Future climate stimulates population out-breaks by relaxing constraints on reproduction

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dc.contributor.authorHeldt, K.
dc.contributor.authorConnell, S.
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, K.
dc.contributor.authorRussell, B.
dc.contributor.authorMunguia, P.
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractWhen conditions are stressful, reproduction and population growth are reduced, but when favourable, reproduction and population size can boom. Theory suggests climate change is an increasingly stressful environment, predicting extinctions or decreased abundances. However, if favourable conditions align, such as an increase in resources or release from competition and predation, future climate can fuel population growth. Tests of such population growth models and the mechanisms by which they are enabled are rare. We tested whether intergenerational increases in population size might be facilitated by adjustments in reproductive success to favourable environmental conditions in a large-scale mesocosm experiment. Herbivorous amphipod populations responded to future climate by increasing 20 fold, suggesting that future climate might relax environmental constraints on fecundity. We then assessed whether future climate reduces variation in mating success, boosting population fecundity and size. The proportion of gravid females doubled, and variance in phenotypic variation of male secondary sexual characters (i.e. gnathopods) was significantly reduced. While future climate can enhance individual growth and survival, it may also reduce constraints on mechanisms of reproduction such that enhanced intra-generational productivity and reproductive success transfers to subsequent generations. Where both intra and intergenerational production is enhanced, population sizes might boom.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityKatherine A. Heldt, Sean D. Connell, Kathryn Anderson, Bayden D. Russell, Pablo Munguia
dc.identifier.citationScientific Reports, 2016; 6(1):33383-1-33383-8
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/srep33383
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.orcidConnell, S. [0000-0002-5350-6852]
dc.identifier.orcidRussell, B. [0000-0003-1282-9978]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/102662
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNature Publishing Group
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT0991953
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/srep33383
dc.subjectOvum
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectAmphipoda
dc.subjectCarbon Dioxide
dc.subjectBody Size
dc.subjectRegression Analysis
dc.subjectTemperature
dc.subjectPopulation Density
dc.subjectPopulation Dynamics
dc.subjectReproduction
dc.subjectQuantitative Trait, Heritable
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectClimate Change
dc.titleFuture climate stimulates population out-breaks by relaxing constraints on reproduction
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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