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Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia

Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits is a common response of prey organisms to variable and unpredictable predation regimes and risks. Cladocerans of the genus Daphnia are keystone species in the food web of lentic freshwater bodies and are well known for their ability to express a large variet...

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Autores principales: Diel, Patricia, Rabus, Max, Laforsch, Christian
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8668761/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34938494
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8346
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author Diel, Patricia
Rabus, Max
Laforsch, Christian
author_facet Diel, Patricia
Rabus, Max
Laforsch, Christian
author_sort Diel, Patricia
collection PubMed
description Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits is a common response of prey organisms to variable and unpredictable predation regimes and risks. Cladocerans of the genus Daphnia are keystone species in the food web of lentic freshwater bodies and are well known for their ability to express a large variety of inducible morphological defenses in response to invertebrate and vertebrate predator kairomones. The developed defenses render the daphnids less susceptible to predation. So far, primarily large‐scale morphological defenses, like helmets, crests, and tail‐spines, have been documented. However, less is known on whether the tiny spinules, rather inconspicuous traits which cover many Daphnia’s dorsal and ventral carapace margins, respond to predator kairomones, as well. For this reason, we investigated two Daphnia species (D. magna and D. longicephala) concerning their predator kairomone‐induced changes in dorsal and ventral spinules. Since these small, inconspicuous traits may only act as a defense against predatory invertebrates, with fine‐structured catching apparatuses, and not against vertebrate predators, we exposed them to both, an invertebrate (Triops cancriformis or Notontecta maculata) and a vertebrate predator (Leucaspius delineatus). Our results show that the length of these spinules as well as spinules‐covered areas vary, likely depending on the predator the prey is exposed to. We further present first indications of a Daphnia species‐specific elongation of the spinules and an increase of the spinules‐bearing areas. Although we cannot exclude that spinescence is altered because it is developmentally connected to changes in body shape in general, our results suggest that the inducible alterations to the spinule length and spinules‐covered areas disclose another level of predator‐induced changes in two common Daphnia species. The predator‐induced changes on this level together with the large‐scale and ultrastructural defensive traits may act as the overall morphological defense, adjusted to specific predator regimes in nature.
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spelling pubmed-86687612021-12-21 Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia Diel, Patricia Rabus, Max Laforsch, Christian Ecol Evol Research Articles Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits is a common response of prey organisms to variable and unpredictable predation regimes and risks. Cladocerans of the genus Daphnia are keystone species in the food web of lentic freshwater bodies and are well known for their ability to express a large variety of inducible morphological defenses in response to invertebrate and vertebrate predator kairomones. The developed defenses render the daphnids less susceptible to predation. So far, primarily large‐scale morphological defenses, like helmets, crests, and tail‐spines, have been documented. However, less is known on whether the tiny spinules, rather inconspicuous traits which cover many Daphnia’s dorsal and ventral carapace margins, respond to predator kairomones, as well. For this reason, we investigated two Daphnia species (D. magna and D. longicephala) concerning their predator kairomone‐induced changes in dorsal and ventral spinules. Since these small, inconspicuous traits may only act as a defense against predatory invertebrates, with fine‐structured catching apparatuses, and not against vertebrate predators, we exposed them to both, an invertebrate (Triops cancriformis or Notontecta maculata) and a vertebrate predator (Leucaspius delineatus). Our results show that the length of these spinules as well as spinules‐covered areas vary, likely depending on the predator the prey is exposed to. We further present first indications of a Daphnia species‐specific elongation of the spinules and an increase of the spinules‐bearing areas. Although we cannot exclude that spinescence is altered because it is developmentally connected to changes in body shape in general, our results suggest that the inducible alterations to the spinule length and spinules‐covered areas disclose another level of predator‐induced changes in two common Daphnia species. The predator‐induced changes on this level together with the large‐scale and ultrastructural defensive traits may act as the overall morphological defense, adjusted to specific predator regimes in nature. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-11-17 /pmc/articles/PMC8668761/ /pubmed/34938494 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8346 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Diel, Patricia
Rabus, Max
Laforsch, Christian
Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title_full Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title_fullStr Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title_full_unstemmed Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title_short Pricklier with the proper predator? Predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in Daphnia
title_sort pricklier with the proper predator? predator‐induced small‐scale changes of spinescence in daphnia
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8668761/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34938494
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8346
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