Premium
RESPONSE TO SELECTION ON COLD TOLERANCE IS CONSTRAINED BY INBREEDING
Author(s) -
Dierks Anneke,
Baumann Birgit,
Fischer Klaus
Publication year - 2012
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/j.1558-5646.2012.01604.x
Subject(s) - biology , inbreeding , inbreeding depression , selection (genetic algorithm) , population , population fragmentation , evolutionary biology , stabilizing selection , genetic load , genetics , genetic variation , demography , gene , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science
The evolutionary potential of any given population is of fundamental importance for its longer term prospects. Modern land‐use practices often result in small and isolated populations, increasing the risk of extinction through reduced genetic diversity as a consequence of inbreeding or drift. Such genetic erosion may also interfere with a population's evolutionary potential. In this study, we investigate the consequences of inbreeding on evolutionary potential (the ability to increase cold resistance) in a laboratory population of the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana . To explore constraints on evolution, we applied artificial selection to chill‐coma recovery time, starting from three levels of inbreeding (outbred control, one or two full‐sibling matings). Ten generations of selection produced highly divergent phenotypes, with the lines selected for increased cold tolerance showing about 28% shorter recovery times after cold exposure relative to unselected controls. Correlated responses to selection in 10 different life‐history and stress‐resistance traits were essentially absent. Inbred lines showed a weaker response to selection, indicating reduced evolutionary potential and thereby constraints on evolution. Inbreeding depression was still measurable in some traits after the course of selection. Traits more closely related to fitness showed a clear fitness rebound, suggesting a trait‐specific impact of purging. Our findings have important implications for the longer term survival of small populations in fragmented landscapes.