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Divergence in host use ability of a marine herbivore from two habitat types
Author(s) -
VESAKOSKI O.,
RAUTANEN J.,
JORMALAINEN V.,
RAMSAY T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01767.x
Subject(s) - biology , sympatric speciation , generalist and specialist species , zostera marina , herbivore , ecology , isopoda , allopatric speciation , host (biology) , fucus vesiculosus , disruptive selection , seagrass , habitat , crustacean , population , algae , natural selection , demography , sociology
We studied ecological divergence of host use ability in a generalist marine herbivore living in two distinct host plant assemblages. We collected Idotea balthica isopods from three populations dominated by the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus and three dominated by the seagrass Zostera marina . In two reciprocal common garden feeding experiments for adult and laboratory‐born juvenile isopods, we found that isopods from both assemblages performed better with their sympatric dominant host species than did isopods allopatric to this host. This indicates parallel divergence of populations according to the sympatric host plant assemblage. Furthermore, initial body size and body size‐dependent mortality differed between populations from the two assemblages. In nature, this may result in lower fitness of immigrants compared with that of residents and consequently reinforce divergence of the populations. Finally, we discuss how phenotypic plasticity and maternal and random effects may associate with the results.