Abstract
The timing of many life history events shows phenotypic plasticity in response to the risk of predation. Theory predicts that increased risk of mortality in an early stage should select for switching earlier, while a higher risk after the transition should select for switching later. Here we examined the effects of stage-specific predation risk on the timing of hatching of Rana temporaria. Embryos were exposed to chemical cues from either an egg predator (Haemopis sanguisuda) or a tadpole predator (Aeshna cyanea) to evaluate three specific hypotheses: (1) a fixed intermediate response, (2) a ‘fixed predator’ response (i.e., either anticipation or delay), and (3) a specific predator response (both anticipation and delay). Rana temporaria embryos did not discern between pre- and post-hatching specific predators, and they hatched prematurely regardless predator type. These results suggest that R. temporaria embryos respond to predation risk in a fixed way by hatching early, and that they use cues stemming from injured conspecifics, which provides a simple, conservative mechanism of risk assessment. In conclusion, our data are not anticipated by the theoretical consideration that organisms should spend less time in more dangerous environments, but they confirm an invariable adjustment of hatching time in response to an inscrutable predation risk (response to a fixed-predator) in connection with a consistent mechanism mediating the perception of predation risk.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Felix González for valuable assistance in obtaining the experimental animals. An anonymous reviewer provided extremely helpful comments on the manuscript. We also thank Consejería de Medio Ambiente del Principado de Asturias and Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Castilla y León for permissions to conduct this research. This work was funded by a MCYT research grant (REN2001-2647/GLO) to A.G. Nicieza. E.Capellán was supported by a FPU doctoral fellowship from MEC. The experiments conducted in this study complied with the institutional and country requirements on animal welfare.
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Capellán, E., Nicieza, A.G. Constrained plasticity in switching across life stages: pre- and post-switch predators elicit early hatching. Evol Ecol 24, 49–57 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-008-9289-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-008-9289-6