Developmental plasticity does not improve performance during a species interaction: Implications for species turnover.

ABSTRACT: Species interactions can contribute to species turnover when the outcomes of the interactions are context dependent (e.g., change along environmental gradients). Plasticity may change this dynamic by altering the environmental tolerances of the species interacting. Here, we explored how the competitive interaction between two euryhaline fish, Poecilia reticulata and Poecilia picta, is influenced by acute and developmental responses to salinity. In Trinidad, P. reticulata is confined to freshwater despite being tolerant of brackish water. P. reticulata may fail to occupy brackish water because of reduced tolerance to salinity or because P. picta competitively excludes them, and developing in brackish water could alter the dynamics of either scenario. To test this, we compared the salinity t

SUBMITTER: Mauro AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11725713 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature