期刊
SCIENCE OF NATURE
卷 108, 期 6, 页码 -出版社
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01754-w
关键词
Sexual dimorphism; Developmental plasticity; Body size; Sexual selection; Life history trade-off
资金
- Slovenian Research Agency [P1-0236, P1-0255, J1-9163]
Research on the African hermit spider reveals significant differences in body size and development time between males and females. Family effects contribute to variability in life history traits, indicating a considerable level of plasticity. Male life histories are more influenced by family effects compared to females, suggesting a higher environmental responsiveness in female developmental trajectories.
Adult body size, development time, and growth rates are components of organismal life histories, which crucially influence fitness and are subject to trade-offs. If selection is sex-specific, male and female developments can eventually lead to different optimal sizes. This can be achieved through developmental plasticity and sex-specific developmental trajectories. Spiders present suitable animals to study differences in developmental plasticity and life history trade-offs between the sexes, because of their pronounced sexual dimorphism. Here, we examine variation in life histories in the extremely sexually size dimorphic African hermit spider (Nephilingis cruentata) reared under standardized laboratory conditions. Females average 70 times greater body mass (and greater body size) at maturity than males, which they achieve by developing longer and growing faster. We find a small to moderate amount of variability in life history traits to be caused by family effects, comprising genetic, maternal, and early common environmental effects, suggesting considerable plasticity in life histories. Remarkably, family effects explain a higher variance in male compared to female life histories, implying that female developmental trajectories may be more responsive to environment. We also find sex differences in life history trade-offs and show that males with longer development times grow larger but exhibit shorter adult longevity. Female developmental time also correlates positively with adult body mass, but the trade-offs between female adult mass, reproduction, and longevity are less clear. We discuss the implications of these findings in the light of evolutionary trade-offs between life history traits.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据