Predation risk induces age- and sex-specific morphological plastic responses in the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas.

ABSTRACT: Although comprehending the significance of phenotypic plasticity for evolution is of major interest in biology, the pre-requirement for that, the understanding of variance in plasticity, is still in its infancy. Most researchers assess plastic traits at single developmental stages and pool results between sexes. Here, we study variation among sexes and developmental stages in inducible morphological defences, a well-known instance of plasticity. We raised fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, under different levels of background predation risk (conspecific alarm cues or distilled water) in a split-clutch design and studied morphology in both juveniles and adults. In accordance with the theory that plasticity varies across ontogeny and sexes, geometric morphometry analyses revealed signific

SUBMITTER: Meuthen D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6814781 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature