Local adaptation, plasticity, and evolved resistance to hypoxic cold stress in high-altitude deer mice.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in evolutionary biology concerns the relative contributions of phenotypic plasticity vs. local adaptation (genotypic specialization) in enabling wide-ranging species to inhabit diverse environmental conditions. Here we conduct a long-term hypoxia acclimation experiment to assess the relative roles of local adaptation and plasticity in enabling highland and lowland deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to sustain aerobic thermogenesis at progressively increasing elevations. We assessed the relative physiological performance capacities of highland and lowland natives as they were exposed to progressive, stepwise increases in hypoxia, simulating the gradual ascent from sea level to an elevation of 6000 m. The final elevation of 6000 m far exceeds the highest attaina

SUBMITTER: Bautista NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11230211 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature