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New article co-authored by dr hab. inż. Szymon Śniegula, prof.IOP

29.12.2022 | Author: admin

We are pleased to announce that new article Mixed support for an alignment between phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation in damselfly wing shape co-authored by dr hab. inż. Szymon Śniegula, prof. IOP was published during the Christmas break at Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

The results presented in the paper are partly derived from the work on the ECOPOND project.

The whole article you can read here ⬇️https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.14145

Johansson, F., Berger, D., Outomuro, D., Sniegula, S., Tunon, M., Watts, P. C., & Rohner, P. T. (2022). Mixed support for an alignment between phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation in damselfly wing shape. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 00, 1–13. 
SUMMARY

The relationship between genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity can pro-vide information on whether plasticity generally facilitates or hinders adaptation to environmental change.

In this paper, we studied wing shape variation in a damselfly (Lestes sponsa) across a latitudinal gradient in Europe that differed in time constraints mediated by photoperiod and temperature. We reared damselflies from northern and southern populations in the laboratory using a reciprocal transplant experiment that simulated time-constrained (i.e. northern) and unconstrained (southern) photoperiods and temperatures. After emergence, adult wing shape was analysed using geometric morphometrics.

Wings from individuals in the northern and southern populations differed significantly in shape when animals were reared in their respective native environment. Comparing wing shape across environments, we found evidence for phenotypic plasticity in wing shape, and this response differed across populations (i.e. G × E interactions). This interaction was driven by a stronger plastic response by individuals from the northern population and differences in the direction of plastic wing shape changes among populations. The alignment between genetic and plastic responses depended on the specific combination of population and rearing environment. For example, there was an alignment between plasticity and genetic differentiation under time-constrained, but not under non-time-constrained conditions for forewings. We thus find mixed support for the hypothesis that environmental plasticity and genetic population differentiation are aligned.

Furthermore, although our laboratory treatments mimicked the natural climatic conditions at northern and southern latitudes, the effects of population differences on wing shape were two to four times stronger than plastic effects.

We discuss our results in terms of time constraints and the possibility that natural and sexual selection is acting differently on fore- and hindwing.