment. We investigated how the degree of competition affected aggressiveness and growth of juveniles with different feeding histories. As predicted, when competition was high, high-ration offspring grew fastest. Interestingly, when competition was weak, low-ration juveniles grew at a similar rate as high-ration ones and many were able to catch up in size. High-ration fish were more aggressive than low-ration ones, and this effect was strongest under high competition. Additionally, in the high-competition environment, received aggression was negatively related to growth, and inflicted aggression correlated positively with the growth of the aggressor. These relationships were absent under low competition. Our findings suggest that the abilities to compensate for early growth depression depend on the prevalent level of competition. Aggression is likely used to monopolize food by juvenile S. pleurospilus; however, when competition is strong, aggression cannot compensate for a size

Differentiation of reproductive and competitive ability in the invaded range of Senecio inaequidens: the role of genetic Allee effects, adaptive and nonadaptive evolution

Genetic differentiation in the competitive and reproductive ability of invading populations can result from genetic Allee effects or r/K selection at the local or range-wide scale. However, the neutral relatedness of populations may either mask or falsely suggest adaptation and genetic Allee effects. In a common-garden experiment, we investigated the competitive and reproductive ability of invasive Senecio inaequidens populations that vary in neutral genetic diversity, population age and field vegetation cover. To account for population relatedness, we analysed the experimental results with 'animal models' adopted from quantitative genetics. Consistent with adaptive r/K differentiation at local scales, we found that genotypes from low-competition environments invest more in reproduction and are more sensitive to competition. By contrast, apparent effects of large-scale r/K differentiation and apparent genetic Allee effects can largely be explained by neutral population relatedness. Invading populations should not be treated as homogeneous groups, as they may adapt quickly to small-scale environmental variation in the invaded range. Furthermore, neutral population differentiation may strongly influence invasion dynamics and should be accounted for in analyses of common-garden experiments.

Island biogeography extends to small-scale habitats: low competitor density and richness on islands may drive trait variation in nonnative plants

Previous island biogeography studies have quantified species richness on the scale of entire islands rather than smaller scales relevant to plant-to-plant competitive interactions. Further, they have not accounted for density compensation. Using mainland and island sites along the New England coast, we asked two questions. First, are both richness and density lower in small-scale habitats within islands than in similar mainland habitats? Second, do differences in competitor richness and density drive post-establishment trait variation in nonnative plant species? We used field surveys and individual-based rarefaction to estimate richness and density in 100-m2 plots and demonstrated that island sites have significantly fewer species and individuals per unit area than mainland sites. We then conducted a field study in which we removed competing neighbors from nonnative plant individuals and found that when competitors were removed, individuals in low-competition environments demonstrated a lesser increase in vegetative growth but a greater increase in reproductive effort and herbivore tolerance relative to mainland individuals whose neighbors were also removed. We found that the central concept of island biogeography, i.e., that islands host fewer species than comparable mainland habitats, can be extended to smaller-scale habitats and that this difference in competitive pressure between mainland and island habitats can act as a driver of trait variation in nonnative plants.

The importance of listening: juvenile allocation shifts in response to acoustic cues of the social environment

The social environment has a strong effect on the strength and direction of sexual selection. Juveniles, however, often have social cues that signal the current competitive environment which may provide cues of future competitive challenges. Here we demonstrate that juvenile crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) use the calls of surrounding adult males as a cue of the quality and density of rivals/mates they are likely to encounter. We reared hatchling crickets in six acoustic environments that varied in the density and quality of calls and demonstrate that individuals modified their development rate, phenotype and behaviour at maturity. Males matured more rapidly at a smaller size and called more when reared in a low competition environment. In contrast, males delayed maturity to grow larger when faced with an increased density of high-quality males. Females matured more rapidly when reared in a high density of high-quality males and allocated proportionately more resources towards egg production. A second experiment limiting nutrient availability demonstrates sex-specific allocation shifts in the last stadium when cues are most reliable. Our results demonstrate that the social environment significantly affects allocation strategies and phenotypes, highlighting the importance of juvenile experience and competitive context when examining fitness and selection.

Consistent boldness behaviour in early emerging fry of domesticated Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): Decoupling of behavioural and physiological traits of the proactive stress coping style

Individual variation in the way animals cope with stressors has been documented in a number of animal groups. In general, two distinct sets of behavioural and physiological responses to stress have been described: the proactive and the reactive coping styles. Some characteristics of stress coping style seem to be coupled to the time to emerge of fry from spawning redds in natural populations of salmonid fishes. In the present study, behavioural and physiological traits of stress coping styles were compared two and five months after emergence in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), using individuals with an early or late time to emerge. Initially, compared to late emerging individuals, early emerging individuals showed a shorter time to resume feeding after transfer to rearing in isolation. Resumption of feeding after isolation was suggested to be related to boldness behaviour, rather than hunger, in the present study. This observation was repeated five months after emergence, demonstrating behavioural consistency over time in this trait. However, in other traits of proactive and reactive stress coping styles, such as social status, resting metabolism or post stress cortisol concentrations, early and late emerging individuals did not differ. Therefore, this study demonstrates that boldness in a novel environment is uncoupled from other traits of the proactive and reactive stress coping styles in farmed salmonids. It is possible that this decoupling is caused by the low competitive environment in which fish were reared. In natural populations of salmonids, however, the higher selection pressure at emergence could select for early emerging individuals with a proactive coping style.

Females of the weevil Zabrotes subfasciatus manipulate the size and number of eggs according to the host seed availability

Abstract. In some insects, the finding of oviposition substrate triggers the uptake into oocytes of yolk proteins that are stored in the fat body during post‐embryonic development. The main host of the bean weevil Zabrotes subfasciatus (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae; Bruchinae; Amblycerini), in which larval resources are the sole source for future egg maturation, is Phaseolus vulgaris. Despite not feeding as adults, females of this species are able to lay eggs after encountering host seeds but it is not known how females react to changes in the availability of bean seeds. In the present study, the behaviour of Z. subfasciatus facing two very different environments for oviposition is investigated, as well as how this influences offspring fitness. The results obtained show that females of Z. subfasciatus react to variations in the availability of seeds belonging to the same host species by adjusting egg size and number. Females on low bean seed density lay larger and fewer eggs than those on high bean seed density, demonstrating a trade‐off between these reproductive traits. Moreover, females can adjust egg size to changing levels of host availability during the first 4 days of their oviposition period. Although no difference in offspring weight is found, those from small eggs (low competition environment) result in larger adults. No response to selection on these traits after rearing beetles on the same host for 40 generations is observed. This unresponsiveness may indicate that beetle populations behave according to their reaction norm that already allows rapid adaptation to a varying amount of host‐seed availability and better exploitation of the environments of this widespread stored‐seed pest.