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Predators and cannibals modulate sex-specific plasticity in life-history and immune traits

  1. D. J. Mikolajewski1,*,
  2. R. Stoks2,
  3. J. Rolff1,
  4. G. Joop3

Article first published online: 7 NOV 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01357.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 22, Issue 1, pages 114–120, February 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Mikolajewski, D. J., Stoks, R., Rolff, J. and Joop, G. (2008), Predators and cannibals modulate sex-specific plasticity in life-history and immune traits. Functional Ecology, 22: 114–120. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01357.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K;

  2. 2

    Laboratory for Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Charles Debériotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; and

  3. 3

    Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zentrum, CHN J 12.2, Universitätstr. 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland

* *Correspondence author. E-mail: d.mikolajewski@tu-bs.de

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 7 NOV 2007
  2. Article first published online: 7 NOV 2007
  3. Received 19 July 2007; accepted 4 October 2007; Handling Editor: Peeter Hõrak

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Keywords:

  • cannibalism;
  • ecological immunity;
  • multiple predators;
  • (non-) additive predator effects;
  • phenotypic plasticity

Summary

  • 1
    In organisms with complex life cycles, optimality models predict age and size at transition to translate larval condition into adult fitness. Recent studies, however, revealed that only a proportion of fitness is explained by age and size at transition. Moreover, sexes differ in the linkage of larval condition and adult fitness.
  • 2
    In this study, we tested the hypothesis that immune traits may be partly decoupled from age and size at habitat transition and therefore contribute to the sex-specific linkage of larval condition and adult fitness.
  • 3
    We reared larvae of the damselfly Coenagrion puella under the threat of predators and cannibals. We then examined sex-specific patterns in two life-history traits as well as two immune traits and tested for independency of the plastic responses among life-history and immune traits.
  • 4
    Results revealed immune traits to be partly decoupled from life-history traits. Moreover, the sexes differed in the plasticity of life-history as well as immune traits. Our results give strong evidence that sex-specific translation of larval condition into adult fitness may be linked to immune traits as well as age and size at transition.
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