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DISENTANGLING THE ROLE OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY AND GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN CONTEMPORARY ECOTYPE FORMATION DURING A BIOLOGICAL INVASION
Author(s) -
Lucek Kay,
Sivasundar Arjun,
Seehausen Ole
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.12443
Subject(s) - biology , ecotype , phenotypic plasticity , evolutionary biology , stickleback , intraspecific competition , genetic divergence , genetic variation , divergence (linguistics) , phenotype , genetic diversity , ecology , genetics , population , gene , linguistics , philosophy , demography , fishery , sociology , fish <actinopterygii>
The occurrence of contemporary ecotype formation through adaptive divergence of populations within the range of an invasive species typically requires standing genetic variation but can be facilitated by phenotypic plasticity. The relative contributions of both of these to adaptive trait differentiation have rarely been simultaneously quantified in recently diverging vertebrate populations. Here we study a case of intraspecific divergence into distinct lake and stream ecotypes of threespine stickleback that evolved in the past 140 years within the invasive range in Switzerland. Using a controlled laboratory experiment with full‐sib crosses and treatments mimicking a key feature of ecotypic niche divergence, we test if the phenotypic divergence that we observe in the wild results from phenotypic plasticity or divergent genetic predisposition. Our experimental groups show qualitatively similar phenotypic divergence as those observed among wild adults. The relative contribution of plasticity and divergent genetic predisposition differs among the traits studied, with traits related to the biomechanics of feeding showing a stronger genetic predisposition, whereas traits related to locomotion are mainly plastic. These results implicate that phenotypic plasticity and standing genetic variation interacted during contemporary ecotype formation in this case.