Evolutionary divergence of plasticity in brain morphology between ecologically divergent habitats of Trinidadian guppies

Phenotypic plasticity is critical for organismal performance and can evolve in response to natural selection. Brain morphology is often developmentally plastic, affecting animal performance in a variety of contexts. However, the degree to which plasticity of brain morphology evolves has rarely been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Evolution Vol. 78; no. 7; pp. 1261 - 1274
Main Authors:	Axelrod, Caleb J, Yang, Yusan, Grant, Eleanor, Fleming, Jorie, Stone, Isabel, Carlson, Bruce A, Gordon, Swanne P
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States 01-07-2024
Subjects:	Rapid Evolution Sexual Dimorphism Trinidadian Guppy Brain Morphology Local Adaptation Phenotypic Plasticity
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Phenotypic plasticity is critical for organismal performance and can evolve in response to natural selection. Brain morphology is often developmentally plastic, affecting animal performance in a variety of contexts. However, the degree to which plasticity of brain morphology evolves has rarely been explored. Here we use Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), which are known for their repeated adaptation to high-predation (HP) and low-predation (LP) environments, to examine the evolution and plasticity of brain morphology. We exposed second-generation offspring of individuals from HP and LP sites to two different treatments: predation cues and conspecific social environment. Results show that LP guppies had greater plasticity in brain morphology compared to their ancestral HP population, suggesting that plasticity can evolve in response to environmentally divergent habitats. We also show sexual dimorphism in the plasticity of brain morphology, highlighting the importance of considering sex-specific variation in adaptive diversification. Overall, these results may suggest the evolution of brain morphology plasticity as an important mechanism that allows for ecological diversification and adaptation to divergent habitats.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0014-3820 1558-5646 1558-5646
DOI:	10.1093/evolut/qpae055